S AND ABSENCES DEFINITIONS FAMILY FAMILY EMERGENCY DAY YEAR AVAILABILITY DEDUCTIONS WITHOUT PAY PRORATION EMPLOYED FOR LESS THAN FULL YEAR For the purposes of state sick leave accrued before May 30, 1995, and local sick leave, the term immediate family includes: 1. Spouse. 2. Son or daughter, including a biological, adopted, or foster child; a son- or daughter-in-law, a stepchild; a legal ward; or a child for whom the employee stands in loco parentis. 3. Parent, stepparent, parent-in-law, or other individual who stands in loco parentis to the employee. 4. Sibling, stepsibling, and sibling-in-law. 5. Grandparent and grandchild. 6. Any person residing in the employee s household at the time of illness or death. For purposes of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the definitions of spouse, parent, son or daughter, and next of kin are found in A(LEGAL). The term family emergency shall be limited to disasters and lifethreatening situations involving the employee or a member of the employee s immediate family. A leave day for purposes of earning, use, or recording of leave shall mean the number of hours per day equivalent to the employee s usual assignment, whether full-time or part-time. For the purpose of this policy, unless otherwise noted, a year means the employee s assigned calendar year. The District shall make state personal leave and local leave for the current year available for use at the beginning of the school year. The District shall not approve paid leave for more leave days than have been accumulated in prior years plus leave currently available. Any unapproved absences or absences beyond accumulated and available paid leave shall result in deductions from the employee s pay. For purposes of this section, state personal leave and local leave shall be prorated based on length of employment, at a rate of onehalf leave day for each 18 days of employment. If an employee separates from employment with the District before his or her last duty day of the year, or begins employment after the first duty day, state personal leave and local leave shall be prorated based on the actual time employed. DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 1 of 8
S AND ABSENCES If an employee separates from employment before the last duty day of the school year, the employee s final paycheck shall be reduced for: 1. State personal leave the employee used beyond his or her pro rata entitlement for the school year; and 2. Local leave the employee used but had not earned as of the date of separation. RECORDING ORDER OF USE CONCURRENT USE OF MEDICAL CERTIFICATION Leave shall be recorded as follows: 1. Leave shall be recorded in half-day increments for all employees. 2. If the employee is taking intermittent FMLA leave, leave shall be recorded in one-hour increments. Unless an employee requests a different order, available paid state and local leave shall be used in the following order, as applicable: 1. Local sick leave. 2. State sick leave accumulated before the 1995 96 school year. 3. State personal leave. When an absent employee is eligible for FMLA leave, the District shall designate the absence as FMLA leave. The District shall require the employee to use temporary disability leave and paid leave concurrently with FMLA leave. An employee receiving workers compensation income benefits may be eligible for paid or unpaid leave. An absence due to a work-related injury or illness shall be designated as FMLA leave, temporary disability leave, and/or assault leave, as applicable. An employee shall submit medical certification of the need for leave if: 1. The employee is absent more than 15 consecutive workdays because of personal illness or illness in the immediate family; 2. The District requires medical certification due to a questionable pattern of absences or when deemed necessary by the supervisor or Superintendent; 3. The employee requests FMLA leave for the employee s serious health condition or that of a spouse, parent, or child; or 4. The employee requests FMLA leave for military caregiver purposes. DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 2 of 8
S AND ABSENCES In each case, medical certification shall be made by a health-care provider as defined by the FMLA. [See A(LEGAL)] CERTIFICATION OF FITNESS FOR DUTY Before an employee may resume work after an absence of 15 or more days, the employee shall provide a fitness-for-duty certification of the employee s ability to perform essential job functions. Note: For District contribution to employee insurance during leave, see CRD. STATE PERSONAL NON- DISCRETIONARY USE DISCRETIONARY USE LIMITATIONS REQUEST FOR DURATION OF ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES LOCAL SICK The Board requires employees to differentiate the manner in which state personal leave is used: 1. Non-discretionary use of leave shall be for the same reasons and in the same manner as state sick leave accumulated before May 30, 1995. [See (LEGAL)] 2. Discretionary use of leave is at the individual employee s discretion, subject to limitations set out below. The employee shall submit a written request for discretionary use of state personal leave to the immediate supervisor or designee in advance in accordance with administrative regulations. In deciding whether to approve or deny state personal leave, the supervisor or designee shall not seek or consider the reasons for which an employee requests to use leave. The supervisor or designee shall, however, consider the effect of the employee s absence on the educational program or District operations, as well as the availability of substitutes. Discretionary use of state personal leave shall not exceed five consecutive workdays per semester. Additional guidelines for discretionary and nondiscretionary use of state personal leave are outlined in (REGULATION). Employees earn five, six, or seven paid local sick leave days per year, according to the following schedule: 1. Employees in positions assigned to ten months of service shall receive five local sick leave days per year. 2. Employees in positions assigned to 11 months of service shall receive six local sick leave days per year. 3. Employees in positions assigned to 12 months of service shall receive seven local sick leave days per year. DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 3 of 8
