[SchoolFinance] Inquiry: Use of Sick Leave Bank for Postpartum Recovery

[Winslow, Natasha]

Hi Andrea,

RSU 50 added maternity/ paternity leave two years ago to our language as
acceptable uses of the sick bank. We have not had anyone out on maternity/
paternity leave until recently and no requests have come in for that
spacific use yet. Here is our language:

D.  Sick Leave Bank

The Board agrees to maintain a sick-leave bank under the following
conditions:

l.   Only teachers covered by this Agreement are eligible.

2. The Sick Bank Committee shall administer the sick-leave bank. The
Committee shall be comprised of the Superintendent of Schools and the
President of the Association. Unanimity is required to grant days from the
sick-leave bank.

3. Participation in the sick-leave bank shall be voluntary.

4. Each sick-leave-bank participant will donate one (l) day of his/her sick
leave to the bank at the beginning of each school year (no later than
September 15). New teachers may only donate a day after completing six (6)
months of employment (March 1).

5. To qualify for sick leave from the sick-leave bank, the following
conditions must be met:

a.  Use of the sick-leave bank is limited to serious illness, disability,
maternity leave and paternity leave.

       b. The bank may not be utilized until the teacher has exhausted
his/her own personal sick leave.

c. The member must have been ill and absent from work at least five (5)
consecutive school days. Reimbursement will be retroactive to the beginning
of the five-day period.

d. Upon approval, a member may draw on the sick-leave bank up to forty (40)
days of sick leave for serious illness or disability that has been
substantiated by appropriate medical information upon initial application
and is satisfactory to the Sick Bank Committee of the need for sick-bank
leave.  In extreme cases, ten (10) additional days may be granted by the
Sick Bank Committee.

e. Members withdrawing sick leave from the bank are under no obligation to
replace those days used except as a regular contributing member of the bank.

   f.  The bank shall accumulate whole or partial sick-leave days on an
annual basis not to exceed a total of one hundred fifty (150) days,
excepting that days that must be contributed by new teachers shall be added
to the 150-day maximum. When the bank reaches a level below twenty (20)
days during any given year, teachers will be assessed an additional day,
providing all teachers have at least one (l) day of accumulated sick leave.


On Wed, Nov 12, 2025 at 10:46 AM Andrea Disch <adisch at msad11.org> wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I’m reaching out to ask whether any of your districts currently restrict
> staff members recovering from childbirth—who lack sufficient personal sick
> leave—from drawing time from an associated sick leave bank.
>
> Our current Collective Bargaining Agreement specifies that this is not
> permitted. However, we were previously advised by counsel that prohibiting
> employees from accessing the sick leave bank for postpartum recovery could
> constitute discrimination, prompting a change in past practice.
>
> I’d appreciate learning whether others are facing similar language in
> their agreements, and if so, how your districts are addressing it in
> practice.
>
> Thank you in advance for any insights you can share.
>
> Best,
> Andrea
>
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-- 


*Natasha Winslow**Business Manager*


*RSU 50 <http://www.rsu50.org/>*nwinslow at rsu50.org

*Phone:* 207.757.8223  Ext.012 | *Fax:* 207.757.8257

*District Website: rsu50.org <http://rsu50.org/>*

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