City of St. Louis Human Resource Department City Hall 1200 Market St. St. Louis, MO (314) SICK LEAVE POLICY I.

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1 City of St. Louis Human Resource Department City Hall 1200 Market St. St. Louis, MO (314) SICK LEAVE POLICY I. PURPOSE: The compensation ordinance establishes the City of St. Louis sick leave program. Sick leave with pay is a benefit to protect an employee s income when he or she is unable to work due to certain personal or family medical circumstances or after a death in the immediate family. The purpose of this administrative regulation is to define those covered medical circumstances and to establish guidelines for the granting of sick leave with pay. II. ELIGIBILITY FOR SICK LEAVE WITH PAY: Bi-weekly paid employees who occupy permanent competitive positions in the classified service working one-half (50%) time or more are eligible for sick leave with pay for personal illness, injury, certain personal medical/dental appointments, or physical inability to perform assigned duties; for death in the immediate family; or when the employee must provide temporary medical care for a family member. Sick leave with pay will be approved or disapproved by the employee s appointing authority in accordance with the provisions of this administrative regulation. Employees in limited-term, temporary or emergency appointments, employees paid on an hourly, per performance or unit-of-work basis and regular bi-weekly paid employees working less than one-half (50%) time are not eligible for sick leave with pay. III. RATE OF ACCRUAL: After twenty-six (26) weeks of continuous service, a bi-weekly paid employee is eligible for sick leave with pay in accordance with the provisions of this administrative regulation. Employees will accrue three (3) hours of sick leave for each bi-weekly pay period for which full pay is received. Effective June 12, 1994, employees who have completed or shall complete at least fifteen (15) years of cumulative service and who accumulate a balance of at least 1,000 hours of sick leave shall accrue sick leave at the rate of five (5) hours each bi-weekly pay period, even if the balance later falls below 1,000 hours. An employee who is docked from the payroll for one (1) hour or less in a bi-

2 weekly pay period will continue to accrue sick leave for that pay period. Any non-paid time off in excess of one (1) hour in a bi-weekly pay period will cause an employee to forfeit his or her sick leave accrual for that bi-weekly pay period. The three (3) hour per bi-weekly pay period rate of accrual is established for employees working an average work week of forty (40) hours. The rate of accrual will be computed on a proportionate basis for employees whose average work week is more or less than forty (40) hours. For example, a half-time employee (20 hours per week) will accrue 1.5 hours (one hour, thirty minutes) per bi-weekly pay period. An employee, such as a Fire Private, whose average work week is fifty-two (52) hours will accrue 3.9 hours (3 hours, 54 minutes) per bi-weekly pay period (1.3 times the regular accrual). An employee who is displaced by an authorized layoff and who is reemployed within two (2) years of the effective date of the layoff must have his or her prior sick leave balance restored except in those instances when the employee has been paid a pension in which accumulated sick leave has been added to his or her creditable service or when the employee was paid by the City for his or her unused sick leave balance upon retirement. If an employee returns to active City Service after having been paid a pension computed at a higher rate based on the addition of accrued sick leave or was paid by the City for his or her unused sick leave balance, the employee would do so with a zero (0) sick leave balance. An employee who is reemployed from an authorized layoff, and who has had a positive balance of sick leave restored, and who completed twenty-six (26) weeks of continuous employment prior to a layoff is eligible to take approved sick leave upon reemployment. IV. CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING SICK LEAVE: An eligible employee may be granted sick leave (and family/medical leave for a qualifying event) under the following conditions: 1. For personal illness. 2. For personal medical and dental appointments for which arrangements cannot be made outside of working hours. 3. For temporary physical disability. 4. When the employee must provide temporary medical care for a covered family member. 5. For death in the immediate family. Employees may elect to use sick leave, if eligible, for the first three days of a temporary disability resulting from job-related injuries under the Workers Compensation program. (Please refer to Administrative Regulation 104).

