(a)

(1) Sick leave may be granted to each officer and employee who is scheduled to work one thousand six hundred (1,600) hours or more in a fiscal year, whether compensated on an hourly, daily, monthly, or piecework basis, at the rate of one (1) day for each month of service or major fraction thereof, at the discretion of the head of the department or agency and with the approval of the commissioner of human resources.

(2) Sick leave shall be cumulative for all earned days not used. Saturdays, Sundays, and official holidays falling within a leave period shall not be charged as leave, unless such days are considered as work days for the employee in the employee's particular assignment. Part-time employees, employees holding temporary positions for less than six (6) months, seasonal employees, and emergency employees in the preferred service are expressly excluded from this subsection (a).

(3) Sick leave may only be used for absence from duty because of illness or disability due to accident of employee, the employee's exposure to contagious diseases, or because of illness or death in the immediate family of the employee for such period as the attendance of the employee shall be necessary, except as hereinafter provided.

(4)

(A) A state employee may use sick leave and annual leave, as described in § 8-50-801, for maternity or paternity leave for a period not to exceed the state employee's accumulated sick leave and annual leave balance, or twelve (12) weeks, whichever is less. In order to be eligible to use sick leave as maternity or paternity leave, the state employee must submit a written request therefor, together with a statement from the attending physician indicating the expected date of confinement, not later than the end of the fifth month of pregnancy.

(B) As used in this subdivision (a)(4):

(i) “Educator” has the same meaning as defined in § 49-5-204; and

(ii) “State employee” means any person who is a state official, including members of the general assembly, the attorney general and reporter, district attorneys general, state judges, district public defenders, educators, any person who is employed in the service of and whose compensation is payable by the state, or any person who is employed by the state whose compensation is paid in whole or in part from federal or other funds. “State employee” also means any person who is employed in the service of and whose compensation is payable by a public institution of higher education, or any person who is employed by a public institution of higher education whose compensation is paid in whole or in part from federal or other funds.

(5) An employee may be required to present evidence in the form of personal affidavits, physicians' certificates, or other testimonials, at the request of the appointing authority or the commissioner of human resources, to support the reason for any absence during the time for which sick leave was taken. The appointing authority may not deny sick leave to any employee who furnishes a statement of a licensed physician or accredited Christian Science practitioner in support of the reason for the absence. However, the appointing authority may require additional documentation if, upon further investigation, there is substantial evidence of sick leave abuse by the employee.

(b) Each officer and employee who is employed full time and who has accumulated the maximum number of allowable annual leave days shall have any additional leave days accrued in excess of the maximum amount transferred annually to the officer's or employee's credit as sick leave.

(c)

(1) The commissioner of human resources shall develop policies and procedures which shall allow for the transfer of sick leave between employees who are covered by this part.

(2) Employees shall be members of the sick leave bank established in part 9 of this chapter to be eligible for a transfer of sick leave from another employee.

(3) The commissioner shall establish one (1) open enrollment period for the sick leave bank following April 12, 1994, which shall be in addition to the enrollment period established in § 8-50-905(c). Such open enrollment period shall not exceed sixty (60) days.