Marion County Schools
Bylaws & Policies
 

3431 - PERSONAL LEAVE

At the beginning of the employment term, any full-time employee of the Board of Education shall be entitled annually to at least one and one-half days (1 1/2) personal leave for each employment month or major fraction thereof in the employee's employment term. Unused leave shall be accumulative without limitation and shall be within the State. A change in job assignment during the school year shall in no way affect the employee's rights or benefits.

Definitions:
 A.Employment month: twenty (20) employment days.
 B.Full-Time Employee: Any person employed by the Board who has a regular position or job throughout his/her employment term, also known as a Regular Full-Time Employee, working more than three and one-half (3 1/2) hours per day.
 C.Life Threatening Illness: A physical or mental illness, injury or impairment which involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential health care facility.
 D.Personal Leave with Cause: An absence due to an accident, sickness, death in the immediate family, or life threatening illness of the employee's spouse, parents, or child, or other cause authorized or approved by the Board.
 E.Personal Leave without Cause: An absence taken without regard to the reason.

Personal Use Utilization:

An employee shall qualify to use personal leave and be paid the full salary from his/her regular budgeted salary appropriation during the period which the employee is absent, as follows:
 

A.

Personal Leave with Cause:
     
 

1.

Personal injury due to an accident.
     
 

2.

Personal sickness.
     
 

3.

Death in the immediate family.
     
   

A school employee shall receive full pay for absence caused by death in the family. The family is defined as any relative of the employee or relative of the employees spouse, foster family, or person with whom the employee resides.
     
   

Upon approval of the principal, the employee shall receive three (3) to five (5) days of leave. Employees may receive leave beyond five (5) days by applying, in writing, to the personnel office, who will make a recommendation for the Superintendent's approval.
     
   

An appeals committee will be appointed by the Superintendent to review leaves that are denied.
     
 

4.

Life threatening illness of the employee's spouse, parents, or child.
     
 

5.

Illness in immediate family.
     
   

A school employee shall receive full pay for absences caused by illness in the immediate family. The illness must be of such a nature as to require the presence of the employee. An illness in the Immediate Family form, filled out by the attending physician, shall be required after the third consecutive day of absence.
     
   

The immediate family is defined as: husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, or any relative with whom the employee may be living.
     
 

6.

Any other cause authorized by the immediate supervisor, limited to three (3) days. Additional days may be requested to the Superintendent's Office.
     
 

B.

Personal Leave without Cause:
     
   

All regular full-time employees shall be permitted to take up to three (3) days of their personal leave days annually, without regard to the cause for the absence, except that personal leave without cause may not be taken on consecutive work days unless authorized or approved by the employee's principal or immediate supervisor. Each employee shall be entitled to accumulate a maximum of five (5) days of unused personal leave. The employee may carry over a maximum of two (2) days in one (1) year. However, no employee may use more than five (5) personal days (leave without cause) in any one (1) fiscal year (July 1st through June 30th). Notice of such leave day shall be given to the employee's principal or immediate supervisor at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance, except that in the case of sudden and unexpected circumstances, such notice shall be given as soon as reasonably practicable. The use of such day may be denied if, at the time notice is given, either fifteen percent (15%) of the employees or three (3) employees, whichever is greater, under the supervision of the principal or immediate supervisor have previously notified the principal or immediate supervisor of their intention to use that day for such leave. Personal Leave without cause shall not be used in connection with a concerted work stoppage or strike.
     
   

Personal Leave without Cause days may not accumulate.
     
   

Any employee taking leave in violation of the above stated reasons for granting personal leave shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Eligibility Requirements/Procedures:

All claims for personal leave must be in writing on the form(s) provided by the employer, signed by the employee, and submitted immediately upon return to work and presented to the employee's immediate supervisor for approval.
 

A.

A physician's written verification is required to be supplied by the employee to the employee's immediate supervisor after five (5) consecutive days of absence.
     
 

B.

The Board reserves the right at any time to have a physician of its choice to examine a personal leave claimant at the Board's expense.
     
 

C.

If an employee should use personal leave which the employee has not yet accumulated on a monthly basis and subsequently leave the employment, the employee shall be required to reimburse the Board for the salary or wages paid to him/her for such unaccumulated leave.
     
 

D.

If any error in reporting absences should occur, the Board shall have authority to make necessary salary adjustments in the next pay after the employee has returned to duty or in the final pay if the absence should occur during the last month of the employment term.
     
 

E.

If an employee is awarded workers' compensation benefits, such employee shall receive personal leave compensation only to the extent such compensation is required, when added to the workers' compensation benefit, to equal the amount of compensation regularly paid such employee. If personal leave compensation equal to the employee's regular pay is paid prior to the award of the workers' compensation benefit, such amount which, when added to the benefit, is in excess of the employee's regular pay shall be deducted from the employee's subsequent pay. The employee's accrued personal leave days shall be charged only for such days as equal the amount of personal leave compensation required to compensate the employee at the employee's regular rate of pay.
     
 

F.

Any employee absent from work, full or part-time, due to extended illness while under a physician's care, cannot report to an extracurricular assignment/duty until released by the physician to return to their regular assignment.

Johnson v. Ritchie County Bd. Of Edu., Docket No. 01-43-509, Jan 15, 2002
WV Code 18-1-1
WV Code 18A-2-2a
WV Code 18A-4-10
WV Code 18A-7-8

Adopted 12/3/07
Revised 8/26/08