CHAPTER 55:09:04
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LEAVES OF ABSENCE
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Section
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:01 Vacation\r\nleave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:02 Sick leave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:03 Minimum charge\r\nfor sick leave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:04 Reinstatement\r\nof sick leave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:04.01 Paid family\r\nleave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:05 Military\r\nservice leave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:06 Fire\r\nsuppression or ambulance service.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:07 Advanced sick\r\nleave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:08 Military\r\ntraining leave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:09 Court and jury\r\nleave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:10 Leave of\r\nabsence without pay.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:11 Reporting\r\nabsences or absence without leave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:12 Family and\r\nmedical leave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:13 Administrative\r\nleave.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:14 Donation of\r\nleave -- Recipient requirements.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:15 Donation of\r\nleave for care of spouse, child, or parent -- Recipient requirements.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:16 Donation of\r\nleave -- Donor requirements.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:17 Donation of\r\nleave -- Procedure.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:18 Contagious\r\ndisease -- Procedure.
\r\n\r\n55:09:04:19 Emergency\r\nfurlough.
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55:09:04:01. Vacation leave. Each\r\npermanent employee is entitled to vacation leave with pay. Vacation leave accruals\r\nstart with the date of employment but may not be paid out upon separation\r\nunless six months of continuous service have been completed. Any request for\r\nvacation leave shall be approved by an employee's immediate supervisor before\r\nthe time of departure. A leave request may not exceed the amount accumulated.
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Vacation leave shall be accrued each semimonthly\r\npay period and is accrued in equal increments to the maximum specified in SDCL 3-6C-4. An employee with less than 15 years of service who is paid monthly may accrue no more than 10 hours of vacation leave a month. An employee with 15 years or more of service who is paid monthly may not accrue more than 13.334 hours of vacation leave a month. The 15 years of service does not have to be consecutive. A permanent employee who works less than full time accrues prorated vacation leave based on the number of hours paid in the pay period.
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An employee whose appointment has expired or who\r\nhas been laid off or terminated for cause shall take earned vacation in a lump\r\nsum. If an employee who is terminating employment is on vacation leave, no other\r\ntype of leave may be used.
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If an employee transfers, all accumulated leave\r\nshall be transferred to the new department.
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Source: 39 SDR 99, effective December 3,\r\n2012; 41 SDR 58, effective October 14, 2014; 46 SDR 146, effective July 1, 2020.
\r\n\r\nGeneral Authority: SDCL 3-6C-18.
\r\n\r\nLaw Implemented: SDCL 3-6C-4, 3-6C-18.
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55:09:04:02. Sick\r\nleave. Sick leave with pay shall be accrued each semimonthly pay period in\r\nequal increments to the maximum specified in SDCL 3-6C-7. An employee paid monthly shall accumulate sick leave at a rate of 9.334 hours per month. An employee who works less than full time shall accrue prorated sick leave based on the number of hours paid in the pay period.
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Sick leave may be\r\ngranted for the illness, health care needs, or temporary care of the employee,\r\nthe employee's immediate family, or a person for whom the employee is the legal\r\nguardian. An employee may use up to five days of sick leave, as bereavement\r\nleave, for the loss of an immediate family member. An employee who is on\r\napproved leave, except terminal vacation leave, and becomes injured or ill may\r\nuse sick leave.
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The appointing\r\nauthority may, with the approval of the commissioner, require the employee to\r\nproduce a doctor's statement to support a request for sick leave.
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Source: 39 SDR\r\n99, effective December 3, 2012; 44 SDR 99, effective December 11, 2017; 46 SDR 146,\r\neffective July 1, 2020.
\r\n\r\nGeneral Authority:\r\nSDCL 3-6C-7, 3-6C-18.
\r\n\r\nLaw Implemented:\r\nSDCL 3-6C-7, 3-6C-18.
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55:09:04:04.01. Paid family leave. Each permanent full-time employee who has been employed by the state for a continuous period of six months is entitled to forty hours of paid family leave per week for up to twelve weeks for bonding following the birth of a child of the employee or placement of a child for adoption. Paid family leave must be taken within one year following the birth of a child or the placement of a child for adoption. A permanent part-time employee will receive prorated hours.
