Benefits

Civil and Work-Related Leave

Select a section below to learn more

Classified employees are provided with non-accrued paid leave when attending or participating in a number of civic and work-related activities.

Use for Civic Reasons

As required by a summons to jury duty (an official document requiring an individual to appear in court and potentially to serve on a jury),
To appear as a crime victim or as a witness in a court proceeding or deposition as compelled by a subpoena or summons

- - A subpoena is an official document requiring an individual to appear in court as a victim, witness, or other participants in a legal proceeding,
  - An administrative summons is an official document requiring the presence of the named individual for a specified legal procedure.

To accompany the employee's minor child when the child is legally required to appear in court,
To serve as an Officer of Election (Note: An Officer of Election is a person appointed by an electoral board pursuant to Code of Virginia § 24.2-115 to serve at a polling place for any election. It does not include other poll workers, political workers, or volunteers)
To serve as a member of a state council or board,
To attend his or her own naturalization ceremony.

Please note: Please provide a copy of the related documents to HR at mailstop 3C3.

Civil and Work-Related Leave is not granted for use by an employee:

Who is a defendant in a criminal matter, where criminal matter means either an alleged misdemeanor or felony,
Who has received a summons to appear in traffic court (except as a witness) or,
Who is a party to a civil case, either as plaintiff or defendant, or who has any personal or familial interest in the proceedings.

Use for Work-Related Reasons

To interview for other positions with the state
To participate in resolution of work-related conflicts or of complaints of employment discrimination
To attend work-related administrative hearings as a party or witness
To attend one initial session at DHRM’s Career Center and one subsequent visit per leave year thereafter
To attend one initial session with the Employee Assistance Program per qualifying incident

Employees should request use of Civil and Work-Related Leave as far ahead of time as possible. Employees may charge to Civil and Work-Related Leave only the time away from work that is necessary to perform the appropriate duties plus reasonable travel time.

Documentation Required

Employees should provide documentation of the event to HR (jury duty, Officer of Election, subpoena, etc.) prior to the event but no later than two weeks after performing the appropriate duties. Note: Supervisors may ask for proof of documentation to authorize leave.

Compensation

If you are eligible for compensation/reimbursement for service (e.g. jury duty, Officer of Election), you may accept the payments below under certain conditions only:

Reimbursement for such expenses as meals, mileage, parking, and similar costs and/or
Payment for services as a juror, witness, or Office of Election

Conditions:

You may retain reimbursement for expenses as outlined in DHRM Policy 4.015. Note that fees given to Virginia circuit court jurors are considered reimbursement for expenses.
You may retain payment for services IF you take personal leave while fulfilling these responsibilities.
If you use Civil and Work-Related leave, you may not retain this payment as it would be considered double pay for your time. You must reimburse Mason. Please send a personal check, money order, or cashier's check payable to George Mason University in the amount of the payment you received. Please send payment to Payroll at mailstop 3C3 within 2 weeks of your service or as soon as you receive the payment.

If you do not submit your payment within 2 weeks, the absence will be charged to VSDP family and personal, compensatory leave, overtime leave, or annual leave. If no eligible leave balance is available, it will be charged to leave without pay.

Timesheets

If you are using Civil and Work-Related Leave, when you submit your time sheet, please include a comment outlining:

Reason for leave (e.g., jury duty)
In what court or precinct (if an Officer of Election)

Taxes

The IRS requires that payment(s) for services as a juror, witness, or Officer of Election must be reported as income, even if an employee pays the amount back to the University. Please see IRS Publication 17 (p. 94) for more information at https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch12.html.
Additional information is available:
- Form 1040: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf

Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy

Additional details regarding Civil and Work-Related Leave can be found at https://web1.dhrm.virginia.gov/itech/hrpolicy/pol4_05.html

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