Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) An
employee who is unable to perform a substantial portion of his/her regularly
assigned duties due to temporary physical or mental disability shall upon
request be granted a leave for the duration of such disability.
b) In granting such leave or use of sick
leave as provided in Section
303.90, the agency
shall apply the following standards:
1) A
substantial portion of regularly assigned duties shall be those duties or
responsibilities normally performed by the employee which constitute a
significant portion of the employee's time or which constitute the
differentiating factors which identify that particular position from other
positions, provided the balance of duties can be reassigned by the
agency;
2) A request for disability
leave shall be in writing except when the agency is advised by other
appropriate means of the employee's disability in which event the employee's
signature is not required;
3)
Except for service-connected disability as provided in Section
303.135,
the employee shall have exhausted available sick leave provided under Section
303.90 prior to being
granted a disability leave; an employee may use other accrued paid time for
this purpose but is not required to do so;
4) During a disability leave, the disabled
employee shall provide written verification by a person licensed under the
Medical Practice Act of 1987 [225 ILCS 60 ] or under similar laws of Illinois
or of other states or countries or by an individual authorized by a recognized
religious denomination to treat by prayer or spiritual means; such verification
shall show the diagnosis, prognosis and expected duration of the disability;
such verification shall be made no less often than every 30 days during a
period of disability, unless the nature of the disability precludes the need
for such frequency of verification;
5) As soon as an employee becomes aware of an
impending period of disability, he/she shall notify the appropriate supervisor
of such disability and provide a written statement by the attending physician
of the approximate date the employee will be unable to perform his/her
regularly assigned duties;
6) If
the agency has reason to believe that the employee is able or unable to perform
a substantial portion of his/her regularly assigned duties, it may seek and
rely upon the decision of an impartial physician chosen by agreement of the
parties or in the absence of such agreement upon the decision of an impartial
physician who is not a State employee and who is selected by the State
Employees' Retirement System.
c) Failure of an employee to provide
verification of continued disability upon reasonable request shall on due
notice cause termination of such leave.
d) An employee's disability leave shall
terminate when said employee is no longer temporarily disabled from performing
his/her regularly assigned duties.
1) An
employee is no longer temporarily disabled when he/she is able to perform
his/her regularly assigned duties upon advice of the appropriate authority or,
in the absence of such authority, the attending physician.
2) An employee is no longer temporarily
disabled when he/she is found to be permanently disabled and unable to perform
a substantial or significant portion of his/her regularly assigned duties by
the appropriate authority, or in the absence of such authority, by the
attending physician.
3) In
determining whether to approve a requested discharge of an employee for failure
to return from a disability leave or for physical inability to perform the
duties of a position, the Director may seek and rely upon the advice of the
State Employees Retirement System or other appropriate authority, including an
impartial physician selected in accordance with subsection (b)(6) of this
Section.
e) Return from
Disability Leave.
1) An employee who returns
from a disability leave of 6 months or less shall be returned by the Agency to
the same or similar position in the same class in which the employee was
incumbent at the time the leave commenced.
2) An employee who returns from a disability
leave exceeding 6 months and there is no vacant position available in the same
class held by the employee at the commencement of such leave may be laid off in
accordance with the Rules on Voluntary Reduction and Layoff, unless such leave
resulted from service-connected disability, in which case the employee shall be
returned to employment as in subsection (e)(1).
f) An employee who is on disability leave
while in temporary or emergency status, except if such status results from a
leave of absence to accept such position, shall be eligible for such leave for
the balance of such appointment and shall earn or accrue no other benefit
arising from this Subpart.
g) When
the employer has requested a fitness for duty evaluation, pursuant to
subsection (b)(6) of this Section, that determines the employee is unfit for
duty and the employee's physician certifies the employee is fit for duty, the
employer may rely upon the decision of the impartial physician as to the
employee's fitness for duty. The examination shall be paid for by the
employer.
