By Brandis Friedman, Nicole Cardos, Chicago Tonight/WTTW
An email from an employer can be nerve-wrecking, as some Chicago teachers have been recently discovering.
Dozens of Chicago Teachers Union members have been contacted by the Chicago Public Schools Office of Internal Audit and Compliance to show proof of appropriate sick day usage, according to CTU Teacher Field Representative Joseph McDermott.
The CPS Policy Manual states that, depending on years of service, 10 to 12 sick days a year are granted for an “employee’s personal illness or serious illness in the immediate family or household.” Immediate family or household includes parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, domestic partners, in-laws, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts and cousins.
The manual goes on to say a doctor’s note is required for any employee who’s absent for more than three consecutive work days.
Nora Flanagan, an English teacher at Northside College Prep High School, said she received an email from IAC last month that requested documentation to corroborate the sick day she took in February.
The email read, “Due to a high number of sick day requests occurring recently, specifically on February 6, 2017, February 14, 2017, and February 15, 2017, the Office of Internal Audit and Compliance (IAC) is performing a review of time off requests to determine compliance with Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) policy on Paid Time Off.”
Read more at http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/04/20/teachers-claim-cps-harassing-members-over-sick-leave