S AND ABSENCES Local sick leave shall accumulate to a maximum of 100 leave days and shall be taken with no loss of pay. USE OF LOCAL SICK EXTENDED DAYS ELIGIBILITY AVAILABLE DAYS Local sick leave may be used for the following: 1. Illness of the employee; 2. Illness of a member of the employee s immediate family; or 3. Death in the employee s immediate family. An employee absent from work must notify his or her supervisor at the beginning of each workday or as soon as possible thereafter. The District has established a pool of unused local sick leave days earned by employees who have separated from employment with the District to provide extended leave days for eligible employees. An eligible employee absent due to a FMLA-qualifying event and who has exhausted all available state and local leave days shall be granted extended leave days in accordance with the following. To be eligible for extended leave days, the employee must: 1. Have been employed by the District for a minimum of one continuous year prior to the first date of leave without a break in employment service; and 2. Be on an approved leave of absence that lasts for at least six consecutive work weeks and that meets all provisions of the FMLA, as defined in (LEGAL) and, including eligibility, period of leave, reasons for leave, and medical certification. For purposes of extended leave, a year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of each year. Based on years of service with the District as of the first date of leave, the following schedule shows the number of extended leave days available to an employee: Years of Service Maximum Days per School Year 1 5 10 days 6 10 15 days 11 15 20 days 16 20 25 days 21 or more 30 days DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 4 of 8
S AND ABSENCES Each qualifying employee may receive a lifetime maximum of 50 extended leave days. OTHER ABSENCES FAMILY MEDICAL COMBINED FOR SPOUSES INTERMITTENT CERTIFICATION OF FITNESS-FOR-DUTY CERTIFICATION END OF SEMESTER RETURN FROM : RESTORATION Any other leaves granted or days of absence shall result in a deduction of the daily rate of pay for each day of absence, unless otherwise provided. [See DMD] Family and medical leave is provided to qualifying employees in compliance with the FMLA of 1993. [See A(LEGAL)] For purposes of determining eligibility for family and medical leave, the 12-month period shall be calculated by using the 12 months immediately preceding the requested first date of leave. If both spouses are employed by the District, the District shall limit FMLA leave for the birth, adoption, or placement of a child, or to care for a parent with a serious health condition, to a combined total of 12 weeks. The District shall limit military caregiver leave to a combined total of 26 weeks. [See A(LEGAL)] The District shall not permit use of intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave for the care of a newborn child or for the adoption or placement of a child with the employee, unless medically necessary. [See A(LEGAL) for use of intermittent or reduced schedule leave due to a medical necessity] If an employee requests leave, the employee shall provide certification, as required by FMLA regulations, of the need for leave. [See A(LEGAL)] If an employee takes FMLA leave due to the employee s own serious health condition, the employee shall provide, before resuming work, a fitness-for-duty certification. If the District will require certification of the employee s ability to perform essential job functions, the District shall provide a list of essential job functions to the employee with the FMLA designation notice. If a teacher takes leave near the end of the semester, the District may require the teacher to continue leave until the end of the semester. [See A(LEGAL), AT THE END OF A SEMES- TER] Upon return from FMLA leave, an employee (with the exception of an employee classified as a key employee ) shall be restored to his or her former position or to a position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. The District cannot guarantee that an employee will be returned to his or her original job. A determination as to whether a position is an equivalent position shall be made by the District. DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 5 of 8
S AND ABSENCES FAILURE TO RETURN TEMPORARY DISABILITY DEVELOPMENTAL LONG-TERM OF ABSENCE REQUEST NOTICE OF EARLY RETURN TO WORK EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY If, at the expiration of FMLA leave, the employee is able to return to work but chooses not to do so, the District may require reimbursement of premiums paid by the District during the leave. [See A(LEGAL), RECOVERY OF BENEFIT COST] Any full-time employee whose position requires educator certification by the State Board for Educator Certification or by the District shall be eligible for temporary disability leave. The maximum length of temporary disability leave shall be 180 calendar days. [See DBB for temporary disability leave placement and (LEGAL) for return to active duty.] An employee s notification of need for extended absence due to the employee s own medical condition shall be forwarded to the Superintendent or designee as a request for temporary disability leave. Eligible employees may be granted a one-year, unpaid leave of absence for advanced academic preparation after completion of five consecutive years of employment with the District. Approval shall be recommended to the Board if the employee meets the