GEN 3.B.2. Sick Leave.

UWS 10.04 Unclassified Staff Sick Leave Policy. (Revised 12/19/07)

Certification of Medical Necessity Requirement for Faculty, Limited Appointees, and Academic Staff use of Sick Leave:

(1) UW institutions shall require written certification from a health care provider of the medical necessity for use of sick leave for absences of more than 5 consecutive full working days, except where the use of sick leave is authorized in advance.

(2) Where an institution is aware of an emergency that prevents communicating with or obtaining information about the condition of the employee, such written certification shall not be required until such time as communication is possible and appropriate, given the condition of the employee.

(3) In cases of suspected abuse of the sick leave privilege, the institution shall be authorized to require written certification from a health care provider to verify the medical necessity for the employee’s absence regardless of the length of absence.

Sick leave is earned by all faculty and academic staff who are employed for one year for at least one-third of what is considered full-time employment. Full-time employees are awarded 22 days of sick leave for the first 1.5 years of service. Subsequently six days per semester are earned by academic year employees and one day per month by annual employees with a maximum accumulation limited to 12 days per year. Less than full time employees earn a proration of sick leave. Sick leave credits are not accumulated during any period of unpaid leave.

(1) Sick leave accumulates from year to year. Unused sick leave credits are converted to dollars to be used to purchase health insurance at retirement.

(2) For full-time appointments, sick leave is used in increments of half or full days. Persons who are absent due to sick leave usage for less than two hours are not required to report sick leave usage. Absences between two and six hours are recorded as one-half day usage. Absences over six hours are recorded as full day usage. Sick leave is not required to be used on weekends unless the weekend is part of the employee’s 40-hour work week. Employees with less than full-time appointments must report actual hours absent. Sick leave used during Summer and Interims by academic year employees should be reported in actual hours.

(3) Use of sick leave is recorded monthly on a leave accounting report. The report is completed by the employee (whether or not any leave is used), approved by Department Chair/Dean/Director, and returned to the Human Resources Office for recording. Faculty on sabbatical must continue to complete and return a monthly leave accounting report. A statement is provided to covered employees indicating sick leave balance as of the end of the previous month. An annual statement is provided to each employee recapping the previous academic/fiscal year.

(4) Effective with sick leave accrued in fiscal year 2007-08, any employee who fails to file a report on leave usage as required by UW System policy in one or more months of any year shall not be permitted to accrue sick leave for that year in an amount exceeding the cap established by 40.05(4)(bp)1., Wis. Stats. (i.e., 8.5 days for an annual unclassified employee or 6.4 days for an academic year unclassified employee.

(5) Faculty granted sabbatical leave shall earn sick leave at the same rate as was in effect immediately before the sabbatical leave began. A faculty member who is absent from work during a sabbatical leave for a reason covered under sick leave must report the sick leave usage.

(6) Sick leave may be used for absence due to personal illness (including doctor/dentist appointments), injury, disability, pregnancy, or adoption; attendance upon an immediate family member whose health or medical condition requires the employee’s direct care (including doctor/dentist appointments); and the death of an immediate family member. Three days of sick leave may be used for attendance at funerals of family members. An additional four days of sick leave may be used for travel if needed. Accumulated sick leave can also be used for attendance upon an immediate family member, including a domestic partner, whose health or medical condition requires the employee’s direct care.

(7) Teaching responsibilities not met because of an absence identified in section (6) above must be reported as sick leave, regardless of whether a qualified instructor covers the teaching responsibilities. Teaching responsibilities include: class time preparation, actual classroom instruction, and scheduled office hours.

(8) Sick leave during summer session may be used provided inception of the illness occurs on the first or subsequent day of summer session.

(9) Sections 40.95 and 230.12(9), Wis. Stats., provides supplemental sick leave hours at retirement to employees with 15 or more years of continuous service, within certain maximums. These supplemental hours are added to the existing sick leave balance and the total is multiplied by the highest base rate of pay to pay future healthcare premiums. This benefit also allows, within limitations, the restoration of an additional 500 hours of sick leave is at least 500 hours of sick leave were used to cover a single illness occurring in the final three years of employment. These credits may not be converted into any type of cash equivalent.

(10) For the purposes of collecting and reporting sick leave, each full-time unclassified employee will designate a work week consisting of 40 hours as required by 40.05(4)(bp)3.a., Wis. Stats. The work week will be pro-rated for a less than full-time appointment. The work week will include all scheduled classes, office hours and research, as well as other regular University meetings and professional activities.

a) For purposes of this section, a normal work week is deemed to consist of 40 hours worked within a fixed and regularly recurring period of seven consecutive days. Hours worked per day may vary.

b) The work week will be defined either by: automatic consent to the standard business week Monday through Friday for 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; or by mutual agreement, in writing, with the department chair or other designated supervisor.

(11) Information regarding sick leave may be obtained from the Human Resources Office.