Leaves of Absence
All leave balances can be viewed on the Employee Self-Service Portal – Please register for ESS if you have not done so. Please note that leave tracking and reconciliations are one month behind to ensure that all leaves for the prior month have been reported and recorded. If you feel there is a discrepancy with your leave balance, please contact your site first, and they can connect you directly with the payroll department to resolve most discrepancies. Please review the attached resource on Sick Leave Use. An important note to remember is that all Paid Time Off comes from an employee’s Sick Leave ‘Bank’. Personal Necessity and Family Illness are merely an extension of what you can use your sick leave banks towards. Please keep in mind that even if you have not used your F.I. or P.N., if you have exhausted your sick leave bank, you can no longer use those extensions. Sick leave is never paid out, but can be transferred to another Public-School Agency, or your retirement system (PERs/ STRs). Vacation is only for 12-month employees.
Below are some general guidelines and examples of active employee leaves. This is not a complete list; please consult your Union Collective Bargaining Agreement for a comprehensive list and full details on each leave type. If ever in doubt, please reach out to Human Resources.
SUBMIT A LEAVE REQUEST
If you are interested in submitting a leave request for: A General Leave of Absence (Partial or Full) / Child Rearing (Partial or Full) / Reduced Workload / Parental Leave – please use this form and HR will contact you directly.
(Note: this is NOT for sick leave, vacation, personal necessity, floating holiday, or short-term leave request.)
TFT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT (CBA)
ARTICLE IV: ABSENCES AND LEAVES
- Section 1 - Absences
- Section 2 – Leaves of Absence
Full-time unit members shall be entitled to ten (10) days of regular sick leave of absence annually for illness or injury. Part-time unit members shall be entitled to sick leave of absence in the same ratio that their employment bears to full-time employment. Unused sick leave of absence shall accrue from year to year.
A unit member, whose absence exceeds three (3) days, shall provide upon request, written verification of the illness or injury from his/her physician.
Any employee may use a maximum of seven (7) days of sick leave of absence per school year for cases of personal necessity. Personal necessity leaves of absence are not to be used for vacations.
EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL LEAVE REQUESTS:
- General Leave (Partial or full year)
- See Union Contract for leave request deadlines and how your benefit coverage will be impacted
- Child Rearing Leave
- Parental Bonding Leave (PBL) and Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) - Please contact HR for this leave
- Maternity/Paternity Leave FAQ
- A doctor’s note placing you on and off disability is required – this PDL duration is typically between 6-8 weeks
- You must exhaust all sick leave to qualify for differential pay when in PDL or PBL status
- PBL can be intermittent or continuous, and you have 12 work-weeks or 60 days to use for bonding. From birth, there is a 12-month period to use the Parental Bonding leave; these dates must be Board Approved.
- Any leave after PDL or PBL will be an unpaid childrearing leave
- Benefit coverage is maintained through PDL and PBL
- There is a 30-day window to add your newborn to your district coverage, with supporting documentation. You will not be able to add your new dependent to your district coverage after this 30-day window has expired, and will need to wait for Open Enrollment in August. All open enrollment changes take effect October first. You are not required to add your dependents to your district coverage.
- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- This leave is unpaid – please contact HR to discuss this leave; this leave type must be board approved, and there are certain eligibility requirements.
- Reduced Workload (RWL – aka: Brown Act)
- This leave must be approved by your site beforehand, and you must meet the RWL requirements. This leave must be board approved and will be submitted to CalSTRs.
- Bereavement
- See definition of eligible family members
- Please loop in your site and know they are allowed to ask the relationship of the deceased to validate your leave request.
- Workers Compensation related leaves and absences
DEFINITIONS:
Immediate family shall be defined as: Spouse, child, parent, sister, brother, parent-in-law, brother or sister-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, stepchild, step-parent, or any person residing in the home of the employee. Additional members of the family may be included at the discretion of the Superintendent or designee.
Note: Documentation can be requested at any point to validate a leave request or use of extended duration PN or Sick time. Advance notice of any extended time off should be submitted to your site and the Human Resources Office.
CSEA COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT (CBA)
ARTICLE V: LEAVES AND ABSENCES
Every classified employee employed five (5) days a week by the District shall be entitled to twelve (12) days leave of absence for illness or injury with full pay for a fiscal year of service.
- Classified employees employed five (5) days a week, who are employed for less than a full fiscal year are entitled to that proportion of twelve (12) days leave of absence for illness or injury with pay as the number of months he/she is employed bears to twelve (12).
- Classified employees employed less than five (5) days a week shall be entitled, for a fiscal year of service, to that propo1tion of twelve (12) days leave of absence for illness or injury with pay as the number of days he/she is employed per week bears to five (5).
- Credit for sick leave need not be accrued by the employee prior to taking such leave, provided, however, that a new employee of the District shall not be eligible to take more than six (6) days or the proportionate amount to which he/she is entitled under this provision until the first day of the calendar month after completion of six (6) months of service with the District. Use
If an absence exceeds three (3) days, a supervisor may request verification of the illness from a physician either during the illness or subsequent to the illness.
In accordance with Labor Code Section 233, an employee may use up to six (6) days of accrued and available sick leave annually to attend to an illness of a child, parent or spouse.
Not more than seven (7) days of sick leave in any school year may be used by the employee for Personal Necessity.
EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL LEAVE REQUESTS:
- Short-Term Leave of Absence (10 Days)
- Parental Bonding (PBL) and Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)
- Maternity Leave Guide - Classified
- A doctor’s note placing you on and off disability is required – this duration is typically between 6-8 weeks
- You must exhaust all sick leave to qualify for differential pay when in PBL status
- PDL: Entitles you up to 4 months of unpaid leave for disability due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
- PBL can be intermittent or continuous, and you have 12 work-weeks or 60 days to use for bonding. From birth, there is a 12-month period to use the Parental Bonding leave; these dates must be Board Approved. Compensation, after use of sick leave is at 50% of you salary.
- Benefit coverage is maintained through PDL and PBL
- There is a 30-day window to add your newborn to your district coverage, with supporting documentation. You will not be able to add your new dependent to your district coverage after this 30-day window has expired, and will need to wait for Open Enrollment in August. All open enrollment changes take effect October first. You are not required to add your dependents to your district coverage.
- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Please contact HR for this leave, as it also can work in tandem with Pregnancy Disability, and there are certain eligibility requirements.
- Bereavement
- See definition of eligible family members
- Please loop in your site and know they are allowed to ask the relationship of the deceased to validate your leave request.
- Workers Compensation related leaves and absences
DEFINITIONS:
Immediate family shall be defined as: Spouse, child, parent, sister, brother, parent-in-law, brother or sister-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, stepchild, step-parent, or any person residing in the home of the employee. Additional members of the family may be included at the discretion of the Superintendent or designee.
Note: Documentation can be requested at any point to validate a leave request or use of extended duration PN or Sick time. Advance notice of any extended time off should be submitted to your site and the Human Resources Office.