II. Compensation and Benefits

A. Compensation

Each resident shall be paid at least bi-weekly in accordance with the annual stipend schedule and the terms of the Graduate Medical Education Appointment Agreement and the terms of the University of Massachusetts Medical School Personnel Action Form. PGY stipend levels are based on training level within the program and not necessarily on prior years of training or experience. Any general salary adjustments granted to professional or to classified Medical School employees during the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) shall not alter the residency program stipend schedule in effect as of July 1 of that fiscal year.

B. Excused Days With Pay

Each full-time resident shall receive 15 days of paid vacation per year (the equivalent of three five-day work-weeks. Vacation days are awarded at the beginning of each appointment-year. Vacation days are pro-rated for those who are part-time or who are appointed for less than a full year. Vacation days are not reimbursable and cannot be carried over into any subsequent year of residency training. Any deviations and expectations from this general policy shall be at the discretion of the program director and the Associate Dean, GME. Vacation days unused during the resident’s terminal year (with prior approval of the program director and the ADGME may be reimbursed upon the resident's termination.

It is expected that during the year each resident will take all three weeks of vacation. Residents must receive prior approval for vacation days from the program director and, as appropriate, the clinical service director so as not to interfere with the resident’s duties and the provision of patient services. Residents shall receive 15 days of sick time per year. Sick leave days are pro-rated for those who are part-time or who are appointed for less than a full year. Sick days are awarded at the beginning of each appointment year and may be accrued to 120 days. Unused sick leave is not reimbursable. In addition, residents may join the UMMS Sick Leave Bank, which provides financial support for up to 90 days during an approved medical absence which would otherwise be unpaid due to the lack of accrued time off. Three days of personal time are awarded each July 1st to each resident for personal business. Personal time is pro-rated for those who are part-time or who are appointed for less than one year. Personal leave days not taken by the last Saturday in June are forfeited. Residents must receive prior approval from the program director and, as appropriate, the clinical service director before taking personal leave days.

Effort will be made to assign legal holiday schedules in an equitable manner among residents in the same residency program at the same PGY level. Residents do not receive holiday pay.

Residents may use personal leave or vacation days for religious beliefs, subject to approval of the program director and clinical service director.

C. Leave of Absence

Eligible residents may be granted a Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) of up to 12 weeks each calendar year for the birth or adoption of a child or a serious personal illness or serious illness of the resident’s child, stepchild, foster child, parent, spouse or domestic partner or other circumstances as specified by Federal law and UMMS Policy. Residents are eligible for an eight week leave per child (e.g. 16 weeks for twins) under the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act. A FMLA or maternity leave is unpaid unless a Resident has accrued sick, personal, or vacation time. In accordance with UMMS policy, up to eight weeks of sick time pay may be used for maternity leave; up to three weeks of sick time pay may be used for paternity leave. A participating resident will continue to be covered under his/her health, dental and life insurance programs when accrued time off is used. When the FMLA leave is unpaid, the resident will be billed his/her share of the premiums directly at home. The UMMS Family and Medical Leave policy and UMMS Graduate Medical Education Leave of Absence policies are attached.

A resident may request an unpaid leave of absence of up to four weeks for reasons not covered under the FMLA. Each request will be considered by the program director on an individual basis and, in their sole and exclusive discretion, decisions will be based upon the nature of the request, staffing needs and the Resident's prior performance and attendance. Extension of a leave in excess of four weeks requires the approval of the Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education or his/her designee.

Residents and fellows are also eligible for compensated leaves of absence under UMMS Policies for Bereavement Leave, Military Leave and Jury Duty. There is a Graduate Medical Education Policy for Absence due to Inclement Weather.

Leaves of absence must be reported to the Office of Graduate Medical Education. The provisions for leaves of absence which comply with institutional, federal and state policies may threaten compliance with rules imposed by the Board and/or Residency Review Committee for an individual’s program or specialty area. Some Boards and RRCs require strict adherence to both a total number of months in training and specific distribution of training effort. Residents must complete program requirements for the level when the leave was granted in order to be promoted to the next program level or in order to receive a Certificate of Completion of that level.

