January 27, 2023

COVID-19 Leave Benefit Restored for the 2022-2023 School Year

MCPS Bulletin Posted On October 26, 2022
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A joint agreement between MCPS and the employee associations has restored a COVID-19 leave benefit.

Permanent MCPS employees, long-term substitutes and employees in the Permanent Substitute Pilot Program will have seven days of COVID-19 sick leave available for the 2022-2023 school year, retroactive to July 1, 2022. The actual amount of leave provided to each employee will be prorated by FTE.

If an employee or a family member tests positive for COVID-19, the employee will need to complete and submit to their supervisor MCPS Form 430-1C, Request for COVID Sick Leave. The employee also will need to submit a photograph of a positive rapid home test, written documentation of a rapid antigen or PCR test result or a doctor’s note.

A permanent employee who contracts COVID-19 after exhausting the seven days of COVID-19 leave may request up to five days of additional COVID-19 leave. The employee will need to submit a PCR test to their timekeeper along with the leave request. This additional leave is for the employee only, and may not be used for family members.

COVID-19 leave may be applied retroactively to COVID-19 absences that occurred between July 1, 2022, and Oct. 24, 2022, as documented through email or text communications between the employee and the supervisor at the time of the absence, along with the leave form. The Employee and Retiree Service Center (ERSC) will accept PACS corrections from timekeepers for any leave approved to cover illness due to COVID-19 that occurred between July 1, 2022, and Oct. 24, 2022, or until its system can be updated to allow for COVID-19 leave posting. Timekeepers: Please include COVID-19 FY23 Retro PACS in the subject line to help ensure a reasonable processing time.

Once the system is updated to allow for COVID-19 leave posting, ERSC will provide instructions to timekeepers for posting COVID-19 leave directly using PACS.

The COVID-19 leave category will be separate from regular sick leave. Employees’ COVID-19 leave balances will be listed as COVID-19 Sick Leave on Employee Self-Service (ESS) under My leave balances.