2.1.020 Sick-Leave Policy

The purpose of the “Sick-Leave Policy” is to protect covered employees of the University of Central Missouri from loss of pay due to illness or injury as described herein, which may render an employee incapable of performing the duties of the position. This policy provides employees with a means, other than vacation leave, to take leave to care for family members who require the employee’s personal care for medical reasons.

A. All regular, full-time employees of the University of Central Missouri (faculty, professional staff, support staff and bargaining unit) will accrue 10 hours per month (120 hours or 15 days) per anniversary year of sick leave.

B. If eligible for benefits under the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) at the date of retirement an employee may qualify to gain service credit under MOSERS for unused accumulated sick leave as setout in Chapter 104, RSMo. MOSERS' requirements are that the employee must first be fully vested, must be qualified for retirement benefits, that there be at least a 168 hour (21 day) balance in unused sick leave and that credit be awarded in 168 hour (21 day) increments, with any remainder forfeited. Each 168 hour (21 day) block equals one month of retirement credit.

C. Up to 12 days accumulated sick leave may be used per fiscal year for the care of illness or injury in an employee’s immediate family. For purposes of this policy, immediate family includes parents, spouses, children, siblings, wherever they may live, and persons living in the employee’s immediate household.

D. Sick leave, whether for personal illness or family illness shall be deducted from an employee’s accumulated sick leave.

E. In no instance shall employees separating from UCM receive a cash payment for unused accumulated sick leave.

F. Approved leave as set out in Human Resources “410 Bereavement Leave” and “409 Legal Proceedings and Voting” is not included in this policy and does not affect sick leave.

G. Faculty members may qualify for various academic leaves based on their particular circumstances. Policies and procedures regarding academic leave can be found in Academic Policies and Procedures.

Procedure Name:  Sick-Leave Procedure	Date Approved:  March 24, 2015
Procedure Category:  Personnel	Date Effective:
Policy Number:  2.1.020	Date Last Revised:
Approval Authority:  University President
Responsibility:  Director of Human Resources

 

A. Sick leave is provided for personal illness, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) qualifying events, medical appointments such as health, dental and vision, which cannot be scheduled at times other than working hours.

B. Sick leave is accumulated for non-faculty and 12-month administrative faculty at the rate of five (5) hours at the conclusion of each semi-monthly pay period. Regular employees who occupy a .80 to .99 FTE position will receive the same sick-leave benefits on a pro-rated basis. For example, a .80 employee would earn four (4) hours of sick leave per semi-monthly pay period. Employees occupying less than a .80 FTE do not accrue sick leave.

1. Sick leave is credited at the conclusion of each semi-monthly pay period.
   
   
2. Sick leave will not be earned for pay periods in which seven (7) or more workdays are unpaid.
   
   The number of work days in a given pay period can range from nine to 12 depending on the month. The following chart is based on a typical eight (8) hour per day, 40 hour per week position. It illustrates the minimum hours an employee would need to be in paid status in order to accrue sick leave for that pay period.

Hours/Days in Pay Period	Minimum hours needed to be in paid status in order to earn sick leave
72 Hours/9 Working Days	16 hrs
80 Hours/10 Working Days	24 hrs
88 Hours/11 Working Days	32 hrs
96 Hours/12 Working Days	40 hrs

3. Sick leave must be earned and credited to the employee’s sick-leave record before using it.
   
   
4. Sick leave is paid at the employee's base pay rate at the time the sick leave is taken.
   
   
5. Sick leave does not constitute hours worked in calculating overtime pay for nonexempt employees

C. Sick leave is accumulated for nine-month faculty at the maximum rate of 11.25 days per year:

1. For the fall semester of instruction nine-month faculty will earn five (5) hours at the conclusion of each semi-monthly pay period. The fall semester has nine pay periods with the first accrual being credited on September 15th.
   
   
2. For the spring semester of instruction, nine-month faculty will earn five (5) hours at the conclusion of each semi-monthly pay period. The spring semester has nine pay periods with the first accrual being credited on January 31st.
   
   
3. For summer instruction, the teaching load will determine the amount of sick leave earned. Sick-leave hours for summer sessions will be credited to the employee at the end of the summer sessions.
   
   
4. For a teaching load of five (5) or more semester hours, nine-month faculty will earn 30 hours of sick leave.
   
   
5. For a teaching load of three (3) or four (4) semester hours, nine-month faculty will earn 20 hours of sick leave.
   
   
6. For a teaching load of one (1) or two (2) semester hours, nine-month faculty will earn 10 hours of sick leave.

D. Employees must report sick leave by using an approved university method. When all accumulated sick leave is exhausted, additional absences shall be charged against earned vacation leave (if eligible for vacation), with prior supervisory approval. If no sick leave or vacation is available then time shall be unpaid. Exempt employees must submit requests only in half-or whole-day increments. Nonexempt employee request for leave must be in fifteen-minute increments.

E. Sick leave accumulates semi-monthly and can be carried over from month to month and year to year.

1. The maximum amount of accrued sick leave employees shall have available for use during a fiscal year is 1,024 hours. UCM’s fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
   
   
2. There is no limit on the number of sick-leave hours that may be accrued during employees’ years of service. Any unused sick leave accumulated by employees will be available in subsequent years. For example, if an employee has accumulated 1,100 hours of sick leave the employee may use 1,024 hours of accumulated sick leave from July 1 through June 30 in year X. Beginning July 1 in year Y the employee will have 76 hours of accumulated sick leave plus any unused sick leave earned and accumulated in year X.

F. Employees who are unable to report to work because they are ill must promptly notify their supervisor.

1. UCM may require an employee who has been absent from work due to illness or injury to provide a doctor’s statement or other acceptable proof of illness or injury. UCM may require a doctor’s statement that includes a release to return to work. UCM may also require proof of illness if employees have a poor attendance record or have exhibited a pattern of misusing sick leave.
   
   
2. Employees are required to contact the Department of Human Resources when utilizing accumulated sick leave in excess of three consecutive days. This requirement is necessary for the timely evaluation of FMLA.
   
   
3. Employees must have proper medical authorization on file with the Department of Human Resources before using extensive leave time for medical reasons. Employees are encouraged to contact their human resource generalist as soon as they become aware that they may be required to use sick leave in excess of the occasional illness.

G. Employees may use up to 12 days accumulated sick leave per fiscal year for the care of illness or injury in an employee’s immediate family.

1. Immediate family for the purposes of UCM’s “Sick-Leave Policy” includes parents, spouses, children, siblings, wherever they may live, and persons living in the employee’s immediate household.
   
   
2. Sick leave used for family illness or injury shall be deducted from the employee’s accumulated sick-leave balance. Sick leave used for family illness or injury shall not be deducted from an employee’s accrued sick-leave balance until reported by an approved university method.
   
   
3. Employees who need to use more than 12 days in a fiscal year to care for a family member who is ill or injured may use vacation leave with prior supervisory approval.
   
   
4. Accumulated sick leave used for illness or injury in an employee’s immediate family is subject to the same conditions as set out above in items A-F.

H. There is no cash payment for unused sick leave when an employee resigns, retires, or is terminated. Unused sick leave will not be converted into vacation. However, for those employees who are vested in MOSERS when they retire from UCM, all unused sick leave will be reported to MOSERS for additional service credit as set out in Chapter 104, RSMo.

I. Under the auspices of the FMLA, eligible employees are allowed unpaid leave, including partial day absences, for medical and family purposes. Employees should contact the Department of Human Resources for additional information.

J. This procedure will be in accordance with the FMLA, 29 U.S.C. §2601 et. seq., and the UCM Employment Guidelines.