ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY
TITLE: Sick Leave Authorization and Usage / POLICY NUMBER
HR
08-118
EFFECTIVE: December 16, 2008
REVISED: February 17, 2011
PURPOSE
Provide policy and consistent procedures for:
· authorizing employee sick leave,
· defining inappropriate use of sick leave, and
· outlining corrective actions for unauthorized use or abuse of sick leave.
SCOPE
All Department of Management Services’ (DMS/department) employees.
AUTHORITY
Section 110.123, Florida Statutes (F.S.) - State Group Insurance Program
Section 110.219, Florida Statutes (F.S.) - Attendance and Leave
Rule 60L-34.0042, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.) - Sick Leave
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), 1978 amendment to Title VII, 1964 Civil Rights Act
DISTRIBUTION
The Following Individuals Should be Notified of this Policy and its Procedures / Method of NotificationAll DMS Employees / · New Employee Orientation
· DMS communications via employee e-mail distribution list
· DMS Web site
DMS Executive Leadership / · Executive Leadership meetings
POLICY
DMS will not unreasonably deny sick leave to employees when requested based on a qualifying reason. DMS will take corrective action for unauthorized use and/or abuse of sick leave.
Sick leave may also count as leave taken underthe Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave (for additional information refer to DMS Administrative Policy “Family Medical Leave Act” (HR-08-117).
Employees are required to use the People First (PF) system to record leave. Employees who accrue regular or special compensatory leave credits may be allowed, at DMS’ discretion, to use such leave before using accrued sick leave credits. Employees taking leave to care for a family member or someone in their care (caretaker role), are required to enter the name of the individual they are caring for in the “Comments” section on the PF timesheet.
Supervisors are required to review and approve employees’ PF timesheet submissions and verify the employee entered a name (as required in the above paragraph) in the “Comments” section on the PF timesheet. Supervisors certify employees accurately recorded leave taken when they approve employee’s timesheet.
Employees may participate in the sick leave transfer plan as defined in DMS Administrative Policy “Sick Leave Transfer Plan” (HR-08-118).
The Human Resource (HR) Office will maintain a medical file for each employee with medical records.
PROCEDURES
A. Sick Leave Accrual
Career Service (CS), Selected Exempt Service (SES) and Senior Management Service (SMS) employees earn sick leave credits according to Rule 60L-34-0042, F.A.C. Other Personal Services (OPS) employees do not earn sick leave. There is no limit to the number of hours of sick leave credits that employees can accumulate. Sick leave accrual and use is recorded and managed in the PF System.
B. Upon Transfer to another Agency or Termination from State Government
When an employee transfers to an agency within the State Personnel System, the employee’s accrued sick leave credits are transferred to the new agency. When an employee transfers to a government agency outside the State Personnel System, accrued sick leave credits are transferred if the receiving plan accepts the employee's leave credits. If leave credits are not transferred and if the employee is eligible, the employee will be paid according to section 110.122, F.S.; otherwise, the sick leave credits expire (are forfeited).
C. Qualifying Reasons for Sick Leave Use
Sick leave can be used for the following purposes:
· the employee’s personal illness (including pregnancy and pregnancy related disability), injury or exposure to a contagious disease which would endanger others,
· the employee’s appointments with a physician, dentist or other recognized practitioner,
· the employee’s presence is necessary due to illness, injury, or well care check-ups of a family member or someone in his/her care (caretaker role),
· the employee is on approved medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and/or the Family Supportive Work Program (FSWP), or
· for medical reasons related to domestic violence or sexual violence.
D. Requesting use of Sick Leave
When an employee needs to be out of the office on sick leave, he/she will provide their supervisor (or designee) with as much advance notification as possible. The request for leave will follow the procedures as established in writing by the employee’s division or office. If the division or office does not have written procedures, the employee will send a request to his/her supervisor via e-mail. If an employee does not have available e-mail, the employee will notify his/her supervisor, (or designee), in person or via phone.
When an employee is sick and unable to report for work, the employee will follow the procedures as established in writing by his/her division or office. If the division or office does not have written procedures the employee will notify his/her immediate supervisor (or designee) no later than one hour after starting time unless circumstances preclude notification. Notification is defined as actually speaking to the immediate supervisor (or designee). If the supervisor (or designee) is not available, the employee will notify the next person in his/her up-line chain of command or the HR Office. In the event the employee is too ill or injured to personally make the phone call, the employee can authorize another individual to make the call on his/her behalf. If another person calls on behalf of the employee, the employee is responsible for the message provided and must personally contact his/her supervisor (or designee) once his/her condition allows.
If sick leave continues past the first day, the employee will notify his/her supervisor (or designee) every day thereafter unless prior notification was given on the number of days the employee will be off. When hospitalization or convalescence at home is required, the employee is responsible for notifying the supervisor (or designee) at the start and end of such period. Employees using sick leave (or other leave in lieu of sick leave) for three or more consecutive work days, may be required to provide a statement, written and signed by a physician (or physician’s designee) who has examined the employee or the ill member of the employee's family or individual in the employee’s care (caretaker role).
When an employee returns to work from an unexpected illness, his/her supervisor may request a statement from a physician who has examined the employee or the ill member of the employee's family or individual under the employee’s care (caretaker role) to be submitted within a reasonable period of time. The physician (or physician’s designee) must sign the statement.
E. Family and Medical leave act (fMLA) and
family support work program (FsWP) Considerations
When an employee establishes the need to use sick leave credits to care for a family member or someone in his/her care (caretaker role) the supervisor will notify HR. HR will consult with employee to determine if the employee should be notified regarding the use of FMLA or FSWP leave. (see DM Administrative Policies HR-08-117 and HR-08-137).
