Administrative Procedure 4151.1 - Use of Sick Leave in Excess of Ten Consecutive Duty Days

I. Purpose

To ensure appropriate use of sick leave by requiring submission of a complete Medical Disability Statement which would contain adequate information from the attending physician that the prolonged illness is necessitated by incapacitating personal illness.

II. Information

Provisions for employee use of sick leave are contained in the respective negotiated agreements.

III. Background

Consistent with the sick leave sections of the respective negotiated agreements with employee organizations, a doctor’s certificate of illness or injury may be required for approval of employee use of sick leave. The attending doctor’s certification is frequently written on a blank prescription pad, and may be inconclusive as to the extent of actual disability necessitating the employee’s absence for an extended period of time. This has created a need for a Medical Disability Statement form, which specifically requires the doctor’s diagnosis of the condition(s) necessitating the employee’s absence.

IV. Procedures

1. General:
   1. Effective July 1, 1980, employees may not be listed on the Payroll Attendance Register as being on “sick leave” for more than ten consecutive working days unless:
      1. The leave granting authority has personal knowledge that such employee is actually confined in a hospital, in which eventuality the leave granting authority shall denote such fact in the remarks column of the Payroll Attendance Register; or
      2. The leave granting authority is in receipt of the Medical Disability Statement, fully completed by both the employee and the attending physician. Make a notation in the remarks column of the Payroll Attendance Register that the Medical Statement has been received.
   2. When an employee has been absent for more than ten consecutive duty days and the leave granting authority does not have either personal knowledge that the employee is confined to a hospital or does not have the completed Medical Disability Statement, the employee shall be deemed to be in a “leave without pay status” pending confirmation of hospital confinement of the employee or receipt of the Medical Disability Statement. All such continuous days of absence occurring after the tenth consecutive day of sick leave are to be reported in the “without pay” column of the Payroll Attendance Register. If subsequent to having reported an employee on a “leave without pay status”, the leave granting authority obtains knowledge that the employee was hospitalized, or receives a completed Medical Disability Statement, the leave granting authority is to report in the remarks column of the next payroll Attendance Register that the employee was hospitalized or the Medical Disability Statement has been received. List the dates the employee had previously been reported as leave without pay, and make the appropriate plus adjustment in “adjustments to current pay period” column. After reviewing the completed Medical Disability Statement, the Principal/Department Head is to forward a copy of the Medical Disability Statement to the Director of Human Resources. If the Principal/Department Head is in doubt as to the medical justification for the employee’s continued absence, consultation with the Director of Human Resources is essential and must be initiated by the Principal/Department Head. The Principal/Department Head must immediately notify the employee that continued use of sick leave is conditionally authorized pending approval of the Medical Disability Statement by the Director of Human Resources.
   3. Employees who desire to keep the nature of their disability confidential may place the Medical Disability Statement in a sealed envelope marked “CONFIDENTIAL” and have it delivered directly to the Principal/Department Head (leave granting authority). The Principal/Department Head and Director of Human Resources will ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
   4. Sick leave may be authorized for a maximum of thirty (30) calendar days on the basis of a single Medical Disability Statement. Absences for each additional thirty (30) calendar day period or portion thereof must be supported by a Medical Disability Statement, or the leave granting authority must have knowledge of the continued hospitalization of the employee.
   5. If there is a justifiable reason for a delay in the submission of the Medical Disability Statement, the Principal/Department Head may authorize use of sick leave beyond the tenth day, pending receipt of the Medical Disability Statement.
2. Exceptions:
   1. An employee who is being paid by a grant from a sick leave bank, based upon submission of the sick leave bank’s official Physician’s Statement”, will not be required to submit the Prince George’s County Public Schools Medical Disability Statement.
   2. An employee who is absent as a result of work related injury who has submitted the Workmen’s Compensation Attending Physician Statement will not be required to submit the Prince George’s County Public Schools Medical Disability Statement.
3. A supply of the Medical Disability Statement forms should be maintained at each pay location. The form PGIN 7540-7301 may be ordered from Supply Services.

V. Related Policies and Procedures

• Administrative Procedure 4151.2, Use of Advanced Sick Leave at Beginning of School Year.

VI. Maintenance and Updates of these Procedures

These procedures originate with the Office of the Chief Administrator For Human Resources, and will be updated as necessary.

VII. Cancellations and Supersedures

This Administrative Procedure cancels and supersedes Administrative Procedure 4151.1, dated November 1, 1986.

VIII. Effective Date

Last Revised: September 1, 2004

Documents

• Administrative Procedure 4151.1 - Use of Sick Leave in Excess of Ten Consecutive Duty Days.pdf