Sick Leave Use An employee shall be granted sick leave with pay to the extent of the employee's accumulation for absences necessitated by the following conditions:
Sick Leave Abuse When the Employer suspects sick leave abuse, the employee will be provided the opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding their sick leave use prior to disciplining the employee, or making reference to sick leave use in the employee’s performance evaluation. The Employer may not adopt or enforce any policy that counts the use of paid sick leave time as an absence that may lead to or result in disciplinary action for an authorized purpose. The Employer may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for the use of paid sick leave for an authorized purpose.
Sick Leave Pay A Nurse granted sick leave shall be paid for the period of such leave at her or his regular hourly rate of pay and the number of hours thus paid shall be deducted from the accumulated sick leave credits of the Nurse.
Grades of Service The Parties shall initially engineer and shall monitor and augment all trunk groups consistent with the Joint Process as set forth in Section 14.1 of this Attachment.
Leave for Personal Reasons An employee may be granted leave of absence without pay and without loss of seniority when she requests such leave for good and sufficient cause. Such requests shall be in writing and approved by the Employer. In an emergency, application may be made by telephone or in person. Permission for such leave shall not be unreasonably withheld.