Sick Leave

Sick leave is a benefit that is provided to prevent a financial loss to the employee who needs to take time out of work for any of the following reasons. 

Employees on an unpaid leave of absence for their own medical condition under FMLA are required to use their accrued sick leave while on leave. Sick leave cannot duplicate payments made under workers’ compensation. While on workers’ compensation, an employee may choose to have paid sick leave supplement insurance compensation where the insurance only provides partial replacement income of an employee’s salary or wages. 

The University recognizes that there may be times when an employee needs to be absent due to: 

• An employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee’s need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical injury, or health condition; and an employee’s need for preventative medical care 
• Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs preventative care; 
• Closure of the employee’s place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency or an employee’s need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or care for oneself or a family member when it has been determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care provider that the employee’s or family member’s presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of their exposure to a communicable disease, whether or not the employee of the family member has actually contracted the communicable disease; or 
• Time off needed when the employee or a member of the employee’s family is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

Employees may use up to 40 hours of their accrued annual sick leave for absences attributed to the conditions noted above. 

For the purposes of this section, “family member” is understood to include parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, spouse, domestic partner or spousal equivalent, grandparents, grandchildren, mother-in-law, father-in-law, siblings, care recipient, or another member of your household. 

For childbirth-related leave, employees are required to utilize paid sick leave during any period they are certified as medically disabled, either before or after childbirth.  In addition, natural mothers may use up to five (5) days of their available paid sick leave to care for a newborn child once the mother is no longer certified as medically disabled. 

Spouses/partners of mothers of newborns may use up to five (5) days of their available paid sick leave to care for a newborn child, provided the leave is taken within five (5) days after the birth of the child. This is in addition to sick leave that may be used to care for the newborn’s mother during the period she is medically disabled. Note that if the spouse/partner is receiving temporary caregiver insurance benefits, the spouse/partner may choose to have paid sick leave run concurrently with insurance benefits or may choose to take sick leave in addition to time off under the temporary caregiver insurance program. 

The University also recognizes that there may be times when an employee needs to be absent due to the placement with that employee of a minor child for adoption, and to care for the newly adopted child. Employees who are the primary caregiver for a newly adopted child, and are eligible to receive benefits under the state temporary caregiver insurance program, may use up to five (5) days of available paid sick leave for this purpose., Employees receiving temporary caregiver insurance benefits may choose to have paid sick leave run concurrently with insurance benefits, or may choose to take sick leave in addition to time off under the temporary caregiver insurance program. Employees who are the primary caregiver for a newly adopted child who are not eligible to receive benefits under the state temporary caregiver insurance program may use up to thirty (30) days of available paid sick leave for this purpose, provided the leave is taken within thirty days before or after the placement of the adopted child. If both adoptive parents are employees of the University, the total number of paid sick days available to them under this policy shall not exceed thirty (30) days.