Temporary Disability Leave

82.1

Policy

Any regular full-time or half-time staff employee who suffers temporary sickness or incapacitation thus making the employee unable to perform assigned duties shall be granted temporary disability leave in accordance with the provisions in this policy. It is the intention of this policy and its entitlements to provide leave for temporary disability occurrences that normally have a reasonably predictable time frame, encompassing an onset and an end of the condition.

82.1.1

An employee who has completed new regular staff employee probation and who suffers temporary sickness or incapacitation thus making the employee unable to perform assigned duties may be granted temporary disability leave without pay for the necessary period not to exceed ninety (90) calendar days or the number of days which is covered by accrued temporary disability leave, whichever is greater.

82.1.2

A written physician's statement justifying a request for temporary disability leave may be required by the employee's work unit and/or the human resource services office.

82.1.3

Any absence which extends ten (10) working days beyond the exhaustion of all accrued paid leaves (vacation and paid temporary disability) shall be reported to the human resource services office.

82.1.4

In all cases, requests for temporary disability leave without pay in excess of thirty (30) working days [six (6) calendar weeks] shall require a written physician's statement justifying the leave and estimating the period of leave which shall be necessary for recuperation.

82.1.4.1

As a condition for allowing the resumption of work, a staff employee who wants to return from temporary disability leave shall submit a written physician's statement to the department head that the employee is able to return to work.

82.1.5

A staff employee who is absent from work on a frequent or regular basis or who has attendance patterns which interfere with accomplishment of assigned job responsibilities is not entitled to the provisions of this policy.

82.1.5.1

A staff employee with continuing health problems who is not able to work regularly may be separated from employment (see Human Resources Policy and Procedure Number 12.0: Separation from Employment).

82.1.5.2

It is recommended that excessive temporary disability leave use be reviewed with the employee relations office of human resource services for appropriate actions.

82.1.6

The position of a staff employee shall be held available for the employee's return upon completion of the temporary disability leave without loss of benefits.

82.1.7

Accrued temporary disability leave and/or vacation leave shall be used during the period of temporary disability.

82.1.8

A staff employee shall be in a leave without pay status when accrued temporary disability leave and vacation leave are exhausted.

82.1.9

A staff employee not returning to work at the expiration of temporary disability leave is eligible for terminal vacation pay, in accordance with the provision of policy #81.0.

82.1.10

Paid temporary disability leave accrues at the rate of one (1) day per month for regular full-time staff employees.

82.1.10.1

The paid temporary disability leave allowance is earned for a month when employment commences on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the month and when the employee has been in a pay status one half or more of the work days in that month.

82.1.10.2

No paid temporary disability leave allowance is earned in the final month of employment when the termination occurs on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the month.

82.1.10.3

For a continuing employee, the one (1) day of paid temporary disability leave earned per month is available for use after the fifteenth (15th) day of that month.

82.1.10.4

There is no maximum limit on the amount of paid temporary disability leave that can be accumulated.

82.1.10.5

A staff employee shall be in a pay status one half or more of the work days in a month to earn temporary disability leave accrual for that month.

82.1.11

A regular half-time staff employee shall accrue paid temporary disability leave in an amount for the hours and/or days worked directly proportionate to the amount received by a full-time staff employee. In cases where the scheduled work week is not to be consistent throughout the year, the pro rata percentage to full-time shall be calculated on an annualized basis. The principle governing pro rata percentages under this policy is to provide, within reasonable limits, an equitable allocation of paid temporary disability leave for an eligible employee who is not full-time but who works half-time or more.

82.1.12

Temporary disability leave accrual continues during periods of leave with pay, including any period of payment under Worker's Compensation. (See Human Resources Policy and Procedure Number 95.0: Workers' Compensation.) Temporary disability leave does not accrue when an employee is on long term total disability.

82.1.13

Accrued temporary disability leave time is not considered as hours worked for the determination of a staff employee's eligibility for overtime pay for hours exceeding forty (40) hours in a single work week. (See Human Resources Policy and Procedure Number 30.0: Wage and Salary Administration.)

82.1.14

Accrued temporary disability leave may be used for time off for medical or dental appointments.

82.1.14.1

The staff employee shall have the approval of the supervisor to take the time off for this purpose.

82.1.15

Accrued temporary disability leave for necessary time off due to illness or injury of an immediate family member whom the staff employee must aid may be used in accordance with the following guidelines:

82.1.15.1

The immediate family is defined for this eligibility as spouse, unmarried child at home, or other relative living in the household and under the care of the staff employee for purposes of care during prolonged incapacitation.

