Maricopa Unified School District Administrative Office

District administrators at Maricopa Unified Schools are preparing to implement a new, equal, sick leave policy for their employees.

Beginning July 1, all MUSD staff will accumulate one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, said Human Resources Director Tom Beckett during a governing board meeting last week.

The policy affects part-time and full-time workers across the board, regardless of position.

“(It’s the) same standard whether they are substitutes here at the district or the director of HR, it makes no difference,” Beckett said. “Everybody will get the exact same benefit.”

According to the Industrial Commission of Arizona’s website, earned paid sick time is “sick time accrued by an employee that is compensated at the same hourly rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, as the employee normally earns during hours worked.”

The move stems from a compliancy effort by the district after Prop 206 was passed statewide by voters last November.

The Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act requires employers with over 15 workers to allow their employees to accrue one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours they have worked.

The “first reading” of MUSD’s sick leave policy also reflects a limit required by the act.

“Staff members shall not be able to accrue or use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time per year,” according to a district document.

The district’s legal team worked on the draft for nearly three months before Beckett submitted the first reading of it to the MUSD Governing Board last week, the HR director said.

The district is also working to track its “restricted use sick leave” policy.

It entitles “personnel who are employed at least 29 hours per week a designated amount of compensated leave that is to be granted to a staff member who, through personal or family illness, injury or quarantine, is unable to perform the duties assigned.”

MUSD documents state each staff member will be credited with a restricted use sick leave allowance of one-half day per pay period of up to six or eight days.

Employees who work 12 months out of the year will receive eight days; 10-month employees will receive six.

“The best thing I can say overall it does not penalize our current employees’ sick leave and adds a benefit to our part-time staff,” Beckett said.  “So it’s a good thing overall for our staff.”

Board members Gary Miller and Torri Anderson asked Beckett if he had enough resources to track new data the act will require the district to follow in order to stay in compliance.

MUSD will use software and staff to ensure it is fulfilling requirements. The state and county will also monitor the data, Beckett said.

“This is a continuing process and we’ll probably have a few bumps in the road, but I’m confident that we’ll be able to figure this out,” Beckett said.

The board unanimously passed the first reading of the policy. 

Earlier in the year, the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act also required employers to enact a $10 state minimum wage by Jan. 1.