Source: 46 SDR 146, effective July 1, 2020; 49 SDR 101, effective May 22, 2023.
General Authority: SDCL 3-6C-18.
Law Implemented: SDCL 3-6C-7.1, 3-6C-18.
55:09:04:05. Military\r\nservice leave. An employee may use up to 40 hours of accumulated sick leave\r\nannually for any military-related service as a member of the military reserve\r\nor national guard.
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Source: 39 SDR\r\n99, effective December 3, 2012; 46 SDR 146, effective July 1, 2020; 47 SDR 68,\r\neffective December 8, 2020.
\r\n\r\nGeneral Authority:\r\nSDCL 3-6C-18.
\r\n\r\nLaw Implemented:\r\nSDCL 3-6C-18.
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55:09:04:12. Family\r\nand medical leave. Family and medical leave is available to an employee who\r\nhas worked for twelve months or more and who has worked 1,250 hours or more. Up\r\nto 12 weeks of sick leave, paid family leave, vacation leave, leave without\r\npay, or any combination of these leaves may be taken as family and medical\r\nleave. An employee may request family and medical leave for any of the\r\nfollowing purposes:
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(1) The\r\nbirth of a child of the employee or the placement of a child with the employee\r\nfor adoption or foster care;
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(2) To bond with\r\na child so long as the leave is taken within one year of the child's birth or\r\nplacement;
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(3) The need\r\nto care for the spouse, child, or parent of the employee if the spouse, child,\r\nor parent has a serious health condition;
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(4) A\r\nserious health condition; or
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(5) A\r\nqualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son,\r\ndaughter, or parent is on active duty or called to active duty status as a member\r\nof the National Guard or another reserve component of the armed forces of the\r\nUnited States in support of a contingency operation. A qualifying exigency\r\nincludes attending certain military events, arranging for alternative\r\nchildcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending\r\ncertain counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration\r\nbriefings.
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An employee who has\r\nworked for twelve months or more and who has worked 1,250 hours may also\r\nrequest family and medical leave to care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent,\r\nor the employee's next of kin of a covered servicemember with a serious injury\r\nor illness. A covered servicemember is anyone who is currently a member of the\r\nregular armed forces, a reserve component of the armed forces, or the National\r\nGuard. A serious injury or illness is an injury or illness incurred by a\r\ncovered servicemember in the line of duty on active duty that may render the\r\nservicemember medically unfit to perform the duties of the servicemember's office,\r\ngrade, rank or rating and for which the servicemember is undergoing medical\r\ntreatment, recuperation, therapy, or outpatient treatment or is on the\r\ntemporary disability retired list. An employee may also take military caregiver\r\nleave to care for a family member who sustained a qualifying injury for up to\r\nfive years after the member has been discharged from military service. Up to 26\r\nweeks of sick leave, vacation leave, leave without pay, or any combination of\r\nthese leaves may be taken as family and medical leave for military caregiver\r\nleave during a single 12-month period.
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If sick leave is used\r\nfor any part of the family and medical leave, the employee may be required to\r\nsupport the request with a statement from a medical doctor certifying the\r\nnature of the serious health condition.
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Source: 39 SDR\r\n99, effective December 3, 2012; 44 SDR 99, effective December 11, 2017; 46 SDR\r\n146, effective July 1, 2020.
\r\n\r\nGeneral Authority:\r\nSDCL 3-6C-18.
\r\n\r\nLaw Implemented:\r\nSDCL 3-6C-18.
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(1) An\r\noffice is closed by a department secretary, bureau commissioner, institutional\r\nadministrator, or the Governor;
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(2) An\r\nemployee is a member of a volunteer fire department, reserve law enforcement\r\nunit, emergency search and rescue squad, or ambulance service and is called to\r\nemergency duty during working hours;
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(3) An\r\ninvestigation of charges made against an employee upon which disciplinary\r\naction could be taken; and
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(4) For\r\nany other purpose that has been requested in writing and approved by the\r\ncommissioner.
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An appointing\r\nauthority shall inform the commissioner of any office closing.
