| 7. | SICK LEAVE |
|
| 7.1 | Sick leave, including maternity, is a benefit granted by the institution to staff employees and is not a benefit considered to be earned by the employee such as annual leave. It is an insurance benefit allowing employees to build a reserve of days they can use for their extended illnesses. Sick leave may be used by an employee when:
- The employee is ill or injured and is unable to work.
- The employee has an appointment for the diagnosis or treatment of a medically related
condition. - The employee wishes to attend to the needs of an eligible family member who is ill or to assist them in obtaining other services related to their health or well-being. Eligible family members include the employee's spouse, parent (natural, adoptive, foster, and step-parent); child (natural, adoptive, foster, and step-child); or any other family member who is financially or legally dependent upon the employee or who resides with the employee for the purpose of the employee providing care to the family members. Sick leave used for these purposes shall not exceed forty hours per calendar year.
|
|
| 7.1.1 | Employees who use sick leave are responsible for informing their supervisors prior to the start of their scheduled work period. The employing department may require satisfactory medical verification as deemed necessary by the department head prior to the payment of sick leave. |
|
| 7.2 | Sick leave is granted on the basis of continuous service from date of employment for benefited staff employees. |
|
| 7.3 | Sick leave for full-time benefited staff employees accrues based on rate per hour at a rate equivalent to 12 days per year. Sick leave for benefited part-time employees working twenty hours or more per week is granted on a prorated basis. Sick leave accumulation is unlimited. |
|
| 7.4 | Sick leave may be granted to employees who become ill while on vacation provided satisfactory medical proof of such illness is submitted. |
|
| 7.4.1 | When a holiday occurs during a paid sick leave the holiday is not considered a day of sick leave. |
|
| 7.5 | An employee with at least ten continuous years of state employment who leaves the employ of the state, is entitled to a lump-sum payment equal to one-tenth of the pay attributed to the employee's unused sick leave accrued under this Section 7 and in accordance with N.D.C.C. Section 54-06-14. The pay attributed to the accumulated, unused sick leave must be computed on the basis of the employee's salary or wage at the time the employee leaves the employ of the state. |
|
| 7.6 | At the discretion of the department head and the concurrence of the appropriate administrative officer, an employee may be granted sick leave in advance of the accumulation thereof. If an employee terminates employment, any sick leave taken in advance of accumulation may be deducted from the employee's last paycheck provided the employee has signed an agreement authorizing the deduction. |
|
| 7.7 | Accrued sick leave is transferable from any state agency to the employing institution if employment with the institution occurs within one calendar year of termination of service with the state agency. |
