Sick/Bereavement Leave: POA Employees

Sick leave can be requested for absences related to:

• An employee's illness or injury, including birth of a child. For more information, see Parental Leave.
• An employee's medical appointments
• Care for a family member
• Bereavement for the death of a family member. 

POA employees earn paid sick leave on a biweekly basis as a percentage of regular hours paid. To earn sick leave, employees must be permanent, or, if temporary, must have worked at least 750 hours in the leave calendar year. The leave calendar year is defined as the first full pay period in January through the pay period that includes December 31. Temporary employees who meet the 750-hour threshold will be notified in writing at the time eligibility is met.

Sick leave is earned at a rate of 5 percent of regular hours paid biweekly, or 4.00 hours per pay period for 40-hour week/80 hours biweekly.

Sick Leave is used for a sporadic day off due to an employee’s illness, non-work-related injury, or for medical appointments. Employees must have at least 30 calendar days of service before paid sick leave can be used. Employees with less than one year of service may only request to use sick leave that has been earned to date. Employees with more than one year of service may request to use sick leave that is expected to be earned in the current leave calendar year.

1. Notify your supervisor via departmental procedures (i.e., phone call, e-mail, or text)
2. Submit your time off work appropriately on a timesheet using the reason code, Sick Leave.
3. For three (3) or more consecutive days off, a doctor’s excuse must be provided to your supervisor and the Office of Human Resources.

Bereavement Leave is used for time away from work due to the death of a family member.

• Employee may use up to five (5) days of sick leave for the death of a spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child.
• Employees may use up to three days of sick leave for the death of a brother, sister, step-sister, step-brother, grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild, step-grandchild, son- or daughter-in-law, brother- or sister-in-law, parent-in-law, grandparent-in-law, aunt, uncle, foster child, or any relative residing in the employee’s household.

For absences that exceed the limits above, an employee may request to use Annual or Unpaid leave subject to management’s approval.

1. Notify your supervisor via departmental procedures (i.e., phone call, email, or text)
2. Submit your time off work appropriately on a timesheet using the reason code, Sick Bereavement Leave.

Sick Leave FMLA may be used for applicable intermittent absences and/or for an extended period of time away from work for five or more consecutive days due to an employee’s illness/injury. Employees must have at least 30 calendar days of service before paid sick leave can be used. Employees with less than one year of service may only request to use sick leave that has been earned to date. Employees with less than one year of service may request to use sick leave that is expected to be earned in the current leave calendar year.

1. Review the FMLA Notice to POA Employees and Employee Rights and Responsibilities under the FMLA.

2. Complete the Request for FMLA Leave form.

3. Have your healthcare provider complete the Certification Form for Employee's Serious Health Condition. (Note: Healthcare providers may charge a fee to complete forms necessary for FMLA certification.)

4. Return both completed forms to the Office of Human Resources- Benefit Services for review. A designation notice will be sent to you with approval determination and further instructions on leave continuation.

5. Submit a Release to Return to Work Form from your healthcare provider to your supervisor and the Office of Human Resources upon release to return to work by your physician.

6. Entry in ESS is not required by the employee.

A serious health condition is defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves any one of the following:

• An overnight stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility to receive inpatient care, including incapacity or treatment in connection with such a stay;

• A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days, including any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the condition, that also involves one of the following: Treatment two or more times by a healthcare provider; or treatment by a healthcare provider on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the healthcare provider;

• Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care;

• A chronic condition that requires periodic visits for treatment by a healthcare provider; continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of an underlying condition); and may cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.);

• Incapacity of permanent or long-term nature due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The patient must be under the continuing supervision of the healthcare provider even if not receiving active treatment (e.g., Alzheimer’s, a severe stroke, or the terminal stages of a disease); or

• Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments by the healthcare provider for at least one of the following: Restorative surgery after an accident or other injury; or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days in absence of medical intervention (e.g., chemotherapy for cancer, physical therapy for severe arthritis, or dialysis for kidney disease).

Sick Family Leave is used for a sporadic day off due to a family member’s illness/injury. Family member is defined as: spouse, child, step-child, foster child, parent, or sibling. Employees earn five (5) Sick Family days after 30 calendar days of service.

1. Notify your supervisor via departmental procedures (i.e., phone call, email, or text)
2. Submit your time off work appropriately on a timesheet using the reason code, Sick Family Leave.
3. For three (3) or more consecutive days off, a doctor’s excuse must be provided to your supervisor and the Office of Human Resources.

Sick Family Leave FMLA may be used for applicable intermittent absences and/or for an extended period of time away from work of three or more consecutive days due to a family member’s illness/injury. Family member is defined as: spouse, child, stepchild, foster child, child of domestic partner, parent, or sibling. Employees earn five (5) Sick Family days after 30 calendar days of service. Once Sick Family Leave is exhausted, Annual Leave can be used. Once Annual Leave is exhausted, the remaining time off work will be unpaid leave. For more information on unpaid leave, please call the Office of Human Resources.

