Policy AM-203-4 Permission Time for Cancer Screening

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Maryland, after heart disease. In Baltimore City, the most common cancers are breast, cervical, oral and colon. Early detection is the best form of prevention for all cancers. City employees are encouraged to seek cancer screening. To promote a healthier workforce and reduce cancer deaths, permanent full-time and permanent part-time employees will be granted permission time up to four hours once a year for cancer screening.

All City employees will be allowed up to four (4) hours once per calendar year as Permission (P) time to use for cancer screening without using their accumulated leave time. To ensure appropriate coverage at the worksite, prior approval from the employee’s supervisor is required. The employees must submit to the supervisor a Request for Time Off form (28-1408- 5040) as soon as the appointment is made for the screening. Employees are asked to make a reasonable effort to schedule the screening when their absence is less disruptive to the operations of the workplace. The supervisor will keep the employee’s Request for Time Off form until the employee returns verification of the screening. The employee will be required to submit as verification to the supervisor a completed City of Baltimore Cancer Screening Program Certification Form after the screening. The supervisor can then authorize Permission (P) time for correct payroll marking. Additional time needed for cancer screening beyond the four hour permission time must be charged to the employee’s accrued leave. This does not count as an occurrence.

To ensure appropriate coverage at the worksite, prior approval from the supervisor for the four hour leave for cancer screening is required. In order for the employee’s time to be marked as Permission (P) time, employees who use the four hour leave for cancer screening must provide their supervisor with a completed Cancer Screening Program Certification Form (<cite data-path="§AM-203-4-1">AM-203-4-1</cite>) following the screening. This form is to be completed by the physician or health care professional/medical facility conducting the cancer screening. The employee must submit the completed Cancer Screening Program Certification Form to his/her supervisor in order for the four hour screening benefit to be applied. For appropriate payroll marking of Permission time and documentation, the supervisor will verify use of Permission time and note that verification was received in the area above the supervisor’s signature on the Request for Time Off form. The completed Request for Time Off form must be attached to the employee’s timesheet for appropriate payroll marking and documentation. The supervisor must send the completed verification form to the agency’s human resources/personnel office for filing with other medical related documents. The verification form <u>must not</u> be attached to payroll attendance sheets or submitted to the payroll clerk.

Employees enrolled in the PPN are encouraged to consult with their primary care provider on cancer screening. Employees enrolled in HMOs must contact their service center sites for either onsite cancer screenings or referrals. Mercy Medical Center and the University of Maryland Medical Systems are partnering with the City to provide screening for all other City employees who choose to go to their sites.