HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT POLICY MANUAL
SICK LEAVE
Policy 19
NOTE: THE LANGUAGE USED IN THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CREATE AN
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EMPLOYEE AND THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTH CAROLINA
(MUSC). MUSC RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVISE THE CONTENT
OF THIS DOCUMENT, IN WHOLE OR IN PART. NO PROMISES OR ASSURANCES, WHETHER WRITTEN OR ORAL, WHICH ARE CONTRARY
TO OR INCONSISTENT WITH THE TERMS OF THIS PARAGRAPH CREATE ANY CONTRACT OF
EMPLOYMENT.
I.
POLICY
Sick leave is intended as
a means of protecting the income of eligible classified and eligible research
grant employees who are unable to perform their duties due to illness or
injury, or who must obtain the professional services of a health practitioner
during working hours.
A. Full-time (40 hours/week) employees accrue sick leave at the
rate of 10 hours per month with a maximum accrual of 1,560 hours (195 days)
each calendar year; however, employees are only permitted to carry over a
maximum of 1,440 hours (180 days) from one calendar year to the next.
B. Part-time employees established to work at least 20 hours per
week earn sick leave on a pro
rata basis. This rate is derived by
dividing the established work hours by 40 hours to determine the percentage of
the full-time rate they accrue.
(Example: An employee is established to work 30 hours/week. Thirty divided by forty equals .75 or
75%. 75% of 10 hours per month is 7.5
hours. A 30 hours/week employee accrues
7.5 hours of sick leave per month.)
C. Employees accrue sick leave on a monthly basis provided they
are in a pay status for at least one-half of the workdays of the month. Employees accrue sick leave while on annual
leave, sick leave or other authorized leave with pay. Employees do not accrue sick leave while in a
leave without pay status.
D. Sick leave may be used once it is accrued.
E. Sick leave will not be advanced.
F. All allowable sick leave should be used before requesting
leave without pay.
G. Employees may use up to ten 8-hour days (80 hours) of accrued
sick leave to care for an “immediate family” member or foster child. “Immediate
family" is defined as: The
employee’s spouse and children; and, the following relatives of the employee
or spouse:
Mother Grandparent
Father Legal guardian
Brother Grandchildren
Sister
1. Leave time is prorated for part-time employees.
2. For purposes of sick and “death in immediate family” (Supplemental
Leave) leave usage, employees and their spouses can only have one set of parents
each. Employees who request sick (or “death
in immediate family”) leave for other than a biological/adoptive parent may be
requested by their departments to submit a statement in writing documenting
their choice of parents (legal guardian or in loco parentis).
3. The State of
H. Sick leave will be charged to employees by proper notation on Kronos
for the actual time employees are away from the job.
I. Sick leave may not be charged when a holiday is observed by
the University. If employees’ scheduled workdays are longer
than the allotted holiday times, employees may use sick leave for the remaining
hours in the workday, if the absences qualify for sick leave.
J. Departments may establish more specific departmental policies
and procedures that fall within the parameters of this policy to address
specific concerns or needs. Refer to
Section III of this policy for additional information.
II.
INFORMATION
AND PROCEDURES
A. When illness or injury
occurs, employees should notify their supervisors promptly in order to allow sufficient
time to provide coverage. If illnesses
continue beyond one day, supervisors must be notified as to the expected length
of absence. If notification is not made
in accordance with this policy, the absences may be considered unauthorized and
without pay.
B. Department heads and supervisors are
entitled to require employees to provide medical evidence to support reasons
for absences if abuse of sick leave is suspected or if absences exceed three
consecutive workdays.
C. Employees should complete a Request for
Leave form in advance for elective surgery, maternity, and appointments to see
a health practitioner; however, if the amount of sick leave taken differs from
that requested, a corrected form must be completed immediately upon returning
to work. The Request for Leave form is available at http://www.musc.edu/hrm/forms/Leave_Request_Form.pdf.
D. In unforeseen situations, employees should complete a Request
for Leave form, http://www.musc.edu/hrm/forms/Leave_Request_Form.pdf,
immediately upon returning to work to confirm sick leave usage.
E. Sick leave used for the
serious health condition of employees, employees’ immediate families (spouses, children,
parents), and for other Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) qualifying reasons, will run concurrently with FMLA.
F. Transferring Sick
Leave
1. Reassignments, between departments, of employees in classified
positions will not change sick leave balances.
2. Sick leave accrual will not be affected for classified
employees appointed to unclassified non-faculty and faculty positions.
3. Sick leave accrual will not be affected for unclassified
non-faculty and faculty employees hired into classified positions.
