TAP No.15: Sick Leave, Short-term and Long-term Disability Benefits Overview

TAP No.15: Sick Leave, Short-term and Long-term Disability Benefits Overview

Scope

This policy applies to all full-time and part-time faculty, staff, and student employees.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to review expectations related to the use of sick leave and to provide an overview of the short-term and long-term disability programs.

I. Overview

1. Appropriate Use:
   The purpose of Sick Leave, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability benefits is to provide income protection for employees who are too ill to work or who have sustained an injury that prevents them from performing their job on a temporary or more permanent basis. Sick leave may also be taken to attend an employee's scheduled medical appointments when requested and approved in advance. Sick Leave and Disability benefits are based on the employee's employment classification. Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement should refer to the contract.  In addition, see Section VI, Family Sick Days.
2. Intersection with FMLA:
   The Benefits Office is responsible for the interpretation and application of this policy and for working with individual supervisors to establish departmental guidelines and procedures. Due to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the possibility of Long-Term Disability claims, and to assist with any special accommodations for a return to work, the Benefits Office must be notified by the supervisor as soon as possible if an employee's absence exceeds or can be expected to exceed 3 consecutive days. Refer to TAP No. 23: Leaves of Absence: Family and Medical Leave, Unpaid Sick and Personal Leave. The Benefits Office can be reached at (412) 396-5105.
3. Intersection with Workers Compensation:
   In the event of an absence due to any compensable, work-related injury, the total compensation received by the injured employee through Workers' Compensation and these disability plans cannot exceed the total wages or salary the employee would have earned absent the injury. See TAP No. 24, Workers' Compensation.
4. Departmental Procedures:
   Departments are responsible for establishing their own procedures for employees to follow in order to request time off. However, in general, the employee is responsible for calling the supervisor, department head, or other designated department representative. The supervisor or department head is responsible for remaining in contact with the employee: to establish the reason for requesting time off, projected return to work date, requirements under Family and Medical Leave Act, and to address any work related issues. Misuse or abuse of paid sick leave benefits will lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
5. Medical Documentation:
   The Benefits Office and/or supervisor may request medical documentation from an employee for absences of three or more consecutive days. Medical documentation may also be required when time is missed on an intermittent basis.
6. Abuse of Sick Leave:
   Repeated and patterned abuse of sick leave privileges or excessive absenteeism may be cause for disciplinary action, which may include but not limited to medical documentation for intermittent leave, loss of pay, suspension or dismissal at the discretion of the head of the department in which the individual is employed.

II. Full-time Administrative/Professional Employees - Short-term Disability

1. Employees with less than one year of full-time service:
   Salary will be continued during periods of continuous or intermittent absence due to illness or injury for a maximum period of 10 working days with the approval of the senior department head. For sick leave beyond the 10 working days, the time missed will be unpaid. Refer to TAP No. 12: Insurance Benefits, DUFlex for information regarding benefit continuation and premium payment.
2. Employees with one or more years of continuous full-time service:
   Eligible to receive full salary continuance for up to a maximum of 26 weeks of absence, including any intermittent time off, during any rolling 18-month period. If any time is missed for medical reasons, either consecutively or intermittently, after the 26-week benefit is exhausted, it will be considered unpaid sick leave. The maximum amount of full salary continuance from July 1, 2021 throughout the course of an individual’s employment with the University shall be the equivalent of three occurrences of a 26 week leave of absence (a maximum of 390 work days).    Employees using approved paid or unpaid continuous sick leave in excess of 12 weeks will have a prorated vacation entitlement in the following year that will be based on the actual time worked in proportion to the total time available to work. Vacation time provided will not be awarded until the employee returns to work AND when employee reaches the full-time anniversary date.                                                                                                  
3. Approvals:
   In all instances, payment for absences in excess of 2 weeks requires the approval of the senior-most Vice President or the President within the Division or the President
4. Elimination Period for LTD:
   Employees may be eligible for Long-Term Disability benefits upon completion of their elimination period of 180 days. The disability period will be considered continuous if disability stops for 30 days or less during the elimination period. The days that employees are not disabled will not count towards the elimination period. Refer to section E of this policy for instructions on how to apply for long-term disability.
5. Reinstatement of Benefit:
   An employee who exhausts the short-term paid leave benefit may be reinstated for the benefit according to the following conditions:

1. 1. 1. One year after the employee returns from Long Term Disability.
   2. 2. One year after the benefit is exhausted and the employee returns to work regardless if the employee was on or eligible to apply for LTD. (The one year period begins upon the return to work.)
   3. 3. The reinstated benefit will be based on time worked in the previous 12 months.

