1 - Eligibility, Amount, and Use of Sick Time

Full-time employees will accrue one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 64 hours of earned sick time per calendar year. Employees may not carry over any unused sick time into the following calendar year. New full-time employees may not use paid sick time until after they have completed 90 days of employment with CREST.

Earned sick time may be used in no less than one (1) hour increments for the first hour and then additional 15 minute increments beyond the first hour of sick time taken.

Where an employee's absence from work requires the Company to hire or call in to work a replacement employee and the Company does so, the Company may require the absent employee to use an equal number of hours of earned sick time as the replacement or call-in employee works, up to a full shift. If the absent employee lacks sufficient accrued earned sick time to cover such time, the Company shall provide sufficient job-protected unpaid leave to make up the difference in that shift.

2 - Purposes for Which Earned Sick Time May Be Used

Employees may use earned sick time and miss work in order to:

• care for the employee's child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse, who is suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventative medical care
• care for the employee's own physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventative medical care
• attend the employee's routine medical appointment or a routine medical appointment for the employee's child, spouse, parent, or parent of the employee's spouse
• address the psychological, physical, or legal effects of domestic violence
• travel to and from an appointment, a pharmacy, or other location related to the purpose for which the time was taken

3 - Notification Regarding Use of Earned Sick Time

When using earned sick time, employees must comply with the following notice requirements:

• an employee must notify his/her supervisor or Human Resources before the employee uses sick time, except in the case of an emergency
• when the use of sick time under this Earned Sick Time Policy is foreseeable or pre-scheduled, the employee must provide his/her supervisor or Human Resources with seven (7) days' prior notice (by either telephone or email) of the employee's intent to use sick time, except where the employee learns of the need to use such sick time within a shorter period
• for unforeseeable absences, notice to the Company shall be based on what is reasonable under the circumstances. To the extent possible, employees shall notify either their supervisors or the Company's Human Resources Department by either telephone or email at least one (1) hour before their scheduled start time
• for multi-day absences, the Company may require the employee or his/her surrogate (e.g. spouse, adult family member, or other responsible party) provide the Company with notification of the expected duration of the leave or, if unknown, then on a daily basis by either telephone or email at least one (1) hour before their scheduled start time, unless the circumstances make each notice unreasonable
• the Company may require employees who have used any amount of sick time to personally submit written verification that they have used sick time for allowable purposes

4 - Certification for Earned Sick Time Absences

The Company may require written documentation for an employee's use of earned sick time that:

• exceeds twenty-four (24) consecutively scheduled work hours
• exceeds three (3) consecutive days on which the employee was scheduled to work
• occurs within two (2) weeks prior to an employee's final scheduled day of work before termination of employment, except in the case of temporary employees
• occurs after four (4) unforeseeable and undocumented absences within a three (3) month period

Written documentation that may be required includes:

• documentation signed by a health care provider (as defined under the EST Law) indicating that the use of earned sick time was for an authorized purpose
• with regard to indicating the need of leave related to domestic violence, any of the following: (i) a restraining order or other documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; (ii) a police record documenting the abuse; (iii) documentation that the perpetrator of the abuse has been convicted of one or more of the offenses enumerated in M.G.L. c. 265 where the victim was a family or household member; (iv) medical documentation of the abuse; (v) a statement provided by a counselor, social worker, health worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker, legal advocate, or other professional who has assisted the employee in addressing the effects of the abuse on the employee or the employee's family; or (vi) a signed written statement from the employee attesting to the abuse.

Employees must submit such documentation within seven (7) business days after taking sick time for which such documentation is required, unless, for good cause shown by the employee, the employee requires more time to provide such documentation. The documentation may be submitted to the Company either in hand, by email, regular mail, or facsimile.

Employees who do not have health care coverage may provide a signed, written statement evidencing the need for the use of sick time in lieu of documentation by a health care provider. It is not necessary for such documentation to include an explanation of the related medical condition.

In requesting certifications for any earned sick time absence, it is not necessary that the documentation provided explain the nature of the illness or the details of the domestic violence

All evidence of the domestic violence experienced by an employee, including the employee's statement and corroborating evidence, shall not be disclosed by the Company unless consent for such disclosure is given by the employee at the time the evidence is produced

If an employee fails to comply without reasonable justification with the documentation requirements set forth above, the Company may recoup the sum, if any, paid for sick time from future pay, as an overpayment.

5 - No Payment for Accrued, Unused Earned Sick Time upon Separation of Employment

Employees will not be paid for any accrued, unused earned sick time upon separation from employment, regardless of the reason for separation.

6 - Obtaining and Enforcing Proprietary Rights

If an employee uses earned sick time, he/she must be aware of the following:

• regular, reliable attendance and timeliness is expected
• sick time cannot be used as an excuse to be late for work without an authorized purpose under this Earned Sick Time Policy
• if an employee commits fraud or abuse of sick time by engaging in activities that are not consistent with the allowable purposes for which sick time may be taken under the EST Law, the employee will be subject to disciplinary action
• if an employee is exhibiting a clear pattern of using sick time on days just before or after a weekend, vacation, or holiday, the Company may discipline the employee for misuse of sick time, unless the employee provides verification of authorized use under the EST Law

7 - Interaction with Leave under Other Laws

The time off provided under this Earned Sick Time Policy pursuant to the EST Law shall run concurrently with time off provided by other leave laws that may allow employees to make concurrent use of leave for any of the covered purposes set forth above. In the event time off under this Earned Sick Time Policy overlaps with any such overlapping leave laws, the employee shall be required to use any accrued, unused sick time concurrently with such other leave.

8 - Records of Accrual and Use of Earned Sick Time

The Company shall keep a true and accurate record of the accrual and use of earned sick time.

9 - Returning Employees

Returning employees should contact Human Resources upon their return because they may be eligible to have all, or a portion of, any previously accrued, unused paid sick time reinstated for use.