Paid sick leave provides employees protection against loss of income due to an illness or injury which prevents performance of duties or the need to provide personal care, as defined within this policy, for a covered family member, as defined. Paid sick leave is intended to cover the needs of the employee and provide a reasonable amount of time off with pay when such a situation(s) occurs. All usage of sick leave by employees must be approved by their supervisor(s) and may be subject to FMLA (see policy 3.1.12) or other documentation requirements.
The University provides three types of sick leave, access to which is determined by employee type.
Accumulative
Eligible Employment Classifications
Accumulative sick leave is credited to the employee and available for use on the first day of the next pay period from which it is earned. Sick time accrues at the maximum rate of one work day (7.5 hours) for each month or a portion of a month of service. Some employees working in 24-hour operations such as the police department or heating plant may work a standard work week of 40 hours/week. Those employees accrue a maximum of 8.0 hours for each month or a portion of a month of service.
If an appointment is less than full-time employment, the earned sick leave time is calculated by multiplying the maximum accrual rate in hours (7.5 or 8.0 hours) by the highest total percentage of employment during each month. (Example: employment for 12 months at one appointment of 50% and one appointment of 25% = 75% X 7.5 hours = 5.625 hours of accumulative sick leave earned each month.) Accruals are added as soon as administratively possible following each pay period and considering the payroll calendar.
There is no maximum limit on the number of days or hours that can be accumulated for employees eligible for accumulative sick leave.
Eligible Employment Classification:
Accumulative sick leave is credited to the employee and available for use on the first day of the next pay period from which it is earned. Sick times accrues at the maximum rate of one work day (7.5) for each month or a portion of a month of service.
Non-Accumulative/Non-Accruing Sick Leave
Eligible Employment Classifications
• Non-continuous administrative professionals
• Non-continuous faculty associates
• Non-Tenure Track Faculty who do not meet the accumulative sick leave requirements as stated above.
Non accumulative/non-accruing sick leave is available for use by the employee at the start of each pay period, after the first pay period worked, calculated at a rate of either one-half work day per pay period or one work day for each month of service. This amount is prorated based on the percentage of appointment. Non-accumulative/non-accruing sick leave balances are forfeited at the end of the contract period.
Extended Sick Leave
Extended sick leave does not accumulate. It is calculated at a rate of 150 hours per benefit year (07/01/XX-06/30/XX) multiplied by the highest percentage of appointment within the benefit year. Employees with appointments of 9 months or more will receive 150 hours multiplied by their percentage of appointment. Employees with an appointment of at least 4.5 months but less than 9 months are entitled to 75 hours multiplied by their percentage of employment. If the appointment is less than 4.5 months, the amount is calculated at a rate of 16.67 hours per month times the number of months of the appointment and the percentage of appointment. Employees must have been in a payable status during the current fiscal year to be eligible to use the current fiscal year's extended sick leave benefit. Employees must apply for extended benefits usage in accordance with FMLA/Medical Leave process or the Parental Leave process.
Eligible Employment Classifications
• Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty
• NTT faculty
• Faculty associates, continuous and non-continuous
• Administrative professionals, continuous and non-continuous
• Civil service employees (does not include temporary, student, or extra help appointments)
The University prohibits the approval or usage of sick leave for any purposes other than those outlined below. Any misuse or misrepresentation of sick leave usage may result in discipline, up to and including discharge. The University reserves the right to require acceptable evidence of personal or family illness be provided to Human Resources prior to the approval of sick leave benefits.
Accumulative and non-accumulative/non-accruing sick leave can be used for the following purposes:
1. Personal illness or injury, including work related events
2. Medical or dental appointments
3. To provide personal care for a covered family member.
Covered family member includes spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, child, stepchild, parent, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, stepparent, or any other family members living in the immediate household.
Personal care means activities to ensure the person's basic medical, hygiene, nutritional, or safety needs are met or to provide transportation to medical appointments when the person cannot meet these needs independently. Approved use also extends to situations where the employee needs to be physically present to provide emotional support for the individual with a serious health condition who is receiving inpatient or home care.
4. Any FMLA/Medical Leave or Parental Leave that has been approved by Human Resources.
Extended sick leave can be used for the following purposes:
Extended sick leave may be used for the above reasons, only after the employee has exhausted all accumulative or non-accumulative/non-accruing sick leave expected to be earned in the current benefit year and provided all necessary documentation for approval to Human Resources.
