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Guide to Retirement

Plan now for Retirement

If you’re like most of us, you probably believe that retirement planning is something that you start thinking about when the end of your career is in sight. Nothing could be further from the truth. The secret to a successful retirement is getting started early: it’s never too early to start planning and saving for your retirement. 

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4. Injury, Illness, and Leave

F. Non-Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Health Problems

Non-Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Health Problems

If you have a Non-Occupational injury, illness, or other health problem, you can use your sick leave benefits. The sick leave program pays your wages if you must be absent from work because of a personal medical appointment, illness, injury, or disability, which makes you temporarily unable to perform your job. You are eligible to use available sick leave hours after your first 30 days of employment.

The program also pays your wages when you are absent because of a medical appointment, illness, injury, or disability of your spouse or domestic partner, parent, grandparent, sibling, grandchild, or dependent child.

You can also use sick leave for the non-medical care of a newborn or child recently placed for adoption, foster care or legal guardianship, closure of your worksite or your child’s school or place of care by a public health official, and for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

This topic is focused on using your City of Seattle Sick Leave benefits. The following topic, “Your Family and Medical Leave Benefits” covers your other family and medical leave benefits from the State of Washington and the City of Seattle.

If you are sick or injured and are concerned that you could be off work for more than three weeks, you should also file for Long-Term Disability (LTD) benefits. See the “Long-Term Disability” section for more information on using your Long-Term Disability benefits.

Using Sick Leave

Sick leave is a paid leave benefit. You accrue sick leave based on the number of regular hours worked. Full-time employees earn 96 hours of sick leave per year. You may carry over your unused sick leave from year to year. There is no maximum accumulation.

Local 27 has also ensured that you earn sick leave on your overtime hours consistent with the City Ordinance, but it is at a lower accrual rate, and the rules differ from our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) sick leave accrual. The rules are based on total hours worked, so those hours are deducted if you take any time off for any reason. In addition, the accrual is calculated on a calendar year basis, not a pay period basis.

Return to Work Form

The Return to Work (RTW) form is only required if more than 48 hours or two shifts will be

missed due to a non-occupational injury/illness or dependent care-related absence. (For admin members, the RTW form is required if more than 32 hours will be missed). The form must be completed by your healthcare provider and submitted upon your return to duty unless you miss work for more than six calendar days, in which case you must submit the form to the Disability Office on or by the sixth calendar day.

If the RTW form designates that you are able to return to full duty, you must submit it to your officer or chain of command for review upon reporting for duty. The initial RTW must be completed no later than the date when the 48th hour is missed for Ops members or the 32nd hour for admin members.