Employee Leave of Absence

Purpose

This policy governs leave for ANCS employees.

Duration

This policy is permanent, but it is subject to revisions.

Policy

Section 1. Leave

Each member of the ANCS staff is entitled to leave as defined in this policy. Forms to request leave can be obtained online in Google Drive.

Section 2. Jury Duty or Witness Leave

ANCS is committed to allowing faculty and staff to fulfill their civic duty by providing leave for jury and witness duty.

  1. An employee may be absent without loss of pay and without charge to any other category of leave when attending court as a juror or when subpoenaed to testify.
  2. The employee must notify his or her immediate supervisor as soon as possible after the employee has been served with the summons for jury duty or a subpoena to appear in a case and provide a copy of the documentation to the employee's immediate supervisor. The employee may retain any compensation he/she receives for serving as a juror or as a witness.

Section 3. Per Diem Leave

  1. Per diem leave is leave that is related to illness, health-related issues, or family-related health issues. Per diem leave shall be accumulated based on the following formula:
    1. Staff members who have less than 10 years of experience accrue days at a rate of 1.25 days per month worked.
    2. Staff members who have 10 years or more years of experience accrue days at a rate of 2.25 days per month worked.
    3. Part-time staff members accrue the per-month rate according to the fraction of time worked.
    4. Unused per diem days may be carried forward to subsequent school years. A staff member may accumulate up to 120 days of per diem leave.
  2. An employee who is retiring from ANCS has two options with respect to accrued per diem leave:
    1. If the employee has a minimum of 60 days of accrued leave, the employee can choose to apply the accrued leave days to establish sick leave credit with her/his Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) account. The policy concerning the establishment of sick leave credit with TRS is governed by TRS and is subject to its rules (see Teachers Retirement System of Georgia). Consistent with TRS policy, the employee may not be reimbursed for any days that are used to establish sick leave credit with TRS. Creditable sick leave for TRS accumulates at a maximum rate of 1.25 days per month. For teachers who have earned sick leave at a rate of over 1.25 days per month (ANCS employees with over 10 years of experience), the earned total for purposes of establishment of sick leave with TRS will be reduced to meet this standard of 1.25 days per month. This reduction of leave is governed by TRS and occurs only when an employee wishes to use his or her accrued leave to establish sick leave credit with TRS. TRS rules are available at: https://www.trsga.com/employer/unused-sick-leave-credit-at-retirement/
    2. The employee can apply some of her or his accrued leave to establish sick leave credit with TRS and request reimbursement at the rate of $41/day for the remainder of the accrued leave (assuming the employee has a minimum of 60 days of accrued leave).
  3. If an employee leaves ANCS they may transfer their banked days to their new school system or bank them with TRS.
  4. ANCS will not pay cash for unused leave.
  5. ANCS employees are permitted to accrue per diem leave in addition to 120 days, but any accrued per diem days over 120 days will be placed in a TRS overage account. These additional days cannot be used as per diem leave during employment but can be applied to establish sick leave credit toward TRS when an employee reaches retirement, consistent with TRS policy and rules.
  6. Per diem leave may not be taken to extend a school holiday without documentation from a medical professional.

Section 4. Personal Leave

  1. Personal leave is leave that is used to conduct business that cannot be handled outside of the school day. Personal leave may be taken for any purpose.
  2. Each staff member is allocated three (3) personal days per year. Personal days do not carry over from one year to the next.
  3. The Campus Principal or a designee should be notified at least one week in advance of a staff member requesting a personal day.
  4. Personal leave may not be taken to extend a school holiday without approval of the Campus Principal.

Section 5. Parental Leave

Parental leave under this policy is a paid leave associated with the birth of an employee's child or the placement of a child with the employee in connection with adoption or foster care. The purpose of Parental Leave is to enable the employee to care for and bond with a newborn or a newly adopted or newly placed child. To be eligible, the employee must have completed the equivalent of one semester (90 instructional days) of continuous employment at Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School immediately prior to the leave.

The amount of paid Parental Leave days is determined by the employee's election from among the following options:

  • Twelve weeks of paid leave at 33% of salary;
  • Eight weeks of paid leave at 50% of salary; or
  • Four weeks of paid leave at 100% of salary.

All Parental Leave must be taken consecutively, without any suspension. The full amount of Parental Leave must be taken within the first 12 months of the date of birth of the employee's child or the date of placement of a child with the employee in connection with adoption or foster care. In no case will an employee receive more than one Parental Leave period (whatever the selected duration) in a rolling 12-month period, regardless of whether more than one birth, adoption or foster care placement event occurs within that 12-month timeframe.

Temporary and part-time employees are not eligible for Parental Leave under this policy.

Continuation of Benefits

Health insurance benefits will continue to be provided during the paid Parental Leave under this policy at the same rate as in effect before the leave was taken regardless of the employee's length of service. Paid leave benefits will continue to accrue.

Requirements for Obtaining Parental Leave

The employee must provide the HR Manager 30 days' notice of the requested leave (or as much notice as practicable if the leave is not foreseeable), complete the necessary forms and file them with the human resource department either in person or by email.

After the elected period of Parental Leave has been exhausted, subsequent leave will be covered under appropriate policies. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave annually. Paid leave under this policy will run concurrently with any available FMLA leave. After paid Parental Leave is exhausted, the employee is required to apply any other available paid leave, which will also run concurrently with FMLA leave.

Employees not eligible for FMLA leave should refer to the Leave of Absence Policy after the elected period of paid Parental Leave and any other paid leave have been exhausted regarding continuation of insurance coverage for employees on unpaid leave of absence.

