administrative procedures for use of illness leave

Adopted by Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees on April 21, 2009; revised March 24, 2014; revised August 6, 2018.

1. GENERAL

Spokane Public Library provides illness leave for use when an employee is incapable of reporting to work due to personal illness or injury; to care for a sick child; in the case of serious illness, injury, or the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family; for paternity purposes; and for the employee’s doctor and dentist appointments or those of their minor children.  The Spokane Public Library will fully comply with all state and federal statues relevant to administration of paid leave.  It is expected that employees will use illness leave judiciously and for the purposes for which it is intended.  Improper or fraudulent use of leave is subject to disciplinary action.

This document is divided into the following sections:

SECTION 1 – GENERAL

SECTION 2 – USE OF ILLNESS LEAVE – 270 REPRESENTED EMPLOYEES

SECTION 3 – USE OF ILLNESS LEAVE – MANAGEMENT, PROFESSIONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL  EMPLOYEES

SECTION 4 – USE OF ILLNESS LEAVE – GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 5 – ADMINISTRATION

2. USE OF ILLNESS LEAVE – 270 REPRESENTED EMPLOYEES

Illness leave may be used:

1. when the employee is incapable of reporting to work due to illness or injury;
2. when the employee or their minor child* has an appointment with a doctor or dentist;
3. to care for a child* with a health condition that requires treatment or supervision (defined as any medical or mental health condition which would endanger the child’s safety or recovery without the presence of a parent, and any medical condition requiring treatment or medication that the child cannot self-administer);
4. for an emergency or serious illness involving a member of the employee’s immediate family (defined as an employee’s spouse, parents, parental in-laws, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, children, grandchildren, grandparents, or more distant relatives if living as a member of the employee’s immediate household).

*”Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standng in loco parentis who is:  a) under eighteen years of age; or b) eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

Under RCW 49.12, effective January 1, 2003, employees are allowed to choose the type of accrued paid leave they wish to use for the serious health condition of a parent, child, spouse, parent-in-law or grandparent.  Employees may not use leave until it has been earned and must abide by the required processes for the use of each type of leave.  The use of Leave Sharing benefits is subject to the existing requirements and approval process as stated in the Library’s Leave Sharing policy.  FMLA leave will continue to be governed by the specific library policy and administrative procedures covering that topic.

Illness leave may be used on a limited basis as follows:

1. Up to three days illness leave is permitted in the event of death in the immediate family. Two additional days of illness leave may be granted when travel one-way of 250 miles or more is required.
2. An employee may request up to three days of illness leave for paternity purposes within three months of the birth of the child. Additional illness leave may be used when necessary to care for the employee’s spouse or child with a serious illness.  If additional leave to care for and bond with a healthy newborn child is desired, the employee may apply for family leave in accordance with the Library’s Family and Medical Leave Policy and administrative procedures, but illness leave may not be used for that purpose

3. USE OF ILLNESS LEAVE – MANAGEMENT, PROFESSIONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEES

Illness leave may be used:

1. when the employee is incapable of reporting to work due to illness or injury;
2. when the employee or their minor child* has an appointment with a doctor or dentist;
3. to care for a child* with a health condition that requires treatment or supervision (defined as any medical or mental health condition which would endanger the child’s safety or recovery without the presence of a parent, and any medical condition requiring treatment or medication that the child cannot self-administer);
4. for an emergency or serious illness involving a member of the employee’s immediate family (defined as an employee’s child, spouse, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or more distant relative if living as a member of the employee’s immediate household).

*”Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standng in loco parentis who is:  a) under eighteen years of age; or b) eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

Under RCW 49.12, effective January 1, 2003, employees are allowed to choose the type of accrued paid leave they wish to use for the serious health condition of a parent, child, spouse, parent-in-law or grandparent.  Employees may not use leave until it has been earned and must abide by the required processes for the use of each type of leave.  The use of Leave Sharing benefits is subject to the existing requirements and approval process as stated in the Library’s Leave Sharing Policy.  FMLA leave will continue to be governed by the specific library policy covering that topic.

Illness leave may be used on a limited basis as follows:

1. An employee may request up to three days of illness leave for an emergency or serious illness involving family members other than those listed in section 5.1, including the employee’s brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, or grandchildren.
2. Up to three days illness leave is permitted in the event of death in the immediate family. Two additional days of illness leave may be granted when travel one-way of 250 miles or more is required.
3. An employee may request up to three days of illness leave for paternity purposes within three months of the birth of the child. Additional illness leave may be used when necessary to care for the employee’s spouse or child with a serious illness.  If additional leave to care for and bond with a healthy newborn child is desired, the employee may apply for family leave in accordance with the Library’s Family and Medical Leave Policy and administrative procedures, but illness leave may not be used for that purpose.

4. USE OF ILLNESS LEAVE – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Illness leave may be used from date of hire as it accrues. 

Staff that are eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will have illness leave deducted from their accrual on an hourly basis. 

Staff that are considered exempt from overtime pay according to FLSA (generally professional staff) will have illness leave deducted from their accrual in full day increments for any day in which they perform no work.

Anticipated absence from work due to illness must be reported to the employee’s immediate supervisor as soon as possible but in any case no later than one hour prior to the start of the employee’s scheduled shift.

Use of illness leave where the need may be anticipated in advance (such as doctor and dental appointments) should be arranged as soon as practicable, but no later than twenty-four hours in advance.  Any request for time away from work that exceeds 30 consecutive calendar days must be submitted, in writing, to the employee’s supervisor no less than 30 days in advance, unless the need for leave is not foreseeable in which case the request must be submitted as soon as practicable.

Childbirth is considered as any other temporary disability and illness leave may be used for the period of actual disability. 

When an employee’s use of illness leave gives the appearance of abuse, or when there is other reason requiring documentation, the supervisor may require the employee to furnish evidence supporting the need for the use of illness leave.  Improper use of illness leave is subject to disciplinary action, including discharge.

The supervisor may request a release to return to work signed by a physician when leave due to illness exceeds five days (except when the absence is due to the flareup of a chronic condition requiring intermittment leave under an existing FMLA certification).  The employee is responsible for describing the nature of his/her work and asking medical personnel if there are any restrictions in the performance of the employee’s job tasks.  Under normal conditions the employee is expected to be able to carry out all of his/her job tasks while working a normal shift upon returning to work.  Any accommodations regarding job duties or hours of work must be agreed upon with the supervisor prior to the employee’s return to work.  If an agreement cannot be reached, the Human Resources  Director should be contacted.

5. ADMINISTRATION

The Library’s Human Resources Director is responsible for administration of the illness leave policy.