What is the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act?

The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (“MHWFA” or the Act) is a law that requires all employers with employees whose primary work location is in Maryland and who employ 15 or more employees to provide “earned sick and safe leave” for employees to use for certain specified reasons. The provisions of the Act can be found here at MHWFA.

What is earned sick and safe leave?

Sick and safe leave is earned leave that an eligible employee may use for the following reasons:

• To care for or treat the employee’s mental or physical illness, injury or condition;
• To obtain preventative medical care for the employee or the employee’s family member;
• To care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury or condition;
• For maternity or paternity leave; or
• The absence from work is necessary due to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking committed against the employee or the employee’s family member and the leave is being used: (1) to obtain medical or mental health attention; (2) to obtain services from a victim services organization; (3) for legal services or proceedings; or (4) because the employee has temporarily relocated as a result of the domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Who is entitled to earned sick and safe leave?

Eligible

• Temporary employees are eligible.
• Substitute teachers are eligible.
  • (Temporary employees and substitute teachers remain ineligible for sick leave.)

Not Eligible

• Contractors are not eligible (because they are not City Schools employees)
• Coaches who otherwise are not employees of City Schools are not eligible. (City school employees who also serve as coaches and receive a stipend for that assignment earn sick and safe leave through the hours they work in their primary assignment.)
• Student employees who are younger than 18 on July 1 (the beginning of the fiscal year) are not eligible.

Who qualifies as a family member for sick and safe leave?

Under the Act, family member includes a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or legal guardian. For each of these relationships, family member includes legal relationships beyond biological, adoptive, or step, including but not limited to foster, legal custody, or legal guardianship. Family member also includes a child for whom the employee stands in loco parentis and a person who acted as a parent or stood in loco parentis when the employee or the employee’s spouse was a child.

Family member does not include aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, or godparents (unless the in loco parentis exception applies).

In loco parentis is akin to legal custody. It comprises a deliberate decision and actions to take responsibility for a child. It is a more formal relationship than an adult who “was important” to the employee growing up or, for example, a niece the employee is especially close to.

When do employees start to accrue sick and safe leave?

Eligible employees begin to accrue sick and safe leave on their first day of work.

How does an employee earn sick and safe leave?

An employee earns sick and safe leave at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. An employee who is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act is assumed to work 40 hours per week. However, an affiliated employee whose work hours are defined by collective bargaining agreement will earn sick and safe leave according to the work hours defined therein.

Do eligible employees earn sick and safe leave for stipended activities?

Hours engaged in activities for which an eligible employee earns a stipend are not counted among hours worked for purposes of earning sick and safe leave.

My sick leave hours are frontloaded each year. Are earned sick and safe leave hours frontloaded?

Sick and safe leave hours are not frontloaded. They are earned at the rate at which an employee works. Frontloading is different from carry over, however. If an eligible employee has a balance of unused earned sick and safe leave at the end of the fiscal year, the employee may carry over up to 40 hours into the new fiscal year. For employees who earn sick leave, unused sick and safe leave hours in excess of 40 are returned to the employee’s sick leave balance.

Do employees accrue sick and safe leave during paid holidays, winter or spring break, or while on approved leave? What about school closures?

Employees accrue sick and safe leave only for hours worked, not for holidays, breaks, or while on leave. Employees affected by school closures do not earn sick and safe leave.

An employee also does not accrue sick and safe leave during any two-week pay period in which the employee works fewer than 24 hours total.

• For individual employees, an employee’s approved leave during a two-week pay period may fall in such a way that the employee works fewer than 24 hours during the pay period and so does not accrue sick and safe leave.
• For new employees, the calculation of hours worked during their first two-week pay period depends upon where their start date falls within the period.
• For 10-month employees, this also may occur at the beginning or end of the school year, depending on the year’s pay schedule.
• District-wide, this also may happen before or after winter or spring break, depending on the year’s pay schedule.

When can eligible employees begin to use sick and safe leave?

All eligible employees begin to accrue earned sick and safe leave on the first day they work.

New eligible employees cannot use their earned sick and safe leave during the first 106 calendar days of employment at City Schools. On Day 107, the sick and safe leave hours earned since their first day of work are reclassified from their available sick leave balance and into their sick and safe leave balance.

