POLICY

A. Purpose

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) provides paid sick leave to continue the salary of eligible employees who are absent from work because of their own illness or injury; for medical appointments;  for parental bonding; for family illness or while on specified Administrative and California Leaves as outlined below or other related policies.

B. Persons Affected

• This policy applies to the following employee classifications: Career, Term, Postdoctoral Fellow, Limited employees working 50% or more (fixed time), and Visiting Researcher.
• This policy applies to nonrepresented employees. Employees who are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent should refer to their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
• The following employee classifications are not eligible for accruing sick leave credit: Faculty, Limited employees working either variable time or less than 50%, Rehired Retiree, Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA), and Student Assistant.
• Sick leave eligibility and accruals for Senior Management Group (SMG) members holding dual academic appointments are determined by this policy rather than by the Academic Personnel Manual (APM) Policy 710, Leaves of Absence/Sick Leave/Medical Leave.

C. Exceptions

Requests that exceed what is allowed or that are not expressly addressed by current policy are considered exceptions to policy. Any request for an exception to policy requires, at minimum, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) approval.

D. Policy Statement

1. Eligibility for Sick Leave: Berkeley Lab provides paid sick leave to eligible employees (see B. Persons Affected, above) who are on pay status at least one-half of the working hours of the month or quadriweekly cycle in which it was earned.
2. Accrual of Sick Leave
   1. An employee accrues sick leave based on pay status. Eligible employees who are on full-time pay status (40 hours a week) accrue approximately one day (eight hours) of sick leave per month. On-call and overtime hours are not included for purposes of computing the amount of sick leave accrued.
   2. Eligible employees appointed at less than full-time status accrue sick leave on a prorated basis that corresponds with the hours they are scheduled to work. See the Part-time Employee Sick Leave Accrual Schedule.
   3. An employee on pay status less than half the working hours of the month earns no sick leave credit for that month. However, a half-time biweekly employee who works a normal half-time schedule will be credited with four hours of sick leave even if the employee was on pay status less than half the working hours of a particular month.
3. When Sick Leave Is Credited: Accrued sick leave is credited and available for use on the next workday following each month or quadriweekly pay cycle in which it was earned. Eligible separating employees earn proportionate sick leave credit through their last day on pay status.
4. Sick Leave Accrual during Leave of Absence with Pay: Sick leave continues to accrue during leave with pay, except for Professional Research or Teaching (PRT) leave (RPM Section 2.04[H]).
5. Sick Leave Accrual during Leave of Absence without Pay
   1. A full-time Career employee on an approved leave without pay accrues full sick leave credits for the month or quadriweekly cycle if the employee is on pay status at least one- half the working hours of the month (including holidays) or quadriweekly cycle.
   2. An employee on leave without pay and receiving workers' compensation temporary disability payments accrues sick leave on the same basis as someone who is actually working; however, accrued sick leave is credited to the employee only upon return to work.
   3. An employee who is on leave without pay may not use newly accrued sick leave while on leave.
   4. Employees on Professional Research or Teaching (PRT) leave (RPM Section 2.04[H]) do not accrue sick leave.
6. *Maximum Sick Leave Approval Limit: *There is no maximum limit on the amount of sick leave that can be accrued.
7. Use of Accrued Sick Leave

   1. Employees who are not on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and are subject to certain limitations may use accrued sick leave as follows:

      If you need time away from work:	You may be eligible to use the following amount of accrued sick leave:
      For your own illness, injury, or quarantine; or for medical, dental, or optical appointments	All accrued sick leave
      To attend to or care for ill family members (spouse, domestic partner, parent, child [including the child of a domestic partner], sibling, grandparent, in-law, or step relative in the previously mentioned relationships) not designated under FMLA leave, or to attend to or provide care for other persons residing in your household who are ill	Up to 30 workdays in a calendar year. An eligible employee who has requested vacation leave donations from other employees for his or her own catastrophic illness or to care for a catastrophically ill person must first exhaust his or her accrued vacation leave and sick leave balances, even when doing so results in exceeding the 30-day sick leave usage limit. See the Voluntary Leave Donation Policy.
      For pregnancy disability leave	Up to four work months per pregnancy
      For parental bonding leave	Up to 30 workdays per parental leave
      For a work-related injury or illness	The difference between workers' compensation payment received and your salary
      For bereavement leave	Up to 10 workdays for the death of a family member or person residing in your household   Up to five workdays in a calendar year for the death of an individual who is not a family member or a person residing in your household   Refer to the Bereavement Leave policy for more information.
      To donate bone marrow or an organ	Up to five workdays for bone marrow donation and 30 workdays for organ donation in a calendar year
      To voluntarily enter and participate in an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program	All accrued sick leave
      Because you are a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault	All accrued sick leave
      Because you are a victim of a serious or violent felony	All accrued sick leave

