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5.2 Income Protection (Sick)

Revised July 2003

Staff covered by this policy
This policy applies to Service Maintenance employees at South Bend.

A. Introduction

Appointed employees, 75% FTE or greater, are provided with a method to prevent loss of pay while ill or injured. This is provided for by income protection earnings which can be used for personal illness, injury, family illness and emergency care, or other uses as described below.

B. Schedule of earnings

1. Full-time, appointed employees earn 3.7 hours per eligible 80-hour period. (See the policy, Absences With and Without Pay.) This results in a maximum earning of 96.2 hours in a calendar year.
2. Part-time appointed employees of 75% FTE or greater earn a prorated amount of hours, based on their specific FTE.
3. Hours are not earned during a leave of absence, when absent without pay, and without benefit accrual (see Absences With and Without Pay), during a temporary Reduction in Force, or if appointment FTE is less than 75% FTE.
4. Earnings are accumulative from year to year.
5. Transfers from academic appointments receive at time of transfer four hours for each month of academic appointment.
6. Administrators may require confirmation of illness or injury through a licensed physician's statement.

C. Use of earnings for personal illness, medical/dental appointments

1. Employees may use accumulated income protection time after receipt of their first paycheck.
2. When income protection earnings are used, the exact number of hours, including tenths of hours, are reported and subtracted from accumulated earnings. There is no limit to the number of hours an employee may use to cover any period of personal illness or injury, but hours cannot be used in anticipation of their accumulation. Medical disabilities resulting from pregnancy will be treated as any other temporary medical disability.
3. In the application of this policy, the University will normally require a doctor's certificate when an employee has been absent for three (3) days or more. The University reserves the right to require a doctor's certificate when circumstances warrant, i.e., prior discipline or in cases of excessive absenteeism.

D. Use of earnings for family care

1. Earnings may be used so that employees can provide health care for family illness, injury or medical/dental appointments for members of the immediate family or household.
2. Members of the immediate family or household are: spouse as defined by Indiana law, same sex domestic partner as qualified by the university's Affidavit of Domestic Partnership, unmarried child at home including the child of the same sex domestic partner, or other relatives living with the employee. Parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters and relatives of the spouse or the same sex domestic partner of the same degree who live in the community and are solely dependent on the employee for emergency care also qualify for use of these earnings.
3. When income protection earnings are used, the exact number of hours, including tenths of hours, are reported and subtracted from accumulated earnings.

E. Other uses of earnings

1. In addition to illness and injury, earnings may be used to cover the following:
   1. Personal emergencies that are not health related. The employee must notify the supervisor as soon as possible as to the reason and expected time of return.
   2. Special situations that cannot be handled during the normal hours away from the job. Examples are: religious holidays not provided for in the university's holiday plan, funeral arrangements, marriage arrangements, legal matters, real estate transactions, university class attendance, etc.
      1. Request must be approved in advance of usage.
      2. Department heads are authorized to deny these requests with pay when there is evidence the absence will work an undue hardship upon the university in relation to employee's convenience or needs or when the request is inconsistent with this policy. Department heads shall not deny such requests on the basis of undue hardship if requested at least 48 hours in advance, except on the basis of excessive numbers of requests for the same day.
      3. Further, any denials must be made within two hours following the request, or 48 hours before the requested absence, whichever is greater. In the event of an unusual and unanticipated personal emergency that requires immediate attentions, the department head will try to accommodate the request as soon as possible under the circumstances. Any use of Income Protection Time under this provision is not authorized unless supervisory approval has been communicated either verbally or in writing.
      4. The employee may be asked for an explanation for the request so that the supervisor can make a decision consistent with this policy.
   3. Contact Worker's Compensation (812-855-9758) for information; also see the Injury on-the-Job policy.
   4. Selective Service physical—may use a maximum of eight hours when orders require a physical exam.

F. Terminal pay for unused earnings at time of death or retirement

1. If employees enrolled in PERF terminate employment because of:
   1. Death at any age and with any years of service, or
   2. Retirement on or following the 55th birthday with the years of service required for terminal life insurance,
   3. they are entitled to receive terminal pay for unused income protection accumulations in excess of 152.0 hours. The benefit is 25% of pay for hours in excess of 152.0 through 312.0 and 50% of pay for hours in excess of 312.0.
2. It is possible for employees to be vested in PERF and to be in a position covered under the IU Retirement Plan. In such cases the employee should refer to the personnel policies manual for Professional Staff and Non-Union Appointed Support and Service Staff to determine eligibility for terminal pay for accumulated income protection time.