Sick Time

Updated November 2018

All employees shall be eligible to accrue and use paid sick time.  The College shall provide all full time non-union and union, benefit eligible employees with 15 days of sick time each fiscal year.  Part-time employees working 20 hours or more per week will earn sick days on a pro-rata basis.  Employees begin to accrue sick time on the first day of work, but are not entitled to start using earned sick time until ninety (90) calendar days after their first initial day of work. 

Unused sick days may be carried over into the next year, but no employee may accrue more than 65 sick days per fiscal year. 

Use of Sick Time

If an employee is going to be late for work, plans to be absent, or needs to leave early for a stated reason covered under this policy, as outlined below, then the employee must notify his/her supervisor as soon as practicable, except in cases of an emergency.  Generally, an employee should seek to provide his/her supervisor with at least seven (7) days advanced notice of a scheduled medical appointment. 

In accordance with Massachusetts law, an employee is entitled to use up to forty (40) hours of accrued or earned sick time per fiscal year.  However, at Cambridge College, employees are permitted to use additional accrued or earned sick time per fiscal year, as approved by a supervisor or manager, and if the time is needed to:

1. Care for the employee or the employee's dependent child, spouse, parent or parent of a spouse, who is suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventative medical care;
2. Attend a routine medical appointment of the employee or the employee's dependent child, spouse, parent or parent of a spouse;
3. Travel to and from an appointment, a pharmacy, or other location related to the purpose for which the sick time was taken; or
4. Address the psychological, physical, or legal effects of domestic violence on the employee or the employee's dependent child.

Accrued sick time may be used for full or partial day absences.  Employees are not permitted to use sick time in increments smaller than one (1) hour. 

Employees may choose, or Cambridge College may require employees, to use earned sick time to receive pay for absences covered under other leave policies if those absences would otherwise be unpaid.

Non-exempt employees are required to report their sick or personal time taken on a weekly basis.  Exempt employees are required to report sick or personal time taken on a semi-monthly basis (even if none was taken).

Use of earned sick time runs concurrently with other applicable leave policies.

Cambridge College reminds all employees that regular, reliable attendance and arriving for work on time is expected.  However, employees in need of leave under this policy are entitled to take the time assuming they meet the requirements.  Any employee found to have engaged in fraudulent or dishonest behavior will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. 

Employees are not entitled to receive pay for unused sick time upon termination of employment.

Medical Certification

Cambridge College reserves the right to require an employee submit a doctor’s note or other documentation to support the use of sick time if the absence:

1. Exceeds 24 consecutively scheduled work hours or three consecutive days on which the employee was scheduled to work;

Employees are required to submit the requested documentation within seven (7) days after taking the earned sick time, unless a valid reason is given to justify the delay.  If the employee fails to comply after a reasonable amount of time has been provided, then Cambridge College has the right to recoup the amount paid for earned sick time from the employee’s future wages.  If an employee fails to provide documentation for use of unpaid earned sick time, then Cambridge College can deny the employee the future use of an equivalent number of hours of earned sick time until documentation is provided.