   2. Employees on FMLA leave and subject to certain limitations may use accrued sick leave as listed below. (An employee who has exhausted his or her entitlement to FMLA leave for the calendar year should refer to the previous table.)

      If you need time away from work:	You may be eligible to use the following amount of accrued sick leave:
      As FMLA leave for your own serious health condition	Up to 12 workweeks in a calendar year
      As FMLA leave to care for a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent with a serious health condition	Up to 12 workweeks in a calendar year
      As University of California-provided supplemental FMLA leave Did you know that California's Kin Care Leave Requires any employer who provides sick leave for employees to allow employees to use at least half their annual accrual in any calendar year to attend to an illness of a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, or child of the registered domestic partner? At Berkeley Lab, half of a full-time employee's annual sick-leave accrual is 48 hours. Laboratory policy allows employees to use 240 hours (30 days) for this purpose.	If the initial FMLA leave was due to your own serious health condition, up to 12 additional workweeks in a calendar year. If the initial FMLA leave was to care for a family member with a serious health condition, up to 30 workdays in a calendar year
      To provide for a family member or next of kin who is a covered service member undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness (military caregiver leave)	Up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period beginning with the first day of military caregiver leave and ending 12 months after that date
      For pregnancy disability leave	Up to four work months per pregnancy
      For parental bonding	Up to 30 workdays per parental leave

   3. An employee may not use accrued sick leave:
      Other policies of interest

      • Vacation Leave
      • Bereavement Leave
      • Bone Marrow or Organ Donation Leave
      • Crime Victim Leave
      • Domestic Violence Leave
      • Drug or Alcohol Rehabilitation Leave
      1. As a personal day off. Employees must use their accrued vacation for personal day off.
      2. After their effective date of separation, retirement, or layoff
      3. In excess of their scheduled hours of work (e.g., an employee who is scheduled to work six hours a day would not take eight hours of sick leave a day) up to a maximum of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week, including extended workweek situations
      4. During work deferment or leave without pay
      5. On an intermittent basis for purposes of eligibility for holiday pay and employer-paid contributions towards benefits. If the employee is taking FMLA leave on an intermittent or reduced-schedule basis, refer to the applicable policies (Family & Medical Leave Policy, Pregnancy Disability Leave, Parental Bonding Leave) for further details
8. *Advance Notice of Need for Leave: *Before using sick leave, an employee:
   1. Is required to provide at least one week advance notice of foreseeable medical needs (e.g., a planned medical treatment) or as soon as possible and
   2. May be required to submit satisfactory proof of an inability to work, an illness in the family, or bereavement

      Health Services
      Building 26
      510-486-6266
      Hours M-F: 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
      In case of emergency, dial: 7-911

9. Use of Sick Leave during Vacation: An employee who becomes ill while on vacation will be permitted to use sick leave based upon satisfactory verification of the employee's illness or injury. Upon returning to work, an employee may be required to report to Health Services with a medical release to return to work. See D.13 Medical Clearance to Return to Work, below.
10. Use of Sick Leave during Berkeley Lab Holidays: During a Laboratory holiday, employees may not use sick leave. During the Laboratory's December shutdown, employees may use sick leave if they are on an approved FMLA leave and or workers' compensation leave.
11. Use of Sick Leave for Variable-time Employees: Employees who work variable time do not accrue sick leave credit. Employees who had a change of status from eligibility to ineligibility to accrue sick leave may continue to use sick leave credit as long as the employee was scheduled to work the days and hours for which sick leave is claimed. Use of sick leave is limited to the number of hours the employee was scheduled to work.
12. Sick Leave Pay: Pay during a sick leave is at the employee's rate of pay in effect at the time the leave was taken, not the rate of pay in effect when the sick leave was accrued.
13. Medical Clearance to Return to Work

    Read more information on Berkeley Lab's Medical Return to Work Procedure and Transitional Medical Return to Work Procedure

    1. On returning to work after any lost time due to illness or injury occurring at work, employees must report to Health Services for an evaluation of their condition and ability to resume customary work.
    2. On returning to work after five or more consecutive workdays due to the employee's illness or injury unrelated to work, the employee must report to Health Services for an evaluation of his or her condition and ability to resume customary work. If the employee receives medical services during his or her absence from work, he or she is required to provide a medical release to return to work. This release must include any information regarding medical restrictions that may affect the employee's ability to perform his or her job, as certified by the treating physician.
    3. For more information on the Lab's Return to Work Program, go to http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/health_services/pp/index.shtml.
14. Return to Work
    1. An employee is expected to return to work no later than the next regularly scheduled workday after the expiration of the approved leave. If an extension is desired, the employee must request and receive approval from his or her supervisor in advance of the expected date of return.
    2. An employee who unexpectedly cannot return to work on the next regularly scheduled workday following the expiration of the approved leave of absence must notify his or her supervisor as soon as possible to explain the reason for the absence.
    3. Failure to return to work after an approved leave of absence may be considered an unauthorized absence. Five consecutive workdays of unauthorized absence constitutes job abandonment and may lead to disciplinary action. See Unauthorized Absences & Job Abandonment Policy.
15. Transfer between University of California and Berkeley Lab, and Reinstatement of Accrued Sick Leave
    1. An employee who terminates without a break in service from a position in which sick leave credit is accrued at another part of the University of California (UC or University) for the purpose of accepting employment in a position at Berkeley Lab will have all such credit transferred. If the Berkeley Lab position is one in which sick leave credit is not accrued, the employee's prior credit is not transferable. If the employee later changes to a position in which sick leave credit is accrued, the previously accrued credit will be reinstated.

    2. An employee who terminates with a break in service from a position in which sick leave credit is accrued at another part of the University and is later employed at Berkeley Lab may have his or her sick leave credits reinstated per the table below. If the Berkeley Lab position is one in which sick leave credit is not accrued, the employee's prior credit is not transferable.

       If a former Berkeley Lab, UC, or State of California employee is employed at Berkeley Lab:*	Then:
       Without a break in service	The full sick balance is transferred
       With a break in service less than 90 calendar days	The full sick balance is reinstated
       With a break in service greater than 90 calendar days but less than six months	Up to 80 hours of the employee's balance is reinstated
       With a break in service greater than six months	No sick leave is reinstated
       Under recall status or preferential rehire status	The full sick balance is reinstated

    3. *For purposes of this subsection only, service with the State of California (including Hastings College of the Law) and the California State of University (CSU) will be treated as University service.
16. Separation from Employment
    1. An employee does not receive pay for sick leave upon separation from Berkeley Lab employment.
    2. An employee who separates from Berkeley Lab employment and elects to retire within four months of separating from Berkeley Lab employment will have any unused sick leave converted to UC Retirement Plan (UCRP) service credit under the terms and conditions of the UCRP. For employee's electing a lump-sum cash-out from the UCRP, any unused sick leave is not converted to UCRP service credit.
17. Misuse of Leave
    1. Misrepresenting reasons for requesting time off, including but not limited to misrepresentations that could lead to concerns of conflict of interest and/or fraud, may result in disciplinary action, suspension without pay, and/or termination from employment.
    2. Individuals on approved leave of absence for which a medical certification is required may jeopardize their right to leave benefits and or their continued employment by engaging in activities that are incompatible with the medical certification submitted in support of the leave.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Roles, responsibilities, authority, and accountability are documented in applicable procedures. See H. Implementing Documents, below.

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

H. Implementing Documents

I. Contact Information

For more information, employees may contact their division's Human Resources (HR) Center.
Feedback on HR policies or procedures is welcomed. Send comments to hrpolicies@lbl.gov.

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

Guidance Documents

Implementing Documents