The Michigan Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) requires employers to provide paid sick leave for their employees. All employees are eligible to use up to 72 hours of earned sick time within a calendar year.

ESTA will:

• Help strengthen GVSU’s commitment to the well-being of its employees
• Provide access to paid sick time for many who were previously not eligible
• Allow employees to prioritize their health and their family’s health
• Alleviate fear of job loss or financial strain due to injury or illness

A GVSU Faculty and Staff Wellness statement: “At Grand Valley, we believe in taking a holistic approach to supporting the well-being of our students, faculty and staff. Knowing and caring about your individual well-being and your experience as a member of Grand Valley, we invite you to prioritize yourself and your well-being.”

Includes the following employee groups engaged in service to GVSU:

• Temporary employees
• Student employees and Graduate Assistants
• Executive, Administrative and Professional Staff (EAP) Continuous Appointment Staff
• Non-Tenure Track Faculty
• Regular Faculty
• Campus Security Staff
• Adjunct Executive, Administrative and Professional Staff
• Part Time Employees

The following working groups are not eligible to utilize earned sick time, due to exclusions under ESTA. This includes those who schedule their own working hours and are not penalized if they do not schedule a minimum number of working hours.

• One-Time-Pay Student Workers
• Independent contractors
• Unpaid interns
• Unpaid trainees
• Standardized Patients
• Standardized Technical Communicators
• Self-Scheduled Workers

For individuals in the following employee groups, 72 hours of salary continuation requested will be provided as ESTA time, excluding time taken for bereavement:

• Continuous Appointment EAP
• Non-Tenure Track Affiliate Faculty
• Regular Faculty
• Non-Union Contract Campus Security

Earned sick time may be used prior to the use of remaining salary continuation, excluding bereavement.

Paid sick leave is accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. The following employee groups who work 30 hours or more in the calendar year will accrue 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked:

• Student employees (including Graduate Assistants and Research Assistants)
• Temporary employees
• Part time Faculty, Visiting Faculty and Adjunct Faculty
• Adjunct EAP
• Part time employees

Earned sick time may be used as it is earned.

Personal use:

• Mental or physical illness
• Preventative care
• Injury
• Health condition
• Domestic violence or sexual assault
• Victim counseling, medical care, legal services, criminal proceedings
• Employer closes due to public health emergency

Family member use:

Same as personal reasons and includes:

• Meeting at child’s school/daycare
• Closure of child’s school/daycare due to public health

Preventative care refers to routine wellness checks and health screenings, such as yearly physicals, yearly eye appointments and regularly scheduled dental visits.

• Medical screenings/tests to detect early diseases
• Vaccinations/immunizations
• Routine checkups
• Health counseling

For additional definitions and details regarding proper use of sick time, please see GVSU's "Earned Sick Time Policy" (SLT 4.8).

Children:

• Biological child
• Adopted child
• Foster child
• Stepchild
• Legal ward
• Child of domestic partner
• Child in which employee stands in as the loco parentis

Parents:

• Biological parent
• Adopted parent
• Foster parent
• Stepparent
• Legal guardian
• Child of domestic partner
• Individual who stood as the loco parentis when employee was a minor

Other family members:

• An individual to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state or a domestic partner
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Biological sibling
• Foster sibling
• Adopted sibling
• Related by blood or affinity to the equivalent of a family member

• Employees are to give as much notice as possible, whenever possible.
• If the need to use ESTA time is foreseeable, employees must provide 7 days' notice of anticipated use of earned sick time.
• If the need for ESTA time is not foreseeable, supervisor can require the employee to give notice of the intention as soon as is practical.
• ESTA time use will be requested, approved, and tracked in Workday.
• Employees will need to confirm at the time of requesting time off that their use of ESTA time is for an approved purpose under the policy.

All employees must request the use of earned sick time by tracking hours taken within Workday and confirming that use is for an approved purpose under the policy.

Employees with unused sick time terminating their employment will not be eligible for payout of their accrued earned sick time.

If an employee separates from GVSU and is rehired less than two (2) months after the separation, GVSU will reinstate previously accrued, unused earned sick time.

Up to 72 hours of unused earned sick time will be carried over from one calendar year into the next for employees who accrue earned sick time based on hours worked. Individuals with salary continuation are not entitled to carryover.

• Do not discourage the use of ESTA time.
• Do not require notice more than 7 days in advance of when ESTA time will be used (and understand that prior notice may not be possible).
• Do not retaliate against your employee for their use of ESTA time.
• Maintain the confidentiality of your employees.
• Do not disclose to others the reasoning for their use of ESTA time unless given express permission by your employee to do so.
• Do not request documentation and do not delay approval of the ESTA time use based on failure to receive documentation.
• Do not require your employee to secure a replacement worker as a condition for using ESTA time.
• Do not take action against employees for using ESTA consistent with the policy as retaliation is prohibited.
• Work with and clearly communicate to your employees your expectations for 'normal' work hours and how to report absences that occur during these hours.

Students and temporary hourly employees who have earned sick time during the pay period and wish to take the sick time in the same period should inform their manager and request the sick time in writing. Once approved in writing, the employee can use the sick time. Once the ESTA time is reflected in their balance, the employee will enter a request for ESTA time in Workday.

The policy notes that approval for ESTA time is only permitted where the employee has already accrued the time: “Approval for the use of accrued sick time is the responsibility of each supervisor or unit head.” It is not permitted to use sick time before it is earned and then backdate a request once the time is earned.

Yes, it is okay to choose to take unpaid time and save your ESTA hours for a later time.

No, ESTA time cannot be used for university closures due to weather-related reasons or a child’s school or place of care.

ESTA may only be used in specific situations related to public health emergencies, such as:

• When the university is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency;

• When an employee needs to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official for public health reasons; or

• When a healthcare professional recommends that the presence of the employee–due to their own condition or that of a family or household member–would pose a public health risk because of exposure of a communicable disease, even if they have not been diagnosed.

Please note that inclement weather days do not qualify as public health emergencies for this purpose. This includes weather-related closures of the university as well as a child’s school or place of care.