Pay Back Requirement

If an employee, after taking Parental Leave, resigns from employment with Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School without finishing the remainder of the academic year in which the Parental Leave was taken, the school at its option may elect to require the employee to pay back an amount, up to the total sum value of benefits received.

Upon termination of the employee's employment with the school, the employee will not be paid for any unused Parental Leave for which the employee was eligible.

Section 6. Federal Family and Medical Leave Act/Long-Term Leave

  1. Long-term leave is defined as leave for issues beyond the allocated leave time. It may be used for pregnancy, post-childbirth maternity or paternity, adoption, employee long-term illness, and any other reasons required by law. Long-term or family leave is not paid leave. The school may require certification from a qualified medical professional to document the reason for the leave and/or to verify the employee's ability to return to work. Long-term leave may qualify under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which is a federal law that gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks (or up to 26 weeks in the case of military caregiver leave) of job-protected leave for family or medical reasons. To be eligible for FMLA, an employee must have worked for ANCS full time for at least 12 months totaling 1250 hours.
  2. The FMLA does not require employers to provide paid FMLA leave, but it does allow employers to charge FMLA absences simultaneously against any available paid leave as well as the FMLA. Therefore, an employee's available sick, personal, and per diem leave and vacation days will be applied to any FMLA leave taken for a reason covered by those provisions.

Reasons for Leave

The FMLA allows eligible employees to take leave for the following reasons:

  • To care for the employee's child during the first year following the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of the child;
  • To care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
  • Because of the employee's own serious or extended health condition (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, as well as mental health condition) that makes the employee unable to perform his/her job;
  • Any qualifying exigency arising from the fact that the employee's family member is a covered service member and is on covered active duty; or
  • To care for a covered family member who is a covered service member and who suffers from a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty.

Length of FMLA Leave

No more than 12 weeks of FMLA leave may be taken in any rolling 12-month period. Leave will be counted based on a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date that the employee's FMLA or per diem leave begins.

Advance Notice

Employees are required to provide advance notice of FMLA leave as follows:

  • When the need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, notice is required 30 days in advance.
  • When the need for leave is not foreseeable, the employee must provide notice as soon as practical. The taking of leave may be denied or postponed if these notice requirements are not met.

Medical Certification

  1. When the leave of absence is occasioned by the employee's own serious health condition or that of a family member, the employee will be required to submit medical certification on the appropriate form.
  2. When the leave is over 30 days in length, recertification may be required at 30-day intervals throughout the leave. Recertification may also be required when the employee requests an extension of leave, when the medical situation changes, or when the Executive Director receives information that casts doubt on the continuing validity of an earlier certification.

Approval of FMLA Leave

Campus Principals and the HR Manager will be responsible for reviewing leave requests. Approval of the leave will be given in writing and will specify an expected return date. If an extension of leave is needed, the employee must submit a new request and medical certification to the Campus Principal before the end of the original leave period. Leave taken without approval, as required under this policy, will be treated as unauthorized leave and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Reinstatement

The FMLA entitles an employee to return to the same or an equivalent position at the conclusion of the leave. Certain restrictions apply to instructional employees whose return from leave would occur near the end of the semester. Under certain circumstances, these employees may be required to extend their leave through the end of the semester to avoid disruption of the education process.

Health Insurance

Employees on approved FMLA leave remain covered under the school's health insurance. Premium payments must be made within the time periods required. ANCS will continue to pay their portion of the premium; the employee is also responsible for their portion of the premium.

Section 7. Military Leave

The military leave policy is defined by O.C.G.A. § 38-2-279:

  1. An ANCS employee who receives orders for active military duty will be entitled to a leave of absence with pay for the period of such ordered military duty, and while going to and returning from such duty, not to exceed a total of eighteen (18) work days in any one (1) federal fiscal year (October 1–September 30).
  2. After an employee has exhausted this period of paid military leave, ANCS may pay the employee for his or her accumulated per diem and personal leave. Following the maximum paid leave time, continued absence by the employee will be considered military leave without pay. The employee will be required to submit a copy of his or her orders to active military duty.
  3. In the event that the governor declares an emergency and orders an employee to active duty as a member of the National Guard, the employee will be paid his or her salary or other compensation as an employee for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days in any one (1) federal fiscal year.

Section 8. Bereavement Leave

  1. In the case of the death of a member of the immediate family (as defined in Hiring and Evaluation of Immediate Family Members), or of any relative living in the same home, the employee's administrator may grant the use of per diem or personal leave or, in some cases when an employee does not have available per diem or personal leave, a leave of absence for as many as five (5) work days at full pay.
  2. See definition of immediate family in the Hiring and Evaluation of Immediate Family Members.
  3. The administrator may adjust the length of such leave to the distance traveled. A leave of one day or less may be granted by the administrator upon the death of relatives not in the immediate family.

Section 9. Leave to Pursue Education Goals

  1. ANCS wishes to support the advancement of learning for all staff. Therefore, the Governing Board authorizes that regular full-time employees who have completed their probationary period may apply in writing to the Campus Principal / Executive Director for a leave of absence for study that is directly related to their ANCS area of work or for such other types of study as may be approved by the Campus Principal / Executive Director. The request for leave shall not exceed one year. Such leave may be granted without pay upon the recommendation of the Campus Principal / Executive Director and with the approval of the Board of Directors.
  2. An employee who completes a period of leave to pursue educational goals will not be guaranteed their original position upon return, but they will be offered the same or equivalent (comparable or similar) position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms if such a position is available.
  3. If an employee is granted leave for education reasons, a temporary replacement will be hired during the employee's absence.

Resources

Approval and Review

Approved

Effective

 Last Review

Next Review
06/16/2015 07/02/2015 09/2024 03/2027