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Part-time employees shall earn annual leave in proportion to the hours worked during the pay period. An employee who uses annual leave in an amount which is less than a full hour shall be charged with such leave to the closest quarter hour. An employee may accrue annual leave in excess of the year end maximum during a calendar year. Employees with accrued annual leave in excess of the year end maximum as of December 31, shall have any excess converted to accrued sick leave on an hour-for-hour basis on January 1 of each year. The use of annual leave shall not cause an employee to exceed 40 hours during the workweek. While on annual leave or other leave with pay, an employee may not be employed elsewhere unless the requirements for outside activity and if appropriate, extra State compensation have been met. Upon transfer from an annual leave-accruing position to a non-leave-accruing salaried position, the employee shall be paid for unused annual leave, unless the employee elects to retain all unused annual leave, for up to two years. Upon separation, an employee shall be paid for up to the year end maximum of unused annual leave. Upon re-employment by FGCU within 100 days or upon recall by the University within one year, all unpaid annual leave shall be restored and any annual leave paid at time of separation shall be restored upon repayment. Florida law requires the University to allow employees to take three (3) working days of leave, either consecutively or intermittently, within a 12-month period if the employee or a family or household member is the victim of domestic violence and if the leave is sought for specific reasons related to the domestic violence. This policy covers Faculty, A&P, Support Personnel and OPS employees who have been employed for at least three (3) months. Leave Requirements: The University must provide leave to an employee who is the victim of domestic violence in order to:
Except in cases of imminent danger, the employee is required to provide advance notice to the Human Resources Department and may be required to provide Human Resources sufficient documentation of the domestic violence. The employee is required to use any available accrued leave. In the event the employee does not have sufficient leave, or does not accrue leave, to cover the domestic violence leave period, the leave will be unpaid. For purposes of this policy, working day is defined as the employee’s regularly approved work shift which could be more than eight (8) hours. In the event the employee needs to be absent from work more than the three (3) days as provided by this policy, he/she should refer to other University leave policies and procedures as appropriate. The University is required to keep all information relating to the leave confidential. The request for leave, supporting documentation submitted by the employee, and any timesheet or leave request form reflecting the request for leave are exempt from state public records disclosure requirements until one year after the leave is taken. This documentation is to be maintained in the Human Resources Department filed separate from the employee’s official personnel file. Under no circumstances can the University and/or supervisor take any disciplinary action against the employee related to the use of the domestic violence leave. Specific Authority 741.313, F.S. History - New 7/1/07 FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE (FMLA)Family and medical leave provides employees with leave in connection with the birth of a child, placement of a child for adoption or foster care, to care for a sick or disabled family member or for an employee's serious health condition. An employee who follows the procedures outlined herein is entitled to 12 weeks of family and medical leave within a 12 month period. This policy shall be construed as to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Definitions: Family Leave shall mean leave used in connection with the birth of a child, or placement of a child for adoption or foster care. (Also refer to University Parental Leave Policy) Medical Leave shall mean leave used for the care of ill or disabled children, spouse, parents or parents-in-law, or for the recuperation from a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform any one or more of the essential functions of the position. Child shall mean a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is under 18 years of age; or 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability. Spouse shall mean a husband or wife of an employee as defined or recognized under Florida law for the purposes of marriage. Parent shall mean a biological parent of an employee or an individual who stands or stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child. Parent-in-law shall mean a parent of an employee's spouse. In loco parentis shall mean those persons with day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child or, in the case of an employee, who had such responsibility for the employee when the employee was a child. A biological or legal relationship is not necessary. Serious health condition shall mean an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or continuing treatment by a health care provider. Incapable of