Sick Leave

Accumulation of sick leave will be governed by Section 16-1-18.1, Code of Alabama of 1975, as amended.  An employee  may  accumulate an  unlimited number of sick leave days in accordance with Ala. Code 16-1-18.1.

Sick Leave Definition.  Sick leave is defined as the absence from regular duty by an employee for one of the following reasons: personal illness; pregnancy, maternity leave, or doctor's quarantine; medical examinations and appointments; personal injury which incapacitates the employee; to provide care for  an ill member of the immediate family (husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister) of the employee or for an individual with a close personal tie to the employee; death of a member of the family of the employee (husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, niece, granddaughter, grandson, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle);or illness, injury, or death of an individual not legally related to but having unusually strong personal ties with the employee. For purposes of application of this policy, an individual with a close or unusually strong personal tie is limited to the following:  a person standing in loco parentis; where unusually strong personal ties exist due to an employee’s having been supported or educated by a person; father-in-law; mother-in-law; son-in-law; daughter-in-law; brother-in-law; sister-in-law; nephew; niece; granddaughter; grandson; grandfather; grandmother; aunt; uncle.

Each full-time employee employed on Salary Schedules A, B, C, and E, shall earn one day of sick leave which is the equivalent of 8 hours per month of employment. They will  be required  to request  40 hours of  sick leave  for absences  totaling an entire work week.

Each full-time employee employed on Salary Schedule H shall earn one day of sick leave per month of employment with a “day” defined as 4 hours for persons on H-20, 5 hours for persons on H-25, 6 hours for persons on H-30, and 7 hours for persons on H-35.  Employees on H will be required to request the amount of sick leave equal to the normal amount of hours worked each week for absences totaling an entire work week.    

Each full-time employee employed on Salary Schedule D shall earn one day of sick leave which is equivalent to 7 hours per month of employment to a maximum of nine days or 63 hours during the academic year (fall and spring semesters) and up to a maximum of three days or 21 hours during the summer term.  Employees on D will be required to request 35 hours of sick leave for absences totaling an entire work week.

Any unused balance of sick leave accumulated at the end of the leave year will be carried forward to the next succeeding year. For purposes of applying accrued sick leave as credit for retirement purposes, an employee is limited to the amount allowed by law and the Teachers Retirement System. 

Sick leave may be utilized during a contractual period of employment. However, sick leave may not be utilized to extend the employment period.  

The employee's immediate supervisor may request  that an employee provide a medical certification by a licensed healthcare provider at the expense of the employee.  After three (3) consecutive absences due to illness or after five (5) occurrences due to illness, within a thirty (30) calendar-day period, the president or designee may require that an employee furnish a medical certificate by a licensed healthcare provider. This is to be done at the expense of the employee. Consistent with this provision, colleges will implement local policies and procedures for requiring these medical certifications. When medical certification is required, requests for sick leave may be denied if the medical certification is not provided.  

Sick leave will not be paid upon separation of employment.

Transfer of Sick Leave:  Sick leave earned while employed by an Alabama public school system, higher education public institutions in Alabama, or the Alabama Community College System may be transferred into an ACCS college in accordance with Alabama Code Section 16-1-18.1. All TRS tier 1 persons are eligible to receive credit for accrued sick leave when they: 

• Retire with service of 10 years at age 60 or have more than 25 years of service; or
• Retire on disability and are otherwise eligible for service retirement.

The service credit may be applied toward meeting the minimum service requirement for service retirement eligibility (age 60 with 10 years or 25 years of service, regardless of age.)

The following chart is used by TRS to convert accumulated sick leave days to months of service credit upon service retirement. The maximum number of days that may be converted is based upon one (1) day of sick leave per month of employment (example: 25 years equals 300 days). The sick leave accrual limit of the employing agency determines the amount of sick leave eligible for conversion.  (For calculation purposes, a day will be defined as 8 hours).