Employee Handbook
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Scroll to: Annual Leave (Vacation) | Sick Leave | Bereavement Leave | Domestic Violence Leave| Military Leave | Leave for Spouse of Person in Military Conflict | Jury Duty | Court Appearances | Voting | FMLA | Requesting Family and/or Medical Leave | Maternity/Parental Leave | Other Unpaid Leaves of Absence
Time Off
Holidays
SIBCR observes the following paid holidays. Part-time employees receive pay only for those holidays falling on work days in their scheduled tour of duty, and only for the number of hours which they would have been scheduled to work had the holiday not fallen on that date. Intermittent employees and those who work an unscheduled number of hours per week or month do not receive holiday pay.
| New Year's Day | Labor Day |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Columbus Day |
| Presidents' Day | Veterans Day |
| Memorial Day | Thanksgiving |
| Independence Day | Christmas |
If a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday will be recognized as the holiday. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be recognized as the holiday. The SIBCR-observed holidays are consistent with the VAPSHCS holiday calendar.
In order to receive holiday pay, employees must:
- Have worked the last scheduled workday before and the first scheduled workday after the holiday, unless on approved absence (which includes annual and sick leave); and
- Normally be scheduled to work on the day in question if it were not a holiday.
If a holiday falls during an employees chosen vacation time, the holiday will not be considered a day of his or her paid annual leave. Only the non-holiday period will be charged to annual leave. A nonexempt employee who works on a holiday is paid for the hours worked as well as for the holiday.
Annual Leave (Vacation)
An employee is eligible for annual and sick leave if his or her regular appointment is more than 15 hours per week and is expected to continue for 12 months. Intermittent employees are not eligible for this benefit.
Annual leave accrual is as follows:
- 1 - 3 years 1 hour for every 20 worked = 13 days/year @FT
- >3 - 11 years 1 hour for every 13 worked = 20 days/year @FT
- >11 - 15 years 1 hour for every 11.25 worked = 23 days/year @FT
- >15 years 1 hour per every 10 worked = 26 days/year @FT
Employees who transfer from University of Washington (UW) or VAPSHCS to SIBCR will have their service time credited toward SIBCR annual leave accruals. For example: an employee with five years of service at UW will start accruing annual leave at the rate of one hour for every 13 hours worked at the start of employment with SIBCR (the > 3-11-year rate.) This employee would move to the > 15-year rate after 10 years of service with SIBCR.
The employee should get supervisor approval one week prior to the beginning of proposed annual leave. However, supervisors may grant leave with shorter notice in some circumstances. Supervisors may consider workplace coverage in approving leave.
An employee may use accrued but unused annual leave to care for his/her spouse, child, parent, parent-in-law or grandparent with a serious health condition or emergency condition, consistent with the Washington Family Care Act.
The maximum annual leave carry-over at December 31st of each year is 160 hours. An employee may, before the end of the year, submit a written request approved by his or her supervisor explaining the need to carry over and a plan to use the leave in excess of 160 hours. Employees who terminate after at least six (6) months of employment are paid up to 160 hours of unused accrued annual leave upon termination.
Although employees begin accruing annual leave from their first work day, annual leave may not be used during the first 30 days of employment and unused annual leave will not be paid to employees terminating after less than six months of employment.
Exempt employees use annual leave in whole or half day increments. Nonexempt employees use annual leave in quarter-hour increments.
Sick Leave
Eligible (those whose regular appointment is more than 15 hours per week and is expected to continue for 12 months) employees will earn 1 hour paid sick leave for every 20 regular, holiday, sick or annual leave hours paid. Sick leave does not accrue on overtime or any period of unpaid time off.
A maximum of 240 hours sick leave may be accrued. If an employee who is at the maximum accrual of sick leave uses some of this leave, accrual will restart until the 240 hour cap is reached again. Unused sick leave benefits are not paid upon termination of employment.
Sick leave may be used for:
- Personal illness or injury
- Illness or injury of a family member
- Temporary medical disability (e.g., pregnancy or childbirth)
- Doctor and dentist appointments
- Any leave covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as required by applicable state law
Sick leave use will normally be authorized by the supervisor for periods up to three days without the necessity of a note from a medical provider. For an absence of more than three days due to illness, the employee may be asked to confirm the illness with a supporting statement from a medical caregiver.
Generally, exempt employees use sick leave in full or half day increments. (FMLA allows for smaller increments for exempt employees.) Nonexempt employees use such leave in quarter-hour increments.
Bereavement Leave
An employee is permitted to use a reasonable amount of accrued sick or annual leave when an employee is absent due to the death a family member.
