Cumulative Absence Reserve (CAR) is the formal name for UFT-represented pedagogical DOE employees’ “sick bank" of days. All titles earn one CAR day per month after serving 16 days on payroll. The day is added to the members CAR bank on the 30th of each month. Members who are on a sabbatical do not earn CAR days.

During a per-session summer activity, pedagogues and paraprofessionals accrue one sick day for each month of service. 

Active status is defined as being on any one of the following: 

• on payroll, using CAR days or sick time, on an annual leave, on a paid leave, on Parental Leave
• on an unpaid leave for a pregnancy-related condition
• on an unpaid leave due to a medically-disputed Line of Duty Injury (LODI) for up to three months
• on a leave pursuant to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), FLMA, or other statutory leave

For non-birth parents, your UFT parental leave will start the next day, but still will end no later than six calendar weeks (eight weeks for a C-section) starting on the day of the event. For birth parents, parental leave will start after the use of any CAR/sick days towards a recovery period. 

Members are eligible for an additional UFT parental leave if they have been an eligible employee in active status for 10 calendar months following the initial covered event, exclusive of time on an unpaid leave other than parental leave. 

Multiple births from one pregnancy are considered to be a single covered event, so you will get the same six calendar weeks (eight weeks for a C-section). 

Read more about UFT parental leaves »

No. Individuals who work F-status are not eligible to take UFT parental leaves. Time worked F-status will also not count towards eligibility to take parental leave. 

No. Days when DOE employees do not work (such as a holiday, a school break or a weekend) during your parental leave will not extend its six-week duration. However, if you are a birth parent who uses your CAR days for six or eight weeks after the birth and prior to starting UFT parental leave, you will not be charged for a CAR day on a day when DOE employees are off.

Read more about UFT parental leave »

Your parental leave application also serves as an official notice to your school or work office of your intentions of how long you plan to be out so that they can prepare for your absence. You are encouraged to directly discuss your plans with your supervisor as well. You are able to amend your application and leave plans later if your intentions change. 

Unless there are special circumstances, you will not be eligible for a parental leave if you do not submit an application within 10 days of the birth. Late applications will be accepted and subject to review for valid special circumstances, which could relate to, but is not limited to, one of the following: a medical condition of the employee or the employee's family member, a premature birth, a death in the family, or reasonable travel necessary to adopt a child. 

For delivering parents, failure to submit during the proper time frame may result in being placed into a limited version of Traditional Maternity Leave WITHOUT the right to borrow days or to use a grace period. 

Currently, ONLY non-supervisory pedagogical employees will have access to SOLAS. Non-supervisory pedagogical titles include: Teachers, School Psychologists, Guidance Counselors, School Social Workers, Librarians, Attendance Teachers, School Secretarial Staff, and Laboratory Specialists. At a later date, all employees will be able to use SOLAS.

For more information about using SOLAS, see the SOLAS FAQ page here:  https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/solas-faq.pdf