For more information on the Lab’s Return-to-Work Program, go to http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/health_services/pp/index.shtml.
Sick leave is provided to continue the salary of eligible Laboratory employees who would otherwise be on pay status but who are unable to work because of illness or disability; for medical, dental, and optical appointments; and on a limited basis in the event of death or illness of a family member. Sick leave accrues each month, based on the percentage of time or number of hours the employee is on pay status during that month. Supervisors are responsible for administering the sick-leave policy to prevent abuses and inequities. Questions concerning the intent of sick-leave policy should be referred to the Human Resources Department.
Sick leave accrues at the rate of eight hours per month for full-time employment.
An employee accrues full or proportionate sick-leave credit each month as shown in Table 2.09(C), below. Sick-leave accrual is based on a maximum eight-hour workday and a forty-hour work week, including extended workweek situations. Part-time employees cannot accrue sick leave for more than an eight-hour workday or for more than the number of hours of work normally scheduled. The following additional criteria also apply to sick-leave accrual.
An employee must be on pay status at least half the working hours of the month to accrue sick leave for that month:
Exception. A half-time biweekly employee who works a normal half-time schedule will be credited with four hours of sick leave even if the employee was in pay status less than half the working hours of a particular month.
Limited employees working a 50% or more time schedule accrue sick-leave credit in accordance with the provisions of Table 2.09(C) below.
Employees who work variable time schedules do not accrue sick-leave credit. (See RPM §3.01(C)(3).)
|
Number of hours for which hourly
paid employee receives pay (including leave and holiday time) |
Percentage of time for which monthly paid employee receives pay |
Hours of sick-leave credit earned | |||
|
|
|
|
|
||
| 0–79 | 0–83 | 0–87 | 0–91 | 0–49 | 0 |
| 80–89 | 84–94 | 88–98 | 92–103 | 50–55 | 4 |
| 90–109 | 95–115 | 99–120 | 104–126 | 56–68 | 5 |
| 110–129 | 116–136 | 121–142 | 127–149 | 69–80 | 6 |
| 130–149 | 137–157 | 143–164 | 150–172 | 81–93 | 7 |
| 150–160 | 158–168 | 165–176 | 173–184 | 94–100 | 8 |
Sick leave accrues during leave with pay, except for professional research or teaching leave.
Sick leave for each month accrues at the end of the month, except that an eligible terminating employee accrues proportionate sick leave through the last day on pay status.
Sick leave does not accrue for time on pay status in excess of 40 hours in any work week.
There is no maximum on the amount of sick leave that may be accrued or the amount that may be used in any year.
An employee who is on approved leave of absence without pay, but who was in pay status at least half the working hours of a month (including holidays), earns sick leave at the normal accrual rate. An employee in pay status less than half the working hours of a month earns no sick leave credit for that month.
Accumulated sick-leave credit may be used only when an employee is unable to work due to sickness, injury, or quarantine; for medical, dental, or optical appointments; or for family illness or death in the family. Sick leave for medical, dental, or optical appointments is limited to reasonable travel and appointment times only. An employee cannot use sick leave before the time it is accrued.
An employee may not use sick leave beyond a predetermined date of separation, including retirement or layoff or any leave without pay.
An employee may be required to submit satisfactory proof of illness or disability in the form of a physician's statement or other administratively acceptable evidence. Proof of illness or bereavement in the family may also be required.
Employees are strongly encouraged to contact Health Services for confidential counseling regarding their pregnancy status as well as any work-related issues.
An employee may use up to 30 days of accrued sick leave in any calendar year (i.e., January 1 through December 31) when required to be in attendance or to provide care because of the illness of the employee's spouse, domestic partner, parent, child (including the child of a domestic partner), sibling, grandparent, grandchild, in-law, or step-relative in the same relationship; or any other person who is residing in the employee's household for whom there is a personal obligation. This privilege is not intended to cover baby-sitting. Sick leave charged for this purpose should be shown by the symbol "F" (for Family Leave) instead of the normal symbol "E." See Paragraph (D)(6), below, for additional sick leave allowance for death in the family.
An eligible employee who has requested vacation-leave donations from other employees for the purpose of caring for a catastrophically ill person shall first exhaust his or her accrued sick-leave balance even when doing so results in exceeding the 30-day limit otherwise imposed on the use of sick leave for family illness. See RPM §2.26 (Catastrophic Leave Sharing).
Any time charged to sick leave included within or immediately following a vacation period is acceptable as a charge against sick-leave credit as long as specific approval is given by the employee's supervisor. Specific approval will be based on a physician's statement or other administratively acceptable evidence. If such approval is not given, the absence will be charged to vacation leave or leave without pay if the employee has no accrued vacation credit.
An employee is permitted to use not more than five days of accrued sick leave
when the employee's presence is required because of the death of the employee's
mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, or sister; grandparent,
grandchild, in-law, or step-relative in the same relationship; or any other
person who is residing in the employee's household for whom
there is a personal obligation. In addition, an employee is permitted to use
not more than five days of sick leave in any calendar year in the event that
he or she has a personal obligation with regard to funeral attendance or bereavement
because of the death of any other person. This is in addition to the sick leave
allowance for illness in the employee's family. See Paragraph
(D)(4), above.
Use of sick leave is limited to a maximum of eight hours per day and forty hours per week, including extended workweek situations.
Sick-leave charges that would result in a part-time employee's being paid for more than eight hours per day or for more than the number of hours per week formally scheduled are not allowed.
Employees who work variable time do not accrue sick-leave credit, but sick-leave credit previously earned while an employee works a definite schedule may be charged as long as the employee was scheduled to work the days and hours for which sick leave is claimed. Use of sick leave is limited to the number of hours the employee was scheduled to work.
When sick-leave credit is exhausted, vacation-leave or leave-without-pay rules apply unless the employee qualifies for, and receives, catastrophic leave-sharing credits (RPM §2.26).
On returning to work after any lost time due to illness or injury occurring
at work, employees must report to Health Services for an evaluation of their
condition and ability to resume customary work. When an employee has been absent
for five or more consecutive workdays because of his or her own serious illness
or injury unrelated to work, he or she must provide Health Services with a release
to return to work. This release must include any information regarding medical
restrictions that may affect the employee's ability to perform his or her job,
as certified by the treating physician. For more information on the Lab’s Return-to-Work Program, go to http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/health_services/pp/index.shtml.
When an employee becomes ill during working hours, advice may be sought from Health Services.
An employee who terminates from a position in which sick-leave credit is accrued at another part of the University for the purpose of accepting employment in a position at the Laboratory will have all such credit transferred. If the Laboratory position is one in which sick-leave credit is not accrued, however, the employee's prior credit is not transferable. If the employee later changes to a position in which sick-leave credit is accrued, the previously accrued credit will be reinstated.
Sick-leave credit accumulated in previous employment with the University or the state of California may be reinstated on the following basis: