P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 1466
Given that fringe benefits constitute an area so needed by and with such transcendental effect on public employees, in order to maintain a uniform and fair human resources administration, the following norms are hereby established:
Fringe benefits shall be:
(1) Vacation leave.—
(a) All employees shall be entitled to accrue vacation leave, at a ratio of two [and one-half] (2 1 / 2) days for each month of service, up to a maximum of sixty (60) work days at the closing of each calendar year. Reduced full-time and part-time employees shall accrue vacation leave in proportion to the number of hours during which they render services regularly.
(b) Vacation leave is granted to employees to provide them with a reasonable period of annual rest. As a general rule, the leave shall be enjoyed during the year it was accrued. Each agency shall formulate a vacation plan for each calendar year, in coordination with supervisors and employees, in which the period within which each employee shall enjoy his/her vacation shall be established, in the manner most compatible with the needs of the service. Said plan shall established in advance as necessary so that it takes effect on the first of January of each year. It shall be the responsibility of the agencies and the employees to comply with the aforementioned plan. Exception may only be made in cases of clear and unpostponable needs of the service.
(c) The agency shall formulate and administer the vacation plan so that employees do not lose days of vacation leave at the closing of the calendar year and they enjoy their regular vacation leave.
(d) All employees shall be entitled to enjoy their vacation leave for a period of thirty (30) working days during each calendar year, of which not less than fifteen (15) shall be consecutive.
(e) Employees who are unable to enjoy their vacation leave during a specific calendar year due to the needs of the service and at the requirement of the agency, are excepted from the provisions of the above clause (d) of this subsection. In this case, provision shall be made for the employee to enjoy at least the excess of leave accrued over the sixty (60)-day limit, on the closest day possible, within the first six (6) months of the following calendar year.
(f) When due to extraordinary circumstances of the service beyond the employee’s control he/she has not been able to enjoy the excess accrued within the regulated term provided for in clause (g) of this subsection, the agency shall pay the same on or before July 31 of each year.
(g) Employees may opt to authorize the agency to transfer to the Department of the Treasury any amount on account of vacation leave accrued in excess, in order for the same to be credited toward full or partial payment of any income tax debt pending at the time of authorizing the transfer.
(h) The agency shall provide for the enjoyment of all days of leave accrued in excess, before processing any severance which constitutes a total and absolute disassociation from the system and before processing a change to move to another agency to render services.
(i) Normally, vacation leaves shall not be granted for a period greater than thirty (30) work days per calendar year. However, the agency may grant a vacation leave in excess of thirty (30) work days, up to a maximum of sixty (60) days, in any calendar year, to those employees who have days of leave accrued. In granting said leave, the needs of the service shall be taken into account, as well as other factors such as the following:
(A) The use of said leave by the employee for self-improvement activities, such as travel, studies, etc.
(B) Prolonged illness of the employee after having depleted the days of sick leave.
(C) Personal problems of the employee which require his/her personal attention.
[(D) If there has been a cancellation of the use of leave due to the needs of the service and requirements of the agency.]
[(E)] The total amount of days of leave accrued by the employee.
(j) Under special circumstances, vacation leave may be advanced to regular employees who have rendered services to the government for over one (1) year, when it is ascertained that the employee shall return to the service. The vacation leave thus advanced shall not exceed thirty (30) work days. The granting of vacation leave in advance shall require in all cases the previous written approval of the appointing authority or of to whom it delegates. All employees to who having been granted vacation leave in advance separates from the service, voluntarily or involuntarily, before rendering services for the necessary period required to accrue the total amount of leave that has been advanced, shall be under the obligation to reimburse the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico any sum of money that has been paid to them on account of such leave granted in advance.
(k) In the case an employee is granted leave without pay, it shall not be necessary for the employee to deplete the vacation leave he/she has accrued before beginning to use the leave without pay.
(l) When an employee is authorized to enjoy his/her vacation leave accrued or in advance, the payment in advance of the salaries corresponding to the period of leave may be authorized, provided the employee requests it with enough time in advance. Such an authorization shall be made immediately after the approval for the leave.
(m) One or more public employees may transfer, in exceptional cases, to another public employee who works in the same government agency, days accrued in vacation leave, up to a maximum of five (5) days, pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 44 of May 22, 1996, when:
(A) The transferee employee has worked uninterruptedly for a minimum of one (1) year with any government entity.
(B) The transferee employee has not fallen into a pattern of absenteeism, thus failing to comply with the norms of the government entity.
(C) The transferee employee has depleted the leaves to which he/she is entitled in their entirety, as a consequence of an emergency.
(D) The transferee employee or his/her representative factually proves the emergency and the need to be absent for a number of days which exceed the already depleted leaves.
(E) The transferor employee has accrued a minimum of fifteen (15) days of vacation leave in excess of the amount of days of leave to be transferred.
(F) The transferor employee has submitted a written authorization to the government in which he/she works, consenting to the transfer and specifying the name of the transferee.
(G) The transferee employee or his/her representative accepts in writing the transfer proposed.
(2) Sick leave.—
(a) All employees shall be entitled to accrue sick leave at a ratio of one [and one-half (1 1 / 2 ) days] per month of service. Reduced full-time and part-time employees shall accrue sick leave in proportion to the number of hours they regularly render services. Said leave shall be used when the employee is sick or unable, or has been exposed to a contagious disease which requires that he/she be absent from work in order to protect his/her health or the health of others. Furthermore, all employees may avail themselves of up to a maximum of five (5) days a year from the days accrued in sick leave, provided they maintain a minimum balance of fifteen (15) days, to request a special leave with the purpose of using the same:
(A) To care for and tend to their children due to sickness.
(B) To tend to the illness or run errands of elderly or disabled persons of the family unit, to be understood as the fourth degree of consanguinity or the second in affinity, or persons who live under the same roof, or persons of which they are the legal custodian or tutor. Provided, That the errands to be carried out must conform to the purpose of the sick leave; that is, to caring for and tending to the health of the persons comprised herein.
(i) Elderly person.— Shall mean any person of or over the age of sixty (60).
(ii) Person with disabilities.— Shall mean any person with a physical, mental or sensory disability which substantially limits one (1) or more essential activities in his/her life.
(C) First appearance of any petitioning party, victim or complainant in administrative and/or judicial proceedings before any public department, agency, corporation or instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in cases of petitions for child support, domestic abuse, sexual harassment in the workplace or gender discrimination. The employee shall present evidence issued by the competent authority vouching for said appearance.
(b) Sick leave may be accrued up to a maximum of ninety (90) work days at the closing of any calendar year. The employee may use up all of his/her sick leave he/she has accrued during any calendar year. Furthermore, the employee shall be entