STATE HUMAN RESOURCES MANUAL Leave
Section 5, Page 106
Revised: September 7, 2017
Sick Leave
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Sick Leave
Contents:
Policy
Covered Employees
Accumulation
Advancement
Verification
Leave Charges
Benefits Continue
Sick Leave Transferable
Uses of Sick Leave
Definition of Immediate Family
Leave Without Pay for Extended Illness
How to handle sick leave upon separation and reinstatement
Retirement Credit
Sick Leave Records
Policy
Sick leave is granted to employees who are in pay status for one half or more of the
regularly scheduled workdays and holidays in the pay period.
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Covered Employees and Sick Leave Credits
Full-time permanent, probationary, and time-limited employees are eligible for leave at
the rate of 8 hours per month (96 hours per year).
Part-time (half-time or more) permanent, probationary, and time-limited employees are
eligible for leave at a prorated amount.
Temporary and part-time (less than half-time) are not eligible for leave.
Note: Vacation leave in excess of 240 hours (prorated for part-time employees) on December 31
of each year shall be converted to sick leave.
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Accumulation
Sick leave is cumulative indefinitely.
Advancement
The appointing authority may advance sick leave not to exceed the amount an employee
can accumulate during the current calendar year.
STATE HUMAN RESOURCES MANUAL Leave
Section 5, Page 107
Revised: September 7, 2017
Sick Leave
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Sick Leave
Verification
To avoid abuse of sick leave privileges, a statement from a medical doctor or other
acceptable proof may be required. Evidence to support leave for adoption-related
purposes may be required.
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Leave Charges
Sick leave shall be taken and charged in units of time appropriate and consistent with
the responsibility of managing absences in keeping with operational needs. Only
scheduled work time shall be charged in calculating the amount of leave taken.
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Benefits Continue
When exhausting leave an employee continues to accumulate leave, is entitled to
holidays and is eligible for salary increases during that period.
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Sick Leave Transferable
When employee transfers
from…
THEN, sick leave…
State SHRA to SHRA shall be transferred.
State SHRA to EHRA may be transferred subject to the receiving agency’s
approval. If EHRA is non-leave earning, sick leave may
be transferred and held for future use should employee
transfer back to SHRA or it may be applicable toward
retirement.
State EHRA to SHRA may be transferred subject to the receiving agency’s
approval.
STATE HUMAN RESOURCES MANUAL Leave
Section 5, Page 108
Revised: September 7, 2017
Sick Leave
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Sick Leave
State agency to
• Public school
• Community College
• Technical Institute
• Local Mental Health
• Local Public Health
• Local Social Services
• Local Emergency
Management
may be transferred subject to the receiving agency’s
approval.
A local agency listed above to a
State agency
may be transferred subject to the receiving agency’s
approval.
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Uses of Sick Leave
Sick leave may be used for:
• illness or injury,
• medical appointments,
• temporary disability due to childbirth,
• to care for member of immediate family (including care for mother during
temporary disability),
• death in immediate family,
• donations to a member of the immediate family who is an approved voluntary
shared leave recipient, and
• adoption of a child, limited to a maximum of 30 days for each parent
(which is equivalent to a biological mother’s average period of disability)
Note: This is interpreted to mean at the time of physical possession of the child and have either
adopted or are in the process of adoption.
Advisory Note: If an employee does not have sufficient leave to cover a prolonged illness (of self
or to care for a parent, child, spouse, or dependent living in the household who has a prolonged
illness), the employee may qualify to receive voluntary shared leave. See the Voluntary Shared
Leave Policy in this Section of the Manual.
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STATE HUMAN RESOURCES MANUAL Leave
Section 5, Page 109
Revised: September 7, 2017
Sick Leave
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Sick Leave
Definition of Immediate Family
Spouse
Parent
(Mother/Father)
Brother/Sister
Grand/Great
Dependents
Husband
Wife
Biological
Adoptive
Step
Loco Parentis*
In-law
Biological
Adoptive
Foster
Step
Legal Ward
Loco Parentis*
In-law
Biological
Adoptive
Step
Half
In-law
Parent
Child
Step
In-law
Living in
the
employee's
household
*A person who is in the position or place of a parent
Leave Without Pay for Extended Illness
If an employee, or the employee’s child, parent or spouse, has a serious illness that
qualifies under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the provisions of that policy shall be
followed. (The FMLA Policy follows the Sick Leave Policy in this Manual.)
If the illness does not qualify for the FMLA, the provisions of the Leave without Pay
Policy shall be followed. (The Leave without Pay Policy is located at the end of this
Section in this Manual.)
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How to handle sick leave upon separation and reinstatement
Unused Sick leave shall:
Unused Sick leave may:
Separation
• not be paid in terminal leave,
• be entered on the personnel action, and
• be deducted from final salary check in
one-tenth hour units if overdrawn.
(See exceptions for exhausting sick leave
below.)
• be applied toward retirement if
eligible to retire within five years.
See Retirement Credit below
.
STATE HUMAN RESOURCES MANUAL Leave
Section 5, Page 110
Revised: September 7, 2017
Sick Leave
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Sick Leave
Reinstatement
• be reinstated when employee returns
from authorized leave without pay, and
• be reinstated when employee returns
within five years from any type of
separation.
• be reinstated when an employee
returns to State employment within
five years from SHRA
employment with a local
government*, public school,
community college, or technical
institute.
*Social Services, Mental Health, Public Health, and Emergency Management
Exceptions:
(1) If an employee is exhausting approved sick/vacation leave for medical reasons and resigns or
dies before returning to work, the date separated shall be the date the employee resigns or dies.
This is subject to the approval of the Agency HR office,
(2) If an employee gives notice of a resignation and becomes ill, the employee may exhaust
sick/vacation leave up until the date of the resignation. The date separated will be the date of
resignation. This is subject to the approval of the Agency HR office.
Retirement Credit
One month of credit is allowed for each 20 days, or any portion thereof, of sick leave to
an employee’s credit upon retirement.
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Sick Leave Records
Agencies shall:
• maintain annual records of sick leave for each employee,
balance leave records at least at the end of each calendar year;
• notify employees of leave balances at least once each year, and
• retain leave records for all separated employees for a period of at least five years
from date of separation.