Sick Leave Benefits

Lakeland provides paid sick leave benefits to all eligible employees for periods of temporary absence due to illnesses or non-work related injuries. Eligible employee classification(s):

* Regular full-time employees

* Regular part-time employees

* Introductory employees who, upon successful completion of the introductory period, will become regular full-time or regular part-time employees

Eligible regular full-time employees will accrue sick leave benefits at the rate of 12 days per year (1 day for every full month of service). Eligible regular part-time employees will accrue sick leave benefits on a pro-rated basis, which is based upon the number of hours worked.

Employees become eligible to accrue sick leave on the first day of the first full calendar month of employment. Sick leave will be credited on a monthly basis on the first paycheck following the month in which it was earned. Sick leave benefits will not be accrued during months that an employee is on unpaid leave.

Employees can request use of paid sick leave after completing a waiting period of one month from the date they become eligible to accrue sick leave benefits. An eligible employee may use sick leave benefits for an absence due to his or her own illness, injury, or medical appointment, or that of a child, parent, or spouse of the employee.

Employees who are unable to report to work due to illness or injury should notify their direct supervisor before the scheduled start of their workday if possible. The direct supervisor must also be contacted on each additional day of absence.

If an employee is absent for three or more consecutive days due to illness or injury, a physician's statement verifying the illness or injury and its beginning and expected ending dates may be required. Lakeland reserves the right to request verification for other sick leave absences of less than three consecutive days and to require such verification as a condition of receiving sick leave benefits.

Sick leave benefits will be calculated based on the employee's base pay rate at the time of absence and will not include any special forms of compensation, such as incentives, commissions, bonuses, or shift differentials.

Unused sick leave benefits will be allowed to accumulate up to a maximum of 130 days.

Sick leave benefits are intended solely to provide income protection in the event of illness, injury, or medical appointments, and may not be used for any other absence.

Unused accumulated sick leave will be paid to employees who resign or retire with ten (10) years or more of continuous service, up to a maximum of ninety (90) days at the rate of one dollar ($1.00) per day times the years of continuous service for employees retiring, and at the rate of fifty cents ($.50) per day times the years of continuous service for persons resigning.

Refer to Section 306 Workers? Compensation (above) for use of sick leave during state mandated waiting period for work related injuries.

Sick leave will not be counted as hours worked for the purpose of determining overtime.

Policy No.  307  Issued  10/1/2002  Applicable  12/14/2006