self-care shall mean that the individual requires active assistance or supervision to provide daily self-care in several of the "activities of daily living" (ADL's). ADL's include adaptive activities such as caring appropriately for one's grooming and hygiene, bathing, dressing, eating, cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking public transportation, paying bills, maintaining a residence, using telephones and directories, using a post office, etc. Physical or mental disability shall mean a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual (as defined in 29 C.F.R. Part 1630). Procedure a) Employee Request for Leave/Notification of Non-Return 1) Whenever the need for family and medical leave is foreseeable, the employee shall notify his or her supervisor as soon as possible and practicable. Ordinarily, the request should be in writing and at least 30 days in advance of when leave is to begin. 2) If the need for family or medical leave is not foreseeable, the employee shall notify his or her supervisor as soon as possible and practicable. If requested by the supervisor, the employee shall provide a written medical statement when requesting medical leave. 3) Employees who do not plan to return to work at the expiration of family or medical leave should notify their supervisor no later than the expiration of the leave. Failure to return to work without giving adequate notice may result in the conversion of the resignation to an unsatisfactory service separation. 4) The University must notify the employee when leave is charged against the employee's FMLA entitlement. Attachment A may be used and must be sent to the employee within two (2) days of either the employee's request for leave under this Act, or the university's determination that leave qualifies under the Act. 1) If requested, family and medical leave must be granted to any faculty, A&P or Support Personnel employee for a period of up to twelve weeks during a twelve month period. OPS employees who have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to leave shall be eligible for family and medical leave. The twelve month period shall be from July 1 - June 30. 2) For part-time employees (employees that work less than 1.0 FTE) and those who work variable hours, the family and medical leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata or proportional basis. 3) Nothing in this procedure shall prohibit the employee from requesting and the university approving leave in excess of 12 weeks. 4) Family and medical leave may include any combination of sick, annual, or leave without pay. 5) Sick leave usage is governed by the existing university sick leave policies. 6) Nothing in this policy shall prohibit an employee from requesting additional leave for which he or she may be entitled, including the Sick Leave Pool. c) Family Leave 1) Family leave used in connection with the birth or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care must be completed within twelve months of the date of the birth or placement of the child. 2) Family leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule, only with the supervisor's approval. 3) At the discretion of the appointing authority, an employee requesting family leave may be required to use accrued annual or compensatory leave prior to use of leave without pay. d) Medical Leave Generally, where inpatient care is not involved, absences of more than 3 days (and requiring the continuing treatment of a health care provider) for the employee's serious health condition or for the care of a sick family member, shall be considered eligible for medical leave. Medical leave shall be granted on an intermittent basis or on a reduced work schedule if certified as necessary by the health care provider. 1) Prenatal care is explicitly included; routine physical exams are explicitly excluded. 2) Employees may request medical leave as needed under this policy but are guaranteed medical leave only so long as the cumulative total of family and medical leave absences does not exceed twelve weeks during a twelve month period. 3) Nothing in this policy limits the right of employees to request sick leave in order to provide the necessary care and attendance to a sick family member under existing sick leave policies. 4) An employee may be required to provide medical certification from a health care provider indicating the need for medical leave, the continuation of medical leave, and/or the ability of the employee to return to work. i) Medical certifications must state in the case of the employee's serious health condition, that he or she is unable to perform the functions of the position. ii) Where the employee is requesting medical leave to care for a seriously ill family member, the health care provider must either certify that the third-party care is required or that the employee's presence would be beneficial to the patient. Such certification, in conjunction with an employee's statement of the care he or she will provide, will be sufficient to satisfy this requirement. iii) If intermittent leave or leave on a reduced schedule is required, the medical certification must describe the treatment regimen provided (i.e., doctor's visits, therapy, etc.). Attachment B may be reproduced and used for medical certification. 