How much sick and safe leave can employees earn, accrue, and use each year?

Eligible employees may:

• Earn a maximum of 40 hours of sick and safe leave per year;
• Accrue up to 64 hours per year;
• Use up to 64 hours per year; and

Carry over earned but unused sick and safe leave, up to 40 hours, to the next fiscal year.

In what increments can an eligible employee use earned sick and safe leave?

Eligible employees may use earned sick and safe leave depending on their regular workday:

• Eligible employees whose regular workday is more than 4 hours are permitted to use the leave in half-workday increments.
• Eligible employees whose regular workday is equal to or fewer than 4 hours must use the leave in full-workday increments.
• Earned sick and safe leave cannot be used in increments smaller than as described above.

What happens if an eligible employee only needs to use an hour of earned sick and safe leave?

Earned sick and safe leave cannot be used in increments smaller than described above. That means:

• Employees who are late to work cannot apply increments of earned sick and safe leave smaller than described above to cover the lateness.
• Employees who take extended breaks or leave work early cannot use increments of earned sick and safe leave smaller than described above.

What happens if an employee uses some earned sick and safe leave before their balance reaches its maximum?

Employees may earn 40 hours each year and use and accrue up to 64 hours each year. If an employee uses earned sick and safe leave before the balance reaches its maximum level, the employee’s maximum possible balance will be reduced by the number of hours used.

If an employee’s sick and safe leave balance is at maximum and then the employee uses some hours, will the employee be able to replenish the balance as they continue to work?

Employees may earn up to 40 hours each year and use and accrue up to 64 hours each year. A sick and safe leave balance that reaches its maximum level will be reduced by the hours actually used and will not be replenished, even as the employee continues to work.

May an employee use sick and safe leave before the employee has accrued the amount needed?

No. Eligible employees are not allowed to use sick and safe leave before it has accrued.

Where can eligible employees see their sick and safe leave balance?

Eligible employees can view their sick and safe leave balance in Employee Self Service (ESS).

May an employee request that earned sick and safe leave hours not be applied to an absence for a qualifying reason?

If an eligible employee has a balance of earned sick and safe leave hours and has or requests an absence for a qualifying reason, City Schools shall charge the absence against that balance.

What happens if an eligible employee requests to use more earned sick and safe leave hours than the employee has?

If an employee has not yet accrued enough hours to cover a request for sick and safe leave, the employee will not be able to use sick and safe leave for the absence. On the other hand, if an employee has earned the maximum number of sick and safe leave hours in a year, uses some, and then does not have enough left to cover a request, the remaining sick and safe leave hours will be applied to the request and other, available hours will be applied to cover the remainder. If no other hours are available, the remaining time will be unpaid.

What happens if a new eligible employee needs to use leave within the first 106 days of employment?

Sick and safe leave is not available to new, eligible employees until Day 107. A new eligible employee needing to use leave in the first 106 days of employment can use other, available leave in accordance with applicable notification and approval requirements.

What happens if an eligible employee does not use all their earned sick and safe leave in a year?

If an eligible employee has a balance of unused earned sick and safe leave at the end of the fiscal year, the employee may carry over up to 40 hours. For employees who earn sick leave, unused sick and safe leave hours in excess of 40 are returned to the employee’s sick leave balance.

How do eligible employees use their earned sick and safe leave?

Eligible employees may use their earned sick and safe leave for reasons that are foreseeable (e.g., scheduled medical appointments) or unforeseeable (e.g., sickness) by (1) complying with and completing the Smartsheet process developed specifically for requesting or reporting the use of earned sick and safe leave; and (2) for unforeseeable reasons, following their supervisor’s call out procedures.

Is an employee required to give notice before using earned sick and safe leave?

If the need to use sick and safe leave is foreseeable (for example, a scheduled doctor’s appointment), the employee must provide notice 7 days prior to leave use by complying with and completing the procedural requirements for requesting or reporting use of earned sick and safe leave (Smartsheet process).

A request for use of earned sick and safe leave may be denied if the employee fails to provide the required notice and the employees absence will cause disruption to the employer.