III. Full-time Support Employees - Short-term Disability

1. Accrual of Sick Days:
   Employees having less than 10 years of continuous service accrue paid sick leave at the rate of 1 day per month worked.
   
   Employees having 10 or more years of service will accrue paid sick leave on the basis of 1.5 days per month worked.
   
   Full-time support employees may accrue paid sick leave to a maximum of 90 days.
   
   Employees having accrued in excess of 90 days prior to the adoption of the policy revision of 7/1/95 will retain their accumulated sick leave.
   
   Employees will begin accruing their sick leave during their 90-day Introductory and Review Period but will not be able to use any accrued time until they surpass the Introductory and Review Period.
   
   Employees using approved paid or unpaid continuous sick leave in excess of 12 weeks will have a prorated vacation entitlement in the following year that will be based on the actual time worked in proportion to the total time available to work. Vacation time provided will not be awarded until the employee returns to work AND when employee reaches the full-time anniversary date.
2. Approvals:
   
   The use of sick leave for income protection during periods of occasional absence due to illness or injury is based on the approval of the immediate supervisor and in line with any departmental guidelines that are established regarding proper call-off procedures and/or proper documentation of reasons for the absences.
3. Elimination Period for LTD:
   
   Employees may be eligible for Long-Term Disability benefits upon completion of their elimination period of 90 days. The disability period will be considered continuous if disability stops for 30 days or less during the elimination period. The days that employees are not disabled will not count towards the elimination period. In all cases, accrued sick leave must be exhausted prior to the payments of any benefits under the Long-Term Disability Plan.
4. Special Provisions:
   
   The following provisions will apply in the administration of sick leave benefits:

1. 1. Payment of sick leave is based on an employee's salary at the time leave begins. Paid holidays, which occur during paid sick leave, will be paid as holidays and time will not be deducted from accumulated sick leave. Employees on unpaid leave will not receive holiday pay for holidays, which occur during that leave.
   2. Full-time, 12-month employees: Personal leave time of 3 days is granted if no sick leave or unpaid leave time is taken during the calendar year, 2 days is granted if no more than 2 days are taken, and 1 day is granted if either 3 or 4 days are taken. Employees must have worked during the entire calendar year to be eligible for personal leave. (This personal time must be taken in the calendar year following entitlement.)
   3. Full-time, 9- or 10-month employees: Personal leave time of 2 days is granted if no sick leave or unpaid leave time is taken during the 9 or 10 months scheduled to work during the calendar year and 1 day is granted if no more than 2 days are taken. No personal days are granted if 3 or more days are taken. Employees must have worked during the entire 9 or 10 months as scheduled during the calendar year to be eligible for personal leave. (This personal time must be taken in the calendar year following entitlement.)
   4. Employees hired prior to 7/1/99 may be paid for any accrued and unused sick leave as outlined below upon their bona fide retirement from the University. Although employees will still continue to earn sick days as described herein, the maximum number of days considered for payment under this provision will be the number of days in the employee's sick bank as of 7/1/99. Payment will be based on their years of service as of 7/1/99 and according to the following schedule:
      1. 25 or more years of service: Full Payment
      2. 20 to 25 years of service 75% Payment
      3. 15 to 20 years of service 50% Payment
      4. 10 to 15 years of service 25% Payment
      5. 5 to 10 years of service 15% Payment
      6. Less than 5 years of service 5% Payment
         
         A bona fide retirement is defined as a minimum age of 62 with 10 years of continuous, full-time service. In order to properly budget for this payment, employees planning to retire should provide a one year notice of their intention to retire to their department head.
         
         This benefit is not available to employees hired on or after 7/1/99.
   5. Sick time may be used in increments of 15 minutes or greater.

IV. Full-time Faculty - Short-term Disability

1. Faculty with less than one year of service:
   
   Salary will be continued during periods of continuous or intermittent absence due to documented illness or injury for a maximum period of 10 days with the approval of the Dean. For sick leave beyond the 10 days, the time missed will be unpaid. Refer to TAP No. 12: Insurance Benefits, DUFlex for information regarding benefit continuation and premium payment.
2. Faculty with one or more years of continuous full-time service:
   
   Eligible to receive full salary continuance for up to a maximum of 26 weeks of absence, including any intermittent time off, during any rolling 18-month period. If any time is missed for medical reasons, either consecutively or intermittently, after the 26-week benefit is exhausted, it will be considered unpaid sick leave. The maximum amount of full salary continuance from July 1, 2021 throughout the course of an individual’s employment with the University shall be the equivalent of three occurrences of a 26 week leave of absence (a maximum of 390 work days). 
3. 9-month Faculty:
   
   180-day salary shall be 6/9ths of the academic year salary.
   