1. Review the FMLA Notice to POA Employees and Employee Rights and Responsibilities under the FMLA.

2. Complete one of the forms below, based on your reason for the leave:

   1. Request for FMLA Leave form

   2. Request for Military Caregiver Leave form

   3. Request for Military Exigency Leave form

3. Have your family member’s healthcare provider complete one of the forms below, based on your request for leave: (Note: Healthcare providers may charge a fee to complete forms necessary for FMLA certification.)

   1. Certification Form for Family Member's Serious Health Condition

   2. Certification Form for Serious Illness/Injury of Service Member (Military Caregiver Leave)

   3. Certification Form for Serious Illness/Injury of Veteran (Military Caregiver Leave)

   4. Certification Form for Military Exigency Leave

4. Return all completed forms to the Office of Human Resources- Benefit Services for review. A designation notice will be sent to you with approval determination and further instructions on leave continuation.

5. Submit your time off work appropriately on a timesheet using a reason code: Sick Family; Sick Family (FMLA); Annual Leave; Annual Leave (FMLA); Approved Absence or Unpaid FMLA. 

A serious health condition is defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves any one of the following:

• An overnight stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility to receive inpatient care, including incapacity or treatment in connection with such a stay;

• A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days, including any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the condition, that also involves one of the following: Treatment two or more times by a healthcare provider; or treatment by a healthcare provider on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the healthcare provider;

• Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care;

• A chronic condition that requires periodic visits for treatment by a healthcare provider; continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of an underlying condition); and may cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.);

• Incapacity of permanent or long-term nature due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The patient must be under the continuing supervision of the healthcare provider even if not receiving active treatment (e.g., Alzheimer’s, a severe stroke, or the terminal stages of a disease); or

• Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments by the healthcare provider for at least one of the following: Restorative surgery after an accident or other injury; or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days in absence of medical intervention (e.g., chemotherapy for cancer, physical therapy for severe arthritis, or dialysis for kidney disease).

Please refer to the FMLA Notice to POA Employees section titled "Absences After 12 Weeks of FMLA Absence."

• Employees are entitled up to nine (9) months of extended leave without pay (LWOP) absence when the absence is full-time and contiguous to the expiration of the FMLA absence.
• Employees must request the extended LWOP in writing, and for sick or family care reasons, proof of the need for continuing absence must be provided on the Serious Health Condition Certification form. Note: Only one occasion within a rolling year will be approved.
• If eligibility is established, requests for intermittent or reduced-time FMLA absences after the first 12 weeks of absence in a rolling year, shall be approved only when the employee has a catastrophic illness or injury that poses a direct threat to life or to the vital function of major bodily systems or organs as determined and approved by the State System’s Central Administration, of which all decisions will be final and may not be grieved. In addition, all accrued and anticipated paid leave that was not used at the commencement of the absence must be used prior to the use of the extended leave without pay.

Please refer to the FMLA Notice to POA Employees section titled “Benefits Continuation Information.” 

• Annual and sick leave continue to accrue based on regular hours paid.
• Holidays will be earned provided the employee is in a paid status the half day before and half day after the holiday.
• Group life insurance coverage will continue to be university paid during an FMLA absence and the first 182 days of extended LWOP absence
• Health benefits through the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (PEBTF) will continue as long as the employee continues to pay the applicable employee contributions and buy-ups, except during extended LWOP*. Employees enrolled in the PEBTF will receive notice regarding the payment amount and due date. Any delinquency in payment to the PEBTF will result in termination of the employee’s health benefits. Employees must contact their University Human Resource office to add any new dependents to medical/hospital and supplemental benefits contracts within 60 days of birth or assuming custody of a child
• In accordance with the Affordable Care Act, health benefits eligibility will continue for extended LWOP absences of 182 consecutive calendar days or less.

Unused sick leave may be carried over from one leave calendar year to the next, up to a maximum of 300 days.

Should you exhaust all of your paid leave in the event of a catastrophic illness/or injury, you may be eligible for additional paid leave under the Leave Donation Program. For more specific information, please refer to the POA Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 42: Leave Donation Program.

• Resignation: Employees who resign from employment or are otherwise separated are not eligible to receive a payout for unused sick leave.
• Retirement: A percentage of unused sick leave is only payable upon an employee’s retirement from the university and only if certain age and service criteria are met.
  • Retirement at age 60 or above with at least five years of credited service in the State and/or Public School Retirement Systems*, or
  • Disability retirement, which requires at least five years of credited service in the State and/or Public School Retirement Systems*, or
  • Other retirement with at least 25 years of credited service in the State and/or Public School Retirement Systems*, and
  • After seven (7) years of service, death prior to retirement or separation from service except as provided in Article 13/Section 8 of the POA Collective Bargaining Agreement.
  *Superannuation age under the State System’s Alternative Retirement Plan shall be 60 years of age with at least five years of Commonwealth/State System service or any age with at least 25 years of Commonwealth/State System service.

Leave balances are reported on ESS as the number of hours an employee has accrued.

To convert hours to days, divide the number of leave hours accrued by 8.0 hours.