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Absences

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Self-treated days

If you are a UFT-represented DOE employee and are absent from school because of illness, you will be paid for up to 10 days in any school year without submitting a doctor’s note, as long as you have days in your Cumulative Absence Reserve (CAR), commonly referred to as your sick bank. These are known as “self-treated days.” It is important that you call your school and notify the principal each day that you will be absent. 

If you take more than 10 self-treated days in any school year, you will not be paid for the additional absences unless you submit a doctor’s note – even if you have accumulated days in your CAR. Whenever possible, you should submit medical certification for each day you are absent to preserve as many of your self-treated days as possible.

Here are some more important things to know about self-treated days:

  • You can use three of your 10 days for personal business, provided that the days are approved by your principal. Personal business is officially defined as something that cannot be done at any time other than a school day, during school hours. Some or all of these three personal business days may be used to care for family members who are ill.
  • Aside from these three personal business days, your self-treated days may only be taken for your own illness or disability. If you have exhausted all the days in your CAR and you are a full-time employee, you may borrow up sick leave days.  Appointed pedagogues may borrow up to 20 additional sick leave days. Full-time paras and administrative employees may borrow up to 10. You must submit a request to borrow CAR days in writing to your principal. 
  • If your supervisor suspects that you are abusing the sick leave provisions in the contract -- for example, absences are always on Mondays or Fridays or before holidays, s/he may investigate.

Other absences

You are entitled to take one day each school year for an annual physical exam or for annual laboratory tests. This absence is deducted from your sick bank (CAR).

Absences due to hepatitis B as a result of working with children, or to an allergic reaction from a DOE-mandated skin test, will not be deducted from your CAR, provided you submit appropriate medical documentation.

Other absences that are not deducted from your CAR include those used if you contract measles, mumps or chicken pox from a student; for the death of an immediate family member or to appear in court as a juror or witness. These are considered "non-attendance" days. Your chapter leader can advise you about which forms to file for these absences.

You can request up to four hours of paid time off annually to get screened for cancer, and up to three hours of unpaid time off annually to donate blood. The request should be made in advance and in writing to your principal. It will be granted if it is determined that it would not be a major disruption to the school. See the DOE's personnel memo on absences for cancer screenings for further details. 

Absences for paraprofessionals

Educational paraprofessionals may use their sick leave (CAR days) for their own personal illness with certification from their physician.

CAR is time earned by a full-time educational paraprofessional that can be used for personal illness. Eligible employees earn one CAR day for every month they are on payroll, up to 10 days per year. These days may be carried over from year to year. Eligible employees can accrue a maximum of 200 CAR days.

An educational paraprofessional may not use more than five self-treated days per term, and not more than 10 self-treated days in an academic year. Absences due to personal illness beyond an employee's 10 self-treated days must be medically certified.

Educational paraprofessionals may use their sick leave up to three consecutive days for a self-treated illness. Beyond three consecutive days, an employee's principal may request certification from their physician, such as a note from their doctor, to certify their absences.

An educational paraprofessional may use three sick leave days for personal business during the academic year. These days are included as part of the educational paraprofessional's 10 self-treated days in a 10-month period. If three personal business days are used, then the employee can only use seven self-treated days during the school year. For more information regarding the use of personal business days, the employee should contact the school’s payroll secretary.

Educational paraprofessionals who exhaust their sick leave balances are eligible to borrow up to 10 days with certification from their physician. UFT educational paraprofessionals whose sick leave allowance has been exhausted have the right to borrow against future sick leave in accordance with applicable administrative regulations.

A request to borrow CAR in conjunction with a leave of absence needs to be submitted through SOLAS for approval. The employee's CAR is placed in a negative balance for the number of days borrowed. As the employee earns CAR, the negative balance is adjusted.

UFT educational paraprofessionals do not have the option to buy back borrowed CAR days. They may only accrue one sick day each month, which will be applied to their negative CAR balance.

Further guidance on Absences

Know Your Rights definitions for:

