Leaves and Absences
When an employee requests leave, a Leave Request must be submitted, prior to the date of such leave to his/her immediate supervisor for approval and routing.
In emergency situations, the employee is responsible for calling or having someone call his/her immediate supervisor to report absence from work. A Leave Request must be submitted to one’s immediate supervisor for approval and routing no later than one week after returning to work.
SICK LEAVE: Sick leave is earned and may accumulate up to 60 days (480 hours) for full-time employees on the basis of one day of sick leave earned for each month of service. Sick leave is accrued at the end of each month posted to the employee's record on the first working day of each month following the accrual month. Sick leave must be earned before it can be used. A limited, full-time employee who is contracted for half-time or more and for more than four and one-half (4 1/2) months earns sick leave on a prorated basis, 50% time at 4 hours per month, and 75% time at 6 hours per month. Sick leave can be used in ¼ hour increments of time.
Full-time employees absent from their assigned job for an entire day will submit a Leave Request form for 8 hours/8.5 hours of sick leave. Limited,full-time employees absent for an entire day will submit a Leave Request on a prorated basis, e.g., 50% time at 4 hours per day or prorated to an 8.5 hour day during the summer months. The 8.5 hour day during the summer will be calculated to a 10 hour day in the system. Fridays will be entered based on a 4 hour day during the school year, which will be calculated to 8 hours by the system.
Sick leave can be used for care of immediate family. The term immediate family includes the following:
- Spouse.
- Son or daughter, including a biological, adopted, or foster child, a son or daughter-in-law, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child for whom the employee stands in loco parentis.
- Parent, stepparent, parent-in-law, or other individual who stands in loco parentis to the employee.
- Sibling, step sibling, sibling-in-law.
- Grandparent and grandchild.
- Any person in the employee's household at the time of illness or death.
See Policy Manual, DEC (LOCAL)
An employee using sick leave for more than three (3) days is required to furnish a physician’s note with their Leave Request upon returning to work.
SICK LEAVE BANK POLICY: See Appendix K
PERSONAL LEAVE: All full-time, including limited,full-time on a pro-rated basis, employees are eligible for 16 hours of personal leave per year which is deducted from the employee's sick leave balance. See Policy Manual, DEC (LOCAL). Personal leave cannot be carried over from year to year, nor can it be banked or saved. The 16 hours allocated begins on September 1of each year and ends August 31 the following year. Personal leave is subject to the approval of the supervisor or appropriate VP/Dean.
BEREAVEMENT: Any employee who is absent because of the death of a member of his/her immediate family, which shall also include aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, or other person who occupies a position of similar significance in the family for this purpose, shall be granted a reasonable amount of accumulated sick leave. (*This definition of family is for the purpose of Bereavement only. The definition of immediate family continues to be in effect for Sick Leave.) However, the amount of sick leave in this category must not exceed five working days. See Policy Manual, DEC (LOCAL).
MATERNITY: Maternity leave shall be granted to employees for a reasonable period of time, normally no more than one month prior to and three months after the birth of a child. Maternity leave will be without pay, except that employees may use accrued sick leave, and where applicable, accrued vacation leave.
RIGHT TO EXPRESS BREAST MILK: A college district employee has a right to express breast milk at the employee’s workplace. Vernon College supports the practice of expressing breast milk and has made accommodations for the needs of its employees who express breast milk. Employees are allowed a reasonable amount of break time to express breast milk each time needed. The following accommodations are provided for these employees: Upstairs in the Century City Center fitness center; Room 400A at Skills Training Center; and the Human Resource office on Vernon Campus. All spaces are other than a bathroom and are private and free from intrusion. Access to a clean, safe water source and a sink is near each of these locations. The employee must provide their own personal cooler with ice pack for storage purposes. See Policy Manual, DG (LEGAL)
MILITARY LEAVE: An employee who is drafted or called to active duty in the military service of the United States during a national emergency shall be granted a military leave for the duration of the national emergency. Application for military leave must be made to the Human Resources office with adequate documentation prior to and after such service.
Military leave is granted without salary. Reinstatement will be at the level held at the time beginning military leave plus any pay increases the employee would have been granted had they been continuously employed and complied with requirements necessary for salary increases. All employees of the college who are members of the state’s military forces or of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces shall be granted a paid leave of absence from their duties without loss of time, efficiency rating, vacation time, or salary on all days during which they are engaged in authorized training or duty ordered or authorized by proper authority, not to exceed 15 days in a federal fiscal year. Refer to Policy Manual, DECB (LEGAL)
Such employees who are ordered to duty by proper authority shall be restored, when relieved from duty, to the position held by them when ordered to duty. Govt. Code 431.005. See Policy Manual, DECB (LEGAL)
JURY DUTY: Any college employee who is summoned as a member of a jury panel will be granted “jury duty leave with pay” if jury duty is performed during the employee’s normal working hours. The employee may retain all jury fees paid. Employee must notify his/her supervisor prior to taking Jury Duty leave and a leave request along with documentation regarding the dates of jury duty must be submitted prior to jury service or immediately upon return.
ANNIVERSARY LEAVE: When an employee completes his/her tenth year anniversary of continuous employment with no break in service, they will be awarded a “free” day (8 hours, prorated according to % of full-time status) for that year and each following. For the purpose of this policy, “free” day is defined as hours not charged against vacation accruals. This leave cannot be banked, thus it cannot be carried over from year to year. The anniversary leave is accrued in September after the employee’s tenth anniversary and must be used prior to the September of the following year when the next Anniversary Leave is accrued.
OTHER ABSENCES: Any other leaves granted or days of absence shall result in a deduction of the daily rate of pay for each day of absence, unless otherwise provided.
LEAVE WITHOUT PAY: The College President or his designate has the authority to grant Leave Without Pay/Salary for a period not to exceed five months due to serious illness or serious illness of an immediate family member. This time away is not to be considered a break in service. See Policy Manual, DEC (LOCAL)