How to Complete and Submit the City of San Antonio Notice of Leave Form

To file a City of San Antonio Notice of Leave form, choose the leave category that fits your absence, enter exact dates and hours, attach any required documentation, and submit it either electronically through the Employee Self Service (ESS) portal or on paper to your supervisor. Administrative Directive 4.4 governs the process for civilian employees and treats the Notice of Leave as either a self-entry in the time and payroll system or a paper form used to request scheduled leave or document unscheduled leave already taken.¹

Pick the Right Leave Category First

The category you select determines what documentation you need and how the request is routed. AD 4.4 recognizes several options for eligible civilian employees:

Annual leave, usable for any reason once you have completed six months of employment.
Personal leave, also usable for any reason, with 40 hours granted on your start date and quarterly accrual beginning after one year.
COSACares leave, up to 32 hours per fiscal year to care for yourself or an immediate family member, with unused hours forfeited at year end.
Funeral leave, up to three working days following the death of a parent, spouse, domestic partner, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, in-law, or a relative who served as your legal guardian.
Memorial service leave, up to four hours to serve as a pallbearer or in another official capacity, limited to three events per fiscal year.
Jury duty leave for the duration of service.
Military leave, up to 120 hours per fiscal year for members of the U.S. military.
Incentive leave earned through specific programs, including up to eight hours per fiscal year for blood donations.
Administrative leave for situations like post-injury medical appointments after a workers’ compensation claim or placement off work during a workplace investigation.
Discretionary leave for exempt employees with department director or assistant director approval.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requests fall under AD 4.20, and disability leave under AD 4.18, but you still start both with a Notice of Leave.¹

What to Have Ready Before You Fill It Out

Pull the following together first. It is faster than stopping mid-form to look things up:

Your employee ID, department, and current supervisor. The form routes through your chain of command, so these need to match city records.
The exact start date, end date, and total hours of the absence. Rounded or approximate entries create payroll discrepancies and often come back for correction.
The specific leave category from the AD 4.4 list above.
Medical certification, if the request is FMLA leave for a serious health condition. Your employer can require certification from the treating provider stating when the condition began, how long it is expected to last, relevant medical facts, and whether you can perform your job functions. Certification is not required for bonding leave with a newborn or a child placed for adoption or foster care.²³
A copy of your military orders, if the request is military leave. Federal law accepts written or verbal notice, but orders are the clean way to document dates.⁴

Confirm your available balance in the category you plan to use. Requests that exceed your accrued hours get kicked back or converted to a different leave type, which delays approval.

Submitting Through the ESS Portal

The Employee Self Service portal is the city’s online system for time entry and leave requests. If you are classified as a self-time employee, meaning you enter your own exception leave, log in to ESS with your Windows network credentials and submit the request there.⁵ Select the leave type, enter the dates and hours, and submit. The electronic path produces an automatic digital record and generally moves faster than paper, which matters for time-sensitive requests.

Submitting on Paper

If you are not a self-time employee or prefer paper, use the Notice of Leave form on the city’s internal network. Complete every field: your name, supervisor, department, the leave type checkbox, exact dates and hours, and your signature and date. Use a signature that matches city records, because mismatches are a common reason forms come back. Hand or route the completed form to your supervisor, who then sends the approved version to Human Resources for processing.

Either way, fill in every field. Blanks and partial entries get returned for corrections, and that can push your leave start date later than you planned.

When to Submit It

For routine annual or personal leave, submit far enough ahead that your supervisor can arrange coverage. AD 4.4 expects employees to request scheduled absences in advance and manage their own leave balances.

FMLA leave has a stricter federal rule. If the need is foreseeable, such as a planned surgery, an expected birth, or a placement for adoption, you must give at least 30 days’ notice. If 30 days is not possible because of an emergency or sudden change, notify your employer as soon as practicable, and be ready to explain the shorter notice if asked.⁶

For unscheduled absences, such as calling in sick or handling a family emergency, submit the Notice of Leave as soon as you return or as soon as circumstances allow. The same form documents an absence after the fact.¹

Extra Steps for FMLA Requests

The Notice of Leave starts an FMLA request, but it does not finish it. Expect HR to verify your eligibility and request medical certification where it applies. A complete certification includes the provider’s contact information, the date the condition began, how long it is expected to last, and the relevant medical facts.² Missing or vague certification stalls the request until the paperwork is complete.

Your group health coverage continues during FMLA leave on the same terms as if you were working. If you are on paid leave, your share of the premium comes out of your paycheck as usual. During unpaid leave, the city may front your share and recover it when you return.⁷

Extra Steps for Military Leave

Submit the Notice of Leave with your military orders attached. Federal law requires advance notice before you leave for service, which can come from you or from an officer of your branch of service, and the notice can be written or verbal. No notice is required when military necessity makes it impossible.⁸ Even though verbal notice is allowed, written documentation avoids disputes about dates and keeps payroll clean. If you cannot submit orders before leaving, provide them when you return.

What Happens After You Submit

Once the form reaches your supervisor, it enters a review chain. Annual and personal leave requests usually move quickly: your supervisor checks your accrued balance and staffing needs and approves or denies. FMLA requests take longer because HR verifies eligibility and reviews certification. Complex cases with incomplete medical documentation sit until the certification is complete and sufficient.

Approved leave is recorded in the city’s payroll system. If a request is denied or modified, ask your supervisor and HR for the specific reason so you can correct the form or supply what is missing. The current versions of AD 4.4, AD 4.20, and the other administrative directives are posted on the city’s employee information portal.⁹

1
City of San Antonio. Administrative Directive AD 4.4 Leave Administration
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Information for Health Care Providers to Complete a Certification under the FMLA
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28G – Medical Certification under the Family and Medical Leave Act
4
U.S. Department of Labor. A Guide to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
5
City of San Antonio. EASI
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Employee Protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 4312 – Reemployment Rights of Persons Who Serve in the Uniformed Services
9
City of San Antonio. Administrative Directives