5) At the discretion of the appointing authority, employees requesting medical leave may be required to use accrued sick, and annual leave prior to use of leave without pay. e) Continuation of Benefits During the leave period, the University will continue coverage under the health insurance plan in which the employee is participating prior to going on leave, at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had not gone on leave. 2) Employees on family or medical leave are responsible for the payment of the employee contribution for health insurance. i) If the employee is in a paid leave status, the employee's share will continue to be paid through payroll deduction. ii) Employees on family or medical leave who are in leave without pay status may continue coverage for their health, life, and other supplemental insurance. Payment must be made by personal check or money order. Special arrangements for premium payments can be made by contacting the Office of Human Resources. 3) Health insurance coverage will be canceled after the required payment is more than 30 days late. 4) If health insurance coverage lapses due to non-payment of the required premium or employee cancellation of coverage, the employee may request restoration of health insurance upon return from leave. Health insurance coverage will be restored effective the date the employee returns from family or medical leave. A written request to restore health insurance must be received by the Office of Human Resources within 60 days of returning to work. 5) Employees who terminate employment while on family or medical leave will be eligible for COBRA (continuation of health insurance coverage) if they meet COBRA eligibility requirements. The effective date for COBRA coverage will be based on the last month that premiums were collected. f) Return to Former Position An employee on family or medical leave must be returned to his or her former position, or an equivalent. Any exception to this provision requires the approval of the Human Resources Director prior to the employee's return to work. Departments requesting permission to return an employee to a different but equivalent position must provide the Human Resources Director with detailed justification of the reason the employee cannot be returned to his or her former position. g) Record Keeping/Time and Attendance Departments are responsible for maintaining records of family and medical leave and for tracking the amount of family and medical leave used within the twelve month period. 1) In addition to the type of leave requested (annual, sick, compensatory, or leave without pay), the timesheet or the leave request form should include a notation that the absence is for family and/or medical leave. Attachment C may be reproduced and used to track individual employee usage of family and medical leave. 2) When leave is taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule, only the time actually taken as family and/or medical leave may be charged against the employee's entitlement. h) Miscellaneous An employee will not accrue any additional "seniority" credit during unpaid family or medical leave and will be treated the same as employees who are on leave without pay for any other purpose. SICK LEAVE POOL POLICYThe University President authorizes the establishment of a single Sick leave Pool, hereinafter known as "Pool", for participating full-time employees. Upon depletion of their sick, annual, and compensatory leave credits, and after the approval of the Sick leave Pool Committee, hereinafter known as "Committee", participating employees may draw upon the Pool for their personal illness, accident, or injury. Participation in the Pool shall be voluntary on the part of any eligible employee. The Pool will be for the benefit of eligible participating employees without regard to their salary pay plan and without regard to salary funding source. The Pool shall be independent cooperative effort on the part of the participating employees and will not be affiliated with any other organized activity of the University or university employees. This policy shall remain in effect until terminated by the participating employees. Procedure A. Administration of the Pool. 1. The President has designated the Director of Human Resources to serve as the Sick Leave Pool Administrator, hereinafter known as "Administrator". 2. Two (2) employees from each University employee group, i.e., Faculty, Administrative and Professional (A&P), and Support Personnel (SP), shall be appointed by the President to the Sick Leave Pool Committee. The Committee members for each employee group will be appointed to serve alternating two (2) year terms, ending June 30th.. 3. Only employees participating as members of the Sick Leave Pool are eligible to serve on the Sick Leave Pool Committee. 4. In the event the Administrator or any member of the Committee resigns, is no longer eligible for participation in the Pool, or is unable to serve for any other reason as determined by a majority vote of the Committee, the President will appoint a replacement committee member from the same employee group as the person being replaced, except that the Administrator may be appointed from any employee group. The new appointee shall serve the balance of the term of the person being replaced. As with the other committee members, all replacement appointees shall be participants in the Pool. 5. The Administrator shall serve as chairperson of the Committee; shall vote only in the case of a tie vote of the other committee members present; shall act as liaison with the Office of Human Resources and with the Payroll Office; shall have access to participating employee’s leave records and to other employee information necessary to administer and maintain the sick leave pool and shall maintain accurate, complete, and reliable records relative to all functions of the Pool. 6. The Committee will establish internal procedures to include, but not be limited to the following: (a) the enrollment of participating employees; (b) the criteria for evaluating applications for membership; (c) application for use of sick leave credits from the Pool; (d) the criteria for evaluating requests to draw sick leave from the Pool; (e) the establishment of policies and procedures for Committee quorum and the removal of Committee members; (f) the forms required for the efficient and effective administration of the Pool. 7. All Pool records maintained by the Administrator, not otherwise protected by Chapter 119 F.S. shall be open to inspection at a time and place convenient to the Administrator. 8. The Administrator shall make periodic reports to the membership. 9. In the execution of the duties and responsibilities defined in this policy or in the internal procedures of the Committee, the Administrator and the Committee shall show responsible judgment and act in the best interests of the majority of the employees participating in the Pool. Any member of the Committee who applies to utilize leave credits from the Pool shall not vote on his/her own request. 10. The Pool can be terminated by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership. (a) Upon receiving a petition signed by at least one-third of the members of the Pool, The Administrator shall provide a ballot to all active members of the Pool and request that Members return the ballot within ten (10) work days from the date of mailing. (b) If two-thirds of the membership vote in favor of terminating the Pool, all actions of the Pool shall cease. All members will be notified of the results of the balloting within thirty (30) work days. (c) The balance of sick leave hours remaining in the Pool shall be divided equally among the members of record at the time of termination and transferred to the employee’s individual sick leave account maintained by the Payroll Office. B. Membership in the Pool. 1. Eligibility is extended to any full-time University employee after completion of one (1) year of employment with the state, provided that a minimum of sixty-four (64) hours of sick leave has been accumulated by such employee. Eligible employees shall include those employees on an annual, academic or multi-year appointments, and those on a sabbatical or other approved Leave of Absence with pay. In addition, part-time employees (employed at less than 1.00 FTE) may participate in the Pool on a pro rata basis. 2. Each eligible employee who desires to participate in the Pool must apply, using the appropriate request for enrollment form, to the Administrator for membership. The applicant’s request must either be accepted or rejected within thirty (30) calendar days of the receipt of the request. No employee shall be unreasonably denied membership in the Pool. The eligibility requirement of a minimum of sixty-four (64) hours, for full-time employees, will apply at the time of the Committee’s final action on the request. University employees who have their application for enrollment rejected may reapply during the next enrollment period, if such employees are eligible during the enrollment period. 3. Employees may apply for membership in the Pool during one of the open enrollment periods. Employees who complete their first year of service other than during an open enrollment period will have thirty (30) calendar days to apply for membership in the Pool. Employees may transfer their Pool membership from another state agency during the first thirty (30) calendar days of employment at the University. Employees who do not apply during an open enrollment period or within thirty (30) calendar days of becoming eligible may apply for Pool membership during a later open enrollment period. 4. Since the Pool is an independent cooperative effort on the part of the University employees, it shall be the responsibility of the employee to determine the time that he/she may become eligible for membership in the Pool. Furthermore, it shall be the responsibility of the employee to apply for membership when he/she may become eligible. 5. The Committee shall designate a minimum of one (1) open enrollment period consisting of at least thirty (30) calendar days during each twelve month period. 6. Each participating employee shall contribute eight (8) hours of sick leave at the time the application to participate is accepted by the Committee, with the eight (8) hours deducted from the employee’s sick leave account as maintained by the Payroll Office and added to the total sick leave hours available in the Pool account as maintained by the Administrator. 7. Each participating employee shall contribute eight (8) hours of sick leave at the time the Pool is depleted as defined in section C., below. 