Employees will request sick leave in advance, if possible, by submitting applications for leave to the appropriate approving official. If advance notice is not practical, employees will apply for sick leave as soon as possible on the first day of absence. They also may be required to request leave each succeeding day, unless the supervisor says a daily call is not required because the condition clearly establishes that the employee will be absent for an indeterminate or specific period.
Documentation supporting an absence for sick leave must be filed within the pay period the employee returns to duty. The following table states forms of documentation required to support an absence for sick leave:
If the absence is:
Then the required documentation is:
3 days or less
Application for leave, written or electronic.
In excess of 3 consecutive workdays
Application for leave and a medical certificate or other acceptable documentation supporting the absence. If the employee did not consult a physician on behalf of himself/herself (or a family member as appropriate), a personal certificate stating the nature of the illness and the reason(s) a physician was not seen may be accepted, at the discretion of the supervisor.
Medical documentation must be provided within 15 calendar days after the date of the supervisor's request. If this is not practical, despite the employee's diligent, good faith efforts, the documentation must be provided within 30 calendar days after the date it was requested. If the documentation is not provided within the timeframe, the employee is not entitled to sick leave (FR Vol. 71, No. 157, dated August 17, 2006).
An employee who is requesting sick leave to care for a family member with a serious illness must provide a written statement from the health care provider concerning the family member's need for psychological comfort and/or physical care. The statement must certify that the:
Family member requires psychological comfort and/or physical care;
Family member would benefit from the employee's care or presence; and
Employee is needed to care for the family member for a specified period of time.
Use Form WH-380, Certification of Physician or Practitioner, or equivalent document, when requesting sick leave to care for a seriously ill family member.
Due to exposure to communicable disease (for any length of time)
Application for leave and a certificate from a health authority or doctor which specifies the period of time the employee's condition (or that of a family member, as appropriate) was considered to be harmful or dangerous.
At his/her discretion, a supervisor who suspects abuse of sick leave may require a medical certificate for absences of less than 3 days. An employee must first be advised of this requirement by the supervisor. Supervisors should contact their servicing employee relations specialist for guidance.
Charging Sick Leave
The minimum charge for sick leave is 15 minutes or multiples thereof. Employees will not be charged sick leave for more than their daily, weekly, or biweekly basic work requirement.
For employees on flexible work schedules (e.g., maxiflex, AMS-Flex, etc.) the maximum amount of sick leave that may be charged for a day is the number of hours they were scheduled to work, as indicated on their tour of duty designation.
Employees on compressed work schedules (i.e., 5-4/9, 4/10) will be charged for the number of hours scheduled to work on the day leave is taken.
Part-time employees are charged for the number of hours scheduled to work on the day leave is taken. (This also includes mixed-tour employees when assigned to a part-time schedule.)
For employees on first-40 or first-8-hour indefinite tours of duty, not more than 8 hours of leave may be charged for a day.
When sickness occurs during a period of annual leave, the period of illness may be charged to sick leave.
When Sick Leave Will Not Be Charged
Sick leave will not be charged when:
An employee is on scheduled sick leave and all other employees are excused from performance of their duties because a nonworkday has been established by Executive Order or Administrative Order. Administrative Order, as used in this context, should not be confused with the administrative dismissal authority delegated to agencies as found in Section D. Administrative Orders are typically applicable to all Federal agencies; administrative dismissals apply to individual agencies or localities due to specific situations.
Employees are excused by an authorized local official for the entire workday due to hazardous weather or other emergency conditions.
An official in charge of the program determines that local conditions prevent employees from reporting to work due to local, State, territorial holidays, or national holidays of foreign countries.
Conditions such as floods, storms, or other disasters prevent employees from performing their duties or reporting to work. Employees must resume normal duties when it is determined that normal work hours can be resumed. A charge to leave is appropriate following this determination if an employee does not return to work.
This table gives guidance on the amount of accrued sick leave that may be granted for certain circumstances:
Reason for requesting sick leave:
Amount that may be granted:
Employee's own illness or disability
All available accrued sick leave if supported by a medical certificate or other administratively acceptable documentation.
Adoption-related purposes
All available accrued sick leave, if the absence meets conditions for granting sick leave, including administratively acceptable documentation, as required.
Family care or bereavement purposes
Full-time employee: Up to 104 hours (13 days) each leave year, regardless of the amount of accrued sick leave to his or her credit.
Part-time employee: Up to the number of hours of sick leave he or she normally accrues during a leave year.
Form WH-380, Certification of Physician or Practitioner, or equivalent document should be used when requesting this leave.
Full-time employee: Up to 480 hours (12 workweeks) each leave year.
Part-time employee: An amount of sick leave equal to 12 times the average number of hours in the employee's scheduled tour of duty each week.
During each leave year, any sick leave used for general family care or bereavement purposes must be subtracted from the amount allowed for serious health conditions.
Example: During the beginning of the leave year, a full-time employee uses 20 hours of sick leave to take his/her child to the dentist and 40 hours for bereavement purposes. Later in the leave year, the employee needs to use additional sick leave to care for his/her terminally ill sister. The employee must subtract the 60 hours of sick leave already used from the 480 hour entitlement. The employee may only use up to 420 hours of sick leave to care for the terminally ill sister. The employee may not invoke FMLA because the terminally ill sister would not meet the definition of “family member” under FMLA.
At his/her discretion, a supervisor who suspects abuse of sick leave may require a medical certificate for absences of less than 3 days. An employee must first be advised of this requirement by the supervisor. Supervisors should contact their servicing employee relations specialist for guidance. 