SICK LEAVE

Full-time employees shall earn sick leave at a rate of four (4) hours a pay period.

Sick leave must be granted when an employee meets one of the following conditions:

a. is incapacitated and cannot perform the essential duties of his/her position because of physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth;

b. receives medical, dental, or optical examinations or treatment;

c. would, per a health authority with jurisdiction or a health care provider, jeopardize the health of others due to exposure to a communicable disease;

d. for any activity related to the adoption of a child upon proper notification and documentation, when requested. Leave for parents who voluntarily choose to be absent from work to bond with an adopted child is covered under Article 26 and Article 30 of this Agreement.

Employees may use sick leave for general family medical care and bereavement purposes as follows in order to:

a. provide care for a family member who is incapacitated by a medical or mental condition or attends to a family member receiving medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment;

b. makes arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attends the funeral of a family member.

Full-time employees may use up to one hundred four (104) hours of sick leave per year for these purposes. Part-time employees use a pro- rated amount.

Whenever an employee's request for sick leave is disapproved, he/she shall be given a written reason, if requested.

Full-time employees may use a total of four hundred eighty (480) hours of sick leave each leave year to care for a family member with a serious health condition. However, the total allowable amount of sick leave entitlement under Sections 3 and 5 may not exceed four hundred eighty (480) hours. Any sick leave taken under Article 26 to care for a family member is deducted from the four hundred eighty (480) hour entitlement under this Section.

Employees should request leave in advance for pre-arranged optical, medical, or dental appointments. However, if the absence is unplanned, the Agency must be notified before or within the first hour of the time scheduled to report for duty, unless in the judgment of the Agency there are extenuating circumstances, which prevent the employee from doing so.

In cases of extended absences, and when an employee provides the Agency with a tentative return to work date, he/she shall only be required to notify the Agency on the first day of each occurrence of illness and shall not be required to call in on a daily basis, unless specifically required by the Agency.

In individual cases when employee counseling has not been effective and there remains sufficient cause to believe an employee may be abusing sick leave, the employee may be given advance written notice indicating the reason(s) that he/she will be required for a period of time, not to exceed six (6) months, to furnish a medical certificate for each subsequent absence. When written notice is issued, the form in Appendix F will be used. An employee who has received written notice and is released from duty because of illness may be required to furnish a medical certificate for that day. When it has been determined by the Agency that the requirement is no longer necessary, the employee shall be notified and the previous notice(s) shall be removed from the records and all copies shall be returned to the employee.

Except as otherwise provided for in Section 7, an employee shall not be required to furnish a medical certificate to substantiate a request for sick leave of four (4) days or less. An employee shall be required to furnish a medical certificate for absences of more than four (4) workdays, except that this requirement may be waived by the Agency in individual cases. If a physician was not consulted, a signed statement from the employee giving the facts about the absence, the treatment used, and the reasons for not having a physician's statement may be submitted to the Agency as supporting evidence.

The number of hours of sick leave used shall not, in and of itself, constitute sufficient cause for sick leave counseling.

Except as otherwise provided for in Section 7, an employee who, because of illness, is released from duty, shall not be required to furnish a medical certificate for that day.

The use of sick leave checklist forms shall not be developed or used at the local level. If the need arises to develop a sick leave checklist form, it shall be mutually agreed to by the Parties at the national level.

Requests for sick leave and individual sick leave records shall not be available or distributed as general information or publicized.

Except in cases of abuse, sick leave usage shall not be a factor for promotion, discipline, or other personnel action.

Each employee shall be entitled to an advance of up to thirty (30) days sick leave, for serious disability or ailment, except when:

a. it is known that he/she does not intend to return to duty or when available information indicates that his/her return is only a remote possibility;

b. he/she has filed or the Agency has filed an application for disability retirement;

c. he/she has signified his/her intention of resigning for disability.

Employees may be required to furnish a medical certificate in order to be advanced sick leave under this Section.

Pro-rata calculations for part-time employees shall be in accordance with HRPM LWS-8.1, Section 7.

When an employee becomes seriously ill or injured at work, the Agency shall arrange for transportation to a physician, medical facility, or other designated location. If requested by the employee, or if the employee is unable to request, the Agency shall notify the employee's family or designated party of the occurrence and location of the employee.

When an employee is unable to do so because of serious injury, incapacitation, or illness, the Agency shall make every reasonable effort to assist the employee's family in filing appropriate documents for entitlements to the employee or the employee's family.

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) employees shall be eligible upon retirement for a Sick Leave Buy Back option as follows:

An employee who attains the required number of years of service for retirement shall receive a lump sum payment for forty percent (40%) of the value of his/her accumulated sick leave as of the effective date of their retirement.