Policy 5275 - Attendance Expectations and Job Abandonment

An employee who cannot report to work must follow the absence procedure of his/her supervisor and as detailed in Policy and Regulation 5270. According to Policy and Regulation 5270, an employee must not be tardy or absent from an assigned school or place of work during specified work hours unless excused by their supervisor. In addition, an employee who is absent five or more consecutive work days due to illness or injury shall submit a medical report to the Human Resources office verifying their fitness for duty prior to returning to work. 

Employees who have expended all leave and request additional time-off, may be requested by their Supervisor to provide a summary of reasons for all leave taken within the current year. This summary will assist the supervisor in helping the employee to improve their attendance or identifying any appropriate accommodations. 

• If the reasons are not provided or do not justify the use of excessive leave (including both absences and tardiness), the Supervisor will have a leave counseling session with the employee. This leave counseling will include clear expectations for attendance, justifiable reasons for absences/tardiness and the process to follow for future absences/tardiness. The Supervisor will provide the employee with written attendance expectations. 
• If the employee’s attendance continues to be an issue, progressive discipline will be utilized. 

An employee who receives a leave of absence and fails to return at the end of the authorized leave, or an employee who fails to report to work and does not notify the district, pursuant to the appropriate procedure, is absent without authorization. If the absence without authorization exceeds three (3) work days thereafter, said employee has abandoned his or her job together with all employment rights. 

Employees claiming the benefits of any district leave provision are required to complete all appropriate forms. A leave of absence request submitted pursuant to this procedure will be considered by the Board of Directors at its next regular meeting. The leave request is subject to board approval at its discretion. If the leave is denied, the employee shall return to work immediately or shall be deemed to have abandoned his or her job, together with all employment rights. 

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