When Key Personnel on grants are taking extended leave, it involves coordinating with your department, the institution, and possibly the funding agency (like NIH). This is needed to manage salary, effort, and project timelines. Many sponsors and specifically federal agencies have prior approval requirements for significant absences (e.g., over 3 months for PIs/effort reduction or >60 days for trainees).  Training Grants like T32 have specific requirements when leave exceeds 60 days, which may result in a shift of the appointment dates.

While institutional policies allow parental, family, and medical leave, there may be additional impacts for specific types of employees and awards, impacting benefits or requiring an extension (No-Cost Extension) for the grant itself, with specific procedures for trainee awards and career development award mechanisms for salary coverage through institutional benefits or leave pools.

As fiscal managers it is important you are aware of leave for folks with commitments to grants you are managing. If there are other employees actually processing the leave, there should be open communication and awareness between fiscal managers and payroll liaisons prior to the leave occurring.

We are asking all fiscal managers to please make sure employees being charged grants are aware of this prior need to notify you as the fiscal manager so you can work with post award to determine if prior approvals are needed and what the impact to the project will be.

If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact your OGC post award team.