The time period when employees may exchange the type of paid leave reported has changed. Information below provides an overview of these changes.
What has changed?
Beginning December 2, 2025, employees can no longer request paid leave type changes for the full fiscal year.
Requests for leave type changes must now be received by the end of the second pay period following the absence, or the end of the fiscal year in which the absence occurred, whichever is sooner.
The following leave policies have been updated to reflect this change: Sick Leave, Vacation, Personal and Legal Holidays, Postdoc Absence with Pay & Legal Holidays.
Who is impacted by this change?
Employees who earn paid leave and have those paid leave balances held in Workday. These include University staff, Faculty, Academic staff, Limited appointees, Research associates, Postdoctoral fellows, and Postdoctoral trainees.
Why was this change implemented?
The Universities of Wisconsin have implemented this policy change, and the university wants to align. Additionally, back dated leave swaps can create errors and issues in Workday processing that require significant manual intervention to correct.
Are there exceptions to this two-pay period limit?
Yes, changes to leave after the deadlines may be permitted if the changes are associated with a Worker’s Compensation or disability claim.
Family or medical leaves of absence, including those designated under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (WFMLA), do not automatically qualify as a disability claim or exception. Additional review of the details of the leave of absence will need to be completed before an exception can be confirmed. Review may involve the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) or division Human Resources office.
What happens if an employee’s request to exchange paid leave is outside of the two-pay period limit and their reason is not one of the exceptions?
Managers should deny requests for leave swaps received outside of the policy parameters that are not associated with one of the exception reasons. If a manager is unsure if the reason to swap leaves meets one of the exceptions, they should reach out to their division Human Resources office to discuss before approving or denying the leave swap.
Additional information is available in the Edit Time Off in Workday job aid.
Does the two-pay period limit apply if an error is discovered in how an employee applied paid leave?
No, corrections to leave usage that are needed when an error is found can be made outside of the two-pay period range. Examples of potential corrections include: an employee did not report paid leave used timely and it needs to be entered, an employee reported sick leave but the reason for the leave was not a sick leave allowable reason and the leave type needs to be corrected, etc.
Corrections outside of the two-pay period limit may also be permitted if an administrative error is discovered and needs to be corrected. An example of this could be if an employee’s paid leave balances are incorrect in Workday and the employee did not have access to their full paid leave allocations and would have made different paid leave choices had they been correct.
How does this change impact making changes to paid leave taken for Income Continuation Insurance purposes?
Employees can continue to swap sick leave taken for other paid leave, but the exchanges must now follow the new two-pay period limit.
Can leave swap occur when an employee has overused their paid leave when on FMLA/WFMLA?
Leave can be swapped if it occurs within the two-pay period limit. Divisional Disability Representatives (DDRs) can assist employees in planning how to use their paid leave during an FMLA/WFMLA absence.
Does Workday functionality prevent leave swaps that are not in accordance with this policy change?
No, Workday does not currently prevent an employee from making a request to change the paid leave type used. Managers will need to deny requests that are not in compliance with the new two-pay period limit.
How can schools, colleges, and divisions monitor compliance with this policy change?
The Office of Human Resources is looking into potential Workday reports that could be run and used to monitor compliance. More information will be provided as it becomes available.