APA Know Your Contract – Sick Leave For You and Your Family

Back to school often means “back to germs” for many families!  Understanding how to use your sick leave is often the first step to keeping you and your family healthy.

All APA members, who work half-time or more, begin earning sick leave upon hire.  The amount of sick leave earned varies depending on full-time or part-time status.  Hours earned are in accordance with the following rules:

• Full-time APA members accrue sick leave at the rate of four (4) hours every two (2) weeks – equaling 104 hours annually;
• Part-time APA members who work between 26 and 36 hours per week are credited with 75% of the full-time sick leave, accruing three (3) hours every two (2) weeks – equaling 78 hours annually;
• Part-time APA members who work between 20 and 26 hours per week are credited with 50% of the full-time sick leave, accruing two (2) hours every two (2) weeks – equaling 52 hours annually.

Sick leave is credited at the end of each month and may accumulate to a maximum of 1,400 hours.  You can check EBS to track the amount of sick leave you have at any time.

Article 24 of the current APA Collective Bargaining Agreement outlines the use of sick leave.  Pertinent sections are printed below; however, you can access the entire APA Contract by visiting the APA website at www.msuapa.org.

ARTICLE 24 – SICK LEAVE

-180 The University grants regular staff working half-time or more and temporary staff working half-time or more, paid time off due to illness. Employees accrue sick leave credits in accordance with the following requirements.

-183 Sick leave with pay may be used for the following reasons:

1. Personal illness or incapacity over which the Employee has no reasonable control that prohibits the performance of the duties of the Employee’s job.
2. Absence from work because of exposure to contagious disease that, according to public health standards, would constitute a danger to the health of others by the Employee’s attendance at work.
3. To complete appointments for medical or dental treatment when it is not possible to arrange such appointments for non-duty hours.
4. Twenty-four (24) hours of accrued sick leave per fiscal year may be used for illness of a member of the immediate family as defined in paragraph 258 or member of the household. An additional fifty-six (56) hours may be used for the care of dependent children, parents, spouse, or Other Eligible Individual who are ill. The total number of hours shall not exceed eighty (80).
5. Illness or incapacity associated with pregnancy (see Maternity Leave section).

As defined in the APA contract, you are able to use your accrued sick leave when you are sick and unable to go to work.  However, you may also use your sick leave to care for a member of your family – this leave is often referred to as “family sick leave”.  

You may use up to eighty (80) hours of your sick leave for the care of Dependent Children, Parents, Spouse and Other Eligible Individual (OEI).  Of the eighty (80) hours of family sick leave available to you, twenty-four (24) of those hours can be used for a member of your immediate family.  Immediate family, of course, includes those members identified above (children, parents, spouse and OEI), but the twenty-four (24) hours of family sick also includes the following:  Brother, Sister, Grandparents, Grandchild, Half-Brother, Half-Sister, Step-Parents, Grandparents-in-law, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Son-in-law, Daughter-in-law, Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law.

In other words, you have a contractual right to the use of your accrued sick leave for you and for your family.  Before using sick time; however, be sure to check and see if your Department has additional rules and procedures in place.  If you have questions about additional rules that are in place for your Department, please contact APA.

To review your APA contractual provisions, go to:

http://lay.wyz.mybluehost.me/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2015-2019-Contract.pdf

If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to ask for assistance by contacting the MSU APA office at (517) 999-4004 or by email at [email protected].