Department of Human Resources City and County of San Francisco Kin Care & Managing Sick Leave 1
Kin Care California Labor Code 233 allows employees to use one-half of their available annual sick leave accrual to care for themselves and qualifying family members Employers cannot deny the right to use and the time is protected. Available annually beginning January 1 For self, child, parent (including parent-inlaw), spouse or registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild or sibling
Kin Care Retaliation The Kin Care law protects employees who: use sick leave, file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner s Office, allege a violation of these rights, cooperate in an investigation or prosecution, or oppose a policy or practice prohibited by this law
Kin Care Retaliation Prohibited Prohibits an employer from denying an employee the right to use paid sick leave, discharging, threatening to discharge, demoting, suspending or in any manner discriminating against an employee
Kin Care Required Changes Civil Service Rules may not apply until an employee has used one-half of available, accrued sick leave Attendance Reviews and Performance Evaluations must exclude Kin Care protected absences Employees cannot be required to provide a doctor s note to certify absences covered under Kin Care unless fraud suspected
Implementing Sick Leave Restriction Dear Employee: Please note that your sick leave usage for the six-month period beginning [insert beginning of date range] and ending [insert end of date range], is consistent with a pattern of abuse. Attached is a copy of your attendance history during this period showing paid and unpaid sick leave days, including other accrued leave taken in lieu of paid sick leave. EMPHASIZE EVIDENCE OF SICK LEAVE ABUSE
Implementing Sick Leave Restriction [MODIFY THE TWO PARAGRAPHS BELOW ACCORDINGLY; DELETE A PARAGRAPH IF IT DOES NOT APPLY] Your attendance history shows that you are frequently using sick leave on [insert day(s) of the week]. Your paid and unpaid sick leave use on [insert day(s) of the week] during the period from [insert beginning of date range] through [insert end of date range], is [insert # of sick leave hours] hours. Your paid and unpaid sick leave use during the period from [insert beginning of date range] through [insert end of date range], exceeds [insert ½ of annual sick leave accrual represented in hours] hours. On average, City employees accrue 13 days of paid sick leave annually, which is approximately 6.5 days in a six-month period. Your use of [# of sick leave hours used] sick leave hours in a six-month period is approximately [# of sick leave hours used # of hours in employee s regular shift] days annually, which is excessive. EXPLAIN WHY THE PATTERN IS SUSPICIOUS
Implementing Sick Leave Restriction Effective immediately you must bring in medical certification for all sick leave absences. This action is in accordance with Civil Service Rule [insert rule 120.11.2, 220.11.2, 320.11.2 or 420.10.2], which authorizes sick leave restriction upon the issuance of written notice to the employee. Failure to comply with this requirement could subject you to disciplinary action. This restriction will be in effect for six months at which time your attendance will be reviewed and a determination made regarding whether further action is warranted. Provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be enforced subject to requirements in local, state and federal laws. FOLLOW KIN CARE AND OTHER MEDICAL LEAVE LAWS
Implementing Sick Leave Restriction In calculating your sick leave use we have excluded protected leaves, however, if you believe the calculations enclosed herewith are in error please contact us. If you have questions about this letter, or if you would like to request FMLA/CFRA or reasonable accommodations, please contact [insert name and title], at (415) XXX-XXXX or via email at [insert email address]. SCRUB DATA FOR PROTECTED LEAVES
Questions Janie White, Manager Medical Leave Program Dept. of Human Resources, EEO & Medical Leave Division (415) 551-8903 Janie.White@sfgov.org