criteria listed in (REGULATION) and has been recommended by his or her supervisor and approved by the Superintendent. Upon completion of the one-year absence, the employee is expected to work for the District for at least one year equivalent to the employee s assigned calendar year. A leave of absence form shall be required for any leave of 15 days or longer. If the reason for the leave of absence qualifies under FMLA, in accordance with the provisions of A(LEGAL) and B(LEGAL), a leave of absence form should be submitted as soon as reasonably possible. The leave of absence is a record established to track and maintain an employee s leave status. Requests for extensions of leave must be submitted in writing to the coordinator of benefits. This written request should be made as soon as the employee realizes that he or she will not be able to return at the expiration of the leave period. The payroll office shall record long-term leave based on the information provided electronically. [See (REGULATION)] An employee who returns to work prior to the return-to-work date on the approved leave of absence form shall notify his or her supervisor and the coordinator of benefits in the payroll office upon return to work. The employee shall submit leave request forms, return-to-duty forms, and related leave of absence documentation in a timely DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 6 of 8
S AND ABSENCES RECERTIFICATION OF LONG-TERM ILLNESS CONTINUATION OF COVERAGE RETURN TO WORK AFTER NEUTRAL ABSENCE CONTROL manner. In the absence of the employee, the supervisor s signature shall suffice. Upon request for a long-term leave of absence for an employee s serious health condition or for that of an immediate family member, the employee should provide medical certification of the disability or illness at a minimum of 30-day intervals when he or she is: 1. In a temporary disability leave status only; or 2. On family and medical leave and has exceeded the date of disability assigned by his or her physician. An employee s failure to provide proper notice and required documentation for an extension of the leave of absence may result in denial of a leave request. An employee on leave may continue to participate in the District s group health care in accordance with the terms of those programs. An employee returning from any type of absence or leave may be assigned to a different position, just as an employee not on leave, subject to the various leave laws. However, when possible to meet the educational needs of the District s students, efforts shall be made to return the employee to the same school and position held by the employee before the leave. If the educational needs of the District do not allow such an assignment, a suitable assignment will be made subject to availability. An employee s reinstatement may be delayed until the start of the next school year if the employee s leave ends within the last reporting period or within the last six weeks of the school year. If an employee fails to return to work after exhausting all available leave, including FMLA and temporary disability, if applicable, the District shall provide written notice to the employee that he or she no longer has available leave to use. The District shall automatically pursue termination of an employee who has exhausted all available leave, regardless of the reason for the absence. [See DF series] The employee s eligibility for reasonable accommodations, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) [see DAA] shall be considered before termination. An employee who has been terminated may apply for reemployment with the District. WORKERS COMPENSATION Note: Workers compensation is not a form of leave. The workers compensation law does not require the continuation of the District s contribution to health insurance. [See CRD regarding payment of insurance contribution during employee absences.] DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 7 of 8
S AND ABSENCES An absence due to a work-related injury or illness shall be designated as FMLA leave, temporary disability leave, and/or assault leave, as applicable. An employee eligible for workers compensation income benefits, and not on assault leave, may elect in writing to use paid leave. COURT APPEARANCES OTHER COURT APPEARANCES RETIREMENT Absences due to compliance with a valid subpoena for purposes related to the employee s job duties, or for jury duty, shall be fully compensated by the District and shall not be deducted from the employee s pay or leave balance. An employee who is subpoenaed to appear before a court shall be required to present appropriate documentation. Absences for court appearances related to an employee s personal business shall be deducted from the employee s personal leave; or, if accrued leave time is not available, shall be taken by the employee as leave without pay. Employees who have ten or more years of continuous employment in the District, who retire from the District under the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), and who leave the District in good standing shall be reimbursed for accrued and unused local sick leave, not to exceed 80 days, according to the following rates: Exempt Employees: 10 14 years of RRISD service $70 per day 15 19 years of RRISD service $80 per day 20+ years of RRISD service $90 per day Nonexempt Employees: 10 14 years of RRISD service $50 per day 15 19 years of RRISD service $60 per day 20+ years of RRISD service $70 per day Employees who cease to be employed by the District without ten or more years of continuous employment in the District shall surrender all accumulated local sick leave, even if later rehired by the District. Exceptions shall be made for employees who leave the District for the purposes of military service and return to the District within 12 months after their release from active duty. DATE ISSUED: 9/5/2013 ADOPTED: 8 of 8