8.43 – LOA – Sick

PART 1: TWELVE-MONTH EXEMPT AND NONEXEMPT EMPLOYEES

1. Regular full-time employees shall be granted 12 working days of sick leave a year.  This is prorated for half time or more employees.
2. Non-regular employees are not eligible for sick leave.
3. Leave will be earned from the first day of employment and may be used as it is earned.
4. Hours worked over 40 hours per week do not accrue either annual or sick leave.
5. Employees may accrue and bank 100 working days (800 hours) of accumulated sick leave (prorated for less than full-time employees and for any partial months by annual 9-month employees).  On July 1 every year, any employee who has accumulated more than 100 working days of sick leave will have the sick leave balance reduced to 100 days.
6. A department may require supporting documentation for any usage of sick leave any time abuse of sick leave is suspected.  Any grant of sick leave in excess of 3 consecutive working days should be supported by a medical certificate or other evidence administratively acceptable.  Abuse of sick leave may be grounds for immediate dismissal.
7. Annual leave will be applied (if available) against sick leave in excess of the allotted sick leave days, but sick leave will not be applied against annual leave in any case.
8. Sick leave accrued after July 1, 2016, will have no cash value and will not result in a payout benefit.
9. Those employees who accrued more than 600 hours of sick leave prior to July 1, 2016 will retain the sick leave payout benefit that was in place on June 30, 2016, but only with respect to those hours accrued prior to July 1, 2016.  This sick leave payout benefit shall be referred to as a “grandfathered” benefit.  Any employee with a grandfathered sick leave payout benefit who terminates, retires or converts from a 12-month pay base to an academic faculty pay base will be paid, in accordance with the formula in effect on June 30, 2016, for any then remaining grandfathered sick leave benefit (calculation based on the lesser of the leave balance on July 1, 2016 or the leave balance on the date of separation).  The formula in effect on June 30, 2016 stated: payment will be made at a rate of 50 percent of the employee’s straight-time hourly salary, multiplied by the number of sick leave hours accrued over 600, to a maximum of 200.  The payment may not exceed 50 percent x hourly rate x 200.  (According to Educational Retirement Board rules, this payment will not be included in the 5-year average salary used for the retirement benefits calculation.)
10. Sick leave will be transferred from one department to another with the employee.
11. Sick leave may be used when the employee’s absence is reasonably required for the treatment of or recovery from illness or injury. Sick leave may also be used when the employee’s absence is reasonably required as the result of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.  Sick leave may be used when the employee’s presence is reasonably required for the care of dependents during illness or recovery from injury.  For this purpose, dependents are defined as spouse, children, or immediate family members any of whom normally reside in an employee’s household and who are dependent upon the employee for support and maintenance.  A physician’s statement may be required to support the usage of sick leave for the employee or dependents.  Employees on Family and Medical leave must use any available sick leave concurrently with Family and Medical leave, pursuant to ARP 8.45.  An employee will not be compensated for a missed day from work if the employee does not have accrued paid leave available.

PART 2: NINE-MONTH STAFF EMPLOYEES

Regular nine-month staff employees may earn 9 days of sick leave a year (8.00 hours per month worked, prorated based on job FTE).  Annual leave or sick leave for regular nine-month staff employees may be used only during the regular employment period they are scheduled to work each fiscal year.  Leave is prorated for less than full-time eligible employees.

PART 3: NINE-MONTH FACULTY EMPLOYES

Superseded by ARP 8.42 – LOA – Faculty Care Leave.