Sick leave is paid leave granted to eligible employees for their personal use. Merit employees and part-time and grant-funded employees regularly scheduled to work 50% or more of the normal pay period are eligible for sick leave in accordance with the terms of this article. Contractual and appointed employees are eligible for sick leave only if such leave is granted by an express term of their employment contract or appointment, respectively.
A. 
Eligible full-time employees accrue sick leave in proportion to hours paid, exclusive of overtime, at the rate of 15 leave days per year. All accrued sick leave may be carried over from year to year.
B. 
Eligible part-time employees shall earn sick leave in proportion to hours paid up to 100% of an equivalent full-time position.
C. 
For purposes of this section, the number of hours in an accrued sick-leave day for full-time employees shall equal the number of hours in the standard equivalent full-time pay period divided by 10.
[Amended 3-12-2013 by Ord. No. 07-13; 1-10-2017 by Ord. No. 01-17; 4-4-2017 by Ord. No. 11-17]
A. 
Sick leave may be used for:
(1) 
Incapacitating sickness or disability, including maternity when medically necessary on the part of the mother or the infant;
(2) 
Quarantine confinement;
(3) 
Child-care responsibilities associated with adoption or placement of the child with the employee, not to exceed five days. This may be used only once per child for either the adoption or the placement;
(4) 
Parental responsibilities associated with birth, not to exceed 10 days per birth;
(5) 
Illness of an employee's family member as defined in Subsection C;
(6) 
Necessary medical or dental appointments of the employee or family member as defined in Subsection C when unable to attend the appointment alone and when no other responsible adult is available; or
(7) 
Death of an employee's family member as defined in Subsection C, not to exceed five days per death.
(8) 
Members of the Calvert County Sheriff's Department Pension Plan (the "Plan") subject to this Part 4, Article I, and eligible to purchase service credit(s) in accordance with Section 1.30(e) of the Plan, as amended from time to time, may surrender any number of hours of unused, accrued sick leave, not to exceed the number of hours available to the member at time of surrender, as a means of payment, in whole or in part, of the purchase price for years of service. In so doing, the value of the credit against the purchase price for years of service shall be calculated in accordance with the payout provisions in § 86-4-1006A or B, below, whichever would apply to the member if the member were separating from County service.
(9) 
Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan meetings for an employee that is the parent of a child requiring special education services.
B. 
If an employee becomes ill or injured while on annual, personal, compensatory, or other paid leave, the period of such incapacity may be changed to sick leave if the employee so requests. A supervisor may request medical documentation from a physician.
C. 
For the purposes of this article, "family member" is defined as an individual with any one or more of the following relationships to the employee:
(1) 
Spouse or domestic partner, and parents, children, or siblings thereof;
(2) 
Sons and daughters, and spouses thereof;
(3) 
Parents, and spouses thereof;
(4) 
Brothers and sisters, and spouses thereof;
(5) 
Grandparents and grandchildren, and spouses thereof;
(6) 
Aunts and uncles, and spouses thereof;
(7) 
Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close relationship with the employee is the equivalent of a parent/child relationship; or
(8) 
Any individual living in the home of the employee.
[Amended 8-25-2015 by Ord. No. 35-15]
Any eligible full-time employee who: (1) became eligible for sick leave prior to September 7, 2015; (2) is employed on the first workday in a pay year; and (3) uses two or fewer sick leave days during a pay year is eligible for the incentive bonus which is equivalent to one day's pay. Eligible part-time employees who became eligible for sick leave prior to September 7, 2015, and use the equivalent of a full-time employee's standard workday or less of sick leave shall be credited with half of the pay granted to the full-time employee. An employee who donates leave shall not be penalized for such donation for the purpose of computing eligibility for the extra pay. For purposes of this section, the number of hours in a day for full-time employees shall equal the number of hours in the standard equivalent full-time pay period divided by 10.
A. 
An employee who intends to use sick leave must notify the supervisor not more than one hour after the employee's normal reporting time each day unless the employee is under a physician's care for an extended period with the supervisor's knowledge or there is a medical emergency. If an employee fails to provide proper notification, the employee may be charged unpaid absence without leave up to the time of notification and may be subject to disciplinary action. Upon returning to work, the employee must submit a leave request form.
B. 
