Can Postal Service Fire You When On Medical Leave

513 Sick Leave

513.i Purpose

513.11 Ill Get out for Employee Incapacitation

Sick leave insures employees confronting loss of pay if they are incapacitated for the performance of duties because of illness, injury, pregnancy and confinement, and medical (including dental or optical) examination or treatment.

513.12 Ill Get out for Dependent Care

A limited amount of sick leave may likewise exist used to provide for the medical needs of a family unit member. Nonbargaining unit employees, and bargaining unit employees if provided in their national agreements, are allowed to have upwards to lxxx hours of their accrued ill leave per leave year to give care or otherwise attend to a family member (equally defined in 515.ii( a), 515.2( b), and 515.2( c) with an illness, injury, or other condition that, if an employee had such a condition, would justify the utilise of sick leave. If leave for dependent care is canonical, just the employee has already used the maximum 80 hours of ill exit allowable, the departure is charged to almanac leave or to LWOP at the employee'southward option. (See 515 for information about FMLA entitlement to be absent from work.)

513.2 Accrual and Crediting

513.21 Accrual Chart

Time accrued is as follows:

Employee Category	Time Accrued
Total-time employees (except every bit noted below).	4 hours for each full biweekly pay period — i.due east., 13 days (104 hours) per 26-period leave year.
Non-executive, non-bargaining full-time career employees, and non-career employees converted to those positions, with a career appointment date on or subsequently Oct 6, 2012, who are without any prior federal or USPS service that was creditable at the time of that career appointment toward the leave computation date. This accrual charge per unit never applies to an employee who earned sick exit at the college accrual rate above.	3 hours for each full biweekly pay period — i.e., 9.75 days (78 hours) per 26-flow leave year.
Role-fourth dimension employees (except as noted below).	ane hr for each unit of 20 hours in pay status up to 104 hours (13 days) per 26-catamenia exit year.
Not-executive, non-bargaining part-time career employees, and non-career employees converted to those positions, with a career appointment date on or after October 6, 2012, who are without whatever prior federal or USPS service that was creditable at the time of that career appointment toward the go out computation date. This accrual charge per unit never applies to an employee who earned sick go out at the higher accrual rate higher up.	1 60 minutes for each unit of 26.66 hours in pay condition up to 78 hours (ix.75 days) per 26-menstruation leave year.

513.22 Crediting

513.221 Full general

Sick go out is credited at the end of each biweekly pay period in which it is earned. Sick leave (earned and unused) accumulates without limitation.

513.222 Part-Time Employees

Part-time employees are not credited with sick leave in excess of xiii days (104 hours) per 26–menstruation leave year.

513.223 Leave Replacements for Rural Carriers

Substitute rural carriers or RCAs assigned to and serving (a) a vacant route or (b) a route from which the rural carrier is on extended exit, and RCAs assigned to and serving an auxiliary route are credited with sick leave starting with the beginning pay flow following the 90–day qualifying menses.

513.224 Auxiliary Rural Carriers

Auxiliary rural carriers are non credited with sick leave in excess of 104 hours per leave year. If they serve in another capacity (e.g., flexible employees) in the Postal service Role, that service is likewise used in computing sick leave credit (run into 513.21).

513.225 Substitute Rural Carriers in Dual Appointment

Substitute rural carriers in dual appointments earn sick leave only when their service is performed in a position that is subject to the Ceremonious Service Retirement Act. The leave tin can exist used only while they are serving in a leave–earning position.

513.226 Go out Credit Adjustment for LWOP

See 514.24.

513.3 Authorizing Sick Leave

513.31 Policy

513.311 Full general

Sick leave cannot exist granted until it is earned, except equally provided in 513.5.

513.312 Restriction

An employee who is in sick get out status may non appoint in any gainful employment unless prior approving has been granted by advisable authority (run across 662, Federal Standards of Upstanding Bear).