3 An employee who is unable to report for work because of personal illness or death in the immediate family, or because the employee must provide temporary medical care for a family member, must notify his or her supervisor or other designated person within the reasonable time limits set by the appointing authority. Each employee is to be advised of the time, place and person to whom absences are to be reported. When there are reasonable grounds to believe that sick leave is not required, or when a pattern of sick leave abuse can be demonstrated, an appointing authority may, with advance notice, require an employee to submit a Certificate of Physician or Practitioner form certifying the need for paid sick leave or the employee s physical inability to return to duty from sick leave. It is the appointing authority s responsibility to declare sick leave as FMLA Leave, as outlined in Administrative Regulation No The appointing authority must send the following forms to the employee within two (2) business days of receiving information of the need for leave: 1. Special Notice to Employees Requesting Family and Medical Leave/Your Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; 2. Request for Family/Medical Leave of Absence/ Appointing Authority Response to Request for Family/Medical Leave of Absence; 3. Certification of Physician or Practitioner, and if it applies; 4. City of St. Louis Report of Intermittent/Reduced Schedule Family/Medical Leave Taken Generally, a tentative declaration of FMLA Leave shall be made after the occurrence of a period of sick leave lasting more than three days and involving a visit to the health care provider and continuing treatment. FMLA Leave will begin on the first day of the condition. The employee must then decide if paid leave will continue to be taken for the remaining FMLA Leave. The granting of sick leave for any continuous period extending beyond six (6) calendar weeks must be approved by both the employee s appointing authority and department head. Advanced sick leave (paid sick leave in excess of the employee s accumulated balance) must have the prior approval of the Director of Personnel. Requests for advanced sick leave, which are to be submitted in writing by the appointing authority to the Director of Personnel, must state the reason for and the amount of advanced sick leave to be granted. The request must be approved by the Director of Personnel prior to an appointing authority granting such leave. V. LOSS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SICK LEAVE WITH PAY: Sick leave will not be approved under any of the following conditions:

4 1. When the employee is in the first twenty-six (26) weeks of employment; or when the employee has exhausted his or her sick leave balance, except as may be otherwise provided in this administrative regulation. 2. When the employee does not report an absence as required by the rules of the work unit as established in accordance with this administrative regulation. 3. When the employee fails to comply with a request for a physician s statement or medical information. 4. When the employee refuses a medical examination as may be required for any period of absence of three (3) or more consecutive eight (8) hour work days or work periods (or other comparable periods for alternative work schedules). 5. When the employee fails to provide accurate information or gives false information concerning an illness, absence or death in the family. Such falsification may also result in disciplinary action. 6. When the employee continues excessive intermittent or excessive regular absenteeism for which he or she has been given prior written warning. 7. When the employee refuses to admit a nurse, doctor, or other official department representative sent to the home of the employee claiming sick leave benefits. 8. When the employee does not request paid sick leave. 9. When the employee is absent for reasons other than personal illness, injury, physical disability or death in the immediate family, or to provide temporary medical care for a family member. 10. When the employee is absent as a result of participating in a "sick out" or other form of organized withholding of services. Each appointing authority may establish work rules related to sick leave usage. The City s policy of progressive discipline should be followed, however, when correcting excessive intermittent or excessive regular sick leave usage. When disciplining an employee under this policy, the appointing authority should take into consideration such factors as the employee s past attendance record, length of service, performance of duties, previous use of sick leave, etc. VI. TEMPORARY PHYSICAL DISABILITIES AND MATERNITY LEAVE: Paid sick leave for a temporary physical disability may be granted by the employee s appointing authority, provided the conditions listed below are met. (Maternity leave must be treated like any other temporary physical disability for purposes of granting leave under the sick leave program.)

5 1. The employee occupies a permanent competitive position in the classified service and is otherwise eligible for sick leave with pay. 2. The paid sick leave will be granted only for the period during which the employee is actually physically unable to perform the job as a result of personal illness or injury. (Any additional time off the employee is granted must be charged to accrued vacation, compensatory time, and/or non-paid leave.) 3. The employee has a sick leave balance, has received sick leave through the Sick Leave Bank Program established in Department of Personnel Administrative Regulation No. 139, or has been advanced sick leave in accordance with the provisions of this administrative regulation. Appointing authorities are to inform any employee who is under the care of a physician for a chronic illness or other medical condition requiring extended treatment, hospital stay or convalescence that it is the responsibility of the employee to inform his or her supervisor of the medical condition and the anticipated schedule of work absences required for treatment. The employee should also be informed that he or she is responsible for scheduling such absences in a manner that minimizes disruption to the work schedule. Such conditions may also qualify for FMLA Leave. VII. SICKNESS IN FAMILY: A request for sick leave with pay will be granted when an employee is required to provide temporary medical care, which has been certified by a physician or practitioner, and has been approved for coverage under Family & Medical Leave (FML). The following are qualifying family members: Spouses - i.e., husband, wife or domestic partner** Parents - includes natural & adoptive parents or someone who acted in lieu of a parent Children - includes natural, adopted and foster children under 18 years of age Legal wards - i.e., individuals for whom the employee has been appointed legal guardian, including children over 18 years who have permanent physical or psychiatric disabilities. This provision is intended to allow employees to use accrued sick leave to care for covered family members when it is medically necessary, and alternative care arrangements are unavailable or inappropriate. Should the request for leave to care for a family member exceed three days, the appointing authority will provide the employee with FML forms as notification that the event could possibly qualify for FML. Sick leave with pay can be used for all or part of approved FML, not to exceed four hundred eighty (480) hours per twelve-month period.