   Periods of disability outside the 9-month academic calendar, when the faculty are not expected to perform any services, will not count towards the 180-day elimination period.
4. Approvals:
   
   In all instances, payment for absences in excess of two weeks requires the approval of the Provost.
5. Elimination Period for LTD:
   
   Faculty may be eligible for Long-Term Disability benefits upon completion of their elimination period of 180 days. The disability period will be considered continuous if disability stops for 30 days or less during the elimination period. The days that faculty are not disabled will not count towards the elimination period.
6. Summer School:
   
   Faculty teaching in summer school may be paid for absence due to illness which does not require the hiring of a substitute.
7. Reinstatement of Benefit:
   
   An employee who exhausts the short-term paid leave benefit may be reinstated for the benefit according to the following conditions:

1. 1. One year after the employee returns from Long Term Disability.
   2. One year after the benefit is exhausted and the employee returns to work regardless if the employee was on or eligible to apply for LTD. (The one year period begins upon the return to work.)
   3. The reinstated benefit will be based on time worked in the previous 12 months worked.

V. Part-time Employees

1. Eligibility and Accrual
   
   Part-time employees, including but not limited to, hourly-paid student employees, administrators, and other support employees who perform work within the City of Pittsburgh for at least 35 hours per year will earn sick time at the rate of 1 hour for every 35 hours worked up to a maximum of 40 hours per calendar year.
   
   Employees will begin to accrue sick time immediately, but will not be able to use any accrued sick time until they complete 90 calendar days of service.
2. Rollover of Hours
   
   Part-time employees may rollover any accrued and unused sick time up a maximum amount of 40 hours. However, under no circumstance will a part-time employee have a total accrual of more than 40 hours of sick time per calendar year.
3. Adjunct Faculty, PT Coaches and Students Receiving Stipends
   
   Adjunct faculty, part-time coaches and any students receiving stipends, such as Graduate Research Assistants and Graduate Teaching Assistants, will not earn sick time as stated in paragraph A above, but will continue to receive the full amount of their stipend payment in the event they are absent from work on an occasional basis for the reasons set forth in paragraph D below. Reduction of the stipend amount and/or other possible consequences may occur as appropriate if the absence(s) is for an extended period of time (more than 40 hours of missed time in one academic term).
4. Use of Sick Time
   
   Part-time employees may use accrued sick time for their own or for their family member's illness, medical need, preventative care, or in the event of a declared public health emergency. Sick days will be available to be used in the pay period following the pay period in which they were earned. Sick time may be used in increments of 15 minutes or greater.
5. Notice Provisions
   
   Part-time employees are required to provide their manager as much advance notice as possible before using sick time for foreseeable uses and as soon as possible for unforeseeable uses.
6. Upon Separation
   
   Accrued sick time will not be paid upon separation of employment; however, all accrued time will be restored if an employee is rehired within six months of separation.
7. Exclusions
   
   Seasonal workers employed less than 16 weeks are not eligible for sick time.

VI. Family Sick Days

1. Purpose/Definition/Documentation:
   
   To support employees' commitment to family responsibilities, employees covered under this policy may use up to six family sick days per calendar year to provide medical-related care for a family member. A family member is defined as:
   • A biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward, a child of domestic partner, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis;
   • A biological, foster, adoptive, or step-parent, or legal guardian of an employee or an employee's spouse or domestic partner or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child;
   • A person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state;
   • A grandparent or spouse or domestic partner of a grandparent;
   • A grandchild;
   • A biological, foster, or adopted sibling or;
   • A domestic partner.
   • Days shall be taken from available sick leave banks.
2. Intersection with FMLA:
   
   Time taken may or may not be counted under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), depending on the circumstances and medical need. Additional time off may be requested, consistent with the Family & Medical Leave Act. Refer to TAP No. 23: Leaves of Absence: Family and Medical Leave, Unpaid Sick and Personal Leave.

VI. Required Work Performance

1. Expectations:
   
   Employees are required to perform essential job functions with or without accommodation upon the return to work after short-term leave or while working when intermittent leave is required.

