Sec. 16-221. Sick leave

Sickness, disability, or serious health condition which incapacitates an employee. As used in this Subtitle, the term serious health condition means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider;

Necessary medical or dental appointments;

Confinement at home because of quarantine;

Illness or serious health condition of, or to obtain medical care for, the employee's family member. The term "family" shall include the employee's spouse, mother- or father-in-law, child (biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, legal ward or child from whom the employee stands in loco parentis regardless of the child's age), parent (employee's legal guardian or an individual who acted as a parent or stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a minor), grandparent, grandchild, and siblings that require care by the employee during normal work hours;

Birth of a child, pursuant to the provisions of Section 16-225.02;

Adoption of a dependent child, pursuant to the provisions of Section 16-225.02; and

Death of anyone in an employee's family, not to exceed five (5) working days; provided further, that for purposes of this subparagraph, the term "family" shall include the employee's spouse, child (including biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, or legal ward), parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, brother- or sister-in-law, mother- or father-in-law, or son- or daughter-in-law.

Due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed against the employee or the employee's family member and the leave is being used for the following:

The employee's accumulated annual leave account shall be charged by reducing the number of such accumulated annual leave days in an amount equal to the number of unliquidated sick leave days; and/or,

The monetary value of the unliquidated sick leave shall be deducted from any final salary payment due the employee at the time of separation or dismissal and, where such deduction shall not satisfy the monetary value of the unliquidated sick leave, the employee shall be liable to the County for the payment of the balance thereof.

Family member shall include the employee's spouse, mother- or father-in-law, child (biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, legal ward or child from whom the employee stands in loco parentis regardless of the child's age), parent (employee's legal guardian or an individual who acted as a parent or stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a minor), grandparent, grandchild, sibling, brother- and sister-in-law, and cousin that require care by the employee during normal work hours.

Family member includes any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home or where the relationship creates an expectation that the employee care for the person, and that individual depends on the employee for care. Family member includes any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home, except that it does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home with no expectation that the employee care for the individual.

Documentation that the employee or the employee's family member is involved in a legal, judicial, administrative, or immigration proceeding from any of the following persons from whom the employee or employee's family member sought assistance in addressing the proceeding, an advocate for immigrants or refugees, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or other professional. The provision of documentation under this subsection does not waive or diminish the confidential or privileged nature of communications between an employee or an employee's family member and one or more of the individuals described in this Subsection, or other applicable law; or

An employee's written statement that the employee or the employee's family member is involved in a legal, judicial, administrative, or immigration proceeding and that the leave taken was for one of the purposes described in this Subsection.