305 Expanded Sick Time Policy [old policy]
Paid sick days provide income protection when employees are ill or injured. This time cannot be used for other purposes. If faced with an extended period of illness or injury, the employee may apply for an unpaid disability leave and/or the Long-Term Disability benefit.
305 Sick Days [new policy effective November 1, 2005]
Paid sick days provide income protection when employees are ill or injured. This time can be used for other purposes. If faced with an extended period of illness or injury, the employee may apply for an unpaid disability leave and/or the Long-Term Disability benefit. The sick time policy allows staff to use accrued sick time for the care of an eligible family member. Eligible family members are defined as: child, spouse, parent, parent-in law and same sex domestic partner. Sick time may be used for those family members in the following circumstances:
- The care of an eligible family member who is ill or injured
- Accompanying an eligible family member to a medical or dental procedure or checkup related to illness or injury
- Attending to an eligible family member who is hospitalized
If the time off is for the care of a family member with a serious health condition, such absence may be covered under provisions of the CT Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Please contact your human resource generalist for further information about the use of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
305 Sick Pay and Short Term Disability [new policy effective July 1, 2010]
Effective July 1, 2010, M&P staff will be eligible for a new comprehensive Short Term Disability (STD) plan that will be fully integrated with the Sick Pay program. With the new disability plan providing up to 26 weeks of coverage, the annual sick day accrual will total nine days per year.
305.1 Eligibility
Any regular employee scheduled to work 20 hours or more each week, who has completed three months of continuous employment, and who is required to be absent from work because of the employee's illness or injury, is eligible for sick time with pay. Paid sick days are computed at the normal base rate of pay.
Eligible part-time employees scheduled to work 20 hours or more per week are paid for sick days on a prorated basis.
305.2 Annual Allowance and Accumulation [policy change as of 7/1/2010]
The annual sick day allowance for eligible employees is 12 days and is an advance entitlement available for use at the beginning of the fiscal year. Any unused sick days in a fiscal year are also carried forward to the next fiscal year and succeeding fiscal years. The maximum accumulation of sick days is 204 days.
In the fiscal year of hire, new employees will be credited with sick time at the rate of one day for any month in which they have been employed 15 calendar days. Employees who exhaust their sick day allowance and need additional days may use vacation or personal days or apply for a disability leave of absence.
Part-year employees will be credited at the beginning of the fiscal year with one sick day for each month in which the employee is scheduled to work at least 15 days.
Xref: OPM 415, XCT
Effective July 1, 2010, nine (9) sick days will be provided for all M&P staff at the start of each fiscal year and are immediately available for use (new M&P staff members will receive a pro-rated number of sick days based on their date of hire).
Cap on Maximum Number of Carryover Sick Days [Effective July 1, 2010]
Until June 30, 2010, the maximum carryover for sick days is 204.
Effective July 1, 2010, the new Sick Day maximum carryover will be 50 days or, if you were hired before July 1, 2010, the number of unused sick days carried over at the end of the previous fiscal year. The number of days carried over in future years will work the same way as Paid Time Off (PTO) carryover described in Section 303.3.
305.3 Reporting Absences Due to Illness
Employees are expected to report all absences due to illness or injury directly to their supervisors or department heads and should indicate probable length of absence so that schedule adjustments may be made.
Employees absent for prolonged periods should communicate with their supervisors weekly.
305.4 Medical Certification or Examination
Supervisors may require certification of illness from an employee's physician or a medical examination with another physician to verify the need for continued absence.
To be certain that an employee's health permits his or her safe return to work, the University may require medical certification or an examination by Yale University Health Services in appropriate cases.
305.5 Reinstatement of Accumulated Sick Days Upon Return from Layoff
An employee who returns to permanent employment of at least 20 hours per week after having been in layoff status for no longer than 18 months receives reinstatement of all sick days accumulated at the time of layoff.
305.6 Workers' Compensation
Yale University is subject to provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act of the State of Connecticut. Coverage is provided for an employee in the event of job-related injury, illness, or death. Yale will not retaliate against an employee for filing a Workers' Compensation claim.
In cases where an absent employee is entitled to payments under the Connecticut Workers' Compensation Act, supplemental payments may be made from his or her sick time allowance to the extent of the difference between Workers' Compensation payments and regular base pay. When sick time allowance has been exhausted, an employee may request supplemental payments from earned vacation days and personal business days.
Xref: PPP 503.2; OPM 418
305.6a Benefits during Workers' Compensation Leave
An employee on a Workers' Compensation Leave without supplemental pay:
- may maintain health insurance coverage by making the appropriate arrangements with the Department of Human Resources. The University will continue to pay its share of health insurance premium costs for the duration of the leave.
- maintains pension participation and earns benefits.
- continues to be covered by the University's group life insurance by making arrangements with the Department of Human Resources. The University will continue to pay its share of any life insurance premium costs for the duration of the leave.
- accrues vacation, personal business and sick days for use after the employee has returned to work for at least 30 days.
- is not eligible for pay for any holidays or recess days which occur during the leave.
- is not eligible for tuition assistance.
- is responsible for keeping his or her supervisor and the University's Supervisor, Workers' Compensation, fully informed regarding any change in physical conditions that may affect the employee's ability to return to regular or modified work or eligibility for continued benefits.
305.6b Return to Work from Workers' Compensation Leave
An employee must confirm his or her intention to return to work by writing the department supervisor prior to the end of the leave.
After the employee's return to work, medical visits related to the compensable injury will continue to be paid for by Workers' Compensation. Supervisors may request verification of Workers' Compensation business which takes place during the working d ay.
Questions concerning Workers' Compensation should be referred to the University's Supervisor, Workers' Compensation.
305.7 Record of Earned Sick Days
Each department or administrative unit is responsible for keeping a full and up-to-date record of all sick days accrued and used by each employee. These records shall be reviewed regularly and the employee shall approve that the record is accurate.
Xref: OPM 415
