Sick Time
The University provides employees with paid time off, including New York Safe and Sick Time, for occasional absences needed for illness, injury or medical appointments.
Understanding Sick Time
Eligibility
Support Staff members do not earn sick leave, vacation or personal days nor are they entitled to holiday pay while on an unpaid leave of absence; however, these benefits continue to accrue during a paid leave. Adjustments in sick leave, as necessary, are either made within the same anniversary year as the leave of absence if the employee has sick leave available upon their return to work, or in the succeeding anniversary year.
Regular part-time Support Staff members are entitled to pro-rated sick leave, vacation and personal days based on the number of hours worked per week. For administrative purposes, regardless of the number of hours a regular part-time employee works per day, their earned benefit "day" is equal to 1/5th the total hours of the work week. Accumulations, therefore, should be maintained in hours.
On the Job Accidents/Illnesses
An employee should be credited with sick leave or vacation, and salary continuation, only to the extent dictated by University policy or the applicable collective bargaining agreement relating to on-the-job accidents or illness (Workers' Compensation). Some contracts provide a separate salary continuation plan for Workers' Compensation cases.
Note: The 1199 agreements have no salary continuation for Workers' Compensation cases. However, it has been agreed that the first week (5 days), not covered under Workers' Compensation, can be charged to sick leave to the extent the employee has such time available.
Under University policy, the same sick leave schedule is used for both occupational and non-occupational illness/injury.
In no case may vacation or personal days be used to cover absences due to reported on-the-job illness or injury. Once the applicable benefit is exhausted, the employee should be taken off payroll. Further compensation in all cases will be to the extent to which the employee is entitled in line with the provisions of New York State Workers' Compensation law.
Employees Who Transfer Departments
An employee's attendance records—including unused, accrued sick leave, vacation and personal days—transfers with them when they move from one University department to another without a break in service.
If in transferring, an employee moves from one bargaining unit to another or from Support Staff to an exempt Officer status, the supervisor or Human Resources representative should contact the Department of Employee & Labor Relations to review the calculation of benefits in the year of transfer.