Frequently Asked Questions: Temporary Worker Paid Sick Leave

Beginning May 13, 2015, temporary workers who are appointed to work or who do work for the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, or the surrounding area (e.g., New Bolton Center, Morris Arboretum, Glenolden) for six (6) or more months in a calendar year will accrue paid sick leave at the rate of one (1) hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked. Temporary workers who are appointed to work and who do work fewer than six (6) months are not eligible for sick leave. Temporary workers employed by the University of Pennsylvania in other states or municipalities are subject to the ordinances and laws of those respective areas.

Please note the following temporary staff members are not eligible for paid sick leave:

• Temporary workers who are appointed to work or who do work fewer than six (6) months
• Temporary workers (in grade TEM) that also have regular full-time or part-time staff positions as job 1, 2, 3, or 4 and/or have part-time or full-time faculty appointments (grade FAC) as job 1, 2, 3, or 4
• Staff in grades: INT (Intern), STU (Student Worker), CWS (College Work Study) or CNT (pay continuation under PDST)
• Temporary workers covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements

Eligible temporary workers can accrue a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year.

The temporary worker or designee should notify her/his supervisor either orally or in writing as soon as s/he knows that sick leave is needed. This notification must be made no later than the temporary worker’s scheduled start time. Click here for the Sick Leave Request Form that non-exempt and exempt temporary workers should use to request sick leave from their supervisors. 

Accrued sick time may be used for the following reasons:

• Medical diagnosis, care, treatment, or preventive medical care of the temporary worker’s own physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition
• Medical diagnosis, care, treatment, or preventive medical care of a family member’s* physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition
• Absences necessary due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking provided the leave is to allow the temporary worker or the worker’s family member to obtain:
  • Medical attention needed to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic or sexual violence or stalking
  • Services from a victim services organization
  • Psychological or other counseling
  • Relocation due to domestic or sexual violence or stalking
  • Legal services or remedies, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or resulting from domestic or sexual violence or stalking.

* See the question below for the family member definition.

According to the Temporary Extra Persons Policy, family member is defined as:

• a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis
• a biological, foster, stepparent or adoptive parent or legal guardian of the temporary worker or a temporary worker’s spouse or a person who stood in loco parentis when the temporary worker was a minor child
• a spouse or same-sex domestic partner
• a grandparent or spouse of a grandparent
• a grandchild
• a biological, foster, or adopted sibling or spouse of a biological, foster or adopted sibling
• a Life Partner (as defined in section 9-1102 of the Philadelphia Code).

The amount of sick leave accrued will be reflected on the temporary worker’s pay advice that can be accessed via the U@Penn Portal. This site requires a PennKey and password. If a temporary staff person does not have a PennKey and password, visit the PennKey support webpage.

When a temporary worker has been out on sick leave for more than three (3) consecutive work days, s/he is required to submit documentation from a health care provider certifying the medical necessity for the absence and the expected date of return to work. 

Any unused and accrued sick leave will be carried over to the next calendar year.  However, temporary workers cannot use more than 40 hours of sick leave in each calendar year.

Most of Penn temporary workers are non-exempt and are paid on a weekly basis. The payroll system was modified to accrue and track sick time for eligible non-exempt temporary workers. Temporary workers paid on a weekly basis should indicate sick time taken on their weekly time sheets. This sick time should be entered in the payroll system by the department’s business administrator or designee.

Only about 20 Penn temporary workers who are eligible for sick leave are exempt and are paid on a monthly basis. Eligible exempt temporary workers must have their sick leave accrual and usage tracked manually by their respective departments. To assist in this effort, Human Resources has developed a spreadsheet that can be used by the department to accrue and track sick time for eligible exempt temporary workers. The spreadsheet contains formulas that will accrue the appropriate sick time (1 hour for every 40 hours worked) and maintain balances. Click here for the spreadsheet with instructions.

Temporary monthly paid (exempt) workers can take sick time in hourly increments, in compliance with the Philadelphia Sick Leave Law.  While temporary exempt staff members may have their sick leave bank debited in hourly increments, they cannot have their salary reduced in this manner. Rather, exempt employees, including temporary exempt workers, must receive their full salary for any workweek in which they any work, regardless of the number of days or hours worked, with a few limited exemptions, as explained in Human Resources Policy 307: Pay Practices and Procedures: Prohibiting Improper Pay Deductions and Overpayments/Complaint Procedure for Pay Errors. Do not reduce the salary of any temporary exempt or regular exempt staff member without first consulting with Human Resources Compensation or your school/center Human Resources professional. Human Resources Policy 307 can be found at https://www.hr.upenn.edu/myhr/resources/policy/compensation/pay-practices.

All records related to sick leave requests, accrual and usage for temporary monthly workers must be maintained for two (2) years. This includes written sick leave requests (forms or emails), the sick leave accrual and tracking spreadsheets, and any other documents related to sick leave for these workers. This information must be retained to document University actions in cases where the staff member may file an internal or external complaint alleging denial of sick leave, inaccurate sick leave accrual, or alleging retaliation for requesting, or taking sick time. 

Upon termination, a temporary worker will not receive payment for any unused and accrued sick leave.

Temporary staff who perform work for the University but are employed by an outside agency (e.g., AppleOne) are covered by that organization’s programs and are not covered by Penn’s Temporary Extra Persons Policy.

If a Penn temporary worker is hired directly into a Penn regular full-time or part-time position with no break in service, any unused sick leave balance accrued as a temporary worker is transferred with the employee. Click here for detailed instructions on how to administer the transfer of sick leave in this situation.

If a Penn regular full-time or part-time staff member is hired directly into a Penn temporary position with no break in service, the staff member can carry over up to 40 hours of sick leave. Click here for detailed instructions on how to administer the transfer of sick leave in this situation.

More information can be obtained from:

• the supervisor
• the school/center Human Resources representative
• the Temporary Extra Persons Policy
• Human Resources, Staff and Labor Relations (215) 898-6093

To enter sick time in the Payroll System for a non-exempt temporary worker follow the steps below:

1. Log into the Payroll System
2. Go to Screen 005:  Time Reporting and Data Entry
3. Select 01:  Weekly Time Reporting
4. Select 001: POSITIVE TIME REPORTING
5. Put in your Org #
6. You should get a list of the relevant staff members and their information
7. Place your cursor by the staff member’s name and type in the letter “I” and hit enter
8. Then type TX in the first field and SCK for Sick and enter number of hours of sick leave temporary worker took
   
9. Hit Enter