Sick leave usage is deducted in the following sequence based on availability:
1. Hours of accumulative sick leave earned prior to 1/1/84 (non-compensable)
2. Hours of accumulative sick leave earned after 12/31/97 (non-compensable)
3. Hours of accumulative sick leave earned from 1/1/84 through 12/31/97 (½ non- compensable and ½ compensable)
If an employee is on an approved leave eligible for extended sick leave, upon using all accumulative or non-accumulative/non-accruing sick leave expected to be earned in the benefit year in the sequence noted above, the appropriate extended sick leave hours will be made available to the employee upon proper documentation and approval. Following the expiration of the available extended sick leave benefits, and, if enrolled, sick leave available under the Sick Leave Bank Program (policy 3.1.38), additional sick leave usage will resume in the sequence noted above.
All available benefits (e.g. - sick, vacation, compensatory, personal) will normally be exhausted before the employee is placed in a no-pay status.
If SURS disability is anticipated, the employee should contact Benefits section of Human Resources as soon as possible to discuss options and obtain paperwork as the SURS disability claim process contains specific time frames for submission of documentation and, if approved, the start of payable benefits. The SURS disability claim process cannot begin without documentation being submitted to SURS first, by the employee and then, by the University.
Any employee who will be absent from employment shall notify the appropriate University supervisor using any established departmental call-in procedures immediately and no later than prior to the employee's scheduled work shift. In cases where the absence is anticipated to be for more than one work day, the employee shall notify the supervisor of the anticipated length of absence so that arrangements can be made for the employee's duties to be assumed during said absence. Failure to make this notification to the appropriate supervisor, utilizing department call-in procedures, may disallow the use of sick leave and could lead to disciplinary action.
Both the employee and supervisor should notify Human Resources when the absence, for any reason other than vacation or approved leave, extends for more than three consecutive days or, in the case of hospitalization, for any length of time. This notification is in the best interest of the employee in order to ensure that benefits are properly applied. Notification may be in the form of an e-mail to (hrbenefits@ilstu.edu) or by calling Human Resources at (309) 438-8311.
Benefit usage is to be submitted by the employee or the supervisor in the employee's absence via electronic timesheet reporting for each time period. Reported time is due the final day of the pay period (the 15th and the last working day of the month) and supervisory approval is due by noon on the second business day following the end of each time period. Sick leave accrual and usage shall be maintained by the University.
Any employee returning to work after being off work for fewer than 5 consecutive workdays unless the absence was due to hospitalization should follow normal departmental reporting procedures. An employee returning to work after being off work for 5 consecutive workdays or more for a personal medical reason or for any length of time due to a hospitalization will need to provide Human Resources with a return to work authorization from a healthcare provider. Such notice should include the employee's name, date of release to return to work, any physical restrictions and the anticipated duration of those restrictions, and the provider's signature and contact information. The employee must submit the return to work authorization to Human Resources and obtain an official release to return to work from Human Resources before reporting to their department.
Additionally, any employee returning to work with restrictions will require Human Resources' approval to ensure the employee's ability to perform the essential duties of the employee's position and to establish a method for monitoring consistent improvement relative to the restriction. The University may seek an additional medical opinion to determine whether the employee should return to work, continue to work, stay on leave, or be placed on a medical leave.
Employees are encouraged to schedule an appointment in advance of their return with their Benefit Counselor as only the Benefit Counselor can review and provide the authorization to return to work. Employees may schedule an appointment by calling (309)438-8311 during normal business hours, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Employees may view the full "Return to Work" procedures on the Human Resources website at http://hr.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/RTW_Procedures.pdf
The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to ensure equal employment opportunities and access to University academic programs, services, and facilities in accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other applicable federal and state regulations. To request an accommodation or a modification to an existing accommodation, please contact the following office:
Office of Equal Opportunity and Access
310 Hovey Hall, Campus Box 1280
(309)438-8311
Employees may review the reasonable accommodation procedure at http://policy.illinoisstate.edu/conduct/1-1-3.shtml.
For transfer rules related to sick leave, please refer to University Policy 3.1.25.
Policy Owner: Human Resources
Contact: Human Resources (309-438-8311)
Revised on: 06/2021
