Sick Leave - Staff
Last Updated 01/09
Applies to Staff
Related Policies: Attendance, Family and Medical Leave, Vacation
Policy
The University offers paid sick leave benefits to provide continued income when a non-exempt staff member’s personal illness, the illness of an immediate family member, or the need for time to conduct personal business necessitates absence from work.
Eligibility
Staff members who work a regular schedule of twenty hours or more per week are eligible for paid sick leave. Part-time staff working less than 20 hours per week, temporary, and on-call employees are not eligible for paid sick leave.
Personal Illness
Sick leave benefits may be used for the staff member’s absence due to personal illness or injury or due to personal medical or dental appointments which cannot be scheduled outside of working hours. Absences of four days or longer require a physician’s statement upon return to work, and the supervisor may request a physician’s statement for absences of less than four days if circumstances warrant.
Family Illness
Up to five days per calendar year of accumulated sick leave may be used for the illness or medical/dental appointments of a spouse, child/stepchild, or parent. Unused family leave is not available for use as family leave in the following year, but the time remains in the employee’s sick leave accumulation.
For purposes of this policy, a child or step child is any child under the age of eighteen or a child eighteen or older who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
Personal Days
Up to two (2) days per calendar year may be used for personal business. Personal days may be taken in one-half day increments and must be pre-arranged with the supervisor. Unused personal days are not available for use as personal days in subsequent years, but the time remains in the employee’s sick leave accumulation.
Staff members who begin employment during the first six months of the calendar year (January 1 through June 30) will be eligible for one personal day upon completion of their 90-day orientation period. Staff members hired in the second six months (July 1 through December 31) will be eligible for personal days on January 1 following completion of their 90-day orientation period.
Accrual of Sick Leave
Sick leave begins to accrue immediately upon employment and becomes available for use after the completion of the staff member’s 90-day orientation period. Maximum accumulation is not to exceed 90 work days and is pro-rated according to the employee’s work schedule (720 hours for a 40-hour per week work schedule, 540 hours for a 30-hour per week work schedule, and other schedules prorated accordingly). Unused sick time is not paid out to employees upon separation from University employment.
Sick Time Accumulation
| Paid Hours Worked | Accrual Per Pay Period | Maximum Accrual Per Calendar Year (13 days) |
|---|---|---|
Accrual for Biweekly Pay Schedules |
||
| 0-39.99 | 0 | 0 |
| 40-59.99 | 2 hours | 52 hours |
| 60-70.00 | 3 hours | 78 hours |
| 70.01-199.99 | 4 hours | 104 hours |
Accrual for Semi-Monthly Pay Schedules |
||
| 0-43.32 | 0 | 0 |
| 43.33-64.99 | 2.16 hours | 52 hours |
| 65-75.84 | 3.25 hours | 78 hours |
| 75.85-216.64 | 4.33 hours | 104 hours |
Procedures
Requesting Sick Leave
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Personal Illness
Staff members should notify their department at the beginning of each workday when an illness occurs. Specific reporting procedures may be determined by the supervisor as appropriate to the department and circumstances. Illnesses extending beyond four days require a physician’s statement to return to work. - Family Illness
As with Personal Illness, staff members should notify their supervisor at the beginning of each workday when a family illness occurs.
Note: Sick or vacation time used for personal or family illness will be counted as an attendance occurrence. You will be required to use available vacation time if there is no time available in your sick bank.
If you need to take time off due to a family illness and your family sick time is exhausted, you must use vacation time, if available. If no vacation time is available, the time off is unpaid and will be counted as attendance occurrence.
-
Personal Days
Personal days should be scheduled with the supervisor in advance. Approval of personal days is based on the operational needs of the department.
Reporting Use of Sick Leave
- Semi-monthly paid staff – Absences for semi-monthly paid staff are reported on the Report of Absences and Overtime Worked form. Absences should be reported within one week of the occurrence of absence.
- Hourly paid staff - Absences for hourly paid staff are reported on the time card or electronic timekeeping system during the pay period in which it is used.
