Sick Leave

Paid sick leave provides eligible employees with a means of financial security during periods when medical conditions of an employee or his or her family member, or other reasons as described below make it impossible for the employee to work. Regular and extended temporary staff employees earn sick leave, beginning from the first day of employment, according to the following schedule, and may be used as accrued:

AMOUNT OF SICK LEAVE EARNED PER 2-WEEK PAY PERIOD
NUMBER OF PAID HOURS PER PAY PERIOD	NUMBER OF HOURS EARNED PER PAY PERIOD
80	4
60-79	3
40-59	2
20-39	1
1-19	0

Employees who are exempt from overtime payment shall not accrue leave for hours worked beyond a 40-hour workweek. Where necessary to ensure that each employee receives at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours worked, Gallaudet will aggregate paid hours worked across pay periods. All other employees earn sick leave, beginning with the first day of employment, according to the following schedule, but it may not be used until after 90 days of service: One (1) hour of sick leave per each thirty-seven (37) hours actually worked (leave does not accrue while using leave), not to exceed fifty-six (56) hours per calendar year. In accordance with the D.C. Sick and Safe Leave Act (“Act”), sick leave may be used for the following reasons:

• An absence resulting from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the employee;
• An absence resulting from obtaining professional medical diagnosis or care or preventive medical care for the employee;
• An absence for the purpose of caring for a family member who has any of the conditions or needs diagnosis or care described in numbers 1 and 2 above.
• An employee may also use sick leave for an absence if the employee or the employee’s family member is a victim of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse. The absence may be pertaining to seeking medical attention for the employee or family member, seeking services from a victim services organization, obtaining psychological or other counseling, temporarily or permanently relocating, taking legal action (including preparing for or participating in a civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or resulting from domestic violence or sexual abuse), or taking other actions to enhance the physical, psychological, or economic health or safety of the employee or employee’s family member or to enhance the safety of those who associate or work with the employee.

A family member (per the Act) is defined as a spouse, registered domestic partner, son or daughter (biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, legal ward, grand child or a child of a person standing in loco parentis), siblings (including step-siblings, half-siblings, and siblings in law), a parent (including step-parents or a person who has acted in loco parentis), a parent of a spouse, spouses of children, and spouses of siblings, and a person who has co-habitated with the employee for at least 12 months.

Employees may also use annual leave for the reasons set forth in this policy.

Sick leave may not be borrowed in advance unless approved through the Sick Leave Loan Program.

Faculty members do not accrue sick leave but can choose to take leave to which they are entitled as faculty members for the reasons and using the notification procedures set forth in this policy, or for the reasons and using the notification procedures set forth in the faculty handbook.

Faculty members who have not accrued sick leave and who are transferred to staff status within their division are credited with a bank account of nine days of sick leave for every full year of continuous service at Gallaudet. Prior service is not recognized when establishing the bank of sick leave.