NCJ Number
170676
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 67 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1998) Pages: 26-31
Date Published
1998
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Because managerial strategies for dealing with sick and injured employees in law enforcement agencies often raise legal questions concerning the rights of employees and the prerogatives of management, this article discusses illnesses and injuries that may temporarily interfere with an employee's ability to work but are not of sufficient magnitude to require reasonable accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Abstract
Many law enforcement agencies have created incentives to reward the conservative use of sick leave. Such incentives include allowing employees to apply accrued sick leave in determining creditable years of service for pension calculation, buying back a percentage of unused sick leave at retirement or at the end of the leave year, and granting the right to convert a percentage of unused sick leave to vacation time. Examples of punitive measures applied to employees who use excessive sick leave include a system for tracking and maintaining precise records on days and hours of sick leave and proximity of sick leave to holidays. Law enforcement agencies should develop policies regarding sick leave and light duty that reasonably balance legitimate managerial prerogatives with the rights and needs of sick and injured employees. Federal and State laws have created a complex set of regulations governing an employee's legal entitlement to sick leave and light duty benefits. Competent law enforcement legal advisors should review all agency policies concerning sick leave and light duty to ensure those policies comply with both Federal and State laws. 40 endnotes and 3 photographs