When an employee knows in advance of a need to use sick leave, the employee must request the leave in advance.
C. 
An employee who uses sick leave for more than three consecutive days may be required to submit proof of the reason for the leave (i.e., a physician's certificate). Proof may also be required in cases of frequent but nonconsecutive absences or when circumstances indicate potential abuse of sick leave. Sick leave can be denied if a supervisor requests medical documentation and it is not produced or is insufficient to justify the amount of sick leave taken.
[Amended 8-25-2015 by Ord. No. 35-15]
A. 
Upon separation from County service for disability or nondisciplinary reasons after successfully completing the initial probationary period, employees who became eligible for sick leave prior to September 7, 2015, or their beneficiaries, shall be paid for their unused accrued sick leave as follows: 1/4 of the employee's current hourly rate multiplied by the number of sick leave days up to and including 100, plus 1/2 of the employee's current hourly rate multiplied by the number of sick leave days in excess of 100. This payment may be withheld at the request of the department head for employees who do not give proper notice in accordance with § 86-2-601.
B. 
Upon separation from County service for disability or nondisciplinary reasons after successfully completing the initial probationary period, employees who became eligible for sick leave on or after September 7, 2015, or their beneficiaries, shall be paid for their unused accrued sick leave as follows: 1/4 of the employee's current hourly rate multiplied by the number of sick leave days. This payment may be withheld at the request of the department head for employees who do not give proper notice in accordance with § 86-2-601.
C. 
In lieu of payment:
(1) 
Employees may elect to have their sick leave balance credited toward computation of retirement benefits as may be provided under each plan, if eligible to retire at time of separation; or
(2) 
Eligible employees may elect to donate all or part of their sick leave to an employee with a known sick leave need, in accordance with Article X, Sick Leave, § 86-4-1008, Sick leave donations. Any unused accrued sick leave hours not donated shall be paid out in accordance with this section. Employees who donate sick leave hours forfeit any leave payout of those donated hours. For purposes of this section, the number of hours in a workday shall equal the number of hours in the equivalent full-time pay period divided by 10.
Sick leave ordinarily may not be used before it is accrued; however, with appropriate certification of need and upon consideration of the department head's recommendation, sick leave may be advanced by the Board of County Commissioners. The receiving employee may request an advance of sick leave, but it may not be used until leave balances of any type (annual, personal, and sick) and compensatory time are exhausted. Future accruals of annual leave, sick leave, and compensatory time, equal to the sick leave advance, shall be applied to eliminate the deficit sick leave balance. An employee who terminates with a deficit sick leave balance shall have this amount deducted from paychecks, or be required to reimburse the County.
A. 
An employee may donate accrued sick or annual leave for a known sick leave need on an hour-for-hour basis to another employee. The receiving employee may solicit donations while still having a leave balance, but the department head may only approve the use of donated leave when all leave balances of any type (annual, personal, and sick) and compensatory time are exhausted, with the exception in Subsection B below. An employee may accrue leave (annual, personal, and sick) and compensatory time while using a sick leave donation; however, the accrued leave must be exhausted prior to the use of donated sick leave. Donated leave may be used for authorized incapacitating illness or disability of the employee or a family member in accordance with § 86-4-1003A(5).
B. 
If future accruals of leave, as identified in § 86-4-1007, are to be applied due to an advance of sick leave, donated leave may be solicited and used upon department head approval. Donated leave shall be used first when an employee has been granted an advance of sick leave and has also received donated leave.
C. 
Donations must be voluntary and made from accrued, not advanced, leave. An employee who has received a donation or an advance may not in turn donate this amount to another employee. An employee who has a negative leave balance may not use donated leave to reduce the negative balance.
D. 
Donated sick leave is to be used only for the illness or disability originally designated. Donations for a different, unrelated illness or disability must be submitted on another leave donation form. Unused leave shall be returned to the donating employee.
E. 
Once donated and used, the leave may not be recovered except as described in Subsection F below. Any annual leave donated shall be converted to sick leave. Leave may not be donated retroactively. It must be donated in advance of or coinciding with its use. A department head who believes that the use of donated leave is jeopardizing the County's best interests may curtail the donation of leave to the employee.
F. 
If workers' compensation reimburses the County for an employee's leave, the donating employee shall have his or her leave reinstated.