If the need to use leave is not foreseeable (for example, the employee wakes up feeling sick), the employee must follow their supervisor’s usual call out procedures. Then, as soon as practicable, the employee also must comply with and complete the procedural requirements for requesting or reporting earned sick and safe leave usage (Smartsheet process).

Is an employee required to provide documentation to verify the use of earned sick and safe leave?

If an employee uses sick and safe leave for three or more consecutive shifts (i.e., three or more workdays in a row), the employee must provide verification that the leave use was appropriate by uploading acceptable documentation (medical or otherwise) into the Smartsheet. If an employee fails to provide this verifying documentation, their supervisor may deny a subsequent request to take earned sick and safe leave.

In accordance with existing City Schools practice, documentation also may be requested in cases of suspected abuse.

Employees improperly using earned sick and safe leave or who have demonstrated a pattern of abusing earned sick and safe leave may be denied the right to use earned sick and safe leave in future. They also may be required to submit documentation for all leave requests.

Additionally, use of earned sick and safe leave for unauthorized purposes, submission of fraudulent documentation, or demonstrating a pattern of abusing earned sick and safe leave may subject an employee to progressive discipline up to and including termination of employment.

If an employee is required to provide verification, but fails to do so, what happens?

When earned sick and safe leave is used for three or more consecutive shifts, if an employee fails or refuses to provide verification when properly requested to do so, the employee may be denied a subsequent request to take earned sick and safe leave in the future.

When documentation is requested in cases of suspected abuse, failure to provide acceptable documentation also may subject an employee to progressive discipline up to and including termination of employment.

Are earned sick and safe leave absences considered Absence Occasions?

No. When an employee properly uses earned sick and safe leave, the employee will not be charged with an Absence Occasion under the Attendance Program.

City Schools has policies and practices for lateness and other disruptions to work. What impact does MHWFA have?

Employees may only use earned sick and safe leave in accordance with the Act and by complying with the applicable provisions and processes at City Schools.

As described previously, earned sick and safe leave may be used only in the increments established for an employee’s regular work schedule and only for the reasons set forth in the MHWFA. It cannot be used in smaller increments or for other reasons. Likewise, it cannot be used to cover a lateness, take an extended lunch break, or leave work early, for example.

What if an employee has FMLA or Intermittent FMLA?

If the use of sick and safe leave meets the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act, they will run concurrently.

What happens if an employee is suspected of improperly using earned sick and safe leave?

Employees improperly using earned sick and safe leave or who have demonstrated a pattern of abusing earned sick and safe leave may be denied the right to use sick and safe leave in the future. They also may be required to submit documentation for all leave requests.

Additionally, using earned sick and safe leave for unauthorized purposes, submitting fraudulent documentation, or demonstrating a pattern of abusing earned sick and safe leave also may subject an employee to progressive discipline up to and including termination of employment.

What happens to an earned sick and safe leave balance when an employee leaves employment?

Excepting substitute teachers and temporary employees, employees will be paid for any unused earned sick and safe leave upon leaving employment in accordance with current and ordinary payout practices related to accrued, unused sick leave (including provisions related to years of service). Substitute teachers and temporary employees will not be paid for any unused sick and safe leave upon leaving employment and their hours will not transfer if they transition into a regular full- or part-time position.

What happens to the earned sick and safe leave of an employee who leaves City Schools and is later rehired?

An employee who leaves City Schools and returns to employment within 37 weeks or 259 days of termination will have unused earned sick and safe leave reinstated, up to a maximum of 64 hours.

What happens if a substitute teacher or temporary employee is hired as a permanent employee and vice versa?

A substitute teacher or temporary employee who is hired as a full- or part-time employee is considered a new employee and the accrual and use provisions of the sick and safe leave program for new employees apply. Conversely, a full- or part-time employee who transitions into a substitute teaching or temporary position is subject to the standard payout provisions related to sick leave. The accrual and use provisions of the sick and safe leave apply to that employee in their new role.

Is earned sick and safe leave based on a fiscal or calendar year?

Sick and safe leave is based on the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).

What if I have questions about sick and safe leave?

First, speak with your supervisor. You also may contact the Office of Human Capital by phone (410-396-8885) or email (HumanCapital@bcps.k12.md.us) to connect with a member of the Office of Employee Engagement.