Leave for Illness and Personal Circumstances

Sick leave may be requested for the following.

! illness or injury that prevents the employee from performing her/his duties

! routine medical/dental appointments for the employee

! illness or routine medical/dental appointments for a member of the employee's immediate family*

! death in the employee's immediate family*, not to exceed five days

! employee's exposure to contagious illness as determined by a physician. The physician must verify in writing that the employee's presence on duty may endanger the health of others

! any incapacity due to pregnancy (charged to sick leave under the same conditions applying to illness)

* Immediate family, is defined as mother, father, daughter, son, sister, brother, wife, husband, mother-in-law, son-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, granddaughter, grandson, stepmother, stepfather and stepchildren.

The employee shall furnish a written statement from the attending physician/licensed medical care giver for all consecutive days of sick leave granted beyond three working days. If the employee’s physician/licensed medical care giver has placed restrictions or limitations on the employee’s work activities, the employee shall furnish the physician/licensed medical care giver written statement to the direct supervisor immediately upon return to work. All physician/licensed medical care giver written statements shall be forwarded to the Department leave administrator. Any exception must be made by the Deputy or Assistant State Superintendent. All sick leave requests shall be submitted on-line through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) at https://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/HRMS/Signon.cfm.

Abuse of sick leave benefits will lead to more strict control thereof, including but not limited to, being required to produce a physician=s statement for all absences. Sick leave can be accumulated on an unlimited basis. Sick leave is provided for the benefit of employee and/or immediate family medical needs and should be accrued for future unexpected medical emergencies.

Earning Rate

Each regular full‑time employee (37 2 hours per week) earns one and one‑half (12 ) days sick leave for each month of service. Sick leave is earned at 11:59 p.m. on the 15th (30 day month) or at noon on the 16th (31 day month) of each month worked. The minimum charge against such leave is one‑quarter (1/4) day and any additional leave is charged in multiples thereof. One-quarter of a day is interpreted as two hours. An employee must work 10 paid days in a month (including paid sick/annual leave) to earn sick leave.

Requesting Sick Leave

· Any request to use sick leave for scheduled medical/dental appointments should be made in advance of the appointment and requires the prior approval of the supervisor

· Any unscheduled absence due to illness should be personally reported, if possible, to the immediate supervisor before 9:00 a.m.

· Immediately after returning to work site from an unscheduled absence due to illness, employees must submit their leave request online through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS)

Separation from Employment

· No additional sick leave is earned after the last day of employment

· If an employee returns to work after separation, any previous sick leave balance will be restored

Illness While on Annual Leave

An employee who becomes ill while on previously approved annual leave may request that the time be charged to sick leave. However, if the leave exceeds three days a physician’s statement must be provided. The employee must request the sick leave usage immediately upon return to the work site and must provide a physician's or hospital statement listing the specific dates of hospitalization or emergency room services.

Transfer of Sick Leave

When an employee transfers to another state agency, all accumulated sick leave is transferred.

Accumulated sick leave may be transferred to the Department from other state agencies, institutions of higher education, RESAs and county boards of education within the state. The employee is required to submit documentation from the previous employer of accumulated sick leave to the Office of Human Resources.

Incentive for Accumulation of Sick Leave Under the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) Plan 1

The state provides an incentive for employees to accumulate a sick leave balance at retirement under the Teacher Retirement System Plan 1. Sick leave accumulated at retirement under the TRS may be used to purchase health insurance during retirement or to purchase additional years of service.