Leave for Cancer Screening

Policy:

Legislation enacted in December 2017 (Chapter 465, Laws of 2017) amended and repealed the Civil Service Law to entitle employees to take up to four hours of paid leave annually for cancer screening. This provision will take effect on March 18, 2018. 

Section 159-b of the Civil Service Law was amended to entitle State officers and employees to paid leave without charge to leave credits for screening of all cancers. Section 159-c of the Civil Service Law which entitled State officers and employees to paid leave without charge to leave credits specifically for prostate cancer was repealed.

The benefit will become available to employees on March 18, 2018 for the remainder of the 2018 calendar year. Beginning January 1, 2019, the benefit will be available for the full calendar year.  Leave for cancer screening is not cumulative and expires at the close of business on the last day of each calendar year.

It should be noted that leave available under the current provisions of Section 159-b and 159-c of the Civil Service Law remain in effect until March 17, 2018.

Employees who charge leave credits for cancer screening on or after March 18, 2018 are entitled, upon submission of satisfactory documentation that the employee’s absence was for purposes of cancer screening, to paid leave for such absence and to have credits used for that purpose restored.

The medical documentation must be submitted to Human Resources to substantiate that the absence was for the purpose of cancer screening.  Failure to provide appropriate documentation will result in the employee having to charge their accruals.  A cancer screening leave form is available on the Human Resources website.  The employee may bring this form to their medical provider for a signature and then provide it to Deborah Bradshaw in Human Resources as satisfactory medical proof.

Employees are entitled to a leave of absence for cancer screening scheduled during the employees’ regular work hours.  Employees who undergo screenings outside their regular work schedules do so on their own time.  For example, employees are not granted compensatory time off for cancer screenings that occur on pass days or holidays.

Cancer screening includes physical exams, blood work or other laboratory tests for the detection of cancer. Travel time is included in this four (4)-hour cap.  Absence beyond the four (4)-hour cap must be charged to leave credits.