Sick Leave

The University provides sick leave with pay for permanent employees (SPA and leave earning EPA), both full-time and part-time. Part-time employees must be scheduled regularly at least twenty hours each workweek in a permanent position. Temporary employees whether full-time or part-time, are not eligible for sick leave with pay.

Amount Earned

A full-time permanent employee who is working or on paid leave for one-half or more of the regularly scheduled workdays in any month earns sick leave at the following rate:

  • Earn 8 hours each month for a total of 96 hours per year

Sick leave is computed as a percentage of the total amount earned by a full-time permanent employee.

Accumulation

There is no maximum number of hours to limit the accumulation of sick leave; it is accumulated indefinitely as long as the employee is in a permanent position. Advancing Sick Leave - The department head may advance sick leave not to exceed the amount an employee can earn during the current calendar year. The deduction for overdrawn leave and method for exhausting terminal leave will be calculated to the nearest tenth of an hour.

Uses of Sick Leave

  • Illness or injury which prevents an employee from performing his or her usual duties. Sick Leave is exhausted before going on leave without pay because of an extended illness. Partial days may be exhausted through the last full hour of leave. While an employee is using sick leave, he or she earns all benefits as if actually working.
  • Bereavement Leave - usually a maximum of three days in case of death in the employee's immediate family; however sick leave in excess of 3 days may be granted in exceptional cases with the supervisor's approval. Immediate family is defined as spouse, parents, brother, sister, children, grandparents, and grandchildren. Also included are step, half, and in-law relationships.
  • Medical appointments
  • Quarantine due to a contagious disease in the employee's immediate family.
  • The actual period of temporary disability connected with child bearing and recovery. A member of the immediate family may use sick leave to care for the mother and newborn infant during the natural mother's period of temporary disability.
  • Illness of a member of the employee's immediate family. Immediate family is defined as: spouse (husband or wife), parent (biological, adoptive, in loco parentis, step or in-law), child - son or daughter (biological, adopted, foster, step, legal ward, in loco parentis, in-law), sister or brother (step, half or in-law), grandparents, great grandparents, grandchildren (step), great grandchildren (step), others living in the employee's household.

Note: Sick leave cannot be transferred to any other type of leave.

At the same time, one month of credit is allowed for each 20 days, or any portion thereof, of sick leave to an employee’s credit upon retirement in the TSERS retirement plan only.