Sick Leave accruing academic personnel, USPS and TEAMS employees begin earning sick leave from the time they are employed; it is credited on the last day of each pay period. There is no waiting period for using sick leave. Employee may only use what is available in the balance prior to future accrual. All requests for sick leave should be submitted by the employee to the appropriate supervisor via the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville on-line faculty leave request module. If a sick request is for a planned doctors appointment, please submit the request in advance. However, most sick leave requests can be submitted when the employee returns to work.

Full-time eligible academic personnel, TEAMS and USPS employees earn 4 hours each biweekly pay period, or a number of hours that is directly proportionate to the number of hours in pay status during a full pay period. Sick leave for part-time employees is earned in proportion to the amount of time in pay status during each pay period. There is no limit to the amount of sick leave employees may accrue.

Earned sick leave may be approved for time off from work because of your exposure to a contagious disease that may endanger others, for your personal visits to doctors or dentists and for your personal illness which includes disability caused, or contributed to, by pregnancy. Sick leave may also be used in reasonable amounts for illness, injury, or death within your immediate family pending supervisory approval. In instances of a serious medical condition of you or a member of your family, you may be eligible for an extended medical leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or UF’s extended leave of absence program.

Regardless of the amount of sick leave originally approved by your supervisor, sick leave may be used only in the amount necessary to bring you to your regular FTE, not to exceed the 40-hour workweek.

Medical Certification for Sick Leave

At the discretion of the immediate supervisor or other appropriate authority, medical certification of sick leave use may be required under the following circumstances: When a academic personnel, TEAMS or USPS employee’s absences are excessive (what is considered excessive is based on departmental policy, but the policy must be applied consistently).

When a pattern has emerged (an example would be employees who consistently call in sick on the Friday prior to a three-day weekend). When an employee has been absent three times in any 30-day period. These absences need not be full days.