Personal Time Off

Sick Leave

Sick leave with pay may be taken when sickness, injury, or pregnancy and confinement prevent the employee’s performance of duty or when the employee is needed to care for a member of their immediate family who is actually ill.

• Immediate family is defined as those individuals who reside in the same household and are related by kinship, adoption, or marriage, as well as foster children certified by the State.
• Minor children of the employee, whether or not living in the same household, will be considered immediate family for purposes of regular sick leave.
• An employee’s use of sick leave for family members not residing in that employee’s household is strictly limited to the time necessary to provide care to a spouse, child, or parent of the employee who needs such care as a direct result of a documented medical condition. This provision does not extend to an employee’s parent-in-law if they do not live in the same household.
• If an employee is on vacation and would otherwise be entitled to sick leave then the fact that such sick leave is requested while on vacation does not affect the employee’s entitlement to sick leave.

Eligibility
Regular benefits eligible non-student employees will earn sick leave entitlement beginning on the first day of employment and terminating on the last day of duty.

Civic duties are responsibilities employees are required or highly encouraged to fulfill as a citizen.

Jury Service and Appearance in Official Capacity or as a Witness

An employee is entitled to serve on a jury during regular work hours without any deduction from wages, including a deduction for any fee or compensation the employee receives for the jury service. The employee must be responding to a jury duty summons, serving on a jury, or appearing in an official capacity for the state. Appearances in another capacity or any time required for jury service outside the employee’s regular work schedule is on the employee’s own time.

A state employee who is called to active duty or authorized training is entitled to a leave of absence of fifteen (15) days in each federal fiscal year (October 1 – September 30) without loss of pay or benefits. The fifteen (15) days need not be consecutive. In addition, these days are “working” days, not “calendar” days. After exhausting the fifteen (15) days, the employee may use accrued vacation or be placed in a leave without pay status (or combination of the two) for the remainder of the active duty period.

The President of Sam Houston State University may grant leave with pay to an employee for good cause, subject to the recommendation of the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and/or the Divisional Vice President.

Organ or Bone Marrow Donors

A state employee is entitled to a leave of absence without a deduction in salary for the time necessary to permit the employee to serve as a bone marrow or organ donor. The leave of absence provided by this section may not exceed

• Five working days in a fiscal year to serve as a bone marrow donor; or
• 30 working days in a fiscal year to serve as an organ donor.

Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services Training Leave

• Employees who are volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services volunteers shall be granted a leave of absence with full pay to attend training schools conducted by state agencies provided such leave does not exceed five (5) working days in any one (1) fiscal year. The leave of absence, authorized by this subsection, shall in no way be charged against the employee’s vacation or sick leave privileges by this Act.
• In addition to the five (5) days granted for training, leave with full pay not to exceed forty (40) hours per fiscal year will also be granted to volunteer firefighters or emergency medical service volunteers for the purpose of responding to emergency fire or medical situations.
• Required verification of volunteer training and responders participation shall be reported on the bimonthly “Leave Report” or “Personnel Time Report” with appropriate supporting documentation. The “Leave Report” or “Personnel Time Report” shall be signed by the departmental supervisor and sent to the Payroll Office.

In addition to employee leave authorized elsewhere in this policy, administrative leave with pay maybe granted by the President as a reward for outstanding performance provided the exceptionally superior performance is properly documented. In no event shall the aggregate amount of administrative leave granted exceed thirty-two (32) hours in any fiscal year.

Wellness Release Time for Voluntary Wellness Activities

In accordance with Tex. Gov. Code Chapter 664, the University promotes wellness by providing work release without use of accrued leave to participate in wellness-related activities.

Wellness Leave Award for Health Assessment and Exam

In accordance with Tex. Gov. Code § 664.061, the University annually awards eight (8) hours of additional leave to eligible employees who complete the assessment and exam requirements detailed below.

Eligibility

Regular full-time benefit eligible employees employed with the University a minimum of six (6) months who have not received a wellness leave award within the previous twelve (12) months.

Earn

1. The employee completes the approved Health Risk Assessment (HRA) and prints the completion certificate/e-mail. Links to approved BCBSTX HealthSelect HRA may be found on the ERS website. Employees not covered by HealthSelect Insurance may contact Human Resources for alternate HRA options. Employees may not share the HRA with Human Resources or the employee’s supervisor.
2. Employee schedules a comprehensive physical exam and secures a copy of the medical provider’s certification for the exam. During the examination, the employee provides the physician a copy of the HRA.
3. The HRA completion certificate and medical provider’s certification must be uploaded and routed to Human Resources for leave approval. Once verified by HR, the leave approval will be routed to Payroll for adding eight (8) hours of wellness leave to the employee’s accrued leave. 

Use

Upon employee completion of wellness requirements and approval, eight (8)hours of wellness leave shall be awarded for completion of wellness requirements every twelve (12) months. Wellness leave may be used with advance supervisor approval for any purpose during the twelve (12) months following the date of the award. When not used within twelve (12) months, wellness leave expires. Wellness leave is not eligible for payment to an employee upon separation from employment.

