| Memo to: | All UH-Downtown/PS Holders | UH-Downtown/PS 02.A.08 | |
| From: | Max Castillo, President | Issue No.1 | |
| Subject: | Sick Leave Policy | Effective Date: 4/25/94 | |
| 1. PURPOSE This PS describes the annual sick leave policy of the University of Houston-Downtown for all benefits-eligible employees. |
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| 2. POLICY/PROCEDURES | |
| 2.1 All benefits-eligible employees of the University of Houston-Downtown are entitled to sick leave without deduction in salary subject to the following conditions: | |
| 2.1.1 Employees will earn sick leave entitlement beginning on the, first day of employment with the university and terminating on the last duty day; and | |
| 2.1.2- Sick leave entitlement shall be earned at the rate of eight hours for each month or fraction of a month of employment, and shall accumulate with the unused amount of such leave carried forward each month. | |
| 2.2 Employees may take sick leave when sickness, injury or pregnancy and confinement prevent the employee from performing assigned duties or when a member of the employee's immediate, family is ill. | |
| 2.2.1 Immediate family is defined as those individuals related by kinship, adoption, marriage, or foster children who are living in the same household, or if not in the same household, are totally, dependent upon the employee for personal care or services on a continuing basis due to a documented medical condition. | |
| 2.2.2 Minor children of the employee, whether living in the same household or other domicile, will be considered immediate family for purposes of regular sick leave. | |
| 2.3 Employees having to be absent because of illness or other acceptable reason, must notify their supervisor at the earliest practical time to be eligible to apply for sick leave pay. Upon return to work, an Application for Leave for Vacation, Sick Leave, and Emergency Leave (Exhibit A) must be completed and submitted to the supervisor for consideration. | |
| 2.4 If a faculty member's absence due to illness extends through days on which the faculty member has no scheduled classes, all days absent must be reported as sick leave. | |
| 2.5 The fully executed Application for Leave for Vacation, Sick Leave, and Emergency Leave should be distributed as follows: | |
| 2.5.1 The original should be attached to the appropriate Time and Effort Report (Exhibit B) at the time it is submitted to the Payroll Department; | |
| 2.5.2 The yellow copy should be retained by the supervisor as the department's record; and | |
| 2.5.3 The pink copy should be returned to the employee for his/her- personal record. | |
| 2.6 Employees absent for more than three consecutive working days due to illness must submit to their supervisor, upon returning to work, a doctor's statement indicating the cause or nature of the illness or some other written statement of facts concerning the illness which may be acceptable to the supervisor. | |
| 2.7 Employees separated from employment under formal reduction in force shall have their sick leave balance restored if reemployment by the University occurs within six months of their separation. The Payroll Department will provide the employing department/unit the employee's balance at the time of termination due to the reduction in force. | |
| 2.8 Accrued but unused sick leave may be reinstated for employees returning to work following a leave of absence for military service. For further information, refer to PS 02.A.09, Miscellaneous Leave Policy. | |
| 2.9 Employees' accrued sick leave balance may be transferred to another state agency provided there is no break in service. No break in service means that an employee being paid by one agency, leaves that agency's payroll, and starts immediately on the payroll of another agency the next day. Upon request from the employing agency, the Payroll Department will provide a statement of the accrued unused sick leave. | |
| 2.10 Upon termination, employees are not eligible for payment of unused accrued sick leave. Payroll Department will provide a statement of the accrued unused sick leave. | |
| 2.11 In the event an employee dies, the beneficiary or estate of the deceased employee is entitled to payment of one-half of unused accrued sick leave, or 336 hours of sick leave, whichever is less, provided the employee had continuous state employment for at least six months at the time of death. | |
| 2.12 In the event of a terminal or critical illness, employees may request extended sick leave with pay. The following procedures apply: | |
| 2.12.1 Long service employees with good performance and attendance records who have terminal or critical illnesses may be eligible for extended sick leave with pay. | |
| 2.12.2 All requests for extended sick leave with pay must be submitted in writing on a Request for Extended Sick Leave With Pay (Exhibit C). | |
| 2.12.3 A statement from the employee's physician must be submitted at the time of the written request to support each request for extended leave with pay. | |
| 2.12.4 The University has the option to require a second supporting opinion from another physician prior to approving the extended leave with pay request. | |
| 2.12.5 Extended sick leave with pay may not be granted by the employing department until the written request has gone through normal channels to the President for final action. Upon receipt of the President's decision, the supervisor will notify the employee requesting leave of the decision. | |
| 2.12.6 The maximum amount of extended sick leave with pay which may be granted upon exhaustion of the employee's accrued sick leave and accrued vacation time is the amount necessary to satisfy the 90 day (720 hours) waiting period under the university's group long-term disability income insurance policy. This provision applies to each eligible employee regardless of whether the employee is actually enrolled in the program. Refer to PS 02.A.11, Family Medical Leave Policy, for further explanation. | |
| 2.12.7 Absence from work due to illness of the employee's spouse, child or parent does not qualify for extended sick leave with pay. | |
| 2.12.8 A copy of the approved Request for Extended Sick Leave With Pay shall be attached to the employee's Time and Effort Report and submitted to the Payroll Department. | |
| 2.12.9 A copy of the approved Request for Extended Sick Leave With Pay shall be submitted to the Human Resources Department for coordination of benefits. | |
| 2.13 Extended leave of absence without pay may be granted depending on the circumstances. | |
| 2.14 An adequate records system will be maintained to assure proper implementation of the sick leave policy. | |
| 2.14.1 Sick leave shall be reported to the Payroll Department, at the time of use, on the Time and Effort Report. Payroll records will be adjusted accordingly. | |
| 2.14.2 Supervisors shall maintain records on all employees, sick leave accrual. Adjustments or corrections to an employee's balance is done on the Lost Time Register (Exhibit D) which each department receives from the Payroll Department. | |
| 2.14.3 The Human Resources Department will maintain a record. of any transferable sick leave balance from another state agency. | |
| 2.14.4 The Human Resources Department will advise the employing department of sick leave balances to be reinstated in accordance to Item 2.7 of this policy. | |
| 3. REVIEW AND RESPONSIBILITIES | |
| Responsible Party (Reviewer): Vice President for Administration Review: Biennial Reprint of original policy statement. Signed original on file in the President's Office. |