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Sick Leave for Family Care or Bereavement

Appropriate Use

Most Federal employees may use a total of up to 104 hours (13 workdays) of sick leave each leave year to-

• provide care for a family member who is incapacitated as a result of physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth;

• provide care for a family member as a result of medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment; or

• make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attend the funeral of a family member.

If an employee has already used 12 weeks of sick leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition, he or she cannot use an additional 13 days in the same leave year for general family care purposes.

See below for links to information on related leave entitlements.

Definition of Family Member

"Family member" is defined as-

• spouse, and parents thereof;

• children, including adopted children, and spouses thereof;

• parents;

• brothers and sisters, and spouses thereof; and

• any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

Requesting Sick Leave

Unless otherwise instructed by your supervisor, leave requests for planned medical appointments must be submitted in advance to your supervisor on a Form SF-71.

For unexpected illness or emergencies, employees should call to request leave as soon as practical. If possible, this should occur before the start of your shift to allow management to make arrangements in the office necessitated by your absence as soon as possible.

Medical Documentation

If you are requested to, or choose to, bring in medical documentation to support your use of sick leave, you may complete the following form: Form WH-380.

For More Information

For more information, please visit http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/sickfam.asp or contact the Labor and Management Employee Relations (LMER) Division at 571-372-3964.

Sick Leave for Personal Use

For more information, click on the following link: Sick Leave for Personal Use.

Sick Leave to Care for Family Member with Serious Health Condition

For more information, click on the following link: Sick Leave to Care for Family Member with a Serious Health Condition.

Leave Entitlements under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

For more information, click on the following link: Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Leave.