ARTICLE XXVIII SALARY CONTINUATION POLICY

Cranston School District

A. The purpose of the salary continuation policy shall be to provide income protection for up to seventeen weeks of personal illness which might interrupt regular pay of full-time regularly appointed employees.

B. Short-term illness is defined as illness which is five or fewer consecutive working days in duration.

1. Teachers may receive up to fifteen (15) days salary for absence due to short term illness or absence due to illness in the immediate family, (father, mother, spouse, son, daughter, domestic partner), or additional persons in the immediate household. Out of the 15 days, up to four (4) 1/2 ill or 1/2 family ill days may be taken each school year, but in no event before or after a holiday or recess period.
3. Salary payments under short-term sick leave shall provide 100% of regular pay (including compensation for advanced degrees, service as department head, etc.).
4. All members of the negotiating unit are immediately eligible for short-term sick leave; however, in the case of first-year teachers’ benefits may be withheld unless the teacher has worked at least 30 school days in the Cranston Public Schools.
5. Any request for absence due to family illness under this Article shall be supported by a statement that the teacher can make no other arrangements and must therefore be absent in order to care for the person who is ill.
6. A teacher who achieved perfect attendance during the school year shall receive $750. Perfect attendance is defined as the use of no sick, family ill or unpaid leave of absence days.

C. Long-term illness is defined as extended illness which is six or more consecutive working days in duration.

1. Teachers may receive their salary for up to fifteen weeks per long-term illness.

2. Medical certification from a doctor indicating the nature of the illness is required.

3. Salary payments under long-term sick leave shall provide 100% of regular pay (including compensation for advanced degrees, service as department head/program supervisor, etc.).

4. Benefits under the long-term sick leave shall not commence until five (5) short term sick leave days are used following the onset of the initial illness, subject to the following:

a. Benefits start on the first day if in-patient hospitalization occurs during the one-week period.

b. Unused short-term sick leave may be used for days not otherwise covered.

5. A teacher may return to work from long-term sick leave only upon presenting an acceptable medical report that he/she is able to safely return to full duty work.

6. Successive absences separated by a return to work shall be presumed to be different illnesses unless medical data indicates the contrary. A teacher will be limited to seventy- five days of long-term sick leave per school year. The exception to this language is if a teacher should present medical documentation that evidences that the teacher is suffering from a catastrophic illness, then that teacher shall be entitled to an additional long-term sick leave up to an additional seventy-five days. For the purposes of this section, catastrophic illness is limited to the following: myocardial infarction, stroke, cancer, organ transplants, progressive neurological illness, physical traumatic injury, in-patient hospitalized psychiatric illness, or end stage renal failure.

7. A teacher applying for benefits or returning to work under long-term sick leave may be required to submit to an examination by a physician selected by the Administration.

8. New teachers must have worked 90 school days in the Cranston Public Schools to be eligible for benefits under long-term sick leave.

D. The Alliance agrees that all leaves of absence including short-term sick leave shall be used only for the purposes authorized by this Agreement and that any unauthorized use of leave shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action. The Alliance recognizes the Committee's rights and obligation to make and enforce reasonable rules to ensure that there is no abuse of leave benefits, and the Committee agrees to consult with the Alliance prior to the adoption of such rules.

E. Notwithstanding any language in this Article to the contrary, the Committee has the option of requiring a medical certificate where the absence lasts longer than three (3) days.