A. Employee Benefits

13.1   Eligibility. Faculty and staff members with status appointments who are not covered by the Earned Time program (see USY V.A.11.1) are eligible for sick leave.

13.2   Description. Sick leave is designed to provide salary continuation for absences due to personal illness and injury or family leave as described below in 13.2.2. Medical documentation may be required at any time to substantiate an absence and/or to indicate the ability of the individual to return to work following an illness or injury (see USY V.C.12).

13.2.1   If documentation indicates the potential for an illness or injury of the faculty/staff member to last more than six months, the faculty/staff member should contact the System Human Resources Office for information concerning long-term disability (see USY V.A.15).

13.2.2   Use of sick leave for family leave. Full-time staff with at least one year of benefits-eligible service may use up to a maximum of 10 days of accrued sick leave per fiscal year (pro rated for percent time staff) for family leave. This leave may be used for medical appointments, illness, or medical needs of an immediate family member; prenatal or postnatal care; or for purposes of caring for a new baby or adoptive/foster child after placement. It may also be used for extended bereavement leave (see USY V.A.13.2.2.2) and/or crime victim leave (see USY V.A.19.2).

13.2.2.1   Immediate family member is defined as spouse, parent, legally dependent child, or any person living in the staff member's household.

13.2.2.2   Extended bereavement leave. After supervisory notification and the use of bereavement leave, a staff member may use family leave for extended bereavement leave in the event of the death of an immediate family member. Bereavement leave follows the same parameters described in USY V.A.18.

13.3   Accumulation. Faculty and staff accumulate sick leave at the rate of 1 1/4 days each month based on a full-time appointment; flex-year appointments accumulate sick leave based on their percent time of appointment. The maximum accumulation of sick leave is 130 (working) days.

13.3.1   Introductory Period. Sick leave is accumulated during an individual's introductory period and may be used after it is accumulated.

13.4   Record keeping. Each department is responsible for maintaining accurate records that verify the usage and current sick leave balances of each staff member. That information will be sent to the campus Human Resources Office on a regular basis.

13.4.1   Faculty records. When faculty members are absent from their duties because of illness, and other faculty members assume their responsibilities on a temporary basis, no formal report of absence is required unless the absence exceeds one month or is of a serious nature as defined by the Family Medical Leave Act (see USY V.A.17). If the absence exceeds one month, the illness may qualify for interim disability (see USY V.A.14).

13.5   Position Status. When there is supporting medical documentation of a faculty/staff member's absence due to illness or injury, the University System will normally not terminate a faculty/staff member from his/her position for up to six months from the first date of absence. For those individuals in their initial introductory period, the position will not be held unless the disability is due to pregnancy or is covered by worker's compensation.

13.6   Return to Work. Medical documentation supporting the faculty or staff member's ability to perform the essential functions of the job is required prior to return to work (see USY V.A.11.4).