513.32 Weather condition for Authorization

Conditions for authorisation are as follows:*

Weather
Affliction or injury.	If the employee is incapacitated for the performance of official duties.
Pregnancy and solitude.	If absence is required for concrete examinations or periods of incapacitation.
Medical, dental, or optical examination or handling.	If absence is necessary during the employee's regular scheduled tour.
For eligible employees (as indicated in 513.12), care for a family fellow member (as divers in 515.ii( a) 515.2( c), and 515.2( e)).	Upward to 80 hours of accrued sick go out per exit yr if the illness, injury, or other condition is 1 that, if an employee had such a status, would justify the use of sick leave.
Contagious disease. A contagious illness is a disease ruled as requiring isolation, quarantine, or restriction of move of the patient for a particular menstruation by the health authorities having jurisdiction.	If the employee (1) must care for a family member affected with a contagious disease, (two) has been exposed to a contagious disease and would jeopardize the wellness of others, or (three) has evidence supplied by the local health authorities or a certificate signed by a physician certifying the demand for the menstruation of isolation or restriction.
Medical treatment for disabled veterans.	If the employee (one) presents a statement from a duly authorized medical authorisation that handling is required, and (2) when possible, gives prior find of the definite number of days and hours of absenteeism. (Such data is needed for work scheduling purposes.)
Bereavement Exit for Non-Bargaining Unit of measurement Employees	This blazon of exit is available for all career non-bargaining unit of measurement employees. Employees may use up to iii workdays of annual leave, sick leave, or get out without pay to make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attend the funeral of a family member. Authorization of leave beyond three workdays is discipline to the conditions and requirements of ELM 510. For employees opting to use available ill leave, the get out volition exist charged to sick go out for dependent care, if bachelor. Documentation evidencing the death of the employee's family unit member is required only when the supervisor deems such documentation desirable for the protection of the Post's interests. Family Member is defined every bit a: Son or daughter — biological or adopted child, stepchild, daughter-in-law, or son-in-police force; Spouse; Parent, mother-in-law, or father-in-law; Sibling — brother, sister, blood brother-in-police force, or sister-in-law; or Grandparent. The applicable provisions regarding bereavement leave for bargaining unit employees are in the respective bargaining unit's applicative national agreement.
* Sick leave, annual get out, or LWOP is granted every bit may be necessary for any of these conditions in accordance with normal get out policies and collective bargaining agreements. (Come across besides 513.six and 514.22.)

513.33 Requests for Sick Leave

513.331 Full general

Except for unexpected affliction or injury situations, sick leave must be requested on PS Course 3971 and canonical in advance by the advisable supervisor.

513.332 Unexpected Illness or Injury

An exception to the accelerate approval requirement is made for unexpected illness or injuries; however, in this situation the employee must notify advisable postal authorities of his or her illness or injury and expected duration of the absence equally soon as possible.

When sufficient information is provided to determine that the absence may be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Human action (FMLA), the following Department of Labor forms will be mailed to the employee's address of tape along with a return envelope:

WH 381, FMLA Discover of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities; and
One of the following forms, as appropriate:

WH-380-E, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee's Serious Health Condition.
WH-380-F, FMLA Certification of Health Intendance Provider for Family Member's Serious Health Condition.
WH-385, FMLA Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember — for Military machine Family Leave.

Notation: These forms are provided for the employee's convenience, as they solicit all required information; however, employees may utilise some other format as long as information technology provides complete and sufficient data as required by the FMLA. The information provided should relate merely to the specific reason associated with the asking for leave protection.

PS Class 3971, Asking for or Notification of Absence, will be provided to the employee upon his or her render to duty.

When sufficient information to determine that the absenteeism is covered by FMLA is non provided in advance of the absence, the employee must submit a PS Course 3971 and applicable medical or other certification upon returning to duty and explain the reason for the absence. Employees may be required to submit acceptable evidence of incapacity to work equally outlined in the provisions of 513.36, Ill Leave Documentation Requirements, or noted on the reverse of PS Grade 3971 or on Section of Labor Form WH-381, as applicative.

The supervisor approves or disapproves the exit request. When the asking is disapproved, the absence may be recorded as almanac leave or, if appropriate, as LWOP or AWOL, at the discretion of the supervisor as outlined in 513.342.

513.34 PS Form 3971, Asking for or Notification of Absence

513.341 General

Request for sick leave is made in writing, in duplicate, on PS Class 3971. If the absence is to intendance for a family member, this fact is to be noted in the Remarks section.

513.342 Approving or Disapproval

The supervisor is responsible for approving or disapproving requests for sick leave by signing PS Form 3971, a re-create of which is given to the employee. If a supervisor does not approve a asking for leave equally submitted, the Disapproved block on the PS Grade 3971 is checked and the reason(south) given, in writing, in the infinite provided. When a request is disapproved, the granting of whatsoever alternating type of get out, if whatsoever, must exist noted forth with the reason for the disapproval. AWOL determinations must be similarly noted.

