University Policy 363: Sick Leave
Category: 300 Human Resources
Sub Category: Benefits
Covered Individuals: Benefit Eligible Employees
Responsible Executive: Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services
Policy Custodian: Office of Human Resources, Executive Director for Human Resources
Last Revised: 2022/06/23
Download the PDF File for Policy 363
363.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The University grants sick leave to employees due to personal illness, injury, incapacity, birth, adoption; or for the illness, injury, or incapacity of an employee's family member (see Policy 363.4 Definitions).
363.2 POLICY
Benefit eligible employees working on a fiscal or academic year base appointment at 50% time or greater are eligible for sick leave benefits. This policy works in coordination with Short-Term Disability, Workers’ Compensation, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA).
2.1 Sick Leave Accrual
Sick leave accrual begins on the effective date of the employee’s University appointment. First month accruals will be prorated for any employee hired after the first of the month.
Full-time employees accrue sick leave at the rate of 8 hours per employed month. Eligible part-time employees accrue sick leave on a pro-rata basis.
Sick leave will not accrue while an employee is on leave without pay, special development leave, or sabbatical leave. Sick leave does accrue while an employee is on short-term disability. If an employee has exhausted all paid leaves and has need for additional sick leave, a supervisor may, at his/her discretion, approve up to an additional 80 hours (resulting in a negative balance) of sick leave through the normal leave submittal and approval processes.
Sick leave can accrue to a maximum of 1,040 hours which may be carried from one year to the next. Unused sick leave will not be paid as a cash settlement to the employee when his/her employment ends.
An employee who leaves employment with the University and then is rehired within one year in a benefit eligible position will have his/her accrued sick leave restored.
2.2 Sick Leave Reporting
Employees should notify their supervisor as soon as practicable if they are not going to report to work. Requests for sick leave must be submitted no later than two business days after the employee returns to duty. The University reserves the right to require substantiation of every illness charged to sick leave and/or require a release to return to work from the employee’s healthcare provider. If the employee is absent for more than three days, a certificate from a healthcare provider may be required. Departments should work with the Office of Human Resources before making a request for a healthcare provider certification. Human Resources will determine if a request is appropriate.
Exempt employees who are absent for less than 4 hours in a day do not need to report sick leave; however, if they are absent 4 or more hours in a day, actual hours taken should be reported.
Non-exempt employees report sick leave absences in 15-minute increments.
If the length of the disability, illness, or injury is longer than the employee's accrued sick leave, the employee may use accumulated annual leave or leave without pay under the FMLA in accordance with University Policy 351: Family and Medical Leave, provided the employee qualifies for FMLA.
If the disability, illness, or injury extends beyond 10 working days, an employee covered by short-term disability insurance may apply for the benefits of that program. (See Policy 357: Disability Insurance Programs).
2.3 Sick Leave Taken for Maternity/Paternity Situations
An employee who is the parent of a newborn or newly adopted child may take up to six weeks of accrued sick leave immediately following the birth or adoption of the child. A natural birth mother of a newborn child may take additional sick leave as directed by her physician. For eligible employees, FMLA will run concurrently with sick leave.
2.4 Internal Transfer of Sick Leave
When an employee transfers from one department to another, any balance of accrued sick leave will transfer with the employee to their new department.
2.5 Sick Leave Conversion to Annual Leave
If an employee ends a calendar year with a sick leave balance of at least 384 hours and has used less than 32 hours of sick leave in that calendar year, the employee is eligible to convert sick leave hours to annual leave. The amount converted will be the total amount of sick leave used subtracted from 32. For example, if an eligible employee used 6 hours of sick leave in the calendar year, 26 hours of sick leave would be converted to annual leave (32 – 6 hours taken = 26 hours converted). Hours are automatically converted for eligible employees.
363.3 RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1 Department Heads and Supervisors
Responsible for reviewing employees' absences to ensure that this policy is followed. Responsible for working with employees and Human Resources to coordinate sick leave with other benefits.
3.2 Employees
Responsible for using absences appropriately and for notifying their supervisor when they cannot report to work. Responsible for providing documentation of an absence charged to sick leave when requested.
3.3 Office of Human Resources
Responsible for advising and assisting departments regarding this policy and for notifying department leave managers of any conversion of unused sick leave.
363.4 DEFINITIONS
4.1 Family Member
- For the purpose of this policy, family members are defined as spouse, domestic partner, children (including adopted or stepchildren), and parents/parents-in-law.
Information below is not included as part of the contents of the official Policy. It is provided only as a convenience for readers/users and may be changed at any time by persons authorized by the President, subject to review by the USU Policy Committee.
RESOURCES
Procedures
None
Guidance
None
Related Forms and Tools
None
Contacts
- Human Resources Solution Center, hr@usu.edu, (435) 797-0122
POLICY HISTORY
Original issue date: 1997/01/24
Last review date: 2020/01/10
Next scheduled review date: TBD
Previous revision dates: 1999/07/01, 2020/01/10