VII. Long-term Disability

1. Faculty and Administrative/Professional Employees - After one year of full-time continuous service:
   
   Eligible for long-term disability upon completion of their elimination period of 180 days. The disability period will be considered continuous if disability stops for 30 days or less during the elimination period. The days that employees are not disabled will not count towards the elimination period.
2. Full-time Support Employees - After one year of full-time continuous service:
   
   Eligible for long-term disability upon completion of their elimination period of 90 days. The disability period will be considered continuous if disability stops for 30 days or less during the elimination period. The days that employees are not disabled will not count towards the elimination period.
3. Documentation:
   
   Long term disability benefits require the completion and submission of claim forms to the University's long term disability provider. Employees are responsible for obtaining the proper claim forms for long term disability. The medical portion of the claim form must be forwarded to their medical provider and the employee portion must be completed and returned to Long-Term Disability insurance carrier.
4. Notices:
   
   The long-term disability plan, including explanation of benefits and claim submission deadlines, can be found in the Duquesne University Faculty and Staff Long-Term Disability Plan document. Contact the Benefits Office for a copy of the plan document or review on the Benefits website.
5. Miscellaneous/Compliance:

1. 1. The Benefits Office will review any remaining paid time off and evaluate the requirement to use the time prior to the employee being paid Long Term Disability.
   2. Failure to follow any of these procedures may jeopardize eligibility, salary continuance, Long-Term Disability and DUFlex benefits.

VIII. Right to return to same or similar position after extended absence or continuous intermittent absence for non-faculty and non-represented employees

1. FMLA Compliance:
   
   The Family Medical Leave Act requires that an eligible employee returning from a certified Family Medical Leave (up to a 12-week period) be restored to the same or equivalent position. The department is responsible for compliance with this requirement.
2. Administrative/Professional and Support Employees - Less than one year of continuous service:
   
   Employees with less than one year of continuous service, who are not eligible for Family Medical Leave and are medically unable to work for an extended period of time or have frequent intermittent leave, may be separated from employment, and the employing department may hire a permanent replacement. Approval from the senior-most Vice President within the Dividion and the Chief Human Resources Officer is required. Separated employees are offered COBRA for benefits continuation.
   
   Employees may request an unpaid medical leave of absence. All requests for unpaid sick leave should be made to the Department Head approved by the senior-most Vice President within the Division and coordinated through the Benefits Office. (The Benefits Office is responsible for collecting medical documentation and coordinating the leave through the treating medical provider and the Department Head with the cooperation of the employee.) If the position is not going to be held, termination of employment must be approved by Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Human Resources Officer. For additional information, refer to TAP No. 12: Insurance Benefits, DUFlex.
3. Administrative/Professional and Support Employees - One or more years of continuous service:
   
   Employees with one or more years of service and who were eligible for FMLA but who have exhausted the benefit and met the waiting period qualification to apply for Long Term Disability: The employing department may permanently replace an employee who becomes eligible to apply for Long Term Disability. Approval from the senior-most Vice President within the Division and the Chief Human Resources Officer is required.
4. Administrative/Professional and support employees who qualified once to apply for Long Term Disability, returns to work to the same or similar position, but continues to be medically unable to work on regular basis:
   
   Because of the work disruption that can occur, an individual who returns to work after qualifying to apply for LTD (regardless of whether they were approved or not) but continues with intermittent or continuous periods of absences, may be terminated unless they qualify for Family Medical Leave. If they re-qualified for FMLA, the department will be required to hold the position until the Family Medical Leave is exhausted. Approval must be granted by the Division Vice President and the Chief Human Resources Officer prior to termination.
5. Administrative/Professional and Support Employees - Exhausted FMLA:
   
   Because of the work disruption that can occur, an individual who has exhausted FMLA but continues with intermittent or continuous periods of absences, may be terminated and the position permanently replaced. Approval must be granted by the senior-most Vice President within the Division and the Chief Human Resources Officer prior to termination.
6. Miscellaneous:

1. 1. Eligible employees who are covered by this policy may be entitled to benefits provided by other policies and benefits. Refer to TAPs No. 12: Insurance Benefits, DUFlex, No. 13 Academic Benefits - Tuition Remission as well as Section D of this policy, which addresses Long Term Disability.
   2. The guidelines presented do not negate the at-will employment status of employees covered by this policy and guidelines.

IX. Program Administration

1. Intersection with TAP No. 12:
   
   Refer to TAP No. 12, Insurance Benefits, DUFlex, for information regarding continuation of DUFlex benefits during short-term or long-term disability leave.
2. Changes/Updates:
   
   Duquesne University reserves the right to administer this benefit and to make changes to this benefit with or without notification.

X. Related Information

TAP No. 12: Insurance Benefits, DUFlex

TAP No. 13 Academic Benefits - Tuition Remission

TAP No. 23: Leaves of Absence: Family and Medical Leave, Unpaid Sick and Personal Leave

Pittsburgh Paid Sick Day Act

XI. Violations

Violations of this policy will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are subject to formal disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

XII. History

Date of most recent revision: October 2024.

XIII. Ownership of Policy

Office of Human Resources