Policy 402C – Safe and Sick Leave for Eligible Part-time and Per Diem Employees, Adjunct Faculty and Students

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Section: Time Off
Policy Number: 402C
Responsible Office: HR/HR Services
Effective Date: 4/1/14
Revised: 5/5/18; 11/7/19; 9/30/20; 6/1/24

SCOPE

This policy applies to eligible part-time and per diem administrators, part-time staff, adjunct faculty, graduate students and regular undergraduate student workers.  This policy does not apply to independent contractors and employees compensated by or through federal work-study programs or qualified scholarships. 

USES OF SAFE AND SICK LEAVE

Eligible employees can use safe and sick leave on a continuous or intermittent basis for the care and treatment of themselves or a family member (defined below), and to seek assistance or take other safety measures if the employee or a family member may be the victim of any act or threat of domestic violence or unwanted sexual contact, stalking, or human trafficking. 

“Family member” is defined as including spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or the child or parent of the employee’s spouse or domestic partner, any other individuals related by blood to an employee or any other individuals whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

Examples of permissible uses of safe and sick leave include:

  • An employee’s mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or need for medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or need for preventive medical care.
     
  • To care for a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or who needs preventive medical care.
     
  • When the University is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or when an employee needs to care for a child whose school or childcare provider has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
     
  • Obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or other services program.
     
  • Participate in safety planning, relocate, or take other actions to protect the employee’s safety or that of the employee’s family members, including enrolling children in a new school.
     
  • Meet with an attorney or social service provider to obtain information and advice related to custody; visitation; matrimonial issues; orders of protection; immigration; housing; or discrimination in employment, housing, or consumer credit.
     
  • File a domestic incident report with law enforcement or meet with a district attorney’s office.
     
  • Attend civil or criminal court dates related to any act or threat of domestic violence, unwanted sexual contact, stalking, or human trafficking. 

ALLOTMENT OF SICK AND SAFE LEAVE

Part-time and per diem employees, adjunct faculty, graduate students and regular undergraduate student workers (non work-study) accrue one (1) hour of paid safe and sick leave for every thirty (30) hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours of paid safe and sick leave per calendar year (January 1 – December 31). 

Any unused portion of sick and safe leave carries over to the following calendar year; however, no more than 56 hours of paid sick and safe leave may be taken during any calendar year, unless additional leave is required by applicable law.  

Each request for safe or sick leave must be for a minimum increment of at least one hour, provided such minimum increment is reasonable under the circumstances. Any use beyond one hour shall be allowed in thirty-minute increments.

Upon separation from employment, any unused sick and safe leave shall have no monetary value and will not be paid out. 

NOTICE REQUIREMENTS

When an employee’s need to use sick or safe leave is foreseeable (e.g., a scheduled doctor’s visit or court appointment), the employee should provide their immediate supervisor with seven (7) days’ advance notice and include the total amount of safe or sick leave that the employee expects to use.  When the employee’s need for safe or sick leave is unforeseeable, the employee must provide notice to their immediate supervisor as soon as practicable.   

DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

Supervisors are responsible for tracking sick and safe leave accurately on employees’ timesheets by indicating Sick/Personal Leave and including comment in online timesheet or department timekeeping system.  

Employees are not required to provide documentation for absences of three (3) or fewer consecutive workdays. Employees are directed to send all safe and sick leave documentation, when requested by their department, directly to the Employee Benefits office and not to their department supervisor. Failure to provide documentation to the Employee Benefits office when requested by the employee’s department may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Sick Leave – For sick leave absences of more than three (3) consecutive scheduled work days, employees may be required to submit documentation from a licensed health care provider to the Employee Benefits Office located on the Queens Campus in University Center, Suite C, or via email at [email protected]. Employees should not share confidential medical documentation with their supervisors or anyone else. The documentation from a licensed health care provider must attest to both the existence of a need for sick leave and the date on which the employee is cleared to return to work. The University will reimburse employees for all fees charged by the health care provider for providing the documentation. Any such documentation provided by an employee will be maintained in the employee’s confidential benefits file.

Safe Leave –  For safe leave absences of more than three (3) consecutive scheduled workdays, employees are required to submit reasonable documentation from a social services provider, attorney, law enforcement, clergy member, or notarized letter by the employee to the Employee Benefits Office located on the Queens Campus in University Center, Suite C, or via email at [email protected]. The documentation must indicate the need for safe leave and shall not include confidential information regarding the nature of any medical condition or of any domestic violence/sexual offense matter requiring the use of leave under this policy. The University will reimburse employees for all reasonable costs or expenses incurred in obtaining documentation for safe time. Any such documentation provided by the employee will be maintained in the employee’s confidential benefits file.

COMPLIANCE AND NON-RETALIATION

In the event of a conflict between this policy and a law that provides greater leave benefits to the employee, the law providing the greater leave benefits shall apply.  The University cannot require that employees or a health care or service provider disclose personal health information or the details of the matter for which an employee requests safe leave, unless disclosure is required by law.  The University shall keep information about an employee or an employee’s family member obtained solely because of the Paid Safe and Sick Leave law confidential unless the employee consents to disclosure in writing or disclosure is required by law.

Employee misuse of safe or sick leave may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Misuse of safe or sick leave may include:

  • Unapproved absences after exhausting safe or sick leave;  
  • A pattern of using unscheduled safe and sick leave on or adjacent to weekends, regularly scheduled days off, holidays, vacation, or payday;  
  • A pattern of taking leave on days when other leave has been denied; 
  • A pattern of taking leave on days when the employee is scheduled to work a shift or perform duties perceived as undesirable.  

Evidence that an employee engaged in an activity that is not consistent with the employee using safe or sick leave for a permissible purpose, as outlined in this Policy, may also indicate misuse of safe or sick leave.  

Retaliation against any employee for appropriate use of paid sick time is unacceptable and strictly prohibited.  Any employee who feels he or she has been retaliated against should immediately report the matter to Human Resources. Employees also have the right to file a complaint with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).  

For more information, refer to the Notice of Employee Rights that was provided to you, and to the Frequently Asked Questions published by NYC DCWP, and FAQs and Fact Sheets published for New York State’s Paid Sick Leave Program.

St. John's University, New York
Human Resources Policy Manual