My responses are based on Article 5 of
the CUSD-CEA Agreement, and in this case, I'm looking at the definitions of
sick leave on page 18, Personal Necessity Leave (PN) on page 19, and
Personal Business (also considered a PN reason) on page 20. Please note:
Personal Necessity, including "Personal Business," are deducted
from a teacher's annual allotment of seven days. Each year's allotment of
PN leave comes directly from the ten total days each school year that are given
to each teacher as sick leave. Sick leave and PN all come from one
"pot."
While sick leave accumulates from year-to-year, PN does not. Example:
You have been teaching three years and have never been absent for illness
or PN. Therefore, you have a running balance of 30 days sick leave.
In your fourth year, you are given another allotment of ten days,
bringing your balance to 40 days. In November, you learn that you must
help your mom with some pressing legal matters out of state, and you want to
use your full balance of PN to do so. Your total balance of available PN
leave that year (and every year) would be seven days only. The automated
absence reporting system would not allow you to input any additional PN days if
they exceed 7. In addition, you would have to be careful to avoid asking
for PN days next to a holiday, recess period or Staff Learning Day (See
section 5.2.3). You can always call the Payroll Dept. ahead of time to
check on your P.N. balance this year.
To answer your question about medical/dental appointment leave... When
medical and dental appointments are known ahead of time, the "Personal
Business" section under 5.2 PN leave instructions usually apply.
Yet, whether or not these appointments are routine preventive/check-up
procedures or appointments to take care of an illness or injury--should guide
the reason code of either illness or P.N.
An example: A teacher has cancer and is receiving chemo treatments every
three weeks. He knows his treatment schedule and lets HR know ahead of
time. He could charge these absences to PN "Personal
Business," or he could give the reason code of "illness,"
because he is being treated for an on-going illness at these appointments.
Medical/dental appointments such as routine teeth cleaning appointments
or receiving injections before travel would be charged to PN, because they are
not treating an illness or injury.
Here is Ed. Code on this:
It's section 44981.
Any days of
leave of absence for illness or injury allowed pursuant to Section 44978 may be
used by the employee, at his or her election in cases of personal necessity. The governing board of each
school district and each office of county superintendent of schools shall adopt
rules and regulations requiring and prescribing the manner of proof of personal
necessity for purposes of this section.
The employee shall
not be required to secure advance permission for leave taken for any of the
following reasons:
(1)Death or
serious illness of a member of his or her immediate family.
(2)Accident,
involving his or her person or property, or the person or property of a member
of his or her immediate family.
No such
accumulated leave in excess of seven (7) days may be used in any school year
for the purposes enumerated in this section unless a maximum number of days in
excess of seven (7) is specified for that purpose in an agreement between the
exclusive bargaining representative and the district.
So bottom line
is that the change from #5 in the absences reporting is to follow our contract.
I hope this long explanation has clarity for you. If you have further
questions, please feel free to ask.
Thanks,
Dave Villafana