2.9 Reinstatement of Former Employees

Employees on the Administrative, Sponsored Research, and Support staffs who are laid off or who terminate voluntarily from the Institute, and are reemployed by the Institute at a later date, are eligible for the reinstatement of certain benefits according to the eligibility requirements noted below. For employees covered by union agreements, contractual provisions will prevail.

2.9.1 General Policy Statement

In general, reinstatement upon reemployment applies only to the benefit of vacation eligibility. It is specifically not intended for other illness-related benefits, such as Sick Time (except as provided in Section 2.9.2 and Section 2.9.3 below) or long-term disability. Supervisors should be aware at the time of reemployment that the responsibility for payment of any reinstated vacation or Sick Time balances falls on the hiring department.

There is also a limited reinstatement benefit under the Tuition Assistance program; and, depending on original dates of hire, there may be reinstatement of certain benefits under the Children’s Scholarship Plan. Reinstatement under the MIT Basic Retirement Plan applies only to certain laid-off employees, as described in Section 2.9.3 below. Further detail on reinstatement and other terms of the plans may be found in the Summary Plan Descriptions or the plan booklets for the specific plans, which are available from the Benefits Office.

Reinstatement upon reemployment from any form of termination other than layoff may be granted only once to any individual, regardless of circumstances, except as provided in Section 4.3.8, Sick Time under Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law.

2.9.2 Formula for Reinstatement of Certain Benefits for Former Employees

Restoration of Sick Leave Balances: A former employee who is reemployed by the Institute after a break in service of 12 months or less may be entitled to restoration of accrued sick leave covered by the Massachusetts earned sick time law, up to a maximum of 40 hours, depending on the length of the break. In addition, time worked before a break in service of up to 12 months counts towards the 90-day vesting period for the state-mandated sick leave. See Section 4.3.8.

Eligibility for vacation: A former employee who is reemployed by the Institute may also have prior service counted towards eligibility for vacation. The prior length of service is reinstated according to the service requirements outlined in this table:

Eligibility for these benefits is based on time actually worked at the Institute and does not include the period of absence from the Institute. An adjusted service date at the time of reemployment is used as the vacation eligibility date.

2.9.3 Reinstatement of Laid Off Employees

 This reinstatement policy applies to the determination of eligibility for vacation benefits. In addition, any prior unused Sick Time balance will be restored at date of hire for  an employee who is reinstated following layoff; provided, however, that if their prior unused Sick Time balance is less than 20 days, the employee will be credited with 20 days of Sick Time at hire, like newly hired employees. Laid off employees who are reemployed after a two year period are eligible for reinstatement according to the policy in Section 2.9.2 above.

Special rules apply to reinstatement under the MIT Basic Retirement Plan for laid off employees originally hired before July 2, 2012 who are re-employed within one year of termination.