Sick Time

Earned Sick Time (Accumulative)

If eligible, you'll earn sick time at the full-time rate of one workday for each month, or portion of a month, of service. There's no limit on the amount of sick time you can accrue. You can use sick time up to what you'll earn in a contract period. If you want to use sick time beyond what you earn in a contract period, it must come from sick time you've previously accrued, or as a deduction from your pay.

Additional Sick Time (Non-accumulative)

In addition to the sick time you earn, you'll be provided with a full time rate of 25 work days of non-accumulative sick leave, if eligible, for your own personal illness. You'll also be provided with a full time rate of 25 work days of non-accumulative sick leave, if eligible, for the care of a member of your immediate family or immediate household. The days are adjusted based on your FTE and prorated for new employees. These days are classified as non-accumulative sick leave. This means that they are available each fiscal year, however, they do not carry over from year to year.

To use the non-accumulative sick time for yourself, you will have to first use the amount of days that you would earn in your current contract year for personal sick leave. You would report on your benefit usage form your sick time as personal sick. After the sick days earned in the current contract have been used for personal sick any additional time reported as personal sick will draw from the personal non-accumulative days until those days are all used in the contract year. Any other sick time in the contract year for personal sick will again start to draw from any of your earned sick balance that might still be available. If you do not have sufficient accrued sick leave available, you may choose to take a deduction in pay in order to access the 25 days of personal non-accumulative sick leave. 

To use the sick time for an immediate family member or members, you will have to first use the amount of days that you would earn in your current contract year for family sick leave. You would report on your benefit usage form your sick time as family sick. After the sick days earned in the current contract have been used for family sick any reported usage of family sick will draw from the family non-accumulative days until those days are used in the contract year. Any other sick time in the contract year for family sick will again draw from any of your earned sick balance that might still be available. If you do not have sufficient accrued sick leave available, you may choose to take a deduction in pay in order to access the 25 days of personal non-accumulative sick leave. 

Example 1

An employee is hired on a 9-month contract and will earn 10 days of sick leave during their contract from August 16 to May 15. With any occurrence of personal illness, the employee should record personal sick leave on their benefit usage form. The first 10 days of illness beginning on August 16, will be drawn from the employee's personal sick leave balance. If additional sick time is needed, the next 25 days will automatically draw from the personal non-accumulative balance. Employees in these classifications can use the sick leave they will accrue in their contract period prior to it actually being accrued. However, if there is still not sufficient accrued sick leave available, an employee may choose to take a deduction in pay to reach the 25 days of personal non-accumulative sick leave.

Example 2

Using same employee situation in the example above, the employee has used the sick time they would accrue in the current contract period for personal illness and accessed the personal non-accumulative sick leave benefits. However, they now have a need to be off work to care for a member of their immediate family or household. They will need to use an additional 10 days of accrued sick leave for family and then could access the family non-accumulative sick leave benefit. Similar to what is outlined above, if the employee does not have sufficient accrued sick leave available, they may choose to take a deduction in pay to reach the 25 days of family sick leave.

Earned Sick Time (Accumulative)

If you are salaried (exempt) and eligible, you'll earn sick time at the full-time rate of one workday for each month, or a portion of month of service. If you are hourly (non-exempt) and eligible, you'll earn sick time at a rate of .0462 per hours worked excluding of overtime. There is no limit on the amount of sick time you can accrue. You can use sick time up to the time you have accrued. If you're salaried, you can use sick time once it appears as earned sick time on your pay statement. Salaried employee's benefits are accrued 1 month in arrears.

Additional Sick Time (Nonaccumulative)

In addition to the sick time you earn, you'll be provided with a full time rate of 25 work days of non-accumulative sick leave, if eligible, for your own personal illness. You'll also be provided with a full time rate of 25 work days of non-accumulative sick leave, if eligible, for the care of a member of your immediate family or immediate household. The days are adjusted based on your FTE and prorated for new employees. These days are classified as non-accumulative sick leave. This means that they are available each fiscal year, however, they do not carry over from year to year.