Domestic Violence Leave
Employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (or their family members) may take reasonable or intermittent leave from work to take care of legal or law enforcement needs or obtain medical treatment, mental health counseling or social services assistance. Employees taking this leave may use any available paid time off (sick leave, annual leave, etc.) while on this leave. On request, the employee may be required to provide verification of the need for the leave. For the purposes of this policy, “family member” includes child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or person who the employee is dating.
Military Leave
Employees who are required to attend annual military reserve training or other active military duty are granted leave with regular pay for up to 15 working days per year. Leave for additional military service may be taken as regular vacation or as unpaid leave. Employees who take military leave are entitled to return to their jobs as provided under federal and state laws. Employees should bring the orders to the attention of their supervisor on the first working day after receiving the notice. A copy of the orders must be supplied to Human Resources.
As the laws regarding military leave depend on the length of the leave, please contact Human Resources for information on benefits available during and after military leave.
Leave for Spouses of Persons in Military Conflict
Any employee who works more than 20 hours per week and whose spouse is deployed or about to be deployed or is on leave from deployment in a military conflict declared by Congress or the President is entitled to up to fifteen (15) days of leave of absence per deployment. The leave is unpaid except that the employee can use his/her annual leave or sick leave at the same time. An employee wishing to take this leave must notify his/her supervisor within five business days of receiving official notice that the spouse is being deployed or will be on leave from deployment. Upon conclusion of the leave, the employee will return to his/her position unless the position was eliminated or the employee would otherwise have been terminated during the leave.
Jury Duty
Performance of jury duty is part of a person's responsibilities as a citizen. Unless job responsibilities require it, SIBCR will not ask or encourage an employee to request to be excused from or to ask for postponement of a call to jury duty. If a regular full- or part-time employee is required to perform jury duty, he or she will receive regular pay up to a maximum of 10 days. Exempt employees will continue to receive their regular salary for any time spent on a jury for the initial 10 days and any week in which they work for any amount of time. The employee will be expected to work his or her regular schedule on any day he or she is not required to be present in court.
In order to receive regular pay during jury duty, the employee must provide SIBCR with a letter or other confirmation from the court clerk indicating the time served.
Court Appearances
An employee may take annual leave to appear in court as a witness. He or she is responsible for notifying his or her supervisor immediately after receiving a summons to appear for a court appearance during scheduled work hours. A copy of this notice should be given to Human Resources with the timesheet for that month.
Voting
SIBCR encourages each employee to exercise the right to vote. In most situations, a person should be able to vote before or after work or by absentee ballot. If unable to vote during these times due to his or her work schedule, an employee may take up to two hours off work with pay to vote. He or she must request this time off in advance from his or her supervisor, and must have a valid reason why he or she cannot vote by absentee ballot or during non-working hours. The employee will be expected to take the time off at a time of the day that will require the least amount of time missed from work, usually at the beginning or end of the workday.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
An employee, who has worked for SIBCR at least 12 months, including at least 1,250 hours in the last twelve months, is entitled to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period:
- to care for a newborn, a newly-adopted child or a newly-placed foster child,
- to care for a child, parent or spouse who has a serious health condition, or
- because of the employee's own serious health condition.
A "serious health condition" is an illness, impairment or condition that involves:
- inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility or continuing treatment by a health care provider,
- any period of incapacity of three or more consecutive days and continuing care by a medical provider, or
- any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, including prenatal care.
In addition to the leave described above, the employee may also be entitled to leave for the actual period of disability associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
Leave to care for a newborn, newly adopted child or newly placed foster child must be taken within 12 months of the birth, adoption or placement. If SIBCR employs both parents, they are together entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave between the two parents (not 12 weeks each).
If the need for the leave is foreseeable, employees must give written notice at least 30 days in advance of the anticipated date the leave is to begin, stating the reason for the leave and the dates during which the leave is to be taken. If the need for the leave is not foreseeable, the employee must give notice as soon as possible after the need for the leave is known. Health care provider certifications/recertifications, as well as second/third opinions and fitness for duty reports/releases may be required in accordance with the FMLA regulations.
Upon returning from the leave, an employee is entitled to return to the same position held when the leave began or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits and pay, unless the position would have been eliminated had the employee not been on leave. Additionally, an employee on leave is not immune from discipline, up to and including termination, if information is uncovered during the leave which would have normally resulted in discipline had the employee been actively working.
The employee must use any other accumulated leave, paid or unpaid, to which he or she is otherwise entitled while on this leave. (For maternity disability leave, employees are only required to use sick leave.) After the paid annual and sick leave is used the rest of the leave taken under FMLA is unpaid. If leave pursuant to this policy would also qualify as leave under any other benefit or policy, the period of the leave will apply toward the entitlement for each type of leave that may apply.
By taking the leave, the employee will not lose any benefits that accrued before the start of the leave. The employee will not be entitled to accrue further benefits during periods of unpaid leave. SIBCR will maintain its contributions to the employee’s health insurance premiums during the leave, whether it is paid or unpaid. The employee will be required to continue paying his or her share of the premiums for the employee and his or her dependents, if applicable. The employee will also be required to arrange in advance self-payment of other group insurance benefits, if applicable. If the employee does not return at the end of the leave, the employee may be required to repay the SIBCR for the health insurance premiums paid by the institution during the leave.
This policy will be administered according to the Family and Medical Leave Act and the regulations interpreting it and any applicable state law.
Employees should contact Human Resources with questions about eligibility for leave or other leave benefits that may be available.
Servicemember Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) now entitles employees to take leave for a covered family member’s service in the Armed Forces (“Servicemember FMLA”). This policy supplements our FMLA policy and provides general notice of employee rights to such leave. Except as mentioned below, an employee’s rights and obligations to Servicemember FMLA Leave are governed by our existing FMLA policy.
Leave entitlement
Servicemember FMLA provides eligible employees unpaid leave for any one, or for a combination, of the following reasons:
- A “qualifying exigency” arising out of a spouse, son, daughter or parent’s active duty or call to active duty in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation; and/or
- To care for a spouse, child, parent or other relative for whom the employee is the next of kin who is a member of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability list for a serious injury or illness.
Duration of Servicemember FLMA
- When leave is due to a “qualifying exigency”: An eligible employee may take up to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period.
- When leave it to care for an injured or ill servicemember: An eligible employee may take up to 26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for the servicemember. Leave to care for an injured or ill servicemember, when combined with other FLMA-qualifying leave, may not exceed 26 weeks in a single 12-month period.
- Servicemember FLMA runs concurrent with other leave entitlements provided under federal, state and local law.
Any questions regarding Servicemember FMLA leave should be directed to Human Resources.
Requesting Family and/or Medical Leave
- Request must be in writing 30 days before the leave is to begin; if such notice is not feasible, then as soon as possible. The dates of leave must be included in the notice.
- If the employee makes contributions to the group benefit plan, arrangements to continue making contributions must be made before the leave begins.
- FMLA and paid leave run concurrently, not in addition to one another (i.e., taking vacation and sick leave at the beginning of FMLA leave does not extend the 12 weeks of FMLA leave by the length of the vacation/sick leave).
- Employees are required to take all accrued sick leave and all accrued annual leave (except in the case of pregnancy) during FMLA leave.
- During leave for the birth or placement for foster care of a child, the employee must notify SIBCR if he or she intends to take additional leave allowed under Washington State law.
- FMLA leave may be taken intermittently under some circumstances. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis, relative to the employee's normal workweek. This must be arranged with the administrative staff at SIBCR.
SIBCR will not retaliate against any employee for requesting Family Medical Leave regardless of whether or not the leave is granted.
Maternity/Parental Leave
Employees are entitled to leave for the actual period of disability associated with pregnancy and childbirth. If the employee is eligible for family leave under the FMLA, described above, FMLA leave will run concurrent with the period of maternity disability. Once the maternity disability period has concluded, an eligible employee may take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave under the Washington Parental Leave law. The leave is unpaid unless the employee has available sick and/or annual leave. Sick leave must be used during this leave. This policy will be administered according to the federal FMLA and the regulations interpreting it and any applicable state law. Employees should contact Human Resources with questions about these benefits.
Other Unpaid Leaves of Absence
SIBCR, in its sole discretion, may grant unpaid leaves of absence to an employee based on staffing needs, the employee’s work record and the reason for the requested leave. In general, all annual and sick leave must be used before unpaid leave will be authorized. Unpaid leave of absence for reasons other than those covered under FMLA may be granted under certain conditions, for a specified period of time.
A personal leave of absence must be requested in writing and submitted to the employee’s supervisor and Human Resources as soon as the need for such leave is known. Requests for personal leave will be evaluated based on the employee’s work record, his or her department's staffing needs, and the reason for the request. Circumstances will determine the length of leave granted.
No benefits, such as annual or sick leave are earned while the employee is on unpaid leave. During an unpaid leave of absence, the employee may be required to pay his or her full group health premiums.
Employees returning from a personal leave are not guaranteed a return to their former job. Where possible, the employee will return to his or her prior job or a similar position. If a position is available for which he or she is qualified, he or she may be considered for that opening. An employee will be terminated if the employee does not return from the authorized unpaid leave of absence at the agreed time, if there is no opening for which the employee is qualified, or if the employee is not selected for any open position.
This policy does not apply to unpaid leave taken under either the federal or state FMLA or maternity/parental leave laws.
All unpaid leaves of absence must be approved by the employee’s supervisor. Leave taken without supervisor approval may be considered abandonment and resignation of the employee’s position.