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Sick Leave: What you need to know

There is no federal law requiring employers to provide employees paid sick leave--a short-term salary-continuation program for employees absent because of a non-job-related illness or injury--but most employers do provide it as an important employee benefit. Employers establishing or amending a sick leave policy should consider other disability income policies, how unused sick leave should be addressed, liability for sick leave, and general discrimination issues. When adopting a policy, employers must be sure that it fully complies with federal or state family/medical leave laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and any other applicable laws. There are many alternatives to standard sick leave policies, including flexible leave policies, no-fault attendance policies, leave donation programs, and paid-time-off banks.
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Employers that offer paid sick leave usually require as a prerequisite that employees be employed for a certain minimum period, typically 3 to 6 months, before becoming eligible to take sick leave. Most employers use the “accrual” method of calculating sick time, in which employees earn a certain number of hours or days for each month worked, up to a fixed number of days annually.
Disability policies. After the sick leave period, an employee might need to go on short-term disability, an insured (or self-insured) program that pays a partial salary for a longer period than company-funded sick leave. If the illness or injury is further extended, some employers provide an insured long-term disability program, which also pays partial salary, and may be integrated with other benefits such as Social Security. Most experts agree that long-term disability is an ...

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Sick Leave Resources

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Benchmark Survey: Family Leave Practices 2011
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