4. Accrued unused sick leave hours may be transferred, provided
there is not a break in service, as defined in Section II.G. when transferring
to or from another State agency or
5. Effective September 2006, individuals hired from the Medical
University Hospital Authority (MUHA), a quasi-state agency, into a State FTE position
within 15 days of their termination from MUHA, may transfer their unused
accrued “ESL” to their sick leave account.
6. Classified, unclassified non-faculty and faculty employees transferring
to research grant positions and research grant employees
transferring to any FTE positions forfeit sick leave balances. Sick leave hours cannot be
transferred.
7. Employees in research grant positions retain their sick leave
balances when they are hired into other research grant positions without a
break in service as defined in Section II.G.
G. Break in Service
When employees experience
a break in service, all sick leave hours are forfeited and may not be
reinstated. Employees experience a break
in service under the following circumstances:
1. When, in transferring from one State agency to another, employees
do not report to work with the gaining agency within 15 calendar days following
the last day for which they were paid by the losing agency;
2. By remaining in a leave without pay status for a period of
more than one year (365 days);
3. If, following a reduction in force by the employing agency,
the employee is not recalled to a classified position within 12 months of the
effective date of the layoff;
4. By separation from State service and subsequent reemployment
regardless of lapsed time, employees are considered to have terminated from
State service if paid for unused annual leave hours.
Exceptions:
a. Employees in a leave
without pay status for more than one calendar year (365 days) will not
experience a break in service if employees are on a military tour of duty with
reemployment rights under Federal and State law(s).
b. In the event a
disciplinary action, such as suspension or dismissal, is set aside as
recommended by a grievance panel, the period in which employees are not on the
payroll may not be considered a break in service.
H. Retirement
Upon retirement, up to 720 hours (90 days) of accrued
unused sick leave hours may be
added to retirement service credit to enhance the retirement benefit payment. The
90 days credit cannot be used to qualify for retirement.
I. Termination of Employment or Transfer to non-FTE position
Upon termination of
employment, or transfer to temporary, research grant, student or any other
non-FTE position, no compensation will be paid for unused sick leave hours.
III. DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES
A. Departmental policies must be approved by the Department of
Human Resources Management prior to implementation.
B. Departmental policies must be in writing, disseminated to all
employees, and posted in the work area.
If in-service training or orientation sessions are necessary to ensure
employees understand the policies, departments should keep attendance records
and signed documentation that employees received the information.
IV. MATERNITY/ADOPTION LEAVE
A. Female employees may use sick leave for maternity reasons for
the period of time they are unable to work as determined by their personal physician.
B. Adoptive parents may use up to six weeks of accrued sick leave
hours for the purpose of caring for a child after placement. If both parents are employed by the same employer, the six weeks of allowed sick
leave is only available to the employee who has the primary responsibility for
providing the care and nurture of the child.
C. If additional time off is desired/necessary, it should be
requested in accordance with Human Resources Management Policy No. 18, Annual
Leave; Policy No. 20, Extended Disability Leave; and Policy No.
30, Family and Medical Leave Act.
V. FAMILY
AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)
A. Employees who have been employed by the State for at least one
year and worked 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months are eligible for up to 12
weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the following reasons: for birth or
placement of a child for adoption or foster care; to care for an immediate
family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition; or to
take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious
health condition.
B. Refer to Human Resources Management Policy No. 30, Family
and Medical Leave Act, for additional information.
VI. EXTENDED
DISABILITY LEAVE
A. An absence due to illness, injury or maternity, which is not
covered by accrued sick leave hours, may be covered by accrued annual leave,
accrued holiday leave or leave without pay; however, the combination of paid
leave and leave without pay cannot exceed 180 calendar days.
B. A requested extended disability leave must be approved through
normal administrative channels.
C. Refer to Human Resources Management Policy No. 20, Extended
Disability Leave, and Policy No. 30, Family and Medical Leave Act,
for additional information.
VII. LEAVE
TRANSFER PROGRAM
A. Employees who occupy classified, unclassified non-faculty, and
faculty positions and who work at least one-half time and have exhausted all
allowable accrued leave may be eligible to receive additional paid leave for
personal emergencies through the Leave Transfer Program.
B. Employees who occupy classified, unclassified non-faculty, and
faculty positions and who accrue
leave may donate sick leave hours to the leave pool for use by employees in
need.
C. Refer to Human Resources Management Policy No. 48, Leave
Transfer Program, for details and additional information.
VIII. AMERICANS
WITH DISABILITIES ACT (
A. Certain illnesses/health conditions may be protected as
disabilities and, upon return from extended sick leave, employees may require
reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions of their jobs.
B.
Refer to Human Resources Management Policy No. 24, Reasonable Accommodation
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), for additional
information.
| Approved by: | Information Contact: | Revised: |
| Lisa P. Montgomery Vice President Finance & Administration | Department of Human Resources Management |
February 2008 |