Home > For Employees > Employee Handbook > Employee Handbook, Part Three

Employee Handbook, Part Three

Health and Welfare

Family Medical Leave Act(FMLA) (Board Policy 6400)

HFM BOCES will provide family and medical leave to its eligible employees as required by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Leave is provided for eligible employees for:

The birth of a child and in order to care for that child.
The placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newlyplaced child.
To care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition (described below).
The serious health condition (described below) of the employee.

For more detailed information on the FMLA and HFM BOCES’ FMLA leave policies, including employee eligibility requirements, leave entitlements and employee restoration rights, refer to Board Policy 6400.

Annual Compliance Training

All BOCES employees will complete mandatory compliance training every year that is required due to State and Federal regulations. There may be additional trainings that will need to be completed by certain employee groups based upon their relevant job responsibilities. You will be notified of the specific annual trainings that you need to complete and how to complete them.

Hepatitis B Vaccination

HFM BOCES is obligated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to offer Hepatitis B vaccinations to employees. Participation in the program is voluntary and at no cost to you. However, by declining, you acknowledge the risk of acquiring Hepatitis B, a serious disease.

Blood Borne Pathogens

It is important for HFM BOCES to ensure the safety of their staff and students. When dealing with blood and bodily fluids, you should take care to protect yourself. To prevent infection:

Avoid contact with blood and other bodily fluids.
Use CPR breathing barriers, such as resuscitation masks when giving ventilations(rescue breaths).
Wear disposable gloves whenever providing care, particularly if you may come into contact with blood or bodily fluids. Also wear protective coverings, such as a mask, eyewear and a gown, if blood or other bodily fluids can splash.
Cover any cuts, scrapes or sores and remove jewelry, including rings, before wearing disposable gloves.
Change gloves before providing care to a different victim.
Remove disposable gloves without contacting the soiled part of the gloves and dispose of them in a proper container.
Thoroughly wash your hands and other areas immediately after providing care. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer where hand-washing facilities are not available if your hands are not visibly soiled. When practical, wash your hands before providing care.

If you are exposed you must follow these steps:

Wash needle stick injuries, cuts and exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water.
If splashed with blood or potentially infectious material around the mouth or nose, flush area with water.
If splashed in or around the eyes, irrigate with clean water, saline or sterile irrigate for 20 minutes.
Record the incident by writing down what happened. Include the date, time and circumstances of the exposure, any actions taken after the exposure, and any other information as requested.
Seek immediate follow-up care as identified in our employer’s exposure control plan by contacting the School Nurse/Business Office.

Medication Dispensed by School Personnel

HFM BOCES requires a written note from the medical provider and written parent/guardian consent for all medications that are to be taken by the student in school, whether prescription or nonprescription. All medications are required to be kept in the school nurse’s office to protect the health and safety of all the children and so that they can keep a log of when the child takes their medication.

For the full scope of the New York State Department of Education Guidelines for Medication Management in Schools, please download the pdf document.

In addition, for more information on HFM BOCES’ policy concerning the dispensation of medication by school personnel, refer to Board Policy 7102.

Accident Reporting for Staff (Board Policy 5005)

Please report all accidents to your supervisor as soon as possible after the injury. Remember it is important that you let us know if you need to visit a doctor or hospital or if you lose any days from work, as a result of injury. Additionally, a network pharmacy must be used for any medications you may receive for your work-related injury or sickness.

Please inform doctor/hospital at the time of treatment that is an on-the-job injury.

Employee Report of Injury

In addition, for more information on HFM BOCES’ policy concerning accident reporting for staff, refer to Board Policy 5005.

Accident Reporting for Students

All student injuries or health related issues need to be reported to the nurse immediately following the health related injury. If the nurse is unavailable, contact the Medical Assisting teacher if there is no substitute available for the nurse.

Disability Insurance

HFM BOCES offers you the option to purchase disability coverage from a third party agency as per the New York State Workers Compensation Board. If you have any questions in regard to this, please call the Business Office at 518-736-4310.

Sick/Personal Leave

Please refer to your particular employee contract/agreement for specific information regarding the use of sick or personal time.

Vacation/Sabbatical

Please refer to your particular employee contract/agreement for specific information for time off requests.

AESOP

You are responsible for reporting all of your absences (vacation, sick, personal, etc.) in the online using Frontline.

Expenses and Reimbursement

Travel and Overnight Stay (Board Policy 4700)

When business travel is approved, transportation by common carrier (air or bus) will be reimbursed at coach or economy rates. Business class may be used for travel by rail. Air travel arrangements should be made in advance whenever possible. Mileage for use of a personal vehicle will be reimbursed at the current IRS rate at the time of travel, and will be calculated based on your regular work day to and from your assigned work location or home, whichever is less. Parking and tolls will be reimbursed at actual cost upon presentation of an itemized receipt. Itinerant teachers working full days in component districts will only be reimbursed for actual travel between school district assignments.

Overnight accommodations will be reimbursed for the minimum period reasonably necessary to complete the BOCES-related business. Expenses of an employee’s or Board member’s spouse cannot be submitted for reimbursement. If a state or national conference hotel block housing has been secured and the attendee chooses a hotel not on that list, reimbursement for such lodging shall not exceed the conference hotel rate. No reimbursement can legally be made for New York State room taxes; tax exemption forms must be used. Expenses for personal services (laundry, dry cleaning, movies, etc.) are not eligible for reimbursement.

Meal Reimbursement (Board Policy 4700)

Meal expenses may not be reimbursed while you are performing the usual duties of the office except when:

You are on approved overnight travel or approved conference or training sessions; or
You are prevented from taking the time off for a meal due to a pressing need to complete business at hand and the business is of an immediate nature and conducting business at mealtime is essential.

The cost of meals for any guest may not be reimbursed unless the meal promotes a valid BOCES purpose, such as a business luncheon with other government officials or community leaders for discussion or negotiation of a matter that is or will be before the Cooperative Board for action.

An itemized restaurant receipt must be submitted with the Expense Voucher. Meal expenses may be claimed to a maximum of $75/day. Expenses in excess of the ceiling amount, when properly justified, may be submitted to the Board for consideration. The Expense Voucher form and receipt(s) shall be attached to a copy of the original approved conference/workshop request form.

The purchase of alcoholic beverages is not reimbursable.

Expense Voucher (Board Policy 4700)

You must complete the Expense Voucher Form, attach receipts, if applicable, and forward one (1) copy to the appropriate administrator. One (1) copy shall be retained by you.

Expense vouchers must be submitted within (90) calendar days after the expenses were incurred, or by the last working day of the fiscal year, whichever is earlier.

For more information on HFM BOCES’ expense reimbursement policies, refer to Board Policy 4700.

Attendance at Conferences (Board Policy 6104)

Attendance at conferences must be approved by the appropriate administrator. You must submit a completed conference request form in a timely manner and secure the approval (signature) by the appropriate administrator before attending any conference. Please keep in mind that when considering conference requests the administrator will consider budget allocations for cost/benefit; conformance of the conference to student and program needs; relevance of the conference to your assignment and/or roles within HFM BOCES; number of current year conferences attended by you, and/or attendance to the same conference in consecutive years; as well as timeliness of the request.

For more information on HFM BOCES’ attendance and conferences policy, refer to Board Policy 6104.