(a) Annual leave may be earned and carried forward from one calendar year to the next, not to exceed:

(b) Accumulated annual leave in excess of the above maximum amounts will be converted to sick leave at the end of each calendar year or upon the employee's separation from employment, if applicable.

(a) An employee must obtain approval from his or her appointing authority or designee prior to the use of annual leave, except as noted in paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(b) Use of annual leave will be granted by the appointing authority or designee based on operating requirements and, if possible, as requested by the employee. However, if an employee has accumulated 120 or more hours of compensatory leave at the time the approved leave is used, the approved annual leave will first be designated as compensatory leave. See Section 5.03 of these Policies.

(c) Absence due to sickness, injury, or disability that exceeds an employee's earned sick leave balance may be charged against annual leave.

(d) An employee may use annual leave for any absence on a day in which the employee would otherwise work and receive pay.

(e) Absence for part of a workday that is used as annual leave must be reported in 15-minute increments (.25 hours).

(a) Employees will be paid in a lump sum for annual leave, not to exceed the maximum amounts set forth in the table under subsection (2)(a) of this section, when separated from employment by proper resignation, layoff, dismissal, or retirement.

(b) Elected officials who earned annual leave prior to being sworn into elected office will be paid for their unused annual leave at the time they take office.

(c) Upon the death of an employee, his or her estate will be entitled to payment for the unused portion of the employee's annual leave.

(d) An employee separated from employment by layoff will be entitled to payment for the entire unused portion of the employee's annual leave.

(a) Permanent full-time employees earn sick leave at the rate of 7.5 hours per month. Permanent full-time employees must work or be in paid status for at least 100 hours in a month in order to earn sick leave.

(b) Permanent full-time employees who complete 120 months, or 10 years, of total service in Kentucky state government will be credited with an additional 75 hours of sick leave on the first day of the month following completion of 120 months of service.

(c) Permanent full-time employees who complete 240 months, or 20 years, of total service in Kentucky state government will be credited with another 75 additional hours of sick leave upon the first day of the month following completion of 240 months of service.

(d) Sick leave may be accumulated with no set maximum.

(a) Employees transferring to the KCOJ from another branch of state government will be credited with their accrued sick leave after submitting the appropriate documentation to the AOC HR Department.

(b) Upon retirement, an employee will be credited for sick leave in accordance with the state retirement system's regulations and policies.

(c) Upon resignation, layoff, or dismissal, sick leave will not be paid out.

(d) Former employees who are reinstated or rehired will have their unused sick leave balances restored, with the exception of employees retired from a state position within Kentucky Retirement Systems.

(a) Except in cases of emergency or unforeseen illness, employees must request approval for sick leave in advance, including but not limited to, medical, dental, or optical examinations.

(b) Employees must notify their immediate supervisor or designee as soon as possible in the event of an emergency or unforeseen illness.

(c) An appointing authority will grant the use of sick leave when an employee:

(d) The appointing authority may require the employee to provide a treatment provider's statement certifying the employee's need for sick leave.

(e) Upon returning from approved sick leave with pay, the appointing authority must return the employee to his or her former position.

(f) Absence for part of a work day that is being used as sick leave must be reported in 15-minute increments (.25 hours).

(g) In cases of absence due to illness or injury for which Workers' Compensation benefits are received for lost time, sick leave may be used to make up the difference between the benefits and the employee's regular salary.

(h) Even if a request for family and medical leave is not submitted pursuant to Section 7.04(3) of these Policies, an employee's absence from work may be designated by the AOC HR Department as family and medical leave if the appointing authority or AOC HR Department has sufficient information that the employee is otherwise eligible for family and medical leave pursuant to Section 7.04(2)(a)-(h) of these Policies. Neither the employee nor the KCOJ may decline or delay a family and medical leave designation once an eligible employee has communicated a need to take leave for a reason listed in Section 7.04(2)(b)(i-viii) of these Policies.

(a) General

(b) Responsibilities of Employee Requesting Sick Leave Sharing

(c) Request to Receive Sick Leave Sharing

(i) The employee or a member of his or her family suffers from a medically certified illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to be on leave for at least 10 consecutive work days;

(ii) The employee's need for absence and use of leave are certified by a licensed practicing physician or advanced practice registered nurse;

(iii) The employee has exhausted his or her sick, annual, holiday, and compensatory leave; and

(iv) The employee has complied with these Policies regarding the use of sick leave.

(a) This section shall be construed in a manner consistent with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act, and 29 CFR Part 825, and any subsequent amendments.

(b) The KCOJ recognizes that FMLA makes it unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under the Act. FMLA also makes it unlawful for any employer to discharge or discriminate against any person for opposing any practice made unlawful by FMLA or for involvement in any proceeding under or relating to FMLA.

(c) All documents relating to family and medical leave will be maintained in a file separate from an employee's personnel file and will be confidential.

(a) FMLA applies to employees who have:

(b) An employee is eligible for family and medical leave if the employee:

(c) A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition that either prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee's job, or prevents the qualified member of the employee's family from participating in school or other daily activities.

(d) Subject to certain conditions, the continuing treatment requirement may be met by:

(e) A medical condition will be deemed a serious injury or illness for purposes of paragraph (b)(viii) of this subsection if the injury or illness was incurred or aggravated in the line of active duty and causes the member to be medically unfit to perform the duties of the member's office, grade, rank, or rating, and for which the service member is:

(f) An eligible employee as defined in subsection (2)(b)(i-vii) of this section is entitled to 12 weeks of family and medical leave during a 12-month period. An eligible employee as defined in subsection (2)(b)(viii) of this section is entitled to 26 weeks of family and medical leave during a single 12-month period. Each 12-month period shall start from the date that family and medical leave is first used.

(g) A week of family and medical leave will equal the amount of time an employee normally works each week.

(h) For part-time employees, a weekly average of the hours worked during the 12 weeks before beginning family and medical leave will be used to determine their normal work week.

(a) An employee must provide the appointing authority with a request for family and medical leave at least 30 calendar days before the leave is to begin if it is foreseeable based on an expected childbirth, placement for adoption or foster care, planned medical treatment for a serious health condition of the employee or a member of his or her family, or the planned medical treatment for a serious injury or illness of a covered service member.

(b) If the employee is unable to make the request at least 30 calendar days before the leave is to begin due to a medical emergency or change of circumstances, he or she must provide the appointing authority with a request for family and medical leave as soon as practical under the facts and circumstances of the particular case (generally the same day the employee learns of the need for leave or the next business day).

(c) An employee must request family and medical leave by completing the Application for Family and Medical Leave and submitting the application to his or her appointing authority absent unusual circumstances. The appointing authority must immediately forward the application to the AOC HR Department.

(d) In all circumstances, when giving notice of the need for leave, the employee must provide sufficient information for the KCOJ to determine if the leave qualifies for FMLA protection. Failure to provide sufficient notice may result in family and medical leave being delayed or denied.

(e) Once an employee has requested family and medical leave, the AOC HR Department will inform the employee within five business days, absent extenuating circumstances, whether he or she is eligible for such leave. If the employee is eligible, the employee will be instructed as to whether any additional information is required, and as to his or her rights and responsibilities under FMLA. If the leave is not eligible, the AOC HR Department will provide at least one reason for the ineligibility.

(f) An employee who requests family and medical leave for the purpose of tending to his or her own or a member of his or her family's serious health condition, or a seriously ill or injured covered service member, must supply a certification by a health care provider within 15 calendar days after the request for leave, using the appropriate Certification of Health Care Provider Form, which includes the following:

(g) If an employee requests intermittent family and medical leave due to a serious medical condition of the employee or member of his or her family, the employee must supply a Certification of Health Care Provider Form from a licensed health care provider stating that intermittent leave is medically necessary and indicating the expected duration of the leave.

(h) If the leave is to address a qualifying exigency, the eligible employee must complete a Certification of Qualifying Exigency Form, accompanied by the required supporting documentation and a copy of the covered military member's deployment and/or covered active duty orders within 15 calendar days after the request for leave.

