Section 212.282  Leave for Personal Business

a)         Accrual:  Full-time employees shall be permitted 22.5 hours of leave for personal business each calendar year with pay.  Full-time employees who enter service with the Office during any calendar year shall be given credit for personal business leave at the rate of 3.75 hours for each two months of service for the calendar year in which hired.  Temporary employees do not accrue personal leave.  In the event an employee does not use any sick leave in any calendar year, the employee shall be awarded one additional personal day on January 1 of the next calendar year after one year of State service.  A calendar year for the purposes of this provision is the period beginning January 1 and ending December 31 of each year.

b)         Personal business leave may be used for occurrences or observance of religious holidays, absence due to severe weather conditions, or for other similar personal reasons, but shall not be used to extend a holiday, vacation or other leave without prior approval.  Personal business leave may be used by employees in quarter hour up to full day increments.  Except for those emergency situations that preclude the making of prior arrangements, personal business leave shall be scheduled sufficiently in advance to be consistent with the Office's operating needs.

c)         Carry Over:  Personal business leave shall not accumulate or carry over from year to year.  If the services of an Office employee are terminated by reason of retirement, disability or death, the employee, or the employee's estate, as the case may be, shall be paid a lump sum for the number of days of leave for personal business that the employee had accumulated but not used as of the date the employee's services were terminated, in an amount equal to one half of the employee's last rate of pay per working day times the number of leave days accumulated.  The accrued leave amount paid under this subsection shall be certified by the Office in writing to the employee.  This certification shall be held by the employee or forwarded to the Retirement System.

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 6712, effective April 22, 2015)