8. Membership in the Pool will be terminated as follows: (a) Participating employees may cancel their membership in the Pool at any time by notifying the Administrator in writing. Any such notice shall include the date for the cancellation of membership. (b) Participating employees who retire, transfer, terminate, or are terminated from University employment shall be terminated from the Pool, effective on the date of the personnel action. (c) Participating employees who are found to be abusing the Pool may be terminated from the Pool. (d) Any sick leave hours owed to the Pool by any participating employee who is terminated from the Pool shall be transferred from the individual sick leave account as maintained by the Payroll Office to the Pool, if such hours are accrued and available. C. Maintenance of the Pool. 1. When the total credits available in the Pool amount to eighty (80) hours or less, the Pool shall be considered to be depleted. Upon depletion, the Pool members will be notified that eight (8) hours of sick leave credits will be deducted from their accounts unless they inform the Administrator, in writing, within two (2) weeks of the date of the notice, of their intention to discontinue membership. (a) If the participating employee’s individual sick leave account as maintained by the Payroll Office is less than eight (8) hours at the time the Pool is depleted, the Payroll Office shall deduct all accumulated sick leave hours at that time and the remainder of the eight (8) hours as additional sick leave hours are accrued by the employee. The employee shall not be allowed to us his/her individual sick leave hours until the amount owed to the Pool has been contributed. (b) The inability of a participating employee to contribute eight (8) hours of sick leave to the Pool at the time the Pool is depleted shall not normally exclude the employee from continued membership in the Pool. (c) If a participating employee repeatedly fails to have a sufficient balance in his/her individual sick leave account when requested to contribute eight (8) hours to the Pool, the reasons for the use of sick leave credits by the employee shall be investigated by the Administrator to determine whether the employee’s membership in the Pool should be canceled. The decision for such cancellation shall be by majority vote of the Committee. 2. A participating employee shall be allowed to make a contribution of up to 16 hours of unused or unpaid sick leave from the employee’s individual sick leave account at the time of retirement or termination from state employment. 3. Participating employees may not apply any conditions or restrictions on any sick leave hours they may contribute to the Pool. All sick leave hours in the Pool will be disbursed by action of the Committee. 4. Any sick leave contributed to the Pool by a participating employee shall be forfeited upon the employee’s, cancellation of membership or retirement, termination from state employment, or termination from the University unless transferred pursuant to paragraph C.5. 5. An employee who moves to another position in state government may transfer from the University Pool to another agency sick leave pool, provided the eligibility criteria are comparable or the administrators of the University Pool and the other agency’s sick leave pool have agreed on provisions for the transfer of sick leave credits. The total hours transferred shall be only the employee’s prorated share of the available Pool balance at the time of the transfer, with such prorated share rounded to the nearest quarter hour. The maximum number of hours that may be transferred from the University Pool to another agency is eight (8) sick leave hours per transferred employee. D. Utilization of the Pool 1. Participation in the Pool does not guarantee hours may be withdrawn from the Pool. All hours will be disbursed by action of the Committee. 2. Participating employees who require hospitalization or extended medical care as the result of any injury or illness or as a result of serious or major medical or health problems, may request permission to utilize leave credits from the Pool. 3. Sick leave hours from the Pool may be granted only for the employee’s personal illness, injury, accident, or exposure to a contagious disease which would endanger others. Personal illness shall include disabilities which are the result of or are contributed to by pregnancy related illnesses and the recovery therefrom. 4. Participating employees who have depleted all their accrued sick annual, and compensatory leave credits may request sick leave credits from the Pool. (a) All requests for sick leave credits shall be forwarded to the Administrator. (b) A maximum of one hundred sixty (160) hours or twenty (20) days of Pool credits may be granted to an employee for any one request. (c) A participating employee may withdraw up to 480 hours (60 work days) from the Pool. (d) A participating employee who withdraws sick leave hours from the Pool shall not be required to replace those hours except as a regular participating member. (e) Participating employees may designate a representative to request sick leave on their behalf. (f) Upon use of the 480 hour maximum number of Pool credits, an employee shall be discontinued from membership in the Pool. Such employee may reapply for membership in the Pool as described in Section B. above. 