In all cases, requests for leave must be made via the People First system (see E.1. below). All requests for medical leave must include a physician’s certification of the medical condition for which the leave is requested and the name of the individual (if other than employee) and a copy provided to the HR Office to be placed in the appropriate employee file.
E.1. Requesting and approval for FMLA/FWSP leave:
• Employees: To complete the FMLA/FSWP leave request, go to the Time and Payroll dropdown menu and select FMLA/FSWP Leave Request. Once in this screen, create and save the request. HR should be contacted prior to making this request.
• Managers: To approve the FMLA/FSWP leave request, go to the Approvals dropdown menu and select Leave, OT and Other Approvals.
Once the manager approves the leave request, the FMLA/FSWP check box will open up for use on the employee’s timesheet for the approved days.
E.2. Completing a timesheet for submittal:
• Employees: Check the FMLA/FSWP box for the days and hours type that are FMLA/FSWP related. Be sure this indicator is only checked for hours that are FMLA/FSWP related.
E.3. Tracking FMLA/FSWP leave:
After the employee checks the FMLA/FSWP box on the timesheet, the data is transferred to the “Time Sheet Active” view in the PF Data Warehouse. HR runs reports from the warehouse to track employees’ FMLA/FSWP leave usage.
For help contact the PF Service Center at: 866-221-0268.
F. Sick Leave Abuse
Sick leave abuse is considered present when an employee is repetitively absent, absences are undocumented, or occurs over a period of time on predictable occasions. Supervisors will monitor the use of sick leave and recognize patterns of abuse. Supervisors will keep records of absences including specific dates, times, duration of absences and reason(s) reported by the employee.
When a supervisor recognizes a potential abuse of sick leave, he/she will counsel the employee and document the date, purpose and information discussed during each counseling session. Provide copies of the counseling session to the employee and HR Office for the employee’s official personnel file. The supervisor will:
· talk with employee about the suspected abuse,
· give employee an opportunity to explain why the absence was necessary, and
· if appropriate, advise employee to contact the Employee Assistance Program with the assistance of the HR director.
G. Extended Sick Leave Use
If an employee has been out three workdays or partial workdays in any 30 day period, the supervisor may require medical verification for any future absence(s) due to illness or injury. If an employee is out 10 consecutive days the supervisor shall require the employee to submit medical verification from the attending physician before authorizing additional use of sick leave credits or leave without pay. If the absence continues, the supervisor may require further medical verification for each 30 consecutive days of absence. To justify sick leave, the medical verification must indicate the employee is unable to perform regularly assigned duties. A copy of all documentation will be provided to HR director for consideration of FMLA and FSWP and will be filed in the employee’s medical file.
If an employee’s medical verification is not acceptable, DMS may require the employee to submit to a medical examination, at DMS’ expense, before approving further use of sick leave. The supervisor must work through the HR Director to arrange for an independent medical examination. When an employee has extended sick leave usage, supervisors will contact the HR director for assistance to determine next steps and consideration of FMLA usage.
If an employee does not provide medical verification or submit to a required medical examination he/she will not be eligible to use sick leave credits and DMS will take appropriate action regarding disciplinary actions and continued employment.
H. State Contribution for Health and Life Insurance
When an employee is approved for parental or medical leave without pay and the employee is enrolled in a state health or life insurance program(s), the state will pay the state’s portion of the insurance up to six months in a 12-month period (based on the employee’s full-time/part-time appointment status on the first day of the approved absence). To maintain such health and life insurance coverage, the employee is responsible for paying the employee’s portion of the premium payments.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Individualor Group / Responsibilities
Employee / · Adhere to procedures in this policy.
· Accurately reflect sick leave usage (and comments as required in the policy) on the PF timesheet.
HR Director / · Provide assistance to supervisors and employees.
· Review sick leave use for consideration of FMLA and FSWP usage.
· Track FMLA usage and notice employees when hours are applied to FMLA usage.
HR Office / · Review policy during New Employee Orientation (NEO).
· Provide assistance to supervisors and employees.
· Handle documents with care and confidence and place in the appropriate employee file.
Supervisor / · Approve and monitor employee’s use of sick leave as defined in this policy.
· Counsel employees when abuse of sick leave is suspected.
· Document counseling session with employee and provide documentation to HR Office.
· Request assistance from HR director when needed.
· Notify HR director when an employee uses sick leave for a serious health condition.
DEFINITIONS
Word/Term / DefinitionCaretaker / An employee, who at any given moment, is responsible for the care of another person who is ill, injured, or in need of a well-care check-up.
Domestic Violence Leave / See DMS Administrative Policy HR-05-121 - “Violence-Free Workplace & Support for Domestic Violence.”
Family / Rule 60L-34.0042 (3) (c), F.A.C. defines family as:
Employee’s spouse, the children or parents of the employee,
or children or parents of the employee’s spouse.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) / See DMS Administrative Policy HR-08-117 – “Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA.)”
Family Supportive Work Program (FSWP) / See DMS Administrative Policy HR-08-137 – “Family Supportive Work Program (FSWP).”
Serious Health Conditions / For a list of qualifying “serious health conditions,” refer to 29 Code of Federal Regulations Section 825.114.
Sick Leave Transfer Plan / See DMS Administrative Policy HR-08-119 – “Sick Leave Transfer Plan.”
ASSOCIATED FORMS
People First Timesheet (online)
Page 6 of 6 DMS Policy No. HR-08-118
Sick Leave Authorization and Usage