6 Sick leave with pay for family members whose illnesses do not qualify for FML coverage is limited to forty (40) hours per calendar year. Please note that the Sick Leave Bank Program does not cover absences related to sickness in family. VIII. BEREAVEMENT LEAVE: An eligible employee may be granted sick leave with pay when a period of absence is required because of the death of any family member listed in the preceding section of this administrative regulation - see "Sickness in Family, as well as the following: Children, natural, foster & adopted, over eighteen (18) years, stepchildren & grandchildren Mother-in-law, father-in-law, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law Siblings including natural, foster and adopted brothers, sisters, stepbrothers & stepsisters Grandparents Sick leave granted for an incident of bereavement will not exceed twenty-four (24) working hours (adjusted proportionately for employees whose average work week is more or less than forty (40) hours). When a more extended period of bereavement leave is needed, resulting absences, if approved, may be charged to another form of paid leave, or will be covered as non-paid leave. Sick leave granted for bereavement, as well as for sickness in family, will be deducted from the employee s sick leave balance. ** Domestic Partner is defined as an unrelated adult of the same or opposite sex of the employee with whom the employee is living in an intimate, long-term relationship with an exclusive commitment similar to marriage, in which the partners are jointly responsible for one another s welfare and share financial obligations. The Department of Personnel reserves the right to request acceptable documentation verifying the status of a domestic partnership in order to qualify for the aforementioned benefits. IX. LIGHT DUTY: Appointing authorities may find it advantageous to assign an employee to "light duty" during periods when the employee qualifies for paid sick leave, disability leave or Workers Compensation temporary total disability payments. In order for light duty to be awarded, the following conditions must be met: 1. The appointing authority has determined that it is reasonable and proper to assign light duty to the employee. 2. The employee must be given a medical release to perform light duty by medical personnel approved by the City. Any restrictions which apply should be duly noted and honored.

7 3. Legitimate, meaningful work in the light duty category does exist. It is not expected that work will be manufactured to accommodate the injured/ill employee where no such work exists, but any useful, productive work which is non-threatening to the employee s medical condition may be assigned. 4. Light duty may be awarded in any case where an employee has been injured on the job, or is impaired through illness or other absence from work under conditions wherein the use of sick leave has been approved. Light duty is not an employee right. Some appointing authorities choose to grant it on a limited basis, and others do not. The Department of Personnel strongly encourages the use of light duty in those cases where the four above referenced requirements have been met. For further guidance in the establishment of department policies concerning medical leaves of absence and light duty assignments, please refer to Department of Personnel Administrative Regulation No X. INCAPACITATION: Employees are sometimes rendered incapable of continued employment as a result of serious injury or illness. When an employee s prognosis indicates that return to duty is unlikely, the appointing authority should advise the employee to immediately contact the Employees Retirement System of the City of St. Louis or the Firemen s Retirement System to inquire about eligibility for regular, early or disability retirement. XI. RECORDS: Complete records indicating the amount of sick leave available and sick leave granted under this administrative regulation must be maintained in each department for every employee. These records are to be used to record and report all sick leave in the manner established by the Director of Personnel. Appointing authorities are to regularly review these records or related reports to determine whether any employee has excessive intermittent or excessive regular absence because of illness or claimed physical inability to perform the assigned duties of his or her position. Employee counseling and/or other corrective actions are to be taken when sick leave abuses are discovered. All employees must sign an Employee Sick Leave Request Form STAN. 7-ML(92) for each period of sick leave granted. This form must include dates and times of absence and any reasonable information to substantiate the use of sick leave which may be required by the appointing authority, including the nature of illness, reason for absence, anticipated return to duty. A Certification of Physician or Practitioner and fitness-for-duty statement or other necessary information may also be required. These forms are to be retained as part of the employee s permanent record. Department or agency heads may request permission to use an alternate form in lieu of Form STAN. 7-ML(92). The Director of Personnel will approve such requests if the

8 proposed departmental form meets all of the informational requirements for effective administration of the sick leave program. All employees are required to notify their supervisors when they know in advance that sick leave usage will be necessary, e.g., elective surgery or doctor s appointment. Certified individual sick leave balances and dates of sick leave usage for the last twelve (12) months must accompany an employee from one department or unit in a competitive position to another in his or her continuous career service with the City of St. Louis. XII. GENERAL: It is the objective of the Department of Personnel to ensure that the sick leave program is administered in a fair and equitable manner so that employees are uniformly granted the benefits prescribed in this administrative regulation. Employees are to be advised of the rules and procedures relating to sick leave. Employees must also be advised of their rights under the Family/Medical Leave Act, including the ability to request sick leave as part of the twelve (12) weeks of leave available under that provision. (Please refer to Administrative Regulation 133). It is the responsibility of each appointing authority to institute procedures in accordance with the provisions of this administrative regulation and the compensation ordinance for the granting of sick leave. Any major change in a department or agency sick leave policy must be reviewed by the Employee Relations Section of the Department of Personnel prior to implementation. Questions regarding this administrative regulation should be referred to the Compensation and Employee Relations Section of the Department of Personnel,