(i) An employee who fails to timely complete a sufficient certification form may be denied family and medical leave and will be subject to the KCOJ's other applicable leave and/or attendance policies. Appropriate certification forms are available from the AOC HR Department.

(j) A licensed health care provider is a:

(a) An employee who has requested family and medical leave must be notified in writing if he or she has been granted or denied family and medical leave within five business days after the AOC HR Department receives the completed and sufficient medical certification and application. At that time, the AOC HR Department will inform the employee whether the leave will be designated as family and medical leave, and, if so, the amount of leave that will be counted against the employee's leave entitlement.

(b) Even if a request for family and medical leave is not submitted pursuant to subsection (3), an employee's absence from work may be designated by the AOC HR Department as family and medical leave if the appointing authority or AOC HR Department has sufficient information that the employee is otherwise eligible for family and medical leave pursuant to subsection (2)(a)-(h) of this section. Within five business days of obtaining sufficient information, the AOC HR Department will inform the employee that the leave will be designated as family and medical leave and the amount of leave will be counted against the employee's leave entitlement. Neither the employee nor the KCOJ may decline or delay a family and medical leave designation once an eligible employee has communicated a need to take leave for a reason listed in subsection (2)(b)(i-viii) of this section.

(c) Family and medical leave and any paid leave must be used concurrently. Unpaid family and medical leave may only be granted after all other paid leave is exhausted.

(a) Any combination of working days, paid leave, or family and medical leave used by the employee within a month will entitle the employee to state-paid contributions for life insurance and health benefits in the following month.

(b) If unable to work, employees must use their family and medical leave days consecutively and must elect to use family and medical leave as their only qualification for state contributions for life insurance and health benefits.

(c) Employees on unpaid family and medical leave will be responsible for their share of contributions for life insurance and health benefits. The contributions will be due at the same time the contributions would be made by payroll deduction.

(d) Employees who have used all of their paid leave and family and medical leave and remain unable to work for more than 100 hours in the month may only continue group health and life insurance benefits for the following month by paying the total cost of the state's contribution and their self-contribution for the benefits.

(e) For each month that an employee has not worked or been in paid status for 100 hours, the employee's annual or probationary increment will be postponed one month.

(a) Before returning from family and medical leave, the employee must submit a Notice of Intention to Return to Work Form to his or her appointing authority or directly to the AOC HR Department. The appointing authority must immediately forward the form to the AOC HR Department.

(b) An employee must present a fitness-for-duty certificate to the AOC HR Department prior to being restored to employment. If such certification is not timely received, the employee's return to work may be delayed until certification is presented.

(c) Upon returning from family and medical leave, the employee will be reinstated to his or her previous position or an equivalent position. An “equivalent position” will be virtually identical in terms of pay; benefits; and working conditions, including privileges, prerequisites, and status. The equivalent position will involve duties that are substantially similar to the employee's previous position.

(d) On the first day of the employee's return to work, his or her benefits will be reinstated as applicable.

(e) The KCOJ reserves the right to deny restoration to any key employee if it determines substantial and grievous economic injury will result if the employee is reinstated. Key employees are salaried employees and are among the highest paid 10 percent of all employees within 75 miles of the employee's worksite.

(a) An employee may file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor or may bring a private lawsuit against an employer.

(b) FMLA does not affect any federal or state law prohibiting discrimination or supersede any state or local law or collective bargaining agreement that provides greater family and medical leave rights.

(a) Be registered to vote in the county holding the election;

(b) Be scheduled to work on Election Day during the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time; and

(c) Notify the appointing authority prior to receiving voting leave.

(a) 240 hours of paid leave for each human organ donation; and

(b) 40 hours of paid leave for each bone marrow donation.

(a) If the employee cannot return to work after the approved period of leave without pay expires, the employee must immediately notify the appointing authority or designee.

(b) Unless the appointing authority or designee has extended the period of leave without pay, failure to report to work after the authorized leave without pay ends will be considered a resignation from employment. This provision does not apply to family and medical leave.

(a) Be treated as leave without pay for an employee covered by the provisions of the FLSA; and

(b) Constitute grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal.