This guide provides direction on the types of paid time off and unpaid time off employees may select in Workday during different types of approved FMLA and WFMLA leaves of absence.
Employees will work with their Divisional Disability Representatives (DDRs) to request a leave of absence for family or medical reasons. DDRs will determine when an employee’s leave of absence may be designated under FMLA or WFMLA and will issue an approval memo to the employee.
Important: Employees must select to use paid time off when they want to remain in paid status during an FMLA or WFMLA leave of absence.
How do I know which type of leave of absence I am taking?
Leaves of absence in Workday are categorized as either continuous or intermittent. When an employee’s leave of absence is an approved reduced work schedule, intermittent leave will be entered in Workday.
It is important for employees to know if their leave of absence is continuous or intermittent, so they select the correct time off options in Workday. The leave of absence category is listed in the approval memo issued by the employee's DDR. Employees can contact their DDR if they do not know their category of leave of absence.
Definitions
Continuous Leave of Absence
The worker will be completely away from work during the selected date range. The worker will be unpaid unless they use paid time off during the continuous leave.
Intermittent Leave of Absence
The worker will have a mix of time worked and time off during the selected date range. Workers must report paid or unpaid time off when they are away from work.
How do I request time off during an FMLA or WFMLA Leave of Absence in Workday?
When an employee is on an FMLA or WFMLA leave of absence, the employee may choose if they would like to take the leave of absence unpaid, or use paid leave they are eligible for during the leave of absence. Note: there are some circumstances where paid leave must run concurrently with FMLA.
Workday is able to track both employee paid time off balances (sick leave, vacation, personal holiday, legal holiday, postdoc absence with pay, paid parental leave, etc.) and leave of absence plans. Workday offers a variety of combinations of leave of absence types and paid time off takes in order to maintain each of those balances.
Whether an employee is on a continuous leave or an intermittent leave determines which paid leave time off take they should choose.
Continuous FMLA or WFMLA and Time Off
When an employee is on a continuous FMLA or WFMLA leave of absence, they will need to enter paid time off in order to remain in paid status during their leave.
They will select the time off they would like to use from the regular time off tab. This is the same tab they use when selecting to use paid time off for absences that are not FMLA or WFMLA.
If the employee is taking the continuous leave unpaid, they do not need to enter any time off.
Because the employee’s leave of absence is continuous, Workday is able to determine the amount of FMLA/WFMLA hours an employee is taking based on their work schedule.
| Step 1 | From the Workday Home Page, click Menu |
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| Step 2 | Click Request Absence and select your dates or add in a date range. Click Continue. |
| Step 3 |
Click on Time Off
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| Step 4 |
Select the time off type from the list that you would like to use. This includes both paid time off types (Sick, Vacation, Banked Leave, Personal Holiday, etc.) and unpaid time. Note: When an employee is eligible to use Paid Parental Leave, they will have the additional time off type of Paid Parental Time Off that they can select.
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| Step 5 | Review and edit the Hours (Daily) as needed. You can add a comment; be sure not to include any confidential medical information. |
Intermittent FMLA or WFMLA and Time Off
When an employee is on an intermittent FMLA or WFMLA leave of absence, they must enter either unpaid time off or paid time off on the dates that they are absent from working taking FMLA/WFMLA.
They will need to first select the type of leave of absence they are on from the list and then select the type of paid or unpaid leave they would like to use during their absence.
Workday will then reduce the number of hours the employee selects from both the employee’s FMLA or WFMLA leave balance and from the paid leave balance the employee selected.
Employees will only see the type of paid leave balances they are eligible for.
| Step 1 | From the Workday Home Page, click Menu |
|---|---|
| Step 2 | Click Request Absence and select your dates or add in a date range. Click Continue. |
| Step 3 | Click on Type of Absence. |
| Step 4 |
Select the correct FMLA or WFMLA intermittent leave time off type from the list. Example screenshot: Employee selects FMLA Self Intermittent Time Off if they are on intermittent FMLA leave for their own serious health condition.
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| Step 5 |
From the list, select the type of paid or unpaid leave you would like to use during your FLMA or WFMLA intermittent leave. Example screenshot: Time off options an employee could select if they are on intermittent FMLA leave for their own serious health condition.
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Time Off Options for Intermittent Leave of Absence Types
Click on the section below to view the time off options for different types of intermittent leaves of absence.
FMLA - Self
- Select FMLA Self Intermittent Time Off
- Select the FMLA Self paid time off or unpaid time that you would like to use.
- Options available will be listed. These could include: FMLA Self-Personal Holiday, FMLA Self-Sick, FMLA Self-Unpaid, FMLA Self-Vacation, etc.
FMLA - Family
- Select FMLA Family Intermittent Time Off
- Select the FMLA Family Intermittent paid time off or unpaid time that you would like to use.
- Options available will be listed. These could include: FMLA Family-Sick, FMLA Family-Vacation etc
FMLA - Parental
- Select FMLA Parental Intermittent Time Off
- Select the FMLA Parental Intermittent paid time off or unpaid time that you would like to use.
- Options available will be listed. These could include: FMLA Parental-Sick, FMLA Parental-Vacation, etc.
- If you qualify for Paid Parental Leave you will see FMLA + Paid Parental Time Off
WFMLA - Self
- Select WFMLA Self Intermittent Time Off
- Select the WFMLA Self Intermittent paid time off or unpaid time that you would like to use.
- Options available will be listed. These could include: WFMLA Self-Sick, WFMLA Self-Unpaid, WFMLA Self-Vacation, etc.
WFMLA - Family
- Select WFMLA Family Intermittent Time Off
- Select the WFMLA Family Intermittent paid time off or unpaid time that you would like to use.
- Options available will be listed. These could include: WFMLA Family-Sick, WFMLA Family, Unpaid, WFMLA Family-Vacation, etc.
WFMLA - Parental
- Select WFMLA Parental Intermittent Time Off
- Select the WFMLA Parental Intermittent paid time off or unpaid time that you would like to use.
- Options available will be listed. These could include: WFMLA Parental-Sick, WFMLA Parental-Unpaid, etc.
- If you qualify for Paid Parental Leave you will see WFMLA + Paid Parental Time Off
Postdocs: Choosing Time Off During FMLA/WFMLA Leaves of Absence
Postdocs will follow the Time off Selection Steps for their approved Continuous or Intermittent FMLA/WFMLA to select absence with pay or unpaid time during FMLA and WFMLA leaves of absence. Postdocs will have absence with pay options available in their lists of time off.
Example 1: Time off screen for continuous FMLA/WFMLA. Time off options may include Absence w Pay-Medical, Postdoc Absence w Pay-Personal, Unpaid Time.
Example 2: Time off options for intermittent FMLA/WFMLA. First select the correct FMLA or WFMLA intermittent leave time off type from the list.
Time off options available will be listed. Options for FMLA Self Intermittent may include FMLA Self - Postdoc Medical, FMLA Self - Postdoc Personal, FMLA Self - Unpaid.
Graduate Assistants: Time off During FMLA/WFMLA Leaves of Absence
Graduate Assistants paid time off is not held in Workday at this time.
Graduate Assistants will need to reference their appointment letters to understand the types and amount of paid leave they have available to use. They will need to track their absences and the number of paid leave hours they use outside of Workday. No time off entry will occur in Workday. Graduate Assistants should work with their supervisors and DDRs to confirm time off reporting and tracking.
Intermittent leave of absence will be entered in Workday for both intermittent and continuous family and medical leaves of absence for Graduate Assistants when they are applying paid time off during their leave of absence. They may select unpaid time off if they are taking some of their leave of absence unpaid.
Continuous leave of absence will be entered when they are taking a continuous leave unpaid and will not use any paid time off.
What does On Leave Status look like in Workday?
Manage Absence Calendar
When an employee is placed on an approved intermittent or continuous leave of absence, including FMLA and or WFMLA, employees will see their leave of absence approval in their Manage Absence Calendar.
To view the Manage Absence Calendar:
- From the Workday Home Page, click Menu.
- Click Manage Absence.
- The Manage Absence calendar will appear.
Example 1: Employee has approved FMLA Self Continuous leave of absence. Paid time off has been entered and approved for the first two and a half weeks of leave.
Example 2: Employee has approved FMLA Family Intermittent leave of absence. The employee has requested time off as needed during their intermittent leave of absence. Five paid time off entries have been entered and approved.
Additional Resources
- Before making a Leave of Absence request, review the information found in Request and Manage Your Leave of Absence.
- FMLA and WFMLA leaves of absence are approved in accordance with federal and state leave laws. Additional information can be viewed in the Wisconsin and Federal Family and Medical Leave policy.
Questions?
Contact your local HR department.