Classified Personnel
Administrative Regulation No. 4261.1
Reviewed: May 1, 2017
Personal Illness/Injury Leave
The following regulation is not intended to supersede any
provisions of collective bargaining agreements.
Classified employees employed five days a week are entitled to 12 days’ leave of absence with full pay for personal illness or injury (sick leave) per fiscal year. Employees who work less than a full fiscal year or fewer than five days a week (part-time employees) shall be granted sick leave in proportion to the time they work. However, any part-time employee whose work hours are so few as to entitle him/her to less than 24 hours of paid sick leave per fiscal year shall be granted sick leave pursuant to Labor Code 246, if he/she is eligible. (Education Code 45191; Labor Code 245-249)
Use of Sick Leave
A classified employee may use sick leave for the following purposes:
1. Accident or illness, whether or not the absence arises out of or in the course of employment, or by quarantine which results from contact with other persons having a contagious disease during the performance of the employee’s duties (Education Code 45199)
2. Pregnancy, childbirth and recovery (Education Code 45193)
3. Personal necessity as specified in Education Code 45207
4. Medical or dental appointments, in increments of not less than one hour
5. Industrial accidents or illnesses when leave granted specifically for that purpose has been exhausted (Education Code 45192)
6. Need of the employee of his/her family member, as defined in Labor Code 245.5 for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition or for preventative care (Labor Code 233, 246.5)
7. Need of the employee to seek or obtain any relief or medical attention specified in Labor Code 230 (c) and 230.1(a) for the health, safety, or welfare of the employee, or his/her child, when the employee has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking (Labor Code 233, 246.5)
For the purposes specified in items #6-7, an employee may use, in any calendar year, the amount of sick leave he/she would accrue during six months at his/her current rate of entitlement. (Labor Code 233)
An employee may take leave for personal illness or injury at any time during the year, even if credit for such leave has not yet been accrued. However, a new full-time classified employee shall not be entitled to more than six days of sick leave until he/she has completed six months of active service with the district. (Education Code 45191)
Additional Leave for Disabled Military Veterans
In addition to any other entitlement for sick leave with pay, a newly hired classified employee who is a military veteran with a military service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or higher by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs shall be entitled to sick leave with pay of up to 12 days for the purpose of undergoing medical treatment for his/her military service-connected disability. An eligible employee employed less than five days per week shall be entitled to such leave in proportion to the time he/she works. (Education Code 45191.5)
The amount of leave shall be credited to the employee on the first day of employment and shall remain available for the following 12 months of employment. Leave not used during the 12-month period shall not be carried over and shall be forfeited. (Education Code 45191.5)
An employee shall notify the Superintendent or the designated manager or supervisor of his/her need to be absent as soon as such need is known, so that substitute services may be secured as necessary. This notification shall include an estimate of the expected duration of absence. If the absence becomes longer than estimated, the employee shall so notify the district. If the duration of absence becomes shorter than estimated, the employee shall notify the district by not later than 3 p.m. of the day preceding the day on which he/she intends to return to work.
Verification Requirements
After any absence due to illness or injury, the employee shall submit a completed and signed district absence form to his/her immediate supervisor.
The Superintendent or designee may, at any time, require additional written verification by the employee’s physician or medical practitioner. Such verification shall be required whenever an employee’s absence record shows chronic absenteeism or a pattern of absences immediately before or after weekends and/or holidays or whenever clear evidence indicates that an absence is not related to illness or injury.
The Superintendent or designee may require an employee to visit a physician selected by the district and at district expense in order to receive a report on the medical condition of the employee. The report shall include a statement as to the employee’s need for further leave of absence and a prognosis for when the employee will be able to return to work. If the report concludes that the employee’s condition does not warrant continued absence, the Superintendent or designee, after giving notice to the employee, may deny further leave.
Before returning to work, an employee who has been absent for surgery, hospitalization or extended medical treatment may be asked to submit a letter from his/her physician stating that he/she is able to return and stipulating any recommended restrictions or limitations.
Verification requirements shall not discriminate against any employee on the basis of his/her religious practice.
(cf. 4300 – Nondiscrimination in Employment)
Accrual of Leave
Full-time classified employees are entitled to 12 days leave of absence, with full pay, for personal illness or injury per fiscal year. Employees who serve less than a full fiscal year or less than five days a week shall be granted comparable sick leave in proportion to the time they work. (Education Code 45191)
(cf. 4161.9/4261.9/4361.9 - Catastrophic Leave Program)
An employee may take leave for personal illness or injury at any time during the year, even if credit for sick leave has not yet been accrued. However, new employees shall not be entitled to more than six days of sick leave until they have completed six months of active service with the district. (Education Code 45191)
Unused days of sick leave shall be accumulated from year to year without limitation. (Education Code 45191)
Upon employment with the district, a new classified employee shall receive credit for any personal illness or injury leave accumulated in a previous school district, county office of education, or community college district if he/she left employment with that district within the previous year and has been employed by the previous district for at least one year. If the employee’s previous employment had been terminated for cause, the Governing Board may determine whether to accept the transfer of the accumulated leave.
An employee who does not complete a given year of service shall be charged for any unearned sick leave used as of the date of termination.
Extension of Leave
A permanent employee who is absent because of a personal illness or injury and who has exhausted all available personal illness or injury leave, vacation, compensatory overtime, and any other paid leave shall be so notified, in writing, and offered an opportunity to request additional leave. The Board may grant the employee additional leave, paid or unpaid, for a period not to exceed six months and may renew this leave for two additional six-month periods or for lesser periods. Total leave so granted shall not exceed 18 months. (Education Code 45195)
(cf. 4216 - Probationary/Permanent Status)
If the employee is still unable to resume his/her duties after all available paid and unpaid leaves have been exhausted, the employee shall be placed on a reemployment list for a period of 39 months. If during this time the employee becomes able to resume the duties of his/her position, he/she shall be reemployed in the first vacancy in the classification of his/her previous assignment. The employee's reemployment shall take preference over all other applicants except those laid off for lack of work or lack of funds, in which case the employee shall be ranked according to his/her seniority. (Education Code 45195)
Compensation
Each year, each regular classified employee shall be credited with no fewer than 100 working days of paid leave for personal illness or injury, including current-year and accumulated days of leave. When the current-year and accumulated days at full pay are exhausted, the remainder of the 100 days shall be compensated at 50 percent of the employee’s regular salary. Any such days of leave not used during the year in which they are credited shall be forfeited and shall not accumulate from year to year. This paid leave shall be exclusive of any other paid leave, holidays, vacation, or compensatory time to which the employee may be entitled.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
45103 Substitute employees
45190 Leaves of absence and vacations
45191 Leaves of absence for illness and injury
45193 Leave of absence for pregnancy (re use of sick leave under certain circumstances)
45195 Additional leave for nonindustrial accident or illness; reemployment preference
45196 Salary; deductions during sick leave
45202 Transfer of accumulated sick leave and other benefits