513.35 Postmaster Absences

There are special requirements for postmaster absences:

Leave Replacement. A postmaster whose absence requires the hiring of a leave replacement must notify the appropriate official.
Absence Over 3 Days. A postmaster who is absent in excess of 3 days must submit PS Form 3971 within 2 days of returning to duty or, for an extended disease, at the end of each accounting period.

513.36 Sick Leave Documentation Requirements

513.361 Three Days or Less

For periods of absence of 3 days or less, supervisors may accept the employee's statement explaining the absence. Medical documentation or other acceptable evidence of incapacity for piece of work or need to care for a family member is required only when the employee is on restricted sick go out (see 513.39) or when the supervisor deems documentation desirable for the protection of the interests of the Postal Service. Substantiation of the family relationship must be provided if requested.

513.362 Over Three Days

For absences in excess of three days, employees are required to submit medical documentation or other acceptable show of incapacity for work or of need to care for a family member and, if requested, substantiation of the family relationship.

513.363 Extended Periods

Employees who are on sick leave for extended periods are required to submit at appropriate intervals, just not more than often than once every thirty days, satisfactory evidence of continued incapacity for work or need to intendance for a family member unless some responsible supervisor has cognition of the employee'southward standing situation.

513.364 Medical Documentation or Other Acceptable Testify

When employees are required to submit medical documentation, such documentation should be furnished past the employee's attending md or other attention practitioner who is performing inside the telescopic of his or her practice. The documentation should provide an caption of the nature of the employee's disease or injury sufficient to indicate to management that the employee was (or will be) unable to perform his or her normal duties for the period of absence. Unremarkably, medical statements such every bit "nether my care" or "received treatment" are not acceptable evidence of incapacitation to perform duties.

Supervisors may accept substantiation other than medical documentation if they believe it supports approval of the sick get out request.

513.365 Failure to Furnish Required Documentation

If adequate substantiation of incapacitation is non furnished, the absence may be charged to annual leave, LWOP, or AWOL.

513.37 Return to Duty

An employee returning from an FMLA–covered absence considering of his or her own incapacitation must provide documentation from his or her health care provider that he or she is able to perform the functions of the position with or without limitation. Limitations described are accommodated when practical. Bargaining unit employees must likewise comply with requirements in 865.

513.38 Performance Ability Questioned

When the reason for an employee's sick leave is of such a nature as to raise justifiable doubt concerning the employee'south ability to satisfactorily and/or safely perform duties, a fettle–for–duty medical exam is requested through appropriate authority. A complete report of the facts, medical and otherwise, should support the request.

513.39 Restricted Sick Leave

513.391 Reasons for Brake

Supervisors or installation heads who have evidence indicating that an employee is abusing sick leave privileges may place the employee on the restricted sick leave list. In addition, employees may be placed on the restricted sick leave list after their sick leave use has been reviewed on an private basis and the following actions have been taken:

Establishment of an absenteeism file.
Review of the absence file by the firsthand supervisor and higher levels of management.
Review of the absences during the past quarter of LWOP and sick leave used past employees. (No minimum ill leave residual is established below which the employee's sick exit record is automatically considered unsatisfactory.)
Supervisor'south discussion of absenteeism tape with the employee.
Review of the subsequent quarterly absences. If the absence logs indicate no improvement, the supervisor is to discuss the thing with the employee to include advice that if in that location is no improvement during the side by side quarter, the employee will be placed on restricted sick exit.

513.392 Notice and Listing

Supervisors provide written notice to employees that their names have been added to the restricted sick leave listing. The notice as well explains that, until further discover, the employees must support all requests for ill leave by medical documentation or other acceptable evidence (come across 513.364).

513.393 Recision of Restriction

Supervisors review the employee'south PS Form 3972 for each quarter. If there has been a substantial decrease in absences charged to sickness, the employee's name is removed from the restricted sick leave list and the employee is notified in writing of the removal.

513.4 Charging Sick Get out

513.41 Full-Time Employees

513.411 General

Full general provisions are every bit follows:

Sick leave is not charged for legal holidays or for nonworkdays established by Executive Order.

Exception: If employees shown to be eligible in 434.422 elect to receive almanac leave credit in lieu of holiday leave pay (come across 512.65) and and then become sick during their scheduled bout, sick go out may exist charged to supplement piece of work hours, up to the limit of their regular piece of work schedule, on the holiday worked, provided the requirements of section 513.32 are met.

Sick leave may be charged on any scheduled workday of an employee'due south basic workweek.

