Sick LeavePurpose The University provides sick leave benefits to compensate for those occasional instances when absences are necessitated because of illness, injury, or any other temporary disability, and to provide some measure of income protection for a staff member’s extended illness or disability. Sick leave is a contingency leave entitlement (like bereavement leave or jury duty leave) and only applies if it is needed. Eligibility All staff members in regular positions are eligible to earn sick leave. New staff members accumulate sick leave credits from their starting dates, but are not eligible to use sick leave credits until they have worked for three months. Staff members in temporary positions are not eligible for sick leave benefits except when stipulated in a written agreement for a long-term temporary appointment which has been authorized by the Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action. A staff member is eligible to use sick leave in the following circumstances:
• when the staff member experiences a temporary disability (including temporary disability due to pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, and childbirth) which is incapacitating and which prevents performance of assigned tasks;
• when the staff member has a medical or dental procedure or checkup that cannot be scheduled outside of regular working hours;
• when the staff member has been exposed to a contagious disease that would affect the health of others;
• when another member of the staff member’s immediate family is ill or has been injured and the staff member’s presence is needed.
The immediate family for the purpose of this policy shall include the staff member’s spouse, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, biological child, adopted child, foster child, step child, sibling, or any other person living in the staff member’s household. Sick Leave Accumulation Sick leave is earned at the rate of eight hours per month for full-time, salaried staff members who have worked and/or been on paid leave for all of the regularly-scheduled hours in a work month. For part-time staff members, or full-time salaried staff members with leave without pay, the formula to determine monthly sick leave earnings is .046154 times the number of regularly-scheduled work and/or paid leave hours during the month.
Hours worked over forty (40) within a workweek are not used in calculating sick leave accrual. Sick leave is cumulative and may be carried over from one fiscal year to the next to a maximum of 130 working days (the equivalent of 1,040 hours for full-time staff members).
Sick leave will not be advanced, but must be earned prior to the month in which it is used. Leave accumulated from the prior month’s pay period will be applied to time off during the current month. If, after the prior month’s leave credits are applied there is leave without pay, then the current month’s leave accumulation will be calculated on a prorated basis, as it is for part-time staff members, and will be available for use during the following pay period.
A staff member who transfers from one department to another takes along unused, accumulated sick leave credits which are available for immediate use.
Accumulated, unused sick leave is not compensable on termination of employment, except as provided in the “Retirement from University Employment” policy in the Staff Policies.
Former staff members rehired within one year of voluntary termination will be credited with the unused, accumulated sick leave as recorded on the time worked and/or leave record form submitted on termination. Sick Leave to Vacation Leave Conversion Staff members who have accumulated more than seventy-five (75) working days of sick leave may convert sick leave credits earned beyond seventy-five (75) working days (600 hours) to vacation leave, converting five working days (40 hours) of sick leave to one working day (8 hours) of vacation leave. Written requests for conversion of sick leave to vacation leave can be made in the Note to Human Resources section of the monthly hours worked and/or leave record. The request will be forwarded to the Human Resources Department which will authorize the conversion and verify resultant accumulations of vacation and sick leave. If a staff member has accumulated more than the maximum sick leave balance and has not requested that sick leave be converted to vacation leave, the Human Resources Department will automatically convert five days (40 hours) of sick leave to one day (8 hours) of vacation leave.
The Human Resources Department will calculate hours equivalent to seventy-five (75) working days for regular, part-time staff members who are interested in this conversion privilege. Sick Leave Use When a personal or immediate family illness occurs which prevents a staff member from reporting to work, the staff member must notify the supervisor as soon as possible, but in no case later than thirty (30) minutes after the beginning of the staff member’s scheduled shift. This allows time for the supervisor to adjust the department’s work assignments for the day and to try to compensate for the staff member’s absence. If a staff member has an absence that lasts for more than one day, the staff member should call in each day unless she or he has made alternate arrangements in advance with the supervisor. Some departments may require notification up to several hours in advance of the time the staff member’s shift begins due to operational needs.