A program director may require a resident to compensate for excused days or a leave of absence which in total exceeded twenty days (the equivalent of four five-day work weeks) per training year (fifteen or less days for some programs as required by the ACGME) by extending his or her contract year by the number of excused or leave days in excess of twenty. This extension would be applicable only when the resident has not met residency training program requirements during the year and only when all other means for meeting the program requirements have been exhausted. The resident may, at the discretion of the program director, receive a stipend subject to available funding at the existing rate for the PG year being completed.

D. Benefits

All residents are eligible to participate in the group medical, dental and life insurance programs offered to Medical School professional employees. The Medical School provides long term disability insurance which may be at low or no cost to the resident. Residents are eligible for Workers Compensation Coverage for work-related illness or injury. In addition, there are opportunities to participate in long term disability insurance and tax sheltered retirement plans on a self-pay basis and in dependent care reimbursement accounts. Residents participate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Retirement System, in lieu of deductions for Social Security. Tuition aid is available to residents, spouses, domestic partners and dependent children in accordance with University Policies. The descriptions of these benefits are set forth in Exhibit A. In addition, at the New Resident Orientation and annual re-enrollments, residents receive additional information about their fringe benefit package. Other benefits, which may be modified from time to time, may include limited license fees, white coats/scrubs, meals when on call, and education allowance.

E.  Professional Liability Insurance

Each resident, upon proper application, shall be covered by a professional liability (malpractice) policy provided by UMMS. Residents shall be informed of the type (occurrence or claims made with tail coverage) and limits of the insurance and of any restrictions thereof). UMMS shall provide risk management, risk assessment and claims management services to Residents/Fellows with respect to any professional liability claims that may arise from activities within the resident’s scope of employment. Each resident agrees to fulfill his/her obligations for reporting and follow-up as required by the risk management plan or plans in place at each hospital site including but not limited to occurrence, adverse outcome or sentinel event reporting as well as quality improvement activities and other processes that may come within the Massachusetts peer review privilege. Each resident shall conform to hospital policies and procedures that cover these processes understanding that peer review work product is confidential and not subject to discovery. Each resident shall also fulfill their obligation to cooperate with hospital licensing, accrediting and other regulatory agencies when appropriate. UMMS Program Directors shall be available for consultation when necessary.

F. Outside Employment

Residency training is a full time endeavor and the program director must ensure that outside employment (commonly known as moonlighting) does not interfere with the ability of the resident to achieve the goals and objectives of the educational program. Before a resident may accept any outside employment, the resident must obtain the written approval of the program director on a form provided by the OGME. A separate written approval is needed for each outside employment site, for each separate position within the same employment site, and for all changes thereof.

In reviewing a request for approval to engage in outside employment, the program director and the resident should consider: (1) the resident's capacity to fulfill primary responsibilities while accepting outside responsibilities; (2) the nature and content of the outside employment activities in terms of service and educational value; (3) the health care needs of the community being served; (4) any additional limitation or controls set by the program's accreditation requirements, and (5) implications for professional liability coverage. The program director may also consider any potential conflict of interest of the employment location and responsibilities. The program director will monitor the impact of moonlighting activities on academic performance, and adverse effects may lead to withdrawal of permission. Permission must be renewed annually.

In no instance may a resident engage in outside employment when such employment may require the resident's physical presence or personal attention during regularly assigned duties as a UMMS resident. All moonlighting hours must comply with the duty hours regulations as specified by the ACGME in their Common Program Requirements. In no instance may a resident be required to engage in moonlighting.

A full Massachusetts Medical License and Federal and State DEA registrations are required for all outside employment.

The UMMS offers malpractice insurance coverage for resident engaged in outside employment only under strict conditions, as described in the UMMS Extended Employment Guidelines. Residents whose outside employment does not comply with these guidelines are responsible for their own malpractice insurance.