Leave Management Glossary

Terms

Accrual

Earning leave gradually over the year, for example a fixed amount each month or pay period, so the available balance rises over time.

ADA leave (leave as a reasonable accommodation)

Unpaid time off granted under the Americans with Disabilities Act as a reasonable accommodation for a disability, decided case by case through an interactive process. It has no fixed maximum, may begin where FMLA leave ends, and is owed unless it would cause the employer undue hardship. ADA leave of absence

Blackout period

A defined window during which leave requests are restricted, used to protect critical business dates such as a peak season.

Carry-over (rollover)

Unused leave balance that moves from one cycle into the next, often with a cap and an expiry date so it does not accumulate indefinitely. Balance that is not carried over may be forfeited or paid out, depending on policy and jurisdiction. PTO payout calculator

CFRA (California Family Rights Act)

California's state family and medical leave law. It mirrors the FMLA's 12 weeks of job-protected leave but reaches employers with five or more employees, covers a wider circle of family members, and runs separately from pregnancy disability leave, so a California birth parent can stack the two. CFRA vs FMLA in California

Coverage rule

A minimum-staffing constraint per team that prevents approving a request which would leave the team below the required headcount on a given day.

Effective policy

The single policy that actually applies to an employee after inheritance is resolved across user, tag, team, department, and location.

Elimination period

The number of days at the start of a disability or paid leave claim during which no benefit is paid, typically seven for short-term disability. Employees usually cover it with sick leave or PTO; the benefit starts the day after it ends. Short-term disability explained

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

The US federal law that gives eligible employees of covered employers up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for their own serious health condition, a family member's, a new child, or military family needs, with health coverage continued. It protects the job; it does not pay. What is FMLA

Intermittent leave

Protected leave taken in separate blocks of hours or days for one qualifying reason, such as chemotherapy sessions or migraine episodes, instead of one continuous absence. The entitlement is tracked in hours against the employee's normal schedule, and a reduced schedule is a related form. Intermittent FMLA

Lump-sum (front-loaded)

Granting the full annual allowance at once, usually at the start of the year or on a work anniversary, so the entire balance is available immediately.

PDL (Pregnancy Disability Leave, California)

California's job-protected leave for the period a person is actually disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition, up to four months per pregnancy, for employers with five or more employees. It is separate from CFRA bonding leave, which can follow it. CFRA, PDL and FMLA in California

PFML (paid family and medical leave)

A state-run insurance program, funded by payroll contributions, that pays a percentage of wages for weeks off to bond with a new child, care for a family member, or recover from a serious health condition. It pays the leave; job protection comes from the FMLA, a state leave law, or the program's own rule. Paid family leave explained

Proration

Adjusting an entitlement to a partial period, for example for a mid-year start or a part-time schedule, so the amount matches the time actually covered. Holiday entitlement calculator

Rolling backward (12-month method)

One of four ways an employer may define the 12-month period for FMLA entitlement: on each day leave is used, the employer looks back 12 months and subtracts leave taken in that window. Used hours return one year after they were taken, so the balance never resets on a fixed date. When does FMLA reset

SDI, TDI, DBL (state disability insurance)

Mandatory wage-replacement insurance in five US states for an employee's own non-work illness or injury, including pregnancy and recovery from childbirth: SDI in California, TDI in Hawaii, New Jersey and Rhode Island, DBL in New York. It pays a share of wages for a limited number of weeks and does not by itself protect the job. Family and medical leave laws by state

Short-term disability (STD)

Insurance, employer-provided or state-mandated, that replaces part of an employee's pay for a limited period while they cannot work because of their own illness, injury or childbirth recovery. It pays; it does not protect the job, which is why it usually runs alongside FMLA leave. Short-term disability explained

Sick leave (sick pay)

Time off work due to illness, often paid. In the UK, eligible employees receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP); in Germany, the employer pays full wages for the first six weeks (Lohnfortzahlung) before the health insurer's Krankengeld begins. Sick pay calculator

Statutory annual leave (holiday entitlement)

The legal minimum of paid holiday a worker must receive. In the UK this is 5.6 weeks a year (28 days for a five-day week, capped at 28); in Germany the statutory minimum is 20 working days for a five-day week under the BUrlG. Holiday entitlement calculator

Tag (replacement vs additive)

A segmentation label that adjusts policy for a group of people; in replacement mode it overrides the inherited policy, in additive mode it stacks extra days on top.

Tenure tier

Extra leave granted based on length of service, so longer-tenured employees receive a higher allowance under the same policy.

Top-up (supplementing benefit pay)

Using accrued PTO or sick leave to fill the gap between a partial disability or paid leave benefit and the employee's normal pay, so the two together reach full or near-full wages. The employer decides whether top-up is required, allowed, or blocked, within the rules of the paying program. Supplementing disability pay with PTO

Use-it-or-lose-it

A policy where unused leave that is not taken by a deadline is forfeited rather than carried over or paid out. Several US states restrict or prohibit it for accrued vacation, in which case the balance must be paid out instead. PTO payout calculator

USERRA (military leave)

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the US federal law that gives employees who leave a civilian job for military service the right to be reemployed afterward, with the seniority, status and pay they would have reached had they stayed. It applies to employers of every size and allows up to five cumulative years of service leave. USERRA and military leave

Waiting period

A delay after a grant or a new hire's start date before leave can be used, common with accrual models for new employees.