COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
DATE: April 21, 2014
TO: All Management Employees
FROM: Nicole McKay, Employee & Labor Relations Manager
SUBJECT: Employee Relations Bulletin 12 Use of Vacation or Other Accrued Leave in Lieu of Sick Leave
We are often asked whether or not an employee can use vacation hours in lieu of sick leave/sick leave without pay. Generally, managers want to allow the use of vacation except in cases where employees have an attendance problem. There is no written policy allowing or prohibiting the use of vacation for sick leave purposes. Our recommendations are as follows:
Generally, we recommend approving employees’ requests to use vacation hours in lieu of paid sick leave. If the employee making the request is being documented regarding attendance, use of vacation should only be approved for pre-scheduled medical appointments and those absences should be documented to clearly record that the vacation was used in lieu of sick leave.
An employee who has exhausted his/her accrued sick leave balance may use other accrued leaves (vacation, comp time, holiday credits) in lieu of sick leave which meets the criteria specified in the Sick Leave section of the MOU, unless the employee has been documented for attendance problems within the last 4 months, in which case such other leaves may only be used for pre-scheduled and pre-approved medical and dental appointments. The use of such leave in lieu of sick leave is subject to all other provisions of the Sick Leave section of the MOU.
This allows employees who have not been documented for excessive sick leave usage to use other accrued leaves to cover illnesses. For example, an employee who has just returned from parental leave or from an extended illness/injury may have used all of his/her sick leave. Should that employee become ill, he/she would be able to use vacation, comp time or holiday credits to cover the absence rather than using sick leave without pay.
This means that it is more important than ever for your managers and supervisors to document excessive sick leave usage in writing at an early stage.
Generally, we recommend against allowing employees who have exhausted their accrued sick leave to use vacation hours in lieu of sick leave without pay, unless the employee has exhausted their sick leave as a result of a major illness/injury which requires continued medical care. If departments elect to allow employees to use vacation hours in lieu of sick leave without pay, those absences should be documented to clearly record that the vacation was used in lieu of sick leave without pay. This documentation is necessary to support any corrective/disciplinary action for excessive absenteeism since, without the documentation, the absence would appear to be an approved vacation day.
We recommend that each department consider employee requests to use vacation time in lieu of sick leave and sick leave without pay on a case by case basis. To avoid discrimination complaints and claims of disparate treatment, it is important that each department consider such requests in a consistent manner based on objective criteria. Some examples of criteria to be considered are:
- The employee’s history of sick leave usage – Has the employee exhausted their sick leave as a result of a major illness or maternity leave, or has it been exhausted mainly due to a series of one to three day absences?
- Recent documentation regarding attendance – Is the employee currently on a leave restriction letter or is there documented counseling regarding use of sick leave within the past six months?
- Pattern of leave usage – Has the employee established a pattern of sick leave absences (Mondays/ Fridays, after holidays, in conjunction with vacation, etc)?
- The purpose of time off – Is the leave for a pre-scheduled medical appointment or to cover a “last minute” call in?
Note: If your department already has a policy or practice in place, any changes in that policy or practice will require advance notification to affected Unions and meetings with them prior to implementation of the change. If you decide to change an existing policy or practice, please consult Employee Relations prior to initiating the change.