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Working at Cornell

Leaves

woman silhouetted at sunset, standing alone on dock next to water

When health or other issues impact your ability to work.

Cornell's Medical Leaves Administration (pdf) office helps coordinate many resources that can enhance the health and well-being of all faculty and staff and maximize the quality of working life while minimizing the negative impact of illness and disability.

Medical Leaves Administration Services

The following services are available to work units, departmental human resource representatives, supervisors, staff, and faculty.

Video Transcript

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[PATTI] Hi, I'm Patti Riddle and I'm from
Cornell's Medical Leaves Administration.

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Our office is here to help anyone who works
at Cornell and who needs

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a medical leave to care for themselves, or who

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needs a leave to care for a family member
with a serious health condition. We're also

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here to help assist faculty or staff who are exploring disability

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employment accommodations and would
like to talk about worksite changes or adjustments.

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Cornell is so unique in how we manage our leaves,  
because we pay all of our short-term medical

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leaves via our own payroll. This means you aren't dealing  

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with an outside insurance carrier and we try
to keep the leave process as simplified as

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possible. Because you stay on Cornell payroll, all of

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your benefit deductions continue on uninterrupted and

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your pay schedule and direct deposit continue
on as well. We understand that needing a

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medical leave can be stressful and confusing, and we're

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here to help as you navigate the process. Now let's

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meet all of our awesome case managers who
will explain the various ways they can assist you.

Disability Accommodations

Faculty and staff are welcome to meet with Medical Leaves Administration staff members regarding any medical leave or disability accommodation issues. In order to initiate a request for disability accommodation, you may fill out the Cover Page and Medical Verification Form and return those to Medical Leaves. However, if you would rather speak with someone from Medical Leaves before submitting a request, please contact us and we will be happy to further discuss your situation. More information

Leaves of Absence

Accident Report Form

Catastrophic Leave Donation

Running low on time off during a time of crisis? Ask your local HR representative about receiving leave donations from fellow employees.University Policy 6.9, Time Away from Work (excluding academic and bargaining unit staff) allows regular staff members who have completed one year of service to voluntarily donate leave to other regular staff members within a college/unit, when a health-related catastrophic event has been experienced. The conditions under which such donations may be made are outlined in the Catastrophic Leave Donation policy. If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in donating leave time, please complete and print out the Catastrophic Leave Donation Form, retain a copy for your records, and either email a pdf of your signed form to Cyndi Morris at clm74@cornell.edu or send the original to her attention at Administrative Human Resources, 337 Pine Tree Road, Ithaca, NY 14853.