PAID LEAVES

Deducted From Sick Leave Balance

Sick Leave (Code I):  Sick leave is for a necessary absence from duty due to the employee's own illness, injury, maternity, or medical/dental appointment. Absences exceeding five consecutive work days shall require a physician’s verification of illness or disability and authorization to return to service.

Use of Sick Leave to Care for Family Member (Code F):  A maximum of six sick leave days per year may be used to attend to the illness of the employee’s child, parent, or spouse. A written statement explaining the absence shall be filed with the Superintendent, or designee, in advance.

Personal Necessity - Defined (Code P):  Up to ten days of sick leave per year may be used for the following personal necessity reasons:

• Death or serious illness of an immediate family member
• Accident (an unforeseen or unplanned event or circumstance) involving the employee’s person or property, or the person or property of a member of his/her immediate family
• Appearance in court under an official order (documentation required)
• Any other situation of urgency judged acceptable and authorized in advance by the Superintendent, or designee. Examples include religious holidays, funerals not covered under bereavement leave, one-time special occasions for which the employee has no scheduling control (e.g. graduation, special honors/ceremonies, birth, etc.)

Member of the immediate family for the purpose of personal necessity leave is defined as:

• the mother, father, step-parent, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, or step-grandchild of the employee or employee’s spouse;
• the spouse, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or step-child of the employee;
• or anyone living in the immediate household of the employee.

Personal Necessity - Discretionary (Code O):  Up to four days of sick leave per year may be used for the purpose of conducting personal business which is impossible to transact outside of working hours. Time taken as personal necessity-discretionary will reduce the time available as personal necessity-defined, i.e. no more than a total of ten days per year may be designated as personal necessity.

Not Deducted From Sick Leave Balance

Jury Duty (Code J):  Jury leave is provided for any employee who is called to serve jury duty in any court during regularly assigned working hours. Prior notification to and approval by the Human Resources Department is required. There is no limitation on the number of days paid per jury service term. Please see “Jury Duty Information” for limitations and procedures.

Bereavement Leave (Code B):  Bereavement leave is provided to all regular employees in the event of the death of any member of the immediate family. Bereavement leave must not exceed three days, unless out-of-state or necessary travel beyond 250 miles is required or the deceased is the employee’s child, spouse, or parent, in which case an additional two days will be granted. If the deceased is not included on the list of immediate family below, or if additional days of absence are required, personal necessity leave (if available) may be taken. 

• Member of the immediate family for the purpose of bereavement leave is defined in contract agreements, Article 6.G.4 for ACT and 6.E.2 for CSEA.

Code designations used above correspond to those used on the Verification of Absence (P-404) form and time cards.

OTHER LEAVES

Extended Illness Leave (Differential Sick Pay):  When all available sick leave and vacation benefits have been exhausted, differential pay shall be paid for a period not to exceed five months; beginning with the first day of disability for classified or upon exhaustion of accrued sick leave for certificated. For classified employees, if a substitute is provided, differential is the difference between the employee’s regular wage and the amount actually paid to a substitute. If no substitute is provided, the employee shall receive full compensation. For certificated employees, differential shall be the difference between their salary and a substitute’s salary (or fifty percent of the employee’s per diem, whichever is greater, if the employee was not on differential the preceding school year).



Maternity Leave:  Absence for the purpose of “pregnancy disability” is considered use of sick leave, just as any other illness or disability, and there is no pre-designated length of time.  The length of such sick leave shall be determined by the unit member and her physician.

If an employee exhausts all sick leave prior to being released to return to work by her doctor, sick leave differential pay will begin.  In any case, sick leave differential pay (certificated) or sick leave and/or sick leave differential pay (classified) may continue for no more than five months and will cease upon release from care by the employee’s doctor.

Parental Leave:  If an employee desires to remain off work to care for her newborn (and has worked for the District more than one year), she is entitled to up to 12 weeks of CFRA parental leave. This leave does not have to be taken in one continuous period of time, but must be concluded within one year of the birth of the child.  During this leave period, an employee will first use all accrued sick leave benefits and then be paid at the differential pay rate, whether or not a substitute is employed.  Existing District health benefits remain active during the leave, however the employee would be responsible to pay any employee premium in excess of earnings out-of-pocket during this period (make arrangements with Business Services).

Parental leave must be requested in writing, preferably using the District’s Request for Leave form, noting the exact start and end dates.  This leave is also available to certificated employee fathers, as well as mothers, in the case of birth or adoption of a child.  Proof of birth/adoption date must be provided.

Upon conclusion of parental leave, the employee may request, in writing, additional unpaid leave (see Article 6 of collective bargaining agreements).  At this point, health benefits would cease unless the employee elects to continue benefits at her own expense, at 100% of the District’s cost.

The CFRA parental leave period runs concurrently with any other use of CFRA/FMLA leave necessary during the same 12 month period, and total CFRA leave may not exceed 12 work weeks in any 12-month period.

Industrial Accident and Illness Leave:  Absence due to a work related injury or illness must be authorized through the Workers' Compensation program. Such leave shall not exceed 60 days in any one fiscal year for the same incident. Leave is dependent on approved physician verification only. EMPLOYEES MAY NOT ACCESS THIS LEAVE WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL.

Witness Leave:  Employees subpoenaed to testify in a trial as a result of being an employee of the Cypress School District, and which does not involve the employee as a party, will be granted paid leave.

Military Leave:  An employee ordered into military service is entitled to full pay for up to 30 calendar days per fiscal year. A copy of official order must be attached to the military leave request.

Unpaid Leaves (Other):  Unpaid leaves may be granted to employees upon written request to the Superintendent, or designee; unpaid leave in excess of five days must also be approved by the Board of Trustees. Typically, unpaid leave is granted only when all other paid-leave benefits have been exhausted. Unpaid leave for classified employees is limited to no longer than six months (or twelve months if participating in a teacher training or credential program). Certificated employees are eligible for up to one year of unpaid leave only after six consecutive months of employment.