Paid Sick and Family Illness Time Policy for Administrative Professional Staff 2.1-1

Introduction/Purpose

Saginaw Valley State University provides Administrative Professionals paid time off when an absence is needed due to a personal health condition or due to a family illness and related circumstances.

Policy

Paid Sick Time 

The University provides paid sick time to Administrative Professional employees with an appointment of one year or more, based on number of years of service and full-time equivalency.  Employees who are hired to work less than 20 hours per week are not provided paid sick time.   

 * Employees hired between July 1 and December 31 are considered to have completed their first full fiscal year and will progress to the 2^nd full fiscal year step on the July 1^st following their date of hire.  

** Employees hired between January 1 and June 30 will be placed at the 1^st full fiscal year step on July 1^st following their date of hire and will progress to subsequent steps in the following years.   

• Unused sick and family illness time balances do not carry over into the following year.
• Unused sick and family illness time balances are not paid at the time of termination.  

Use of Paid Sick Time 

• Paid sick time may be used when an employee is absent because of a personal illness, injury or health condition, including an employee’s own medical appointments.  The employee’s supervisor must be notified of a need to use paid sick time at the earliest opportunity.  Appointments must be scheduled in a manner that least disrupts the normal working schedule and in consultation with the employee’s supervisor.  Reasonable advance notice of all appointments that require an absence from work must be provided to the employee’s supervisor.
• Family Illness Time provides paid time off to care for family members, as set forth in the following section.
• Salaried employees will be required to record sick time in half-day increments. For full-time salaried employees, this means standard half-day increments (four hours) or their full work shift. Hourly employees will be required to record sick time on an hour-for-hour basis.  
• Employees who are receiving workers' compensation benefits through Saginaw Valley State University may choose to supplement their compensation with their sick time, but the total dollars received may not exceed their normal bi-weekly gross pay.   
• Documentation from an employee’s or the University’s health care provider may be required to support the use of sick time or ability to return to work.  If requested documentation is not provided, the time off may not be paid.
• Employees who have exhausted their paid sick time may use family illness time for their absence. Once an employee has exhausted all their paid time off, they will be placed on unpaid status until they report back to duty.

Family Illness Time 

The University provides 40 hours per fiscal year of family illness time to Administrative Professional employees with an appointment of 26 weeks or more.  Employees who are hired to work less than 20 hours per week are not provided family illness time.  Family illness time will not be charged against the employee's vacation or sick time balances and should be indicated as Family Illness Time ("I") on the employee's attendance record.  Employees will not be allowed to carry over any unused family illness time into the next fiscal year. 

Employees must notify their unit supervisor at the earliest opportunity when they will be absent for family illness time.  Appointments for services covered by this policy must be scheduled in a manner which least disrupts the normal working schedule and in consultation with the employee’s supervisor.  Reasonable advance notice of all appointments that require an absence from work must be provided to the employee’s supervisor. 

Use of Family Illness Time  

Employees may take paid family illness time for any of the following reasons:    

• Physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition of the employee or a family member.  
• Medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the employee or employee’s family member.  
• Preventative care of the employee or a family member.  
• Closure of the employee’s primary workplace by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.  
• The care of an employee’s child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.  
• The employee’s or a family member’s exposure to a communicable disease that would jeopardize the health of others as determined by health authorities or a health care provider. 

Documentation from an employee’s or the University’s health care provider may be required to support the use of family illness time.  If requested documentation is not provided, the time off may not be paid.

If an employee or family member is a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault, the employee may use family illness time for any of the following:   

• Medical care or psychological or other counseling.  
• Receiving services from a victim services organization. 
• Relocation and obtaining legal services.  
• Participation in civil or criminal proceedings related to or resulting from the domestic violence or sexual assault.  

The following documentation may be requested in connection with use of family illness time for domestic violence or sexual assault.  The documentation is not required to include details of the violence, sexual assault, or medical condition.  Documentation pertaining to domestic violence or sexual assault will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed except to the employee or with the employee’s permission.    

• A police report indicating the employee or employee’s family member was a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault.  
• A signed statement from a victim and witness advocate affirming the employee or employee’s family member is receiving services from a victim services organization.  
• A court document indicating the employee or employee’s family member is involved in legal action related to domestic violence or sexual assault.  

 “Family member” includes:    

• A biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.   
• A biological parent, foster parent, stepparent, or adoptive parent or legal guardian of an employee or an employee’s spouse or an individual who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.   
• An individual to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state.  
• A grandparent or a grandchild.   
• A biological, foster or adopted sibling. 

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)  

See Family Medical Leave Policy 2.1-2 for further information. 

Long-Term Disability (LTD) 

Refer to the Long Term Disability Policy for AP 2.1-4 for further information.   

Unapproved Absences 

Employees will not be paid for absences from work that do not qualify as family illness time, sick time, vacation time or other approved absences with pay. Failure to call in an absence accordance with a department’s procedures for more than three consecutive workdays will be considered a resignation of employment. 

Continuation of Status 

The University reserves the right to determine that an attendance record and/or job performance demonstrates an on-going inability to perform the essential functions of an employee’s job.   When the University makes such a determination, reasonable accommodations will be considered before termination of the employment relationship.  The Disabilities Policy for Employees and Students policy, 4.3-3, should be consulted in order to address the need for accommodations as soon as the need for accommodation is known an to avoid disciplinary action. 

Disability benefits requirements supersede this sick time policy when an employee qualifies for disability benefits.

Procedures

Recording of Time off by Salaried Employees

Time off is expected to be scheduled and approved by the employee's supervisor in advance whenever possible.  

Following is a question and answer that explains how paid time off will be recorded by salaried employees. 

What happens if I am gone for a one-hour dentist appointment? 
Salaried employees do not need to record any absences that are less than a half-day (4 hours). In this case the employee would not record any paid time off. 

Does it matter why I am gone? What if I am gone for 2 hours to deal with personal family matters? 
Again, salaried employees do not need to record any absences that are less than a half-day. In this example, no paid time off would be recorded. In cases where salaried employees record paid time off in half-day increments, the reason they are gone would determine if the time were charged (e.g., sick, vacation, etc.).  

What happens if I am gone for five hours? 
The salaried employee would report a half-day absence and charge it to the appropriate paid time off category. Since recording of time is in half-day increments, the employee would not have to record any time in excess of the half-day until it becomes a full-day.  

What happens if I normally work an 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. schedule, and I come in late, like 1:00 p.m., but I work until 9:00 p.m? 
Salaried employees are eligible for short-term flexible work schedules as approved by their supervisors. Either the President or a Vice President must approve longer-term flexible schedules. If the supervisor approves this sort of flexible work schedule, the employee would not have to record any paid time off. If the employee misses critical work assignments or does not have the flexible schedule approved by the supervisor, then the employee would have to charge a half-day of paid time off to the appropriate time off category. Since there are many high-level employees with a great deal of independence in this group, we recommend that they discuss with their supervisor in advance what sort of scheduling flexibility they have, rather than dealing with it on a case-by-case basis. It should be noted that not all positions can be granted flexible work schedules due to the nature of the work.  

If I am expected to work on a weekend, or in the evening, can I take time off during the normal work day without charging time? 
If a supervisor approves this flexible work schedule, the answer would be yes. There is no compensatory time for salaried employees and, therefore, this is not an hour-for-hour exchange. It does not even need to occur within the same work week. It is not unusual for salaried employees to have to work evenings or weekends in addition to normal office hours.  Salaried employees should expect to have to work more than 40 hours per week.  

How do I record the extra hours I work? 
Salaried employees are not eligible for overtime. There is no way to record additional hours in the University system, since salaried employees are paid their regular bi-weekly salary and only exceptions (time when paid time off is reported) are recorded in the system, now in half-day increments. 

Salaried employees are required to fulfill the responsibilities of their position. This recording requirement does not prevent the supervisor from inquiring about schedules or assuring that the employee is meeting the expectations of the position either from an attendance or productivity perspective. 

Definitions

N/A

Related Policies & Forms

• Family Medical Leave Policy 2.1-2
• Disabilities Policy for Employees & Students 4.3-3
• Payout of Vacation/Sick Leave Hours
• AP Attendance Record (176KB)
• Long Term Disability Policy for AP 2.1-4

Appendix

Public Act 338 of 2018, Michigan’s Paid Medical Leave Act