Absence forms

  • CAR Transfer Form & Rules
    All pedagogues may use this form to donate sick time to a colleague. The recipient receives one day for every two days donated. Pedagogues may only donate sick days to a colleague suffering from a catastrophic illness. Sick leave transfer rules are on page 2 of the form.
  • OP 44: Application for Termination Pay for Pedagogues
    Upon resignation, termination or retirement, pedagogues and paraprofessionals may be granted half of their sick leave balance (up to 100 days) at the rate of 1/200th of their annual salary. Pedagogues must fill out this form online, download it, print it and get it signed by the principal and then mail or hand-deliver (strongly suggested) it to the DOE. The DOE does not accept faxes. Paraprofessionals do not need to fill out this form. However, in order to collect termination pay, they must be members of the Teachers' Retirement System.
  • OP 201: Application for Excuse of Absence Without Pay and/or as Non-Attendance
    All pedagogues use this form to request time off with pay and no loss of CAR time for the circumstances listed on page 2 (death in the family, jury duty, graduation, religious observance, etc.). OP 201 is also used to request a day off without pay in certain circumstances.
  • OP 221: Application to Attend Meeting, Conference or Convention Outside NYC
    All pedagogues, paraprofessionals and administrative staff use this form to request approval for time off for a meeting or conference either with pay as non-attendance and no loss of CAR time, or without pay
  • OP 407: Confidential Medical Report and Medical Evaluation
    All pedagogues, paraprofessionals and administrative staff are required to submit an OP 407 form when applying for sabbatical leaves, (for) restoration of health leaves, (for) sick leaves over 20 consecutive school days and (for) alleged line of duty injuries. To maintain confidentiality, this form may be submitted directly to the Medical (Bureau) Division in place of a doctor’s statement on an OP 198 form.
  • Application to Use Earned Annual/Sick Leave or Report Non-Chargeable Absence
    All UFT members may use this form to report any kind of absence (e.g. sick day, personal day, meeting attendance, etc.).

DOE documents regarding absences

Frequently Asked Questions

A list of the most commonly asked questions.

What does the term "active status" mean regarding leaves?

Active status is defined as being on any one of the following: 

  • on payroll, using CAR days or sick time, on an annual leave, on a paid leave, on Parental Leave
  • on an unpaid leave for a pregnancy-related condition
  • on an unpaid leave due to a medically-disputed Line of Duty Injury (LODI) for up to three months
  • on a leave pursuant to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), FLMA, or other statutory leave
When are CAR days/sick time earned and credited?

Cumulative Absence Reserve (CAR) is the formal name for UFT-represented pedagogical DOE employees’ “sick bank" of days. All titles earn one CAR day per month after serving 16 days on payroll. The day is added to the members CAR bank on the 30th of each month. Members who are on a sabbatical do not earn CAR days.

During a per-session summer activity, pedagogues and paraprofessionals accrue one sick day for each month of service. 

How do I apply for UFT parental leave?

1. It is recommended that you apply using the DOE's self-service online leave application system (SOLAS) at least 15 days in advance of the anticipated date of birth or adoption. You’ll be asked if you intend to use your CAR day balance if you are the birth parent and if you plan to take an unpaid child care leave after your UFT parental leave ends. You will also be asked for the first day you anticipate being absent from work and the last day you anticipate being absent from work (not the date of your return).

2. After the birth, you must confirm the birth date in SOLAS within 10 days (except if there are extenuating circumstances). The actual date of birth or covered event will be used to determine the final start and end dates of your leave. During these 10 days, you can amend your application if you change your mind about using your CAR balance or taking an unpaid child care leave following your UFT parental leave.

3. If the baby arrives and you have not already submitted a leave application, you have 10 calendar days afterward to notify the DOE via SOLAS or you may forfeit your right to take the leave. In the case of extenuating circumstances, you should provide the reason the deadline was missed to ensure the leave can be granted.

4. Submit required documentation through SOLAS no more than 21 calendar days after the birth.

When do I apply for UFT parental leave?

You should apply at least 15 days prior to the anticipated due or covered event date, but no later than 10 days after delivery to ensure timely payment of the benefit from the UFT.

If your baby arrives much later than the due date, you can revise your application in SOLAS. Just log back in within 10 days of giving birth. You have to confirm the birth date regardless. 

In general you should apply as soon as possible when you know your plans for using your CAR days and any additional child care leave, however keep in mind that you will not be able to apply earlier than two months in advance of the anticipated event. You should also notify your school or work location so they can begin to plan for your absence.

Who is eligible to take a UFT parental leave?

Birth parents, partners of birth parents, adoptive parents and foster parents may be eligible for a UFT parental leave. You must be in a title represented by the UFT, be on the Department of Education payroll for a minimum of 12 calendar months and be a full-time employee or an H-bank/nonpedagogical employee who works 20 hours or more weekly. F-status and per-diem employees are not eligible.

Members who have taken one parental leave are eligible to take another parental leave after 10 calendar months of active status. Members who take a UFT parental leave must return to work or active status for at least 12 calendar months or they will be required to pay back the benefit.

Check your eligibility for parental benefits by using the UFT Parental Leave Guide. Log in to the UFT Member Hub to check it out!

Learn more about parental leaves »