The purpose of this leave is to allow the use of mental health leave by licensed peace officers employed by the University who experience a traumatic event in the scope of employment.

Read Employee Leaves policy for more information

Employees who have at least twelve (12) continuous months of regular staff or faculty employment with SHSU immediately preceding their eligible condition, may request pool leave for their own catastrophic illness or injury or for one in their immediate family. A catastrophic injury or illness, as defined for eligibility to sick leave pool benefits, is any injury or illness, excluding routine pregnancy, which has caused an absence of thirty (30) working days (sequential or otherwise) within the immediate preceding six (6) calendar months.

Employees may also use sick leave pool if they contributed sick leave to the pool and subsequently exhaust their sick leave balance. Such employees may receive only the number of hours they have contributed to the pool unless they suffer a catastrophic illness or injury. Employees must exhaust all earned leave with pay entitlements before they may use leave from the pool. Employees on sick leave pool for a full calendar month accrue paid leave for that month, provided they return to work following the leave.

Employees with catastrophic illnesses or injuries are not required to contribute to the pool before they can use pool leave. Also, employees who use pool leave are not required to pay back pool leave.

Contributions to the pool are strictly voluntary. To contribute time to the pool, an employee must complete a “Sick Leave Pool Donation Form”. Employees who contribute leave to the pool cannot get it back unless they are eligible to use it in accordance with this policy. Employees may contribute an unlimited number of their accrued days. Contributions should be in 8 hour increments.

Sick and Family Leave Pool Donation Form

Requests for pool leave are submitted in writing with a completed “Sick Leave Pool Application & Approval Form” and documentation from the treating physician and forwarded to the Pool Administrator through appropriate supervisory channels. The Director of Human Resources or designee serves as the University’s Pool Administrator. Requests will be considered by the Pool Administrator on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Pool Administrator will have up to ten (10) working days from the date they receive a request in which to approve all or part of the request,or deny the request.

Sick Leave Pool Application & Approval Form

The amount of pool leave granted for each catastrophic illness or injury will be determined by the Pool Administrator. The amount cannot exceed one-third of the balance of hours in the pool, or ninety (90) working days, whichever is less. Any unused balance of pool leave granted to an employee returns to the pool.

Illnesses of the same type or that may routinely re-occur, such as cancer, will have a lifetime maximum of ninety (90) days.

The employee should advise in the sick leave pool request if they are receiving subrogation benefits, i.e., by legal right collecting pay, reimbursement for loss of work time, or damages from a third party as a result of the catastrophic illness or injury.

Employees are eligible to use time contributed to the family leave pool if the employee has exhausted time available in all other eligible leave because of:

1. The birth of a child;
2. The placement of a foster child or adoption of a child under 18 years of age;
3. The placement of any person 18 years of age or older requiring guardianship;
4. A serious illness to an immediate family member or the employee, including a pandemic‐related illness;
5. An extenuating circumstance created by an ongoing pandemic, including providing essential care to a family member; or
6. A previous donation of time to the pool

An employee who applies to use time to care for another person must submit and be listed on the other person's birth certificate, birth facts, or adoption or foster paperwork for a child under 18 years of age, including being listed as the mother, father, adoptive parent, foster parent, or partner of the child's mother, adoptive parent, or foster parent, or provide documentation that the employee is the guardian of a person who is 18 years of age or older and requiring guardianship.

Employees who use family leave pool are not required to pay back the leave. Contributions to the family leave pool are voluntary. To contribute time to the pool, an employee must complete a “Sick or Family Leave Pool Donation Form.” An employee may contribute to the family leave pool one or more days of the employee's accrued sick or vacation leave. Contributions are final and shall not be returned.

• The family leave pool will be credited with the amount of time contributed by an employee and the corresponding amount of time will be deducted from the contributing employee's earned sick or vacation leave.
• A retiring employee may elect to designate a portion or all of the retiring employee's accrued sick or vacation leave hours to be donated upon retirement to the family leave pool.

Sick and Family Leave Pool Donation Form

Requests for family leave pool are submitted in writing with a completed “Family Leave Pool Application & Approval Form” and forwarded to the Pool Administrator through appropriate supervisory channels. The Director of Human Resources or designee serves as the University’s Pool Administrator. Requests are considered by the Pool Administrator on a first‐come, first-serve basis. The Pool Administrator has ten (10) working days from receipt to approve or deny all or part of the request.

Family Leave Pool Application

The amount of family leave pool granted is determined by the Pool Administrator. The amount cannot exceed one-third of the balance of hours in the pool, or ninety (90) working days (720 hours for full-time employees), whichever is less. Any unused balance of family leave pool granted to an employee returns to the pool.

The requesting employee must notify Human Resources of receipt of subrogation benefits, i.e., by legal right collecting pay, reimbursement for loss of work time, or damages from a third party as a result of the illness. An employee receiving benefits from an on-the-job injury or illness is not eligible to use the Family Leave Pool.