Sick Leave for Regular Employees
Sick leave is paid leave granted to employees in an effort to provide protection against the loss of earnings due to absences for health reasons. An employee may request that their illness, injury, or disability occurring during a period of annual or personal leave be charged to sick leave. Verification of such illness, injury, or disability may be required by the supervisor as a condition of sick leave approval.
Earned sick leave is normally granted by the supervisor when an employee is absent because of: illness, injury, or disability of the employee; a prescheduled medical appointment, examination, or treatment for the employee with an accredited, licensed, or certified medical provider; illness or injury in the employee’s immediate family and medical appointments, examinations, or treatments for the immediate family member with an accredited, licensed, or certified medical provider; and care of a newborn child or adoption.
Personal Leave
Eligible employees are entitled to three days (24 hours) of personal leave per calendar year. Any personal leave that is unused at the end of the calendar year or upon separation shall be forfeited. Part-time employees working 50 percent time or more shall receive personal leave on a prorated basis. The use of personal leave for Nonexempt employees requires prior approval; Exempt employees must provide supervisors with prior notification.
Death of a Relative
Consistent with USM Policy, for the death of a close relative, the President or designee (supervisor) shall grant the use of up to three days of accrued sick leave. If the death of a close relative requires an employee to travel, requiring staying away from home overnight, upon request the President or designee (supervisor) shall grant the use of up to a maximum of five days of accrued sick leave for this purpose.
FOP and AFSCME represented bargaining unit employees should refer to their respective Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) for details regarding leave for the death of a relative.
Policies
Advanced Sick Leave
An employee who is unable to work due to a serious recoverable temporary disability or personal illness may be eligible to request advanced sick leave. In the first year, Advanced sick leave will be prorated based upon the employee’s length of service and FTE. Thereafter, advanced sick leave may be granted in increments of 15 days for each calendar year of the employee’s USM/state service up to a maximum of 60 days during a calendar year and must be paid back upon the employee’s return to work or upon the employee’s separation from service. Upon returning to work, the minimum rate of repayment is one-half of the rate at which the employee earns sick leave and annual leave.
Eligibility
- Have a satisfactory record of work performance and no record of sick leave abuse; and,
- Have exhausted all available paid leave.
Extended Sick Leave
Extended sick leave is leave with pay that may be requested by an employee who is unable to work due to a serious, recoverable temporary disability or personal illness. At the University’s discretion, extended sick leave may be granted up to a maximum of 12 months during an employee’s entire USM service or state service.
Eligibility
- Have at least five years of USM or state service;
- Have a satisfactory record of work performance and no record of sick leave abuse; and,
- Have exhausted all available paid leave, including advanced sick leave.