Florida Administrative Code › 60 - DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES › 60L - Personnel Management System › Chapter 60L-34 - ATTENDANCE AND LEAVE › Section 60L-34.0061 - Disability Leave

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) The following
				provisions govern job-connected disability leave with pay:
(a) An employee who sustains a job-connected
				disability that is compensable under Chapter 440, Florida Statutes, shall be
				carried in full-pay status for up to forty work hours without being required to
				use accrued leave, beginning immediately following the onset of the injury.
				This leave may be used intermittently to cover appointments to health care
				providers, physical therapy, and similar activities provided that these
				activities are directly related to the employee's Workers' Compensation injury.
				An employee who returns to work and has exhausted the forty hours of disability
				leave will, upon presentation of written confirmation from the authorized
				physician, be granted additional disability leave not to exceed forty-eight
				hours for follow-up examinations or treatment required by the authorized
				treating physician for a particular injury.
(b) If, as a result of the job-connected
				injury, the employee is unable to resume work at the end of the forty-hour
				period provided in paragraph (a), the employee may continue on full-pay status
				while covered by Workers' Compensation as follows. Continuing on full-pay
				status means receiving the salary being received before the disability. In no
				case shall the employee's salary and Workers' Compensation benefits exceed the
				amount of the employee's regular salary payments:
1. The employee may elect to use accrued
				sick, compensatory, or annual leave in an amount necessary to achieve full-pay
				status. The employee's annual hourly rate (annual salary/2080) shall be used to
				determine the number of leave hours needed to supplement the Workers'
				Compensation payments.
2. If the
				employee elects not to use accrued leave, or after the employee has exhausted
				all earned leave in accordance with subparagraph 1. above, the employee shall
				be placed on leave without pay and shall revert to normal Workers' Compensation
				benefits; provided, however, that the agency may petition the Department to
				continue the employee on full-pay status as follows:
a. The petition shall include a medical
				report that gives a current diagnosis of the employee's physical condition and
				a prognosis regarding recovery and ability to return to work.
b. The petition shall describe (i) the type
				and extent of the injury, (ii) the circumstances of the injury, and (iii) the
				nature of the employee's duties. The petition shall explain why, in light of
				the foregoing, it is in the best interest of the state to continue the employee
				at full-pay status.
(c) An employee covered by Workers'
				Compensation shall continue to earn and accrue full leave credits.
(d) The following provisions apply when an
				employee on disability leave returns to alternate duty:
1. When the Division of Risk Management of
				the Department of Insurance has determined that an employee is entitled to
				receive a temporary partial disability benefit pursuant to Section
				 440.15, Florida Statutes, and
				there is medical certification that the employee cannot perform the duties of
				the employee's regular position, but the employee can perform some type of work
				beneficial to the agency, the agency, if appropriate, will return the employee
				to the payroll at regular rate of pay to perform such duties as the employee is
				capable of performing even if there is not an established position in which the
				employee can be placed.
2. If an
				agency returns an employee to alternate duty, the agency shall advise the
				employee in writing of the alternate duties to be performed, hours of work, and
				the expected length of time of the alternate assignment. The agency shall
				review the employee's performance at least quarterly. The agency shall maintain
				appropriate records of affected employees.
3. When the employee becomes able to perform
				regular position duties, the agency shall reassign the duties accordingly and
				return the employee to regular position. In no event shall the employee be
				allowed to continue performing the alternate duties once maximum medical
				improvement has been determined by the Division of Risk Management unless
				appointed to the position as provided in Chapter 60L-33, F.A.C. The agency
				shall maintain appropriate records of employees removed from alternate
				duty.