Personal Absences
At the beginning of each contract or fiscal year as appropriate, all full-time employees shall be credited with an advance sick leave allowance of 12 days. Persons employed by the school district as part-time employees shall receive proration of 12 days. Said sick leave can only be used by the employee or the employee's dependent children under the age of 18 years old for personal illness, injury, surgery or pregnancy or as designated in the
appropriate negotiated agreement. Sick leave shall accumulate from
year-to-year up to a maximum as allowed by law.
Sick leave for employees on the monthly salary rate shall accrue cumulative to the length of contract. Full time employees on the monthly salary rate employed less than a full continuous year shall be entitled to a proportionate sick leave.
Transfer of said sick leave between districts in the state and payment for unused sick leave upon death or retirement and payment which may be made each January to eligible employees shall be in accordance with state statutes, rules and regulations.
The district reserves the right to request a doctor's certificate for sick leave absences according to negotiated agreement.
If an employee is absent without leave, a deduction of the full amount of the employee's salary shall be made for each day's absence, beginning with the first day. Disciplinary action may be taken.
Family Illness
In case an employee is absent because of illness in the immediate household, the cost of a substitute shall be deducted for a period not to exceed three working days for one illness. Full salary shall be deducted for each day beyond three. A full salary deduction for each day shall mean the employee's determined per diem rate.
Bereavement
In the event of a death in the immediate family of a staff member an absence of up to five days may be permitted without any deduction from salary.
The immediate family of a staff member shall be considered a spouse, parent brother, sister, child, grandparent, or grandchild by blood, marriage, or legal adoption.
Subpoena and Jury Duty
Any employee who is subpoenaed to appear in court, or is called for jury duty shall have deducted from his/her pay only that amount which he/she earns while serving in that capacity.
Leave of Absence
Leave without pay may be granted to any certificated employee.
Application for such leave must be made to the superintendent or his/her designee. Leaves recommended by the superintendent require board approval before they may be granted.
Except in unusual circumstances such leave shall be granted for a full semester or more. Requests for fractions of a year shall be considered on the basis of circumstances and the availability of replacements.
Application for such leave must be made on or before April 15 of the school year. The superintendent may accept applications later than this date for a valid reason. By April 15 of the year of a full year's leave the certificated employee on leave shall give written notice to the superintendent or his/her designee of their plan to return to the district. In cases of failure to provide notice of return, it shall be deemed that the certificated
employee has resigned. Such leave may be extended by the board, upon the recommendation of the superintendent, if the certificated employee on leave requests the extension on or before April 15 of the year of the leave.
The certificated employee returning from leave shall not necessarily be assigned to the identical position occupied before the leave, but as much as possible, to a position equivalent before the leave; except that with the concurrence of the parties, the certificated employee may be assigned to a position of greater responsibility or increased duties.
Emergency Leave
Each certificated employee shall be allowed a contractually limited number of days per year emergency leave without deduction from salary, to be deducted from sick leave.
Conditions for granting emergency leave are as follows:
- The situation shall be of such a nature that generally preplanning by the employee is not possible, one which is serious, essentially unavoidable and of importance; not one of mere convenience.
- Some examples of situations that qualify for emergency leave are:
- Serious illness in the immediate family,
- Legal or business obligations that cannot be conducted at another time and requires the employee's attendance,
- Birth of a child for a male employee,
- Threat to an employee's property (flooding, storm, fire, etc.),
- Extension of bereavement because of special circumstances, that is, travel conditions and/or distance,
- Other emergency events which require time away from assigned duties and which are beyond the control of the employee or which cannot reasonably be anticipated or avoided and fall under the definition above.
- The employee shall call the substitute caller and shall at that time identify the situation and state that he/she shall be using emergency leave.
Emergency leave, without any deduction from salary, may be determined and granted by the superintendent or his/her designee for days in excess of days granted above.
Child Care Leave
Certificated staff members who become pregnant or who are legally adopting a preschool child (5 years or younger) may request child care leave.
An employee may request long term child care leave without compensation for not more than one school year.
Military Leave
Military leave shall be granted in accordance with law to personnel who are required to serve in the armed forces of the United States or the State of Washington in fulfillment of obligations incurred under selective service laws or because of membership in reserve units of the armed forces or the National Guard.
Military leave shall be scheduled whenever possible during non-contracted days.
Temporary Disability Leave
Employees who are physically unable to perform the functions of their position for medical reasons may request a temporary disability leave.
The policies outlined in this section may change in accordance with state statutes or negotiated agreements.
Shared Leave
Employees who accrue sick leave and/or vacation leave may voluntarily participate in the shared leave program; provided that employees who accrue annual (vacation) leave, may only donate annual leave. (RCW 28A.400.300)
The Superintendent or designee shall determine the amount of shared leave a leave recipient may receive and may authorize an employee to use up to a maximum of 261 days of shared leave during total state employment. All forms of paid leave available for use by the recipient must be used prior to using shared leave.
An employee shall be eligible to receive shared leave if the employee suffers from, or has a relative or household member suffering from an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which has caused or is likely to cause the employee to take leave without pay or terminate his or her employment.
Additionally, the employee shall be eligible to receive shared leave under the following conditions:
- The employee's job is one in which annual and/or sick leave can be used and accrued.
- The employee is not eligible for time loss compensation under chapter 51.32 RCW.
- The employee has abided by district policies regarding the use of sick leave.
- The employee has exhausted, or will exhaust, his or her annual leave and/or sick leave.
- The employee's absence and the use of shared leave are justified.
An employee may donate sick leave using the following criteria:
- The employee must be in a job in which annual leave is not accrued.
- The employee must have accrued more than sixty days of sick accrued.
- Employees may not donate more than six days of sick leave during any twelve-month period.
- Employees may not donate an amount of sick leave that will result in his or her sick leave account going below sixty days.
- All donated sick leave must be given voluntarily. No employee shall be coerced, threatened, intimidated, or financially induced into donating sick leave.
- Donation of days will not affect sick leave buy back unless the donator's total available days are between 60 and 72.
An employee may donate annual (vacation) leave using the following criteria:
- The employee may donate any amount of annual leave provided the donation does not cause the employee's annual leave balance to fall below ten days.
- Employees may not donate excess annual leave that the donor would not be able to take because of an approaching date after which the annual leave cannot be used.
- All donated sick leave must be given voluntarily. No employee shall be coerced, threatened, intimidated, or financially induced into donating annual leave.
The district shall require the employee or his or her legal representative, to submit, prior to approval or disapproval, documentation from a licensed physician or other authorized health care practitioner verifying the severe or extraordinary nature and expected duration of the condition.(WAC 329-126-095)
Approved:
5/7/90
Revised:
5/20/91
8/10/98
1/7/02
LEGAL REFS.:
RCW 28A.400.210 through 28A.400.300
WAC 392-136, generally
CONTRACT REFS.:
LWEA Contract, Articles XXI and XXXIII
CROSS REFS.:
Professional Staff Leaves and Absences (regulation) (GCBD-R)
NOTE: Professional-Technical Employees should refer to their Employment Handbook for appropriate policy information.