PRO 5.140 Sick Leave
Staff employed under the provisions of the faculty master agreement are covered under the provisions of that agreement. Individuals employed solely or primarily as part-time faculty are addressed under POL 5.210 Part-time Faculty Benefits. Other individuals under temporary contract are covered or not per the provisions of their contract. Students employed under the provisions of the work-study programs are not eligible for paid sick leave. An individual who worked, on average, fewer than 25 hours per week during the immediately preceding calendar year may not eligible for paid sick leave.
- Employees may take paid medical leave for any of the following:
- Physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition of the employee or his or her family member.
- Medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the employee or employee’s family member
- Preventative care of the employee or his or her family member.
- Closure of the employee’s primary workplace by order of a public official due to a public health emergency
- The care of his or her child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
- The employee’s or his or her family member’s exposure to a communicable disease that would jeopardize the health of others as determined by health authorities or a health care provider.
- For domestic violence and sexual assault situations, employees may use paid medical leave for any of the following:
- Medical care or psychological or other counseling.
- Receiving services from a victim services organization.
- Relocation and obtaining legal services.
- Participation in civil or criminal proceedings related to or resulting from domestic violence or sexual assault.
- A family member includes a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward, or a child to whom the eligible employee stands in loco parentis, a biological parent, foster parent, stepparent, or adoptive parent or a legal guardian of an eligible employee or an eligible employee’s spouse or an individual who stood in loco parentis when the eligible employee was a minor child, an individual to whom the eligible employee is legally married under the laws of any state, a grandparent, a grandchild, a biological, foster, or adopted sibling.
- If an employee is unable to report to work, the employee must contact his/her immediate supervisor at the beginning of the work day if at all possible. Should an employee fail to report to work for three consecutive scheduled work days without making contact with his/her supervisor, the employee shall be terminated for abandonment of position.
- Non-exempt full-time and part-time employees must report the absence on their weekly time sheet. Part-time employees should claim only the amount of hours they were scheduled to work on the day missed. Exempt and administrative employees must file a signed time off report form with their immediate supervisor. The form shall be filled out by the employee, completed by the supervisor, and forwarded to the payroll office within five (5) business days of the employee’s return from absence.
- Paid sick days for full-time classified employees shall accrue at a rate of one day per month worked. Employees will receive full pay for absences as long as the period of absence does not exceed the number of paid sick days accrued. Paid sick time for part-time classified employees shall be based on 96 hours of paid sick leave for each 2080 hours worked. Administrators shall be credited with seventeen (17) days of sick at the start of each fiscal year, prorated for the duration of the contract.
- Any sick days not used during the fiscal year will be carried forward for future use to a maximum of 120 days. A fifty percent payout for any unused days over the 120 banked shall be made at the end of each fiscal year.
- Accrued sick days are not payable upon termination of employment. The college will pay for unused sick leave in accordance with the retirement benefit plan (POL 5.211).
- Sick leave shall not accrue during any period of unpaid leave.
- Employees absent more than five consecutive scheduled work days are required to submit a licensed health care provider’s statement verifying inability to work due to illness. In the event of a serious health condition, the college may place an eligible employee on FMLA leave (see POL 5.080 Family and Medical Leave Policy). In cases where the employee has an illness exceeding five consecutive scheduled work days, the following procedure will be followed:
- The employee will present to the director of human resources a letter from a licensed health care provider indicating that they are physically and mentally capable of returning to work at their previous work load. It is the employee’s responsibility to contact the human resource office to make arrangements regarding the date he/she will return to work.
- The college reserves the right to question the individual’s ability to return to work. In such cases, the college may request the employee to submit to an examination by a licensed health care provider of the college’s choosing. The expense of the exam will be incurred by the college.
- If a question still exists as to the ability of the individual to return to work, a third licensed health care provider, mutually agreed to by the college and the individual, shall be asked to give a recommendation. The licensed health care provider’s recommendation will be final and binding to both parties.
- The appropriate supervisor will not allow an employee to return to work without authorization from the human resource office. It is the employee’s responsibility to contact the human resource office for such authorization.
- Hardship cases will be considered on an individual basis at the discretion of the board of trustees.
Revised March, 2019
Revised August, 2021
To view the policy, go to POL 5.140 Sick Leave