A classified employee may interrupt or terminate vacation leave in order to begin another type of paid leave without a return to active service, as long as the employee provides adequate notice and relevant supporting information regarding the basis for such interruption or termination. (Education Code 45200)

Classified employees employed five days per week are entitled to 12 days leave of absence, with full pay, for personal illness or injury (sick leave) per fiscal year. Employees who work less than a full fiscal year or fewer than five days a week (part-time employees) shall be granted sick leave in proportion to the time they work, except when the sick leave will be less than the District grants short-term or substitute employees pursuant to Labor Code 246. (Education Code 45191; Labor Code 245-249)

Classified employees may use sick leave for absences due to:

1. Accident or illness, whether or not the absence arises out of or in the course of employment, or by quarantine which results from contact with other persons having a contagious disease during the employee's performance of his/her duties. (Education Code 45199)
2. Pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery. (Education Code 45193)
3. Personal necessity as specified in Education Code 45207.
4. Medical or dental appointments.
5. Industrial accident or illness when leave granted specifically for that purpose has been exhausted. (Education Code 45192)
6. Illness of the employee's child, parent, spouse, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, domestic partner, or domestic partner's child for up to the amount of leave that would be accrued during six months for personal illness or injury. (Labor Code 233)
7. Diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, the employee or his/her family member as defined in Labor Code 245.5. (Labor Code 246.5 formerly AB109)
8. Need of the employee to obtain or seek any relief or medical attention specified in Labor Code 230(c) and 230.1(a) for the health, safety, or welfare of the employee, or his/her child, when the employee has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. (Labor Code 246.5)

An employee may take leave for personal illness or injury at any time during the year, even if credit for such leave has not yet been accrued. (Education Code 45191)

Unused days of sick leave shall be accumulated from year to year without limitation. (Education Code 45191)

At the beginning of each school year, each classified employee shall be notified of the amount of sick leave which he/she has accumulated.

An employee shall reimburse the District for any unearned sick leave used as of the date of his/her termination and/or separation.

The District shall not require newly employed classified employees to waive leave accumulated in a previous district. However, if the employee's previous employment was terminated for cause, the transfer of the accumulated leave shall be made only if approved by the Governing Board. (Education Code 45202)

Notification of Absence
An employee shall notify the Superintendent or the designated manager or supervisor of his/her need to be absent as soon as such need is known. This notification shall include an estimate of the expected duration of absence. If the absence becomes longer than estimated, the employee shall so notify the District. If the duration of absence becomes shorter than estimated, the employee shall notify the District not later than three o'clock in the afternoon of the day preceding the day on which he/she intends to return to work. If the employee fails to notify the District and the failure results in a substitute being secured, the employee shall not return to work that day.

All absences shall be reported via the District's attendance and substitute assignment system. For positions requiring a substitute, the absence must be reported one hour in advance of the work shift so that substitute services may be secured in advance of the absence.

Continued Absence After Available Sick Leave Is Exhausted/Differential Pay
Each year, each regular classified employee shall be credited with no fewer than 100 working days of paid leave for personal illness or injury, including current year and accumulated days of leave. When the current year and accumulated days at full pay are exhausted, the remainder of the 100 days shall be compensated at 50 percent of the employee's regular salary. Any of the 100 days of leave not used during the year in which they are credited shall be forfeited and shall not accumulate from year to year. This paid leave shall be exclusive of any other paid leave, holidays, vacation, or compensatory time to which the employee may be entitled. (Education Code 45196)

The 100 day period shall commence on the first day of the leave of absence and shall run concurrently with any other paid leave.

Extension of Leave
A permanent employee who is absent because of a personal illness or injury and who has exhausted all available sick leave, compensatory overtime, and any other paid leave shall be so notified, in writing, and offered an opportunity to request additional leave. The Board may grant the employee additional leave, paid or unpaid, for a period not to exceed six months and may renew this leave for two additional six-month periods or for lesser periods. The total additional leave granted shall not exceed 18 months. (Education Code 45195)

If the employee is still unable to resume his/her duties after all available paid and unpaid leaves have been exhausted, the employee shall be placed on a reemployment list for a period of 39 months. If during this time the employee becomes able to resume the duties of his/her position, he/she shall be offered reemployment in the first vacancy in the classification of his/her previous assignment. During the 39 months, the employee's reemployment shall take preference over all other applicants except those laid off for lack of work or lack of funds, in which case the employee shall be ranked according to his/her seniority. (Education Code 45195)

Verification Requirements
After any absence due to illness, injury or personal necessity, the employee may be required to verify the absence by Human Resources or his/her immediate supervisor.

