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Sick and Safe Leave Information for Temporary Employees

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In accordance with the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, HCPSS provides eligible temporary employees with access to sick and safe leave.

Determining Eligibility

Employees are eligible for temporary sick and safe leave if they:

  • Are currently assigned to an active, temporary position.
  • Work at least 24 hours in a given two-week pay-period.
  • Are not active employees.

The following employees are not eligible for sick and safe leave:

  • Contract Workers.
  • Those under the age of 18 before the beginning of the year.
  • Those who regularly work less than 12 hours per week.

Available Temporary Sick Leave Plans

HCPSS offers two different types of sick leave plans for its temporary employees: Temporary Sick Leave and Retroactive Temporary Sick Leave.

Temporary Sick Leave

Temporary employees who begin work after November 20, 2019 will accrue sick leave based on their eligibility up to 40 hours per fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), regardless of the number of hours worked. Under this plan, employees must complete a waiting period of 106 calendar days of employment with HCPSS prior to using earned and accrued leave.

Retroactive Temporary Sick Leave

Temporary employees who have been employed with HCPSS between February 11, 2018 and November 20, 2019 will be retroactively credited with sick and safe leave, based on their eligibility, up to 120 hours. Use of earned and accrued leave in this leave plan is not subject to a waiting period of 106 calendar days of employment with the Howard County Public School System.

Leave Accrual and Carryover

Eligible employees will accrue sick and safe leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours the employee works in a given pay period; however, an employee is not entitled to earn more than 40 hours of sick and safe leave in a fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) or to have a balance of more than 64 hours of earned sick and safe leave at any given time. (Note: the 64-hour limitation does not apply to employees who elect the retroactive temporary sick leave.)
Temporary employees who are assigned to more than one position will accrue sick and safe leave in each position. They will also be paid for sick and safe leave in accordance with the compensation associated with each position.

Leave Usage & Notification

Eligible employees are permitted to use earned sick and safe leave in 30-minute increments, but they must request leave for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 8 hours per day. Employees are required to give 48 hours notice of the need to use earned sick and safe leave when it is foreseeable. A supervisor may deny leave if the employee does not have sufficient leave accrued. An employee is allowed to use earned sick and safe leave under the following conditions:

  • To care for or treat the employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or condition;
  • To obtain preventative medical care for the employee or the employee’s family member;
  • To care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or condition;
  • For maternity or paternity leave; or
  • The absence from work is necessary due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed against the employee or the employee’s family member and the leave is being used: (1) to obtain medical or mental health attention; (2) to obtain services from a victim services organization; (3) for legal services or proceedings; or (4) because the employee has temporarily relocated as a result of the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Who is family?

In the context of temporary sick leave, a family member is defined as a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling; biological, adopted, foster, or step relation to the employee. Family is also the legal guardian of an employee or an individual who acted as a parent or stood in loco parentis to the employee or the employee’s spouse when the employee was a minor.

Requesting Sick and Safe Leave in Workday

Temporary employees must complete a request for sick and safe leave in Workday. This guide provides information on how to review leave balances and request time off in Workday.

Separation & Rehiring

In the event a temporary employee is separated from employment with HCPSS, they will not be paid for any remaining sick and safe leave. If the employee returns to work for HCPSS as a temporary employee, within 37 weeks, unused earned leave shall be reinstated.

Verification

The supervisor can request verification of leave if, and only if, the employee takes leave for more than 2 consecutive scheduled shifts. Failure or refusal to provide verification may result in denial of subsequent requests to take leave for the same reason.