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(1) The\r\nemployee is employed in a permanent position for at least one year and is\r\neligible for the accumulation of leave under SDCL 3-6C-4 and 3-6C-7;
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(2) The\r\nemployee has been certified by a physician as:
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(a) Terminally\r\nill and unable to return to work; or
\r\n\r\n(b) Suffering\r\nfrom life-threatening illness or injury which prevents the employee from\r\nworking for at least 90 consecutive days;
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(3) The\r\nemployee has made a written request for and obtained the approval of the\r\ncommissioner to receive donated vested leave;
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(4) The\r\nemployee has applied for any other public disability programs for which the\r\nemployee may be eligible including any benefits available through Social\r\nSecurity or the South Dakota Retirement System; and
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(5) The\r\nemployee has exhausted all of the employee's leave benefits.
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Donated leave\r\nbenefits cease after 2,080 hours of donated leave have been used by an employee\r\nwho is terminally ill, after 1,040 hours of donated leave have been used by an\r\nemployee who is suffering from a life-threatening illness or injury, if other\r\npublic disability benefits have been approved, if the employee recovers from\r\nthe terminal illness or life-threatening illness or injury, or upon the death\r\nof the recipient employee. The rate of payment of donated leave is the\r\nrecipient's current base pay. Sick and vacation leave may not be accrued by a\r\nrecipient employee on donated leave.
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For every four\r\nhours of sick leave donated by an employee, the recipient employee receives one\r\nhour of sick leave. For every one hour of vacation leave donated by an\r\nemployee, the recipient employee receives one hour of vacation leave.
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(1) The\r\nemployee is employed in a permanent position for at least one year and is\r\neligible for the accumulation of leave under SDCL 3-6C-4 and 3-6C-7.
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(2) The\r\nemployee's spouse, child, or parent has been certified by a physician as:
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(a) Terminally\r\nill; or
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(3) The\r\nemployee has made a written request for and obtained the approval of the\r\ncommissioner to receive donated vested leave; and
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(4) The\r\nemployee has exhausted all of the employee's leave benefits that the employee\r\nis entitled to use.
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Donated leave\r\nceases when the donated vested vacation leave received plus any other leave\r\ntaken by the employee pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act exceeds\r\ntwelve weeks annually, when the spouse, child, or parent recovers from the\r\nterminal illness or life threatening illness or injury, or five days after the\r\ndeath of the spouse, child, or parent. The rate of payment of donated leave is\r\nthe recipient's current base pay. Sick and vacation leave may not be accrued by\r\na recipient employee on donated leave.
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For every one\r\nhour of vacation leave donated by an employee, the recipient employee receives\r\none hour of vacation leave.
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55:09:04:16. Donation of leave -- Donor requirements. An employee is eligible to donate vested leave if the employee is employed in a position eligible for the accumulation of leave under SDCL 3-6C-4 and 3-6C-7 and has accumulated more than 80 hours of vacation leave or 120 hours of sick leave.
The donating employee may donate vacation leave in excess of 80 hours or sick leave in excess of 120 hours. The minimum donation of vested vacation leave is one hour. The minimum donation of vested sick leave is four hours. Sick leave shall be donated in increments of four hours. The donating employee may donate leave to an employee who is at the same paygrade as the donating employee or who is at a lower paygrade than the donating employee. If an employee does not have a pay grade that has been established by the Bureau of Human Resources and Administration, the employee may donate leave to an employee who is at the same rate of pay as the donating employee or who is at a lower rate of pay than the donating employee.
Source: 39 SDR 99, effective December 3, 2012; 41 SDR 58, effective October 14, 2014; 52 SDR 46, effective October 27, 2025.
General Authority: SDCL 3-6C-18.
Law Implemented: SDCL 3-6C-14, 3-6C-18.
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An employee who\r\nis required to take leave under this section may appeal the decision to the\r\ncommissioner if the appeal is made in writing within 14 days of the appointing\r\nauthority's decision to require leave.
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At the\r\nconclusion of the emergency, the furloughed employee shall be returned to his\r\nor her job without reduction in classification, pay, or benefits.
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A furloughed\r\nemployee may be laid off pursuant to § 55:10:09:01.
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