The Superintendent or designee may, at any time, require additional written verification by the employee's physician or medical practitioner. Such verification shall be required whenever an employee's absence record shows chronic absenteeism or a pattern of absences, immediately before or after weekends and/or holidays, for example, or whenever available evidence clearly indicates that an absence is not related to illness or injury.

In addition, the Superintendent or designee may require an employee to visit a physician selected by the District, at District expense, in order to receive a report on the medical condition of the employee. The report shall include a statement as to the employee's need for additional leave of absence and a prognosis as to when the employee will be able to return to work. If the report concludes that the employee's condition does not warrant continued absence, the Superintendent or designee may, after giving notice to the employee, deny the request for additional leave.

Any District request for additional verification by an employee's physician or a District-selected physician shall be in writing.

If the employee is unable to establish proof of illness within five days after returning to work, the absence will be considered unauthorized, and the employee will be deducted their per diem rate of pay for each day of absence where the cause remains undocumented to the District’s satisfaction.

Before returning to work, an employee who has been absent for surgery, hospitalization, or extended medical treatment may be asked to submit documentation from his/her physician stating that he/she is able to return to work and stipulating any recommended restrictions or limitations.

Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act Requirements
No employee, including a short-term or substitute employee, shall be denied the right to use accrued sick days and the District shall not in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee for using or attempting to use sick leave, filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner, or alleging District violation of Labor Code 245-249.

1. To ensure the District's compliance with Labor Code 245-249, the Superintendent or designee shall:
   At a conspicuous location in each workplace, display a poster on paid sick leave that includes the following information:
   a. That an employee is entitled to accrue, request, and use paid sick days.
   b. The amount of sick days provided by Labor Code 245-249.
   c. The terms of use of paid sick days.
   d. That discrimination or retaliation against an employee for requesting or using sick leave is prohibited by law and an employee has the right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner if the District discriminates or retaliates against him/her.
2. Provide at least 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave to each eligible employee to use per year and allow eligible employees to use accrued sick leave upon reasonable request.
3. Keep a record documenting the hours worked and paid sick days accrued and used by each eligible employee for three years.

Short-Term and Substitute Employees
Any short-term or substitute employee who works for 30 or more days within a year of his/her employment shall be entitled to one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 worked. Such employee may begin to use accrued paid sick days on the 90th day of his/her employment, after which he/she may use the sick days as they are accrued. Accrued paid sick days shall carry over to the following year of employment, up to a maximum of 48 hours. (Labor Code 246)

A short-term or substitute employee may use accrued sick leave for absences due any condition specified in Labor Code 246.5.

Employees Paid Exclusively Via Stipend Employees who are compensated exclusively via a periodic stipend rather than on an hourly, daily, or other salary basis are eligible to be credited with three days of sick leave each year. (Labor Code 246) For these employees only, one day of sick leave means a day on which the employee is regularly scheduled to work in the stipended assignment, but is unable to work due to one of the reasons described under Use of Paid Sick Leave under Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act Requirements.

When an eligible employee in a stipended assignment uses up to three days of sick leave per school year, the employee’s total stipend will not be reduced as a result of the absences.

Except as stated in this section, all other provisions of this Administrative Regulation apply equally to employees in stipended assignments.

Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
45103 Substitute employees
45190 Leaves of absence and vacations
45191 Leaves of absence for illness and injury
45193 Leave of absence for pregnancy (re use of sick leave under certain circumstances)
45195 Additional leave for nonindustrial accident or illness; reemployment preference
45196 Salary; deductions during sick leave
45202 Transfer of accumulated sick leave and other benefits

LABOR CODE
230 Jury duty; legal actions by domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking victims, right to time off
230.1 Employers with 25 or more employees; domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking victims, right to time off
233 Illness of child, parent, spouse or domestic partner
245-249 Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014

COURT DECISIONS
California School Employees Association v. Colton Joint Unified School District, (2009) 170 Cal.App.4th 957
California School Employees Association v. Tustin Unified School District, (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 510

ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS
53 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 111 (1970)

August 2016