Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Employees who
are unable to perform a substantial portion of their regularly assigned duties
due to temporary physical or mental disability shall, upon request, or approval
of a claim under the Workers' Compensation Act [820 ILCS 305 ] or Workers'
Occupational Diseases Act [820 ILCS 310 ], be granted a non-service or
service-connected disability leave for the duration of the disability. A
substantial portion of regularly assigned duties shall be those duties or
responsibilities normally performed by the employee that constitute a
significant portion of the employee's time or that constitute the factors
differentiating that particular position from other positions, provided the
balance of the duties can be reassigned by the department.
b) In granting the leave, the Director of
Personnel shall apply the following standards:
1) As soon as the employee becomes aware of
an impending period of disability, the employee shall notify the appropriate
supervisor and provide a written statement by the attending physician or other
authority of the approximate length of time the employee will be unable to
perform regularly assigned duties;
2) A request for disability leave shall be in
writing, except when the department is advised by other appropriate means of
the employee's disability. In this event, the employee's signature is not
required;
3) Except for
service-connected disability as provided in subsection (g), the employee shall
have exhausted available sick leave provided under Section
420.610 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. The verification
shall show the diagnosis, prognosis and expected duration of the disability and
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;
c)
Termination of Leave:
1) Failure of an
employee to provide verification of continued disability upon reasonable
request shall, on due notice, cause termination of the leave.
2) An employee's disability leave shall
terminate when the employee is no longer temporarily disabled and is capable of
performing regularly assigned duties.
A) An
employee is no longer temporarily disabled when he/she is able to perform
regularly assigned duties upon advice of the appropriate authority (i.e.,
attending physician, an impartial physician, or other authority).
B) 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 that authority, by the
attending physician.
C) If the
department has reason to believe that an employee is able or unable to perform
a substantial portion of the regularly assigned duties, it may seek and rely
upon the decision of an impartial physician or other specialist licensed
pursuant to the Medical Practice Act [225 ILCS 60] in the field of the alleged
disability chosen by agreement of the parties or, in the absence of an
agreement, upon the decision of an impartial physician or other specialist
licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act who is selected by the Director
of Personnel or SERS TRISTAR.
D) 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 of Personnel 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
(c)(2)(C).
d)
An employee who returns from a disability leave shall have the rights set forth
in Section
420.680
or subsection (g)(6), whichever applies.
e) An employee who is on disability leave
while in temporary or emergency status, except if that status results from a
leave of absence to accept a temporary or emergency position, shall be eligible
for disability leave for the balance of the appointment and shall earn or
accrue no other benefit arising from this Part.
f) Up to 12 weeks of leave time out of any 12
month period may be designated as leave time under the Family and Medical Leave
Act (FMLA) (
29 USC 2601
et seq.). Designated FMLA leave time will run concurrently with the disability
leave or workers' compensation grace time, provided the absence is due to a
qualifying serious injury or illness.
g) An employee who suffers an on-the-job
injury or illness and is unable to perform a substantial portion of the
regularly assigned duties in accordance with subsection (a) shall also be
subject to the following:
1) Upon request, an
employee will be allowed full pay for 3 working days of absence without
utilization of any accumulated sick leave or other benefits if a workers'
compensation claim is filed and approved pursuant to the Workers' Compensation
or Workers' Occupational Diseases Act.
2) Starting with the
4th working day of absence, the employee shall be
permitted, but not required, to utilize accumulated sick leave or other benefit
leave time, or may be granted a non-service disability leave of absence pending
outcome of the employee's workers' compensation claim. During the leave granted
under this subsection (g)(2), the employee may not apply for disability
benefits with the Illinois State Employees Retirement System. The employee
shall not be required to exhaust available sick time accumulated in accordance
with Section
420.610 to be
granted this leave.
3) If the
employee's workers' compensation claim is deemed subject to benefits provided
in the Workers' Compensation or Workers' Occupational Diseases Act, the
employee will be placed on a service-connected disability leave of absence. The
employee shall not be required to exhaust available sick time accumulated in
accordance with Section
420.610 to be
granted this leave.
4) In the event
the injury or illness is not deemed subject to benefits under the Acts, the
employee will be placed on a non-service disability leave of absence or may use
accumulated benefit time to cover any absences related to the
incident.
5) In the event the
injury or illness becomes the subject of an award by the Illinois Workers'
Compensation Commission or a settlement contract is approved by the Illinois
Workers' Compensation Commission that provides for payment of temporary total
disability (TTD) to cover non-work time, the employee shall restore to the
State the payment received as sick leave or other benefit leave time and the
employee's leave account shall be credited with leave time
equivalents.
6) An employee who
returns from a service-connected disability leave of absence shall be returned
to the same or similar position in the same class in which the employee was
incumbent at the time the leave commenced.