5. Participating employees, or their designees, must certify that the reason for the sick leave request is justified as provided for in paragraph D 2. and 3. above. 6. The Committee shall evaluate requests for sick leave from the Pool, based upon, but not limited to, the following: (a) Verification that the request is from a member of the Pool. (b) Verification that the employee’s individual sick, annual, and compensatory leave credits have been depleted, or shall otherwise be depleted during the required sick leave for the employee. (c) An evaluation of the use of the employee’s individual sick leave account to determine whether there has been excessive use of sick leave for other than personal illness, accident or injury. (d) An evaluation of the type of illness, accident, or injury that is the basis for the request. (e) An evaluation of any disability insurance the member may be entitled to receive benefits from. 7. Verification of illness and corresponding leave shall be required from the attending physician or other health care provider. Physician or health care provider may include: (a) A doctor of medicine (MD), doctor of osteopathy (DO), doctor of surgical chiropody (DSC), or doctor of podiatry (DPM), Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP), who is legally qualified and licensed to practice medicine and/or perform surgery: and is acting within the scope of his/her license; or (b) A doctor of Chiropractic (DC) or doctor of chiropractic and physiological therapeutics (DCPT), who is legally qualified and licensed to provide services and is acting within the scope of his/her license; or (c) A doctor of dental medicine (DMD) or doctor of dental surgery (DDS), who performs specific surgical procedures or renders services due to injuries resulting from an accident or illness and who is legally qualified and licensed to provide services and is acting within the scope of his/her license; or (d) A doctor of optometry (OD) who performs specific procedures or renders services due to injuries from an accident or illness and who is legally qualified and licensed to provide services and is acting within the scope of his/her license; or, (e) A doctor of psychology who provides psychotherapy, and counseling who is legally qualified and licensed to provide such services and is acting within the scope of his/her license; or, (f) A clinical social worker who provides psychological or mental health counseling or marriage and family therapy, and who is legally qualified and licensed to provide such services and is acting within the scope of his/her license. 8. Participating employees who are on disability leave as defined in Chapter 6C-5.920 (11) and (16), F.A.C. and applicable collective bargaining agreements, may request sick leave hours from the Pool within the limits established by these rules or agreements and this policy. 9. Pool payments shall be coordinated with any and all disability insurance benefits the employee may accrue. No more that the current bi-weekly salary may be received by the employee after all benefits from all applicable disability insurance benefits are applied. 10. At the time that a participating employee who has been granted sick leave hours from the Pool has been certified as able to return to work and resume his/her normal assigned work schedule, the payment of sick leave pool hours shall cease and all unused sick leave hours will be returned to the pool. If the employee is paid for sick leave hours from the Pool after he/she has been certified or otherwise declared able to perform his/her assigned duties and has resumed his/her normal assigned work schedule, all such hours will be repaid to the Pool from the employee’s individual sick leave account. The employee shall be required to use his/her accrued personal annual and sick leave hours first. Any amount of unused Sick Leave Pool hours that are remaining shall be returned to the Pool. 11. It shall be the responsibility of participating employees who have been granted sick leave credits to inform the Administrator at such time as they may be certified as able to return to work or otherwise assigned work related duties, or at such time as they may have resumed his/her normal assigned work schedule. Such notification to the Administrator shall be made within five (5) work days of the occurrence. 12. The effective date for any sick leave granted shall normally be the date of the request for the sick leave or the date the employee’s individual sick leave account was depleted. 13. Alleged abuse of the use of the Pool shall be investigated by the Administrator, and if the Committee deems it warranted, the participating employee shall repay all sick leave credits drawn from the Pool and may have his/her membership canceled by a majority vote of the Committee. In addition, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the University’s procedure for taking disciplinary action. Forms Eff. 3/96
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© FGCU 2009. This is an official FGCU web page. Florida Gulf Coast University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. |
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