513.412 Minimum Unit Charge

Minimum unit charges are as follows:

Employee Category	Minimum Unit Accuse
All full–time nonexempt employees.	One–hundredth of an hour (0.01 hour).
Full-fourth dimension exempt.	(Meet 519.seven)
Regular rural carriers.	one day (8 hours).
Substitute rural carriers and RCAs when in a exit–earning status and serving:
Vacant routes.	1 day (8 hours).
Routes from which rural carriers are on extended leave.	1 twenty-four hours (8 hours).
RCAs when in a leave–earning condition and servicing auxiliary routes.	1 hour.
Auxiliary rural carriers.	1 hour.
Triweekly rural carriers.	(See 512.54).

513.413 Special Situations

The following provisions concern special situations:

A–E Postmasters. A–E postmasters are charged sick leave the same every bit annual leave (see 512.524).
Rural Carriers. Rural carriers who are absent because of illness on Saturdays are charged ill go out based on the computations used for their annual leave charges (see 512.53).
Replacement Rural Carriers. Substitute rural carriers and RCAs in a leave earning status and serving (a) vacant routes and (b) routes from which rural carriers are on extended leave are charged ill get out in the same style as rural carriers. RCAs in a leave earning condition and serving auxiliary routes are charged sick leave in the same style as auxiliary rural carriers.
Triweekly Rural Carriers. Triweekly rural carriers are charged sick leave the same as for annual get out (see 512.54).

513.42 Part-Time Employees

513.421 Full general

General provisions are as follows:

Absences due to illness are charged equally sick leave on any twenty-four hour period that an hourly rate employee is scheduled to work except national holidays.

Exception: If employees shown to be eligible in 434.422 elect to receive annual leave credit in lieu of vacation leave pay (see 512.65), ill leave may exist charged to supplement piece of work hours, up to the limit of their regular work schedule, on the vacation worked, provided the requirements of section 513.32 are met.

Except every bit provided in 513.82, paid sick exit may not exceed the number of hours that the employee would accept been scheduled to piece of work, upwardly to:

A maximum of 8 hours in any 1 day.
xl hours in any one calendar week.
80 hours in any one pay menstruation. If a dispute arises equally to the number of hours a role-time flexible employee would have been scheduled to work, the schedule is considered to take been equal to the average hours worked by other office-fourth dimension flexible employees in the aforementioned work location on the solar day in question.

Limitations in 513.421 b utilize to paid ill get out just and not to a combination of sick exit and workhours. Nevertheless, part-time flexible employees who have been credited with xl hours or more of paid service (work, leave, or a combination of work and leave) in a service calendar week are not granted sick go out during the remainder of that service calendar week. Absences, in such cases, are treated as nonduty fourth dimension that is not chargeable to paid leave of any kind. (Sick go out is non intended to be used to supplement earnings of employees.)

513.422 Minimum Unit Charge

Minimum unit charges are equally follows:

513.five Avant-garde Sick Leave

513.51 Policy

513.511 May Non Exceed Thirty Days

Sick get out not to exceed 30 days (240 hours) may be avant-garde in cases of an employee's serious disability or disease if there is reason to believe the employee will render to duty. Ill leave may exist advanced whether or non the employee has an annual leave or donated get out residue.

513.512 Medical Certificate Required

Every request for advanced sick leave must be supported by medical documentation of the illness.

513.52 Assistants

513.521 Installation Heads' Approval

Officials in charge of installations are authorized to approve these advances without reference to higher authorization.

513.522 Forms Forwarded

PS Form 1221, Advanced Sick Leave Authorization, is completed and forwarded to the Eagan ASC when advanced sick leave is authorized.

513.53 Additional Sick Leave

513.531 Xxx–Day Maximum

Additional sick get out may be advanced fifty-fifty though liquidation of a previous advance has not been completed provided the advance at no time exceeds 30 days. Any advanced sick go out authorized is in add-on to the sick leave that has been earned past the employee at the time the advance is authorized.

513.532 Liquidating Avant-garde Sick Go out

The liquidation of advanced sick leave is not to be confused with the substitution of annual leave for sick leave to avoid forfeiture of the annual leave. Avant-garde sick get out may be liquidated in the following manner:

Charging the sick leave confronting the sick go out earned by the employee every bit it is earned upon return to duty.
Charging the ill get out against an equivalent amount of annual get out at the employee'south request provided the annual leave accuse is made prior to the time such leave is forfeited because of the exit carryover limit.

513.half dozen Exit Charge Adjustments

513.61 Insufficient Ill Get out

If sick leave is approved merely the employee does not have sufficient sick exit to cover the absence, the divergence is charged to almanac leave or to LWOP at the employee'south option.

513.62 Insufficient Sick and Annual Leave

If sick leave is canonical for employees who have no annual or sick leave to their credit, the absence may be charged equally LWOP unless sick leave is advanced equally outlined in 513.five. LWOP then charged cannot thereafter be converted to sick or annual leave.

513.63 Disapproved Sick Leave

If ill leave is disapproved, simply the absence is nevertheless warranted, the supervisor may approve, at the employee's option, a accuse to annual leave or a charge to LWOP.

513.64 Absenteeism Without Leave

An absence that is disapproved is charged as LWOP and may exist administratively considered equally AWOL.

513.65 Annual Leave Inverse to Sick Leave

If an employee becomes ill while on almanac leave and the employee has a ill leave residue, the absence may be charged to sick leave.

513.vii Transfer or Reemployment

513.71 Transfer

513.711 Crediting

Individuals who are transferring from a federal agency to the Postal service are credited with their sick exit remainder provided there is non a interruption in service in excess of iii years.

513.712 Recrediting

The following provisions concern recrediting:

If a Postal Service employee transfers to a position under a different exit arrangement to which but a part of the employee's sick go out can be transferred, the sick leave is recredited if the private returns to the Postal Service provided at that place is not a pause in service in excess of 3 years.
If a Mail employee transfers to a position to which sick exit cannot be transferred, the sick leave is recredited if the private returns to the Mail provided there is not a break in service in backlog of 3 years.

513.72 Reemployment

Sick leave may be recredited upon reemployment provided there is not a break in service in excess of iii years.

Note: For sick leave to exist recredited, the employee must exist reemployed in a position where sick exit may be earned and used.

513.73 Reemployment — OWCP

All individuals who were originally separated and who are subsequently reemployed from a continuous catamenia on OWCP rolls take any previously unused sick go out recredited to their account, regardless of the length of time these employees were on OWCP and off postal rolls.

Exception: Sick leave may not be recredited if an employee applied and was approved for disability retirement regardless of whether the employee actually collected the annuity.

513.8 Retirements or Separations

513.81 General

No payment is made for accumulated sick get out when an employee retires or separates from Mail service employment.

513.82 Retirement

513.821 Credit for Sick Leave

Provisions of the Civil Service Retirement Act provide for the granting of credit for unused ill leave in calculating retirement or survivor annuity at the fourth dimension of an employee's retirement or death (see 562.4). Each 8 hours of sick leave represents ane solar day of retirement credit. Unused sick leave days are converted to agenda time retirement credit, based on a 260-day piece of work year (260 days x viii hours = 2,080 hours).

Previously, there were no provisions for credit of sick get out upon retirement for employees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), except for those who were in the Ceremonious Service Retirement System (CSRS) and transferred to FERS. See 580, Federal Employee Retirement System, for details for credit of sick leave upon retirement for FERS employees who formerly were covered by CSRS.

Enacted in 2009, the National Defence force Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Police force 111-84) changed this. FERS employees will receive credit for unused sick go out in the same way as CSRS employees. The change will be phased in, as follows: (a) fifty pct of accrued sick go out hours volition exist credited for all FERS retirements commencing October 28, 2009, through December 31, 2013; and (b) 100 percent of the accrued sick leave hours will be credited for all FERS retirements that begin on or later Jan ane, 2014.

513.822 Disability Retirement

If the OPM has approved an application for inability retirement effective on expiration of accumulated and accrued leave, or if the employee is being otherwise separated for physical or mental inability resulting in inability to perform the work, sick get out is granted at the rate of eight hours per twenty-four hours, twoscore hours per calendar week, or 80 hours per pay period until the employee's sick go out is exhausted. Payments may not be fabricated, still, for whatever hours for which the employee received bacon or leave payments from another federal bureau.

513.83 Separation by Death

If an sick employee dies without returning to duty and without making awarding for sick leave, the postal official who is in accuse of the installation grants ill exit for the menstruum of illness or disability immediately prior to death. If the employee was in pay status on the day of expiry or immediately prior to death, the employee's casher is entitled to receive compensation without charge to leave for the date of death. The latter applies whether or not employees have leave to their credit.

513.9 Drove for Unearned Sick Leave

Collection for used but unearned sick leave at the fourth dimension of separation is made in the same manner as for unearned annual leave (see 512.72).