The staff member (not a relative or friend) should be the one to call in unless the staff member is medically unable to do so. The staff member should speak directly with the supervisor rather than a coworker unless that individual has been officially authorized by the department to accept call-in notices.
The University may view absenteeism as problematic when short-term absences (of less than three days duration) exceeds the rate of six days per year, and/or there is a pattern of absences immediately before or following weekends and holidays. Problematic absenteeism and/or failure to notify the supervisor according to established University and departmental policies may result in corrective action, including termination of employment.
The staff member may be required to submit medical certification of personal or family illness or injury at the request of the supervisor, depending on departmental policies, the nature of the illness or injury, or the frequency of the staff member’s absence from work. Medical certification should verify that the staff member or the family member was treated for an illness or injury, not just that the individual was seen by a health care provider, in order for sick leave to be authorized. Medical certification is required and should be forwarded to the Human Resources Department whenever a staff member is absent as a result of personal illness or injury in excess of five consecutive working days. The Human Resources Department provides a medical certification form for the staff member’s physician’s use.
Staff members applying for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leaves (see “Family and Medical Leave Act” policy) because of their own serious health conditions or to care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition will be required to use accumulated sick leave credits before unpaid FMLA leave begins. The paid sick leave will be counted in determining the staff member’s FMLA leave entitlement of twelve (12) workweeks.
All requests to use accumulated sick leave credits will be acted on by the staff member’s supervisor or department head. Abuse of the sick leave policy may result in corrective action.
Supervisors of staff in non-exempt positions are responsible for maintaining records of sick leave earned and used on the “Exceptions to Regular Hours Worked for Salaried Staff Members in Non-exempt Positions” or the “Record of Hours Worked for Hourly Staff Members in Non-Exempt Positions” forms.
Supervisors of staff in exempt positions are responsible for maintaining records of sick leave used on the “Record of Vacation/Sick Leave for Staff Members in Exempt Positions” form.
The Human Resources Department maintains records of sick leave earned and used. Individual sick leave balances for the pay period are printed on the staff member’s pay stub. Departmental summary reports are mailed to department heads monthly.
Illness or injury occurring during a staff member’s vacation leave will not be changed to sick leave unless the staff member or an immediate family member (see definition outlined in “Purpose” paragraph of this policy) is hospitalized. Workers Compensation Time Loss Benefits and Sick Leave Supplementation Regular staff members who are injured on the job and who are released from work for over three days following the date of injury are eligible to supplement their time-loss benefits with sick or vacation leave payments. The authorization for release from work must be approved by the third party administrator for Workers Compensation and be identified as a time loss injury. The staff member will receive Workers Compensation time loss benefits for time away from work and will be given the opportunity to supplement time loss benefits with sick or vacation leave, as follows: for every 7-day period for which the staff member receives non-taxable time loss benefits, the staff member may choose to supplement the time loss benefits with 10 hours of sick leave pay (or vacation leave pay if sick leave has been exhausted).
Supplementation will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Generally supplementation will be addressed at the point when the injured staff member returns to work because most injured staff members return to work within a month. At that time the staff member will be apprised by Human Resources of her/his sick leave balance and asked to indicate formally whether or not he/she wishes to supplement time loss payments with sick leave. If the staff member has no sick leave accumulated, then she/he will be asked to indicate formally whether or not he/she wishes to supplement time loss payments with vacation leave. In situations when it is clear that the staff members will be on time loss benefits for longer than a month, Human Resources will apprise the staff member of the supplementation option while the staff member is off work so that supplementation payments can be made in a timely manner.
The staff member must have sick and/or vacation leave accrued at the time of injury. The shared leave policy does not apply to the sick and vacation leave supplementation policy. Supplementation will not be offered until the injury has been clearly determined to be a Workers Compensation claim. Supplementation will not be available to staff members who return to work on a reduced work schedule. Origination Date: 9/1958
Revised: 2007 | 
