Sick leave is intended to provide paid time off for eligible employees who are ill, who have been injured or physically disabled, or who need to take time off for health-related appointments.  Sick leave may also be used to cover any waiting periods for short and long-term disability.   

Employees may also use sick leave to care for immediate family members in the same way they do for themselves.  For the purposes of this policy, immediate family is defined as the employee’s spouse or domestic partner, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, children, or persons for whom the employee has legal guardianship.

Regular full-time and regular part-time employees earn paid sick leave effective with their dates of hire.  Regular full-time employees accrue sick leave at a rate of 7.5 hours per month (or 3.46 hours per pay period).  Regular part-time employees accrue sick leave in proportion to the number of hours they are normally scheduled to work.  Temporary employees do not earn sick leave.

Unused sick leave is carried forward for the duration of employment, to a maximum of 450 hours or 60 days. 

Taking Sick Leave

An employee who is unable to come to work and must take sick leave must notify his/her supervisor as soon as possible, unless incapacitated.  The supervisor is responsible for notifying the receptionist of any staff absences due to illness or injury.  If the supervisor is unavailable, it is the responsibility of the employee to call the Receptionist by the start of the employee’s normal workday.  Requests for sick leave to attend medical appointments should be requested as far in advance as possible prior to the appointment(s).

Sick leave generally cannot be taken in advance of accruing it.  An employee may, with the approval of a division vice president, use accrued annual leave or leave without pay for any illness that extends beyond an employee’s accrued sick leave.  In unusual or emergency situations, an employee may request Emergency Sick Leave. Should an employee exhaust his/her sick leave benefits, and remain ill or injured for seven consecutive days, short term disability benefits may be available.  Refer to Employer’s policy on short term disability for more information.

Upon returning to work, the employee must complete the Request for Leave/Absence Form, have it approved by his/her supervisors, and submit the original to Human Resources before the end of the month in which the leave was taken.  Employees required to complete a bi-weekly timesheet must record all sick leave in the appropriate category.

Depending on the circumstances, especially in the case of a lengthy sick leave of one week or more, the employee may be required to give periodic reports on his/her status and when return to work might be expected.  Certification from a health care provider that the employee is able to return to work may also be requested at the discretion of the supervisor.

Taking Sick Leave While Disabled

An employee who is on short or long-term disability may use his or her sick leave during the approved disability period, to offset the difference between the insurance benefit and normal salary, up to 100%.  For example, if an employee is on short-term disability and receiving 66 2/3% of his or her normal salary, he/she may use 33 1/3% of accrued sick leave to make up the difference.   

As an option, an employee may elect not to submit a claim for short-term disability and instead use only his/her sick or annual leave, to the extent that it is accrued.  Should an individual take this option, no advance leave will be authorized, and the individual will not be permitted to take paid leave in excess of his/her accrued balances.  Questions regarding leave should be directed to Human Resources.

Note:  Certain states may require that accrued paid leave be paid to employee upon termination of employment.  If you do not want to pay it upon termination, and the law of your state allows it, you should specify that it is not paid upon termination of employment.