82.1.15.2

The maximum time which may be used at any time for this accrued temporary disability leave is five (5) consecutive working days for a single illness or injury, or five (5) working days used singly over a period of six (6) months.

82.1.16

Upon accumulating and maintaining a balance of sixty-six (66) temporary disability days, an employee may be granted necessary time off due to the illness or injury of an immediate family ember in accordance with the following guidelines:

82.1.16.1

The immediate family member for this eligibility is defined as a spouse, a child, a parent, a grandparent or another for whom the employee is legally responsible.

82.1.16.2

As long as a balance of sixty-six (66) days is maintained, an employee may be granted accrued temporary disability leave days not to exceed thirty (30) days within a given twelve (12) month period for this purpose.

82.1.16.3

In cases in which both spouses are employees of the University of Kentucky, only one spouse at a time is eligible to use this policy for the care of the same immediate family member.

82.1.17

A regular full-time or half-time staff employee who transfers to another position within the University retains accrued temporary disability leave in the new position.

82.1.18

Temporary disability for childbearing or pregnancy purposes shall be treated as any other temporary disability.

82.1.18.1

The staff employee may commence the temporary disability leave at the time the physician advises the employee to cease working.

82.1.18.2

To reduce paperwork, a presumption of a six (6) week [thirty (30) working days] recovery period shall be made in a case of childbirth. Other leave associated with pregnancy or childbirth shall be available in accordance with this policy and/or the Family and Medical Leave policy (see Policy 88.0).

82.1.18.3

The employee shall notify the supervisor as soon as practicable of the expected time of any extended leave requirement

82.2

Delegation

82.2.1

The department head shall be responsible for maintaining current, complete, and permanent records of accrued temporary disability leave, current balance available for use, use of temporary disability, and future accrual changes for a staff employee within the department. These records shall be available for review by the staff employee, the human resource services office, or other authorized University officials as necessary. Unless approved by the Director of Human Resource Services, this information shall be maintained on University form AR-3.

82.2.1.1

A department head is authorized to promulgate departmental policies and procedures concerning temporary disability leave. The policies and procedures shall be approved by the Director of Human Resource Services.

82.2.1.2

Conditions such as the necessity to call the supervisor or designated official before the hour scheduled to report to work, any requirement of medical proof of illness or of physical ability to return after illness, daily or periodic report of recuperation progress, may be established by the department head, and shall be written and promulgated for all employees of the department.

82.2.1.3

Abuse of accrued temporary disability leave may be cause for more restrictive reporting and certification requirements for paid temporary disability leave eligibility for an individual staff employee.

82.2.2

The approval authority for temporary disability leave without pay is subject to review by appropriate officials within the sector as determined by the chancellor or the vice president, as appropriate, and by the human resources services office.

82.2.3

The employee relations office of human resource services is responsible for advice regarding policy and procedure compliance. The human resource services office is authorized to promulgate further University policy and procedure concerning temporary disability leave.

82.2.4

Use of paid temporary disability leave for over six (6) months must be approved by the Board of Trustees.

82.3

Procedure

82.3.1

A department shall maintain written records of accrued temporary disability leave for each regular full-time or half-time staff employee in the department.

82.3.1.1

This accrual record shall show an additional accrual of one day of temporary disability leave as of the fifteenth (15th) of each month.

82.3.1.2

This accrual record shall show a decrease accrual of days taken as paid temporary disability leave as such leave is taken. This accrual record shall reflect a balance of temporary disability leave available to the staff employee.

82.3.1.3

See Human Resources Policy and Procedure Number 70.0: Attendance/Hours of Work for further guidelines.

82.3.2

The department head shall notify office of any staff employee's absence which extends ten (10) working days beyond exhaustion of accrued paid leaves (temporary disability and vacation leave).

82.3.3

For accrued temporary disability leave which occurs during a period the staff employee is on a scheduled paid vacation leave to be allowed as paid temporary disability leave, instead of paid vacation leave, the staff employee must provide written certification, signed by the attending physician, that confinement for the employee’s illness was required.

82.3.3.1

This written certification shall be submitted to the department head as soon as possible after the employee returns from paid vacation.

82.3.4

The employee is responsible for notification to the immediate supervisor that time off is necessary due to illness under accrued temporary disability conditions.

82.3.4.1

A department head may set time provisions for this notification as a condition of eligibility for paid temporary disability.

82.3.5

Accrued temporary disability leave must be taken in no less than thirty (30) minute units.