Additional Sick Leave for Faculty / Professional Staff Policy

Policy Statement

The University President may grant additional sick leave to a Faculty/Professional employee who has exhausted all accrued sick leave credits.

Purpose/Scope

According to the Board of Trustees Policies:

1. Additional sick leave may be at full salary, or such part thereof as the chief administrative officer may determine, or without salary. Additional sick leave at full or partial salary, together with use of any sick leave, shall not exceed a total of six calendar months. Additional sick leave without salary shall not exceed one calendar year. Additional sick leave at full or partial salary shall not be approved until all sick leave credits accumulated have been exhausted.
2. The chief administrative officer may grant an employee sick leave in addition to that provided by paragraph (a) of this section. Such additional sick leave may be at full salary or such part thereof as the chief administrative officer may determine, or without salary. The SUNY Chancellor may require submission of such leave requests by an institution to secure SUNY Chancellor approval, when deemed in the best interest of the University.
3. Prior to being granted additional sick leave, an employee may be required to furnish such medical evidence from the employee’s physician as may be requested or submit to medical examination by a physician selected by the University (at the University’s expense).

Authorization for such additional sick leave should be obtained by completing a Leave Request Form and Letter of Intent to the President, which should be forwarded through administrative channels via the supervisor to the appropriate vice president. The information is then forwarded to the Office of Human Resources for final review before forwarding to the President. 

Applicability

The granting of additional sick leave is discretionary, and the following factors will be considered by the President in arriving at a determination:

Eligibility will include, but not be limited to:

1. eligibility for coverage under the State University’s Group Insurance Program;
2. amount of leave requested;
3. employee’s length of service; and
4. the vice president’s support of the request.

Definitions

There are no definitions for this policy at this time.

Policy Procedures

Medical Documentation

Satisfactory medical documentation must accompany all requests for additional sick leave. Acceptable documentation should include diagnosis, prognosis, and start date of the illness, and anticipated return to work date. Documentation should be written on official letterhead of the medical provider and must be signed by the physician with an original signature.

Procedure

1. Employees must submit a written request for additional sick leave via the Leave Request Form and a letter of intent addressed to the President. This written request should be submitted to the employee’s supervisor. The letter of intent should also be signed through the administrative channels up to the appropriate vice president. Acceptable medical documentation should be submitted to the Office of Human Resources with the Leave Request Form. Requests submitted without acceptable medical documentation will not be approved. Human Resources should alert employees if the medical documentation provided is missing any of the required elements.
2. The supervisor should verify their records with the Office of Human Resources and Payroll to ensure that the employee meets the above eligibility requirements including having exhausted all available sick leave credits.
3. The supervisor indicates whether or not they support the employee’s request in the designated section of the Leave Request Form and returns the form to the employee to submit to the Office of Human Resources. The supervisor and appropriate administrative channels should also sign the letter of intent indicating they approve or deny the request.
4. The Office of Human Resources will forward the request to the President for approval or denial.
5. The President approves or denies the request and determines the extent of leave approved. The President will indicate their determination in the space provided on the form sent from the Office of Human Resources. Approved requests are forwarded to Human Resources for processing. Employees will receive written notification from the Office of Human Resources informing them whether their request was approved or denied.
6. Extended Absences: If the medical provider extends the employee’s absence, the employee must submit additional medical documentation to their supervisor. At that time, the supervisor and employee should discuss what options are available to the employee to cover the extended absence. Medical documentation should be sent to the Office of Human Resources to indicate any extended absence. The Office of Human Resources will determine if the extension will cause a change in pay status and process the appropriate transactions.
   
   If the same employee wishes to make another request for additional sick leave, a new Leave Request Form must be submitted according to the aforementioned process provided that the leave has been six months or less in duration for additional leaves with pay or one year or less for additional leaves without pay. The SUNY Chancellor, upon recommendation by the President, must approve additional leaves with pay that extend beyond six months or additional leaves without pay that extend beyond one year.
7. Returning to Work: Employees must notify their supervisor of their return-to-work date and submit a return-to-work slip to the Office of Human Resources indicating that they are able to perform the full range of duties prior to being allowed to return to work after being out on an authorized leave. The Office of Human Resources will process the appropriate transactions to return the employee to full pay status.

Links to Related Procedures and Information

Leave Request Form

Contact Information

Associate Director of Human Resources - Benefits & Payroll

History (in descending order)

Approval

This policy was approved by President’s Cabinet on 2021-09-23