2.39A

Sick Leave B HR

POLICY OVERVIEW

Regular employees (employees appointed for a minimum of 20 hours per week for at least four and one-half months in a fiscal year) of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H), when authorized, may use sick leave with pay for absences necessitated by personal illness, injury, or pregnancy and confinement, or when the employee is needed to assist a member of his/her immediate family who is actually ill. Immediate family is defined as any person living in the same household who is related by kinship, adoption (including foster children certified by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services), or marriage. Minor children of the employee, whether or not living in the same household, are also considered immediate family. An employee's use of sick leave for family members not residing in that employee's household is strictly limited to the time necessary to provide care and assistance to a spouse, child, or parent of the employee who needs that care and assistance as a direct result of a documented medical condition.^a

Negative balances of sick leave cannot be carried forward from one month to the next. Employees must be placed on leave without pay for hours overdrawn on sick leave.

Each department is responsible for maintaining accurate records of sick leave entitlement and use. (Refer to 2.27 Time and Attendance Reporting.)

PROCEDURE

I. Accrual

Sick leave entitlement for full-time employees is earned at the rate of eight hours for each month or fraction of a month of employment. Less than full-time, benefits eligible employees will accrue sick leave on a proportional basis. All unused sick leave will be carried forward each month. There is no limit to the number of days that may be accrued.

Provided there is no break in service, an employee whose status changes accrues sick leave as follows:

• Sick leave will be accrued for each month or fraction of a month of service proportionate to the time appointed. However, an employee on development leave will accrue sick leave at the full-time rate.
• No sick leave will be accrued for an employee who is on leave without pay for at least one full calendar month.
• An employee who transfers from an eligible to an ineligible leave status will have all accrued sick leave balances frozen at the time of the transfer. If the employee subsequently returns to an eligible leave status, he or she may recommence the use and accrual of sick leave.
• Sick leave that was accumulated prior to extended military leave is frozen until the employee returns to employment, provided the employee meets the requirements specified in 2.40A Extended Military Leave.
• If an employee is separated from employment with the state under a formal reduction-in-force and becomes re-employed by the state within 12 months of termination, that individual's sick leave balance will be restored.
• If an employee is separated for reasons other than reduction-in-force, and is re-employed by UTHSC-H within twelve months, the employee must have a break of service of thirty calendar days before sick leave balances can be restored. If an employee is re-employed by another state agency within 12 months following the end of the month in which they separated from UTHSC-H, the employee is entitled to reinstatement of his/her sick leave balance at their new institution.
• An employee who transfers directly from another state agency will be credited with any unused sick leave, provided employment with the state was uninterrupted.
• One-half of the sick leave balance (up to 336 hours maximum) is paid to the estate of an employee who dies while employed in state service. The same State Comptroller policy used to calculate payment for sick leave is also used for payment of lump sum vacation hours upon termination of employment.^b

II. Use

An employee becomes eligible to use accumulated sick leave only after completing 30 calendar days of employment at UTHSC-H. To use sick leave with pay, the employee must notify or cause the supervisor to be notified promptly of the reason for any absence attributed to illness, on the initial day of the absence and each day thereafter.

If an employee is absent on a paid leave status, he/she will continue to accrue paid leave each month on leave. The hours accrued while on leave may be posted to the leave balance only when the employee returns to work. Should the employee fail to return to work, he/she will not receive the accruals and will not be paid for those hours.

For absences of more than three working days, an employee will be required to submit a statement from the attending physician (or some other written statement of the facts concerning the illness that is acceptable to the supervisor) upon returning to work. An employee who uses sick leave to care for a child or parent who does not reside with the employee and is not totally dependent on the employee, but needs the employee's care as a direct result of documented medical condition, must be able to provide a doctor's statement naming the child's or parent's condition. It is within the discretion of the supervisor to require documentation concerning illnesses resulting in absenses of three working days or less.

The UTHSC-H requires employees with identified medical conditions that may have debilitating effects (for example, pregnancy or hypertension) to submit a doctor's statement to their supervisors to the effect that they can safely return to work. An employee whose behavior gives rise to the suspicion that sick leave is being used inappropriately may be required to submit a statement from an attending physician. This request is to be made at the discretion of the employee's supervisor. An employee who is discovered to have obtained sick leave pay under false pretenses is subject to discharge.

Sick leave may be used by the employee for the period following delivery and recovery associated with the birth of a child to the extent certified by the physician.

An employee who is the parent of a child(ren) attending school (prekindergarten through 12th grade) is entitled to use up to eight hours of sick leave per calendar year to attend parent-teacher conferences for the child(ren). An employee will give his or her supervisor reasonable advance notice of the conference.^c

All accrued sick leave and vacation time must be exhausted before a request for personal leave for medical reasons. (Refer to 2.40B Personal Leave.) Employees who wish to take family and medical leave for their own serious health condition, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition, should consult the Family Medical Leave policy for the circumstances and restrictions specified for that leave. An employee taking family and medical leave must substitute any accrued sick leave for the 12-work week leave period of family leave, as applicable to the sick leave policy.^d (Refer to 2.40C Family and Medical Leave.)

^a Current Appropriations Act (1997). ^b Current Appropriations Act (1997). ^c HB1177. ^d Id.

Updated 10/02