To use the non-accumulative sick time for yourself, you will have to first use the amount of days that you would earn in the fiscal year for personal sick leave. You would report on your benefit usage from or hourly timesheet sick time as personal sick. After the sick days earned in the current fiscal year have been used for personal sick any additional time reported as personal sick will draw from the personal non-accumulative days until those days are all used in the fiscal year. Any other sick time in the fiscal year for personal sick will again start to draw from any of your earned sick balance that might still be available. If you do not have sufficient accrued sick leave available, you may choose to take a deduction in pay in order to access the 25 days of personal non-accumulative sick leave. 

To use the sick time for an immediate family member or members, you will have to first use the amount of days that you would earn in the fiscal year for family sick leave. You would report on your benefit usage form or hourly time sheet your sick time as family sick. After the sick days earned in the fiscal year have been used for family sick any reported usage of family sick will draw from the family non-accumulative days until those days are used in the fiscal year. Any other sick time in the fiscal year for family sick will again draw from any of your earned sick balance that might still be available. If you do not have sufficient accrued sick leave available, you may choose to take a deduction in pay in order to access the 25 days of personal non-accumulative sick leave. 

Example 1

An employee is hired in a 12-month position and will earn 12 days of sick leave during the fiscal year. With any occurrence of personal illness, the employee should record personal sick leave on their benefit usage form or hourly time sheet. The first 12 days of illness beginning on July 1, will be drawn from the employee's personal sick leave balance. If additional sick time is needed, the next 25 days will automatically draw from the personal non-accumulative balance. If no earned sick time is available, an employee may choose to take a deduction in pay to reach the 25 days of personal non-accumulative sick leave. An hourly employee choosing a deduction in pay for the pay period, must indicate in the comments of the hourly time sheet so an adjustment may be made manually to account for the deduction in pay.

Example 2

Using same employee situation in the example above, the employee has used the sick time they would accrue in the fiscal year for personal illness and accessed the personal non-accumulative sick leave benefits. However, they now have a need to be off work to care for a member of their immediate family or household. They will need to use an additional 12 days of accrued sick leave for family and then could access the family non-accumulative sick leave benefit. Similar to what is outlined above, if the employee does not have sufficient accrued sick leave available, they may choose to take a deduction in pay to reach the 25 days of family sick leave. An hourly employee choosing a deduction in pay for the pay period must indicate in the comments of the hourly time sheet so an adjustment may be made manually to account for the deduction in pay.

Accessing Non-accumulative Leave

In order to access both the personal and family non-accumulative sick days in the same fiscal year a 12-month employee would need to use 24 days of earned sick leave or have taken payroll deduction to equal the 24 days. To reach each type of non-accumulative leave in the fiscal year, the benefit usage forms or hourly time sheets would have to reflect 12 days of earned personal sick leave usage and 12 days of earned family sick usage.

An employee may also choose to use vacation, if eligible, as an alternative to a deduction in pay, however, the use of vacation cannot be used to access the personal or family non-accumulative sick balances.

Employees that are members of a union should consult their Collective Bargaining Agreements for variations in these benefits.

Sick Leave Bank

Regularly Appointed Employees

If you're a regularly appointed faculty member, supportive professional staff or civil service employee, you can participate in the sick leave bank. The bank assists employees who face major health crises and have used all other available benefits.

You can join the sick leave bank during the annual Benefit Choice period. In order to participate, you must donate at least one day of earned sick time before the end of the Benefit Choice period.

Sick Leave Bank Donation for Temporary Faculty Represented by the Union Professionals of Illinois

NIU has established a Sick Leave Bank program in which temporary Faculty represented by the Union Professionals of Illinois are eligible to participate.

Participation in the Sick Leave Bank program requires an employee to donate at least one day of sick leave. For employees on less than 100% appointment, one day is determined on the basis of their appointment percentage. Donations will be taken from the 25 days of non-accumulative sick leave granted at the beginning of the academic year. Participation in the program is then established for the current academic year. Consistent with the Illinois Sick Leave Bank Act, the Sick Leave Bank program is designed to assist NIU employees who face major health crises and who have exhausted all other available benefits.

In order to participate, you must donate at least one day of sick time at the beginning of the academic year, before Oct. 31. You must make a donation each year you wish to participate.

If you have questions regarding the NIU Sick Leave Bank program contact Payroll at payroll@niu.edu.

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