Expert's View

Last week I wrote about additional ways that sick leave could be used, specifically citing childbirth and adoption. This week I’ll describe several others.

General Family Care of Bereavement

Every employee can use up to 13 days of accrued sick leave in a year to care for members of their family. This includes care for a family member who is incapacitated because of physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth, and medical, dental or optical exams or treatment. The same 13-day rule applies if you need to make arrangements to attend a funeral for a family member. If you run short of sick leave, you can ask your agency to advance you up to 104 hours. Alternatively, with your supervisor’s approval, you can take annual leave.

Serious Health Conditions

If you have a family member with a serious health condition, you can take up to 12 workweeks of sick leave each year to care for him or her. Such care includes psychological comfort and/or physical care, including spending time with the family member while being examined in a doctor’s office or during a hospital stay. Your agency may require you to provide a written statement from a health care provider certifying that your family member requires such care and that he or she would either benefit from your care or that you are needed to provide that care for a specific period of time.

In case you’re wondering, the term “serious health condition” includes such conditions as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, severe injuries, Alzheimer’s, pregnancy and childbirth. It doesn’t cover short-term conditions for which treatment and recovery are relatively short. For example, the common cold, earache, upset stomach, routine dental or orthodontic problems or headaches, with the exception of migraines.

Note: If you previously used any portion of the 13 days of sick leave available for general family care or bereavement in a leave year, that amount will be subtracted from that 12-week entitlement.

If you don’t have accrued enough sick leave, you can ask your agency to advance you up to a maximum of 30 days (or a proportional amount, if you are a part-time employee).

Serious Communicable Diseases

If you have a family member who has been exposed to pandemic flu or another communicable disease – even if they he or she hasn’t been diagnosed as having contracted it – you may use up to 13 days of accrued sick leave to care for him or her. However, to qualify for that benefit, your health care provider would need to verify that 1) your family member’s presence in the community would jeopardize the health of others and 2) you would need to actively provide care for your family member. If it’s later determined that your family member has contracted the disease, you’d be entitled to use up to 12 weeks of sick leave to care for him or her. Further, you’d be eligible for up to 30 days of advanced sick leave.

School Closures

We’re not talking about school closures caused by inclement weather. The use of accrued sick leave only applies when a school is closed because of an emergency health situation, such as pandemic flu or some other serious communicable disease. However, sick leave may only be used if the child has been exposed to the disease. If it has been determined that his or her presence in the community would jeopardize the health of others, you can take up to 13 days of sick leave. Further, if the child contracts the disease, you can use up to 13 days of sick leave to care for him or her. And if the child’s illness rises to the level of a serious health condition, you can take up to 12 weeks of sick leave. Additionally, you could take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.