Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
Leave taken under this regulation may qualify as Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave and, if so, will run concurrently.
A. Administrative Leave
State employees in full-time equivalent (FTE) positions who
are physically attacked while in the performance of official duties and suffer
bodily harm as a result of the attack must be placed on administrative leave
with pay by their employers rather than sick leave. The period of
administrative leave for each incident may not exceed 180 calendar days. Denial
of the use of administrative leave by the agency will be grounds for review by
the Office of Human Resources (OHR) upon request of the employee.
Administrative review by OHR will be final.
B. Adoption Leave (Refer to Regulation
19-710.04 B. 7.)
C. American Red
Cross Certified Disaster Service Leave
An employee who is a certified disaster service volunteer for
the American Red Cross may use up to 10 days of paid leave in a calendar year
to participate in specialized disaster relief services with the approval of the
agency designee.
D. Blood
Drive and Donation Leave
1. Agencies may
periodically arrange volunteer blood drives for their employees. The blood
drives may be held at the times and places as may be determined by the agency
head. The agency's employees are permitted to participate in the blood drive
during their work hours without using sick and annual leave.
2. An employee desiring to donate blood at a
time, other than an agency arranged volunteer blood drive, must be excused from
work by his agency during the employee's regular work hours for the purpose of
making the donation without prejudice to the employee and no leave or makeup
time may be required. Any employee desiring to donate blood as provided in
Section
8-11-175
of the South Carolina Code of Laws shall notify his agency of the scheduled
donation and the amount of time needed for the donation as far in advance as
may be practicable. The agency may deny the employee's request for time to
donate if the absence of the employee would create an extraordinary burden on
the agency. In considering the employee's request, the agency shall take into
consideration such factors as the necessity and type of blood donation, and any
other factor the agency considers appropriate. The agency may, as condition of
approving the request, require the employee to provide documentation of the
donation.
E. Bone Marrow
Donor Leave
An employee who works an average of 20 hours or more a week
and who seeks to undergo a medical procedure to donate bone marrow may be
granted bone marrow donor leave with pay. The total amount of paid leave may
not exceed 40 work hours unless a longer length of time is approved by the
agency head. Such leave may require verification by a health care practitioner
of the purpose and length of each request. If a medical determination finds
that the employee does not qualify as a bone marrow donor, the paid leave of
absence granted to the employee before that medical determination is not
forfeited.
F. Court Leave
1. Jury Duty (With Pay)
a. An employee, who is summoned as a member
of a jury panel, shall be granted court leave with pay. Any jury fees and
travel payment shall be retained by the employee. This court leave with pay
shall not apply to agencies whose employees are exempt from jury duty by
law.
b. An employee, who is excused
from jury duty and was not required to be at court the number of hours equal to
the employee's workday, is required to return to the job according to
arrangements between the employee and the agency designee. The employee must be
on authorized leave for any time the employee is excused from jury duty and
does not return to work.
c. An
employee who is summoned to jury duty will be required to work on any given day
only the number of hours that equal the employee's work schedule, minus the
hours required to be at court.
2. Subpoenaed As a Witness (With Pay)
An employee, who is subpoenaed as a witness and who will not
receive any personal gain from the outcome of the litigation, shall be entitled
to court leave with pay for those hours required for the subpoena and may
retain any witness fee and travel expenses.
3. Exceptions
a. An employee engaged in personal litigation
is not eligible for court leave with pay, but may be granted annual leave or
leave without pay with appropriate authorization.
b. When an employee is subpoenaed to
represent an agency as a witness or defendant, his appearance is considered a
part of the employee's job assignment. The employee shall be reimbursed for any
meals, lodging, and travel expenses that may be incurred according to State
Travel Guidelines as provided in the annual Appropriation Act and Budget and
Control Board Regulations.
c. When
an employee attends, in an official capacity, a mediation or
mediation-arbitration conference his attendance is considered a part of the
employee's job assignment.
d. When
an employee appears as a witness or in any other official capacity in a hearing
before the State Employee Grievance Committee, his appearance is considered a
part of the employee's job assignment.
G. Death in Immediate Family Leave
1. An employee, upon request, shall be
granted up to three consecutive workdays of leave with pay on the death of any
member of the employee's immediate family. Immediate family is defined as the
spouse, great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, legal guardians, brothers,
spouse of brothers, sisters, spouse of sisters, children, spouse of children,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren of either the employee or the
spouse.
2. An employee requesting
leave for a death in the immediate family shall submit a statement to the
appropriate authority stating the name of the deceased and the relationship to
the deceased.
H.
Educational Leave
An employee is encouraged to schedule classes during off-duty
hours, whenever possible. When a class cannot be scheduled during off-duty
hours, the agency may adjust the employee's work schedule, if doing so will not
interfere with normal efficient operations of the agency. When a class cannot
be scheduled during off-duty hours and the agency cannot feasibly adjust the
work schedule of the employee, the employee may be allowed to take annual leave
or may be granted leave without pay in order to attend classes.
I. Extended Disability Leave
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), certain
extended illnesses may be protected as disabilities and may require reasonable
accommodation.
1. For any extended
period of certified disability due to illness, injury, or maternity, an
employee may request leave not to exceed 180 calendar days.
2. The agency shall require, prior to
approval of an extended disability, certification by the health care
practitioner to include: (1) the date on which the serious health condition
commenced, (2) the probable duration of the condition, and (3) appropriate
medical facts within the knowledge of the health care practitioner regarding
the condition. Dates set forth in the health care practitioner's certificate
may be amended. The agency may require additional documentation from the health
care practitioner issuing the certificate or may secure additional medical
opinions from other health care practitioners.
3. An agency may not deny an employee's
request for the 180-day disability leave for bona fide illness or disability if
the employee is in an FTE position.
4. Should the employee return within the
approved 180-day period, the agency shall reinstate the employee to the same
position or one of a comparable pay band for which the employee is
qualified.
5. If the employee is
unable to return within the 180-day period, the agency must separate the
employee from State service.
6. In
extenuating circumstances, two extensions are available:
a. The agency head may extend the 180-day
period of leave to a total of 365 days provided the health care practitioner
certifies the employee's return within this time period; and
b. The agency head may extend the disability
leave beyond the 365 days without a break in service provided the health care
practitioner certifies the employee's return to work within the time frame of
the requested extension.
J. Family and Medical Leave Guidelines
For more detailed information, consult the Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) and relevant federal regulations. State government is
considered a single employer for the purpose of determining FMLA leave.
1. Eligibility and Reasons for FMLA Leave
a. Family Medical Leave Act leave shall be
granted to any employee who has worked for the State at least 12 months, and
who has worked at least 1,250 hours (defined as FLSA compensable hours of work)
during the 12-month period prior to the request for FMLA leave, including
"on-call" hours. The required total of 12 months of employment need not be
consecutive. An agency can go back 7 years prior to the date of the need for
leave to determine if the employee worked a total of 12 months with state
government. An agency has the ability to go beyond 7 years if an employee left
state employment due to National Guard or Reserve Military obligations or a
written agreement reflecting an employer's intention to rehire after a break.
In order to determine if an exempt employee meets the 1,250
hours of service, work records may be kept.
b. An eligible employee shall be granted up
to a total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave, in each calendar year, for any of the
following reasons:
(1) For the birth of a son
or daughter and to care for that child;
(2) For placement of a son or daughter for
adoption or foster care with the employee;
(3) For caring of the employee's spouse, son,
daughter, or parent with a serious health condition;
(4) For a serious health condition that makes
the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee's job;
and
(5) For qualifying exigencies
arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent is
on active duty or called to active duty status as a member for the National
Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation. Qualifying exigencies
can include: (1) short notice deployment; (2) military events and related
activities; (3) childcare and school activities; (4) financial and legal
arrangements; (5) counseling; (6) rest and recuperation; (7) post-deployment
activities; and (8) additional activities not encompassed in other categories
but agreed by the agency and the employee.
c. Under the military caregiver leave
provisions, an eligible employee who is a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or
next of kin of a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the
National Guard or Reserves, with a serious injury or illness may be able to
take up to a total of 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period to care for the
service member.
Note: Reasons (1) and (2) for leave expires 12 months after
the date of the birth or placement.
2. Scheduling FMLA Leave
An eligible employee requesting FMLA leave must give 30 days
advance notice to the employing agency of the need to take FMLA leave when the
need for leave is foreseeable. When the need for leave is not foreseeable, such
notice must be given as soon as practical. The use of FMLA leave shall be
subject to verification. The agency may require documentation or certification
from a health care provider supporting the need for FMLA leave for a serious
health condition. Agencies may also require documentation for certification of
serious health condition of a spouse, son, or daughter, a qualifying exigency
or to confirm familial relationships.
3. Use of FMLA Leave
The agency is responsible for declaring leave as FMLA leave
based on information provided by the employee.
a. When the agency designates leave as FMLA
leave, it must notify the employee. No leave may be designated as FMLA leave
after the leave has ended, except as provided for under the FMLA.
b. Use of FMLA leave shall be calculated by
either the actual time or in quarter hour increments.
c. The agency should declare any leave taken
that qualifies as FMLA leave. The FMLA leave should run concurrently with any
other leave, and the leave should be charged against both leave categories'
allowances.
4. Use of
Paid and Unpaid Leave
Generally, FMLA leave is unpaid; however,
a. An eligible employee will be required to
substitute his accrued sick leave for unpaid FMLA leave when the FMLA leave
request qualifies for sick leave usage; or
b. An eligible employee may elect to
substitute accrued annual leave for unpaid FMLA leave.
5. FMLA Leave Record
A leave record shall be maintained by the employing agency
for each employee subject to the provisions of the FMLA. Such record
shall:
a. Reflect the maximum FMLA
leave allowance (12 weeks in a calendar year) and charges in terms of
hours.
b. Indicate the number of
FMLA leave hours used in the current calendar year.
c. Indicate the number of hours in the
employee's established workweek.
6. Transfer of FMLA Leave
For an eligible employee who transfers from one agency to
another, the transferring agency is responsible for transferring the employee's
FMLA leave records in that calendar year to the receiving agency.
K. Hazardous Weather
and Emergency Leave
1. Upon issuing a
Declaration of Emergency, the Governor has the authority to excuse all
employees of State government from reporting to work during extreme weather or
other emergency conditions. "Emergency conditions" means circumstances that
would expose employees to harmful or unsafe conditions as determined by the
Governor's Office. Unless such a Declaration of Emergency has been issued, all
State government employees are expected to report to work.
Exception--Nothing contained in this regulation precludes the
necessary immediate evacuation of a facility by an individual in an appropriate
supervisory capacity in the interest of personal safety.
2. The Declaration may be applicable to all
employees in the entire State, or only to those employees who live or work in
one geographical region of the State, or a combination of geographical
regions.
3. During a Declaration of
Emergency, all essential and direct care services will be maintained. Each
agency shall identify and notify essential employees by position,
classification, or internal title. All other employees will not be expected to
report to work.
4. Notification of
Declaration of Emergency
Upon the communication of the Declaration of Emergency from
the Governor's Office to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, the
South Carolina Emergency Management Division will communicate the Declaration
of Emergency to each agency.
5. Compensation During Declaration of
Emergency
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, when the
Governor declares a state of emergency for the State or any portion of the
State, he can provide State employees with leave with pay for absences from
work due to the state of emergency for hazardous weather of up to five days for
each declaration of a state of emergency. In the event that the Governor does
not provide State employees with leave with pay, an employee who does not
report to work or who reports late to work shall use annual leave or
compensatory time to make up hours scheduled but not worked, take leave without
pay, or be allowed to make up the hours at a time to be scheduled by the
agency. The employee must be given the option of making up the hours if the
employee so desires.
L. Military Leave (Cross reference FMLA.
Refer to Regulation Regulation 19-712.01 J. on qualifying exigencies.)
1. Short Term Military Training
All officers and employees of this State or a political
subdivision of this State, who are either enlisted or commissioned members of
the South Carolina National Guard, the United States Army Reserve, the United
States Air Force Reserve, the United States Naval Reserve, the United States
Marine Corps Reserve, or the United States Coast Guard Reserve are entitled to
leaves of absence from their respective duties without loss of pay, time, or
efficiency rating, for one or more periods not exceeding an aggregate of 15
regularly scheduled average workdays in any one year during which they may be
engaged in training or any other duties ordered by the Governor, the Department
of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Air Force, the
Department of the Navy, the Department of the Treasury, or any other department
or agency of the government of the United States having authority to issue
lawful orders requiring military service. Saturdays, Sundays, and State
holidays may not be included in the 15-day aggregate unless the particular
Saturday, Sunday, or holiday to be included is a regularly scheduled workday
for the officer or employee involved. In the event any such person is called
upon to serve during an emergency, he is entitled to such leave of absence for
a period not exceeding 30 additional days. Any one year means either a calendar
year or, in the case of members required to perform active duty for training or
other duties within or on a fiscal year basis, the fiscal year of the National
Guard or reserve component issuing the orders.
A state employee in a full time position who serves on active
duty in a combat zone and who has exhausted all available leave for military
purposes is entitled to receive up to thirty additional work days of military
leave in any one year.
2.
Long Term Military Leave of Absence
Every employee of the State or any political subdivision
thereof who, on or after June 25, 1950, has been, or shall be commissioned,
enlisted, or selected for service in the Armed Forces of the United States
(excluding short term training) shall, so long as the requirements and
regulations of the Armed Forces shall prevent his return to his civil
employment for a period of 90 days thereafter, but in no event for a period
longer than five years from the date of entry into the Armed Forces of the
United States, be entitled to leave of absence from his duties as an employee
of the State or any political subdivision thereof, without loss of seniority or
efficiency or register ratings. The word "employee" as used herein shall not be
construed to mean an officer or official elected or appointed to a term
pursuant to a statute or the Constitution of this State.
M. Sabbatical Leave
When provided in statute, an institution of higher learning
may establish a policy for a leave of absence for a sabbatical for academic
personnel.
N. State
Employee Grievances and Appeals Attendance
Refer to Regulation Regulation 19-712.01 F. 3. c. and
d.
O. Voting Leave
An employee who lives at such distance from the assigned work
location as to preclude voting outside of working hours may be authorized a
maximum of two hours of leave with pay for this purpose. To work at the polls
during elections, an employee must be on authorized leave.
P. Workers' Compensation Leave
1. If there is an accidental injury arising
out of and in the course of employment with the State, which is covered under
Workers' Compensation, an employee who is not eligible for or who has exhausted
his paid administrative leave, shall make an election to use either earned
leave time (sick or annual or both) or Workers' Compensation benefits awarded
in accordance with Title 42 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.
2. The employee shall make an election under
one of the following options:
a. To use sick
leave, annual leave, or both. When earned leave is exhausted before the
employee can return to work, the employee shall be entitled to Workers'
Compensation benefits at the time leave is exhausted;
b. To use Workers' Compensation benefits
awarded in accordance with Title 42 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as
amended; or
c. To use sick leave,
annual leave, or both on a prorated basis in conjunction with Workers'
Compensation benefits according to the formula approved by the Budget and
Control Board.
3. Before
the election is made, the effect of each available option on the employee's
future leave earnings must be explained to the employee by the employing
agency. The election must be in writing and signed by the employee and the
person who explains the options. The election of the employee is irrevocable as
to each individual incident.
4.
Regardless of which option an employee elects, he would continue to be eligible
for payment of medical costs provided by the State Accident Fund.
Q. Organ Donor Leave
All officers and employees of this State who wish to be an
organ donor and who accrue annual or sick leave as part of their employment are
entitled to leaves of absence from their respective duties without loss of pay,
time, leave, or efficiency rating for one or more periods not exceeding an
aggregate of 30 regularly scheduled workdays in any one calendar year during
which they may engage in the donation of their organs. Saturdays, Sundays, and
State holidays may not be included in the 30-day aggregate unless the
particular Saturday, Sunday, or holiday to be included is a regularly scheduled
workday for the officer or employee involved. The officer or employee must show
documentation from the attending physician of the proposed organ donation
before leave is approved that confirms that the employee is the donor.
R. Leave of Absence
To grant any leave of absence with or without pay, the agency
must approve the leave of absence. An employee who is granted leave of absence
with or without pay shall be:
1. An
employee of the State while on such leave; and
2. Returned to the same position, or one in a
comparable pay band for which the employee is qualified.
Any leave of absence must be approved in advance except in
case of medical or personal emergencies. These situations must be justified to
the agency head or his designee for approval.
S. Compensatory Leave for Part-Time Employees
A part-time employee may be granted compensatory leave
instead of being paid for time worked over the employee's scheduled hours in a
workweek. Compensatory leave is earned on an hour-for-hour basis. Refer to
Regulation Regulation
19-709.02
J. Overtime--Compensatory Time for nonexempt part-time employees who work in
excess of 40 hours in a workweek.
Compensatory leave should be used before annual leave or
leave without pay. All non-exempt employees shall be paid for unused
compensatory leave prior to or upon separation from employment. Exempt employee
shall not be paid for unused compensatory leave upon separation from
employment.
