Eligibility:
Permanent and temporary employees earn Sick Leave. The earning rate will differ based on the type of work schedule. Intermittent employees do not earn sick leave.

Full-Time = 4 hours/pay period
Part-Time = 1 hour/20 hours in pay status

Employees on uncommon tours of duty accrue 7 hours of sick leave per pay period for a 72-hour workweek and 5 hours of sick leave per pay period for a 56-hour workweek.

Appropriate Use:

1. Receive medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment,
2. Incapacitated for the performance of duties by physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth,
3. Provide care for a family member as a result of physical or mental illness; injury; pregnancy; childbirth; or medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment (See note below),
4. Make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attends the funeral of a family member (See note below),
5. Exposure to a communicable disease,
6. Purpose relating to the adoption of a child, including appointments with adoption agencies, social workers, and attorneys; court proceedings; required travel and any other activities necessary to allow the adoption to proceed.

Sick Leave for Family Care or Bereavement Purposes:

Most Federal employees may use a total of up to 104 hours (13 workdays) of sick leave each leave year for family care purposes, such as:

• providing care for a family member who is incapacitated as a result of physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth.
• providing care for a family member as a result of medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment; or
• making arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attend the funeral of a family member.

Employees may use the following amounts of sick leave each leave year for these purposes:

• 40 hours (5 workdays) if employee is a covered full-time employee. If the employee maintains a balance of at least 80 hours of sick leave, an additional 64 hours (8 workdays) of sick leave may be used each year.
• Part-time employees and employees with uncommon tours of duty may use sick leave for family care and bereavement purposes. The amount of sick leave is pro-rated in proportion to the average number of hours of work in the employee’s scheduled tour of duty each week.
• Only the first 40 hours of sick leave may be advanced, or a proportional amount for an employee on a part-time schedule or uncommon tour of duty.

• spouse, and parents thereof;
• children, including adopted children, and spouses thereof;
• parents;
• brothers and sisters, and spouses thereof; and
• any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

Sick Leave to Care for a Family Member with a Serious Health Condition

Most Federal employees may use a total of up to 12 weeks of accrued sick leave each year to care for a family member with a "serious health condition."

What is a "serious health condition?" A serious health condition is an illness, injury, physical or mental condition that involves:

• inpatient care in a hospital, or other residential medical care facility;
• any condition that results in incapacity requiring an absence of more than 3 consecutive calendar days and involving continuing treatment by a health care provider;
• continuing treatment by a health care provider for a chronic condition that if not treated would result in an incapacity of more than 3 consecutive calendar days.

A serious health condition is not a short-term condition for which treatment and recovery are very brief. Unless complications arise, the following are not serious health conditions: the common cold, the flu, earaches, upset stomach, headaches (other than migraines), and routine dental or orthodontia problems.

Must an employee maintain a certain sick leave balance to use the full 12 weeks of sick leave?

Yes, employees must maintain a sick leave balance of 80 hours in order to use the full 12 weeks of sick leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

An employee may use an initial 40 hours of sick leave for family care purposes. To use more than 40 hours, an employee must maintain a sick leave balance of 80 hours at all times. This limitation applies to any employee using sick leave for a family member.

PLEASE NOTE:

An employee is entitled to a total of 12 weeks of sick leave each year for all family care purposes.

If an employee previously used any portion of the 13 days of sick leave for general family care or bereavement purposes in a year, that amount must be subtracted from the 12-week entitlement.

If an employee already used 12 weeks of sick leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition, the employee cannot use an additional 13 days in the same leave year for general family care purposes.

ADOPTION. An employee may use sick leave for purposes related to the adoption of a child. Examples may include:

• appointments with adoption agencies, social workers, and attorneys;
• court proceedings;
• required travel;
• any periods of time the adoptive parents are ordered or required by the adoption agency or by the court to take time off from work to care for the adopted child; and
• any other activities necessary to allow the adoption to proceed.

Sick leave may not be used for this purpose by adoptive parents who voluntarily choose to be absent from work to bond with or care for an adopted child. Parents may use annual leave or leave without pay for these purposes.

Sick Leave Substitution:
Sick Leave may be substituted for Annual Leave when sickness occurs within a period of absence on annual leave.

Unused Sick Leave:
Employees are not paid for unused sick leave upon separation.

Restoration:
Sick leave is restored to an employee’s account following a break in service without regard to the length of separation, if the employee returns to Federal employment after December 1, 1994. If sick leave was previously forfeited it may not now be restored.

Advancing:
In cases of serious disability or illness sick leave may be advanced, except those serving under a limited appointment or with a specific termination date, for up to 30 days or equivalent for uncommon tours of duty subject to the following conditions:

1. All available sick leave is used,
2. The employee will return to duty long enough to earn the sick leave,
3. Does not involve a Family Friendly Leave Act authority. (See note above)

The granting of advance sick leave is subject to supervisory approval. Employees must repay any advanced sick leave unless:

1. The separation is caused by death,
2. Disability retirement, or
3. A disability which prevents the employee from returning to duty or continuing in the service, and which is the basis of the separation as determined by the employing office on medical evidence acceptable to it.