Au-. TXXASI 787ll 

September 16, 1977 

Honorable Charles Leklaistre 

Chancellor, University of 

Texas System 

Office of General Counsel 

201 West 7th Street 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Opinion No. R- 1055 

Re: Whether faculty members 

of the University of Texas 

are entitled to payment for 

sick leave on termination. 

Dear Dr. LeMaistre: 

You have requested our opinion regarding whether faculty 

members of the University of Texas are entitled to payment for 

sick leave upon termination of employment. The General Appropriations Act for the 1975-77 biennium provides, in article V, 

section 7(b): 

Employees of the State shall, without 

deduction in salary, be entitled to sick 

leave subject to the following conditions: 

Sick leave entitlement shall be earned 

at the rate of eight (8) hours for each 

month or fraction of a month employment, 

and shall accumulate with the unused amount 

of such leave carried forward each month. 

Sick leave with pay may be taken when 

sickness, injury, or pregnancy and confinement prevent the employee's performance of 

duty or when a member of his immediate 

family is actually ill. An employee who 

must be absent from duty because of illness shall notify his supervisor or cause 

him to be notified of that fact at the 

earliest practicable time. 

To be eligible for accumulated sick 

leave with pay during a continous period 

of more than three (3) working days, an 

employee absent due to illness shall 

send to the administrative head of his 

employing agency a doctor's certificate 

p. 4334 
. . 

Honorable Charles LeMaistre - Page 2 (x-1055) 

(Emphasis added). We note that the latter provision does not 

appear in the General Appropriations Act for the 1977-79 biennium. 

showing the cause or nature of the illness or some other written statement of 

facts concerning the illness which is 

acceptable to such administrative head. 

Upon return to duty after sick leave 

the employee concerned shall, without 

delay, complete the prescribed application for sick leave and submit the same 

through proper channels to the appropriate approving authority for his consideration. 

Exceptions to the amount of sick leave 

an employee may take may be authorized 

by the administrative head or heads of 

any agency of the State provided such 

exceptions are authorized on an individual 

basis after a review of the merits of 

such particular case. A statement of any 

such authorized exceptions or the reasons 

for them shall be attached to the State 

agency's duplicate payroll voucher for 

the payroll period affected by such authorized exceptions. 

The foregoing provision regarding sick 

leave shall not apply to State institutions of higher education which had established rules in effect prior to the 

adoption of this Act for sick leave for 

the nonacademic and academic staffs of 

such institutions, and such sick leave 

policies may continue to be established 

by the governing boards of such institutions. 

A state employee who resigns, is dismissed or separated from state employment shall be entitled to be paid for 

one-half of sick leave entitlement duly 

accrued. 

p. 4335 
. 1 

Honorable Charles LeMaistre - Page 3 (H-1055) 

In Attorneys General Opinion H-766 (1976) at 3, we held 

that the provision authorizing 

payment of . . . an employee's accumulated 

sick leave upon termination of employment 

is applicable to state institutions of 

higher education. 

We noted, however, that under the language of section 7(b), an 

institution of higher education which had established sick leave 

policies in effect prior to September 1, 1975, 

may continue to enforce those policies 

and to promulgate additional policies of 

a similar nature. 

Attorney General Opinion H-766 (1976)'at 4. You state that a 

number of the component institutions of the University of Texas 

System have for many years maintained a sick leave policy regarding faculty members. During the period of a faculty member's 

illness, his teaching duties are assumed by another member of 

his department, but he continues to receive his regular salary. 

Records of sick leave accrued and used are not maintained, and 

sick leave accrual has not been recognized. 

If an institution is able to demonstrate that such policies 

were in effect prior to September 1, 1975, and that sick leave 

accrual by faculty members was not recognized prior to that 

time, we do not believe that the institution is required to 

compensate a separated employee for sick leave on termination. 

Whether such policies were indeed in effect is of course a 

question of fact, which may be demonstrated by the existence of 

written rules, statements in a faculty handbook, or otherwise. 

SUMMARY 

If, under established policy prior to 

September 1, 1975, faculty members did 

not accrue sick leave, a university is 

not required to compensate a separated 

employee for sick leave on termination. 

Whether such policy was in effect is a 

question of fact. 

P. 4336 
Honorable Charles LeMaistre - Page 4 w-1055) 

General of Texas 

APPROVED: 

c* 

LL, First Assistant 

- -. 

ATH, Chairma; 

Opinion Committee 

I_ jet 

p. 4337