Sick Leave

Classified Employees

Regular full-time exempt classified employees accrue twelve sick leave days per year at the rate of one working day per month. Regular full-time non-exempt classified employees accrue twelve sick days per year based upon the number of compensable hours recorded each pay period. In all cases, a day of sick leave for purposes of pay and time off will be computed on the basis of an employee’s regular workday.

For nonexempt employees, all sick leave will be earned by the compensable hour and will be credited to each employee’s record at the end of each pay period. Accruals for a pay period will not be posted to an employee’s record until the pay period has ended, which will prohibit charging sick leave against accruals earned in the same period in which the leave is taken. Accrual will be based on factors which were computed by dividing the number of sick leave hours accrued per year by the number of working hours in the year (2080). Non-exempt employees will accrue sick leave at the rate of .046154 per compensable hour. (12x8 = 96 / 2080 =.046154)

For regular full-time exempt employees, all sick leave is accrued on a monthly basis at a rate of one day per month. During the first month of employment, the employee must be on the payroll on or before the 15th of the month and work (or be in a paid status) through the end of the month in order to accrue sick leave. No time will accrue for a month in which employment begins on or after the 16th day. Regular part-time employees working one-half time or more will accrue sick leave in an equivalent ratio to their percentage of time worked.

For nonexempt employees, all sick leave will be earned by the compensable hour and will be credited to each employee’s record at the end of each pay period. Accruals for a pay period will not be posted to an employee’s record until the pay period has ended, which will prohibit charging sick leave against accruals earned in the same period in which the leave is taken. Accrual will be based on factors which were computed by dividing the number of sick leave hours accrued per year by the number of working hours in the year (2080). Non-exempt employees will accrue sick leave at the rate of .046154 per compensable hour. (12x8 = 96 / 2080 =.046154)

For regular full-time exempt employees, all sick leave is accrued on a monthly basis at a rate of one day per month. During the first month of employment, the employee must be on the payroll on or before the 15th of the month and work (or be in a paid status) through the end of the month in order to accrue sick leave. No time will accrue for a month in which employment begins on or after the 16th day. Regular part-time employees working one-half time or more will accrue sick leave in an equivalent ratio to their percentage of time worked.

Faculty Employees

General faculty employees accrue sick leave at the rate of one day (8 hours) per month. Nine-month faculty members accrue nine days of sick leave each academic year and an additional three days if they teach in the summer session, which will be prorated based on the number of months worked.

This accrual is based on continuous employment at one-half (.50 EFT) time or more and earned in a ratio equivalent to the percentage of time worked. For example, a regular faculty member working one-half time earns four hours of sick leave per month. Faculty members working less than one-half time and temporary faculty members do not accrue sick leave.

Faculty Sick Leave Reporting

The following provisions for the reporting of sick leave shall apply to all faculty who serve primarily in assignments defined by faculty roles in instruction, research and scholarly activity, and service.

1. Faculty is responsible for informing their unit head of any illness that prohibits them from meeting their assigned responsibilities in instruction, research, and service.
2. In reporting sick leave, academic year faculty will report leave based on the number of whole hours sick (see BOR Policy Manual regarding Leave Policy), with a full day being eight (8) hours, a half day being four (4) hours, and less than a half day based on whole hours missed, with a full week being the equivalent of a forty (40) hour workweek.
3. Nothing in this policy shall be interpreted to indicate or require that faculty work on a standardized schedule.
4. Each month, faculty members must also report if they did not take any sick leave.

All Employees

There is no limit as to the total amount of sick leave which may be accrued. Sick leave may be granted at the discretion of the Institute and upon approval of the employee’s immediate supervisor for any of the following reasons:

1. Illness or injury of the employee
2. Medical or dental treatment or consultation
3. Quarantine due to a contagious illness in the employee’s household
4. Illness, injury, or death (See Bereavement leave under 2.11 Leave of Absence) in the employee’s immediate family requiring the employee’s presence. Immediate family is defined as the employee’s spouse, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, children, brothers, sisters, and members of the employee’s household.
5. Inability to report to work due to pregnancy or other disability

Accrued sick leave may not be used to make adoption arrangements or to “bond” with a healthy newborn or newly-adopted or placed child. However, either parent may use accrued vacation time or take time off without pay if no vacation time is available for such a purpose. Please refer to Policy 2.12 Family and Medical Leave for more information.

Sick leave in excess of five consecutive work days requested or taken for health reasons requires a physician’s statement clarifying the need for the employee’s absence from work and in order for future sick leave with pay to be taken. The statement should include: date of onset of illness, the date upon which the employee will be able to return to work, what percentage of time he/she will be able to work, and whether or not any restrictions are imposed on the employee’s daily work activities.

Employees should complete the GT Vacation and Sick Leave Request Form or follow his/her department’s procedure for requesting sick leave. Whether or not an employee used sick leave must be reported on time sheets, time documents, or other forms provided by the department no later than the pay period following the pay period in which the sick leave was taken. Departments may establish other deadline dates for reporting sick leave. Even if no sick leave was taken, that information must be reported. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action. It is the responsibility of the department to certify sick time reported and to ensure that sick leave balance(s) are accurate.

When sick leave has been reported incorrectly in a prior pay period, the department’s administrator must send an email to payroll’s customer service desk: pay.ask@ohr.gatech.edu. The adjustments must be made to time reported and current balance(s) on the Georgia Tech Vacation & Sick Adjustment Form; a scanned copy of the form should be included with the email. Sick leave documentation must be maintained by the department for a period of five years after the last date of the leave.

If an employee overdraws his/her sick leave, any accrued vacation leave will be used to pay the employee. If there is insufficient vacation, the overdrawn amount will be deducted from the employee’s next check.

Employees must immediately notify their supervisor if they are leaving sick from work. Please see 2.1 Absenteeism and Lateness Policy for more details.

A terminating employee will not accrue sick leave or be entitled to receive paid sick leave after the last working day of employment.

Workers’ Compensation

If sick leave is the result of an on-the-job injury, you have the option of using unpaid leave even if you have paid leave available. Under the Workers’ Compensation Act, an employee injured on the job and unable to work may elect in writing not to use accrued leave. Under these conditions, the employee may be granted sick leave without pay in keeping with the provisions of the leave without pay policy (see 2.11 Leave of Absence Policy for more details). The employee is required to submit medical verification from their physician to verify inability to perform their normal job duties. Failure to return to work at the conclusion of the leave period constitutes grounds for termination of employment.

Sick Leave without Pay

Any regular employee who is unable to work due to his/her own injury or illness after exhausting all accrued sick leave and vacation leave may be granted sick leave without pay for a period not to exceed one year. The total amount of leave taken, including both paid and unpaid time, shall not exceed one year. Employees should complete the GT Vacation and Sick Leave Request Form or follow his/her department’s procedure for requesting unpaid sick leave. The employee’s department must approve a sick leave without pay and submit the required information through an Electronic Personal Services form (ePSF). Approvals based on factors such as performance, length of service, and business needs of the department. Such approved leaves shall allow the employee the right to continue his/her group insurance benefits by making arrangements through the Office of Human Resources Benefits Department to pay his/her portion of premiums due and the Institute will continue its share of the cost for such period. All other benefits for which the employee is eligible would not accrue. Failure to return to work at the conclusion of the approved leave period constitutes grounds for termination of employment.

Note: Employees should contact the Office of Human Resources Benefits Department to see if they may be eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Please see 2.12 Family and Medical Leave policy for additional information.