Section 124.382. Sick leave credit - misuse of sick leave

(A) As used in this section and sections 124.383, 124.386, 124.387, and 124.388 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Pay period" means the fourteen-day period of time during which the payroll is accumulated, as determined by the director of administrative services.

(2) "Active pay status" means the conditions under which an employee is eligible to receive pay, and includes, but is not limited to, vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, bereavement leave, and administrative leave.

(3) "No pay status" means the conditions under which an employee is ineligible to receive pay and includes, but is not limited to, leave without pay, leave of absence, and disability leave.

(4) "Disability leave" means the leave granted pursuant to section 124.385 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Full-time permanent employee" means an employee whose regular hours of duty total eighty hours in a pay period in a state agency and whose appointment is not for a limited period of time.

(6) "Base rate of pay" means the rate of pay established under schedule B or C of section 124.15 of the Revised Code or under schedule E-1, schedule E-1 for step eight only, or schedule E-2 of section 124.152 of the Revised Code, plus any supplement provided under section 124.181 of the Revised Code, plus any supplements enacted into law which are added to schedule B or C of section 124.15 of the Revised Code or to schedule E-1, schedule E-1 for step eight only, or schedule E-2 of section 124.152 of the Revised Code.

(7) "Part-time permanent employee" means an employee whose regular hours of duty total less than eighty hours in a pay period in a state agency and whose appointment is not for a limited period of time.

(B) Each full-time permanent and part-time permanent employee whose salary or wage is paid directly by warrant of the director of budget and management shall be credited with sick leave of three and one-tenth hours for each completed eighty hours of service, excluding overtime hours worked. Sick leave is not available for use until it appears on the employee's earning statement and the compensation described in the earning statement is available to the employee.

(C) Any sick leave credit provided pursuant to division (B) of this section, remaining as of the last day of the pay period preceding the first paycheck the employee receives in December, shall be converted pursuant to section 124.383 of the Revised Code.

(D) Employees may use sick leave, provided a credit balance is available, upon approval of the responsible administrative officer of the employing unit, for absence due to personal illness, pregnancy, injury, exposure to contagious disease that could be communicated to other employees, and illness, injury, or death in the employee's immediate family. When sick leave is used, it shall be deducted from the employee's credit on the basis of absence from previously scheduled work in such increments of an hour and at such a compensation rate as the director of administrative services determines. The appointing authority of each employing unit may require an employee to furnish a satisfactory, signed statement to justify the use of sick leave.

If, after having utilized the credit provided by this section, an employee utilizes sick leave that was accumulated prior to November 15, 1981, compensation for such sick leave used shall be at a rate as the director determines.

(E)

(1) The previously accumulated sick leave balance of an employee who has been separated from the public service, for which separation payments pursuant to section 124.384 of the Revised Code have not been made, shall be placed to the employee's credit upon the employee's reemployment in the public service, if the reemployment takes place within ten years of the date on which the employee was last terminated from public service.

(2) The previously accumulated sick leave balance of an employee who has separated from a school district shall be placed to the employee's credit upon the employee's appointment as an unclassified employee of the state department of education, if all of the following apply:

(a) The employee accumulated the sick leave balance while employed by the school district.

(b) The employee did not receive any separation payments for the sick leave balance.

(c) The employee's employment with the department takes place within ten years after the date on which the employee separated from the school district.

(F) An employee who transfers from one public agency to another shall be credited with the unused balance of the employee's accumulated sick leave.

(G) The director of administrative services shall establish procedures to uniformly administer this section. No sick leave may be granted to a state employee upon or after the employee's retirement or termination of employment.

(H) As used in this division, "active payroll" means conditions under which an employee is in active pay status or eligible to receive pay for an approved leave of absence, including, but not limited to, occupational injury leave, disability leave, or workers' compensation.

(1) Employees who are in active payroll status on June 18, 2011, shall receive a one-time credit of additional sick leave in the pay period that begins on July 1, 2011. Full-time employees shall receive the lesser of either a one-time credit of thirty-two hours of additional sick leave or a one-time credit of additional sick leave equivalent to half the hours of personal leave the employee lost during the moratorium established under either division (A) of section 124.386 of the Revised Code or pursuant to a rule of the director of administrative services. Part-time employees shall receive a one-time credit of sixteen hours of additional sick leave.

(2) Employees who are not in active payroll status due to military leave or an absence taken in accordance with the federal "Family and Medical Leave Act" are eligible to receive the one-time additional sick leave credit.

(3) The one-time additional sick leave credit does not apply to employees of the supreme court, general assembly, legislative service commission, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general unless the supreme court, general assembly, legislative service commission, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general participated in the moratorium under division (H) or (I) of section 124.386 of the Revised Code and notifies in writing the director of administrative services on or before June 1, 2011, of the decision to participate in the one-time additional sick leave credit. Written notice under this division shall be signed by the appointing authority for employees of the supreme court, general assembly, or legislative service commission, as the case may be.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 64, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2015.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 7/17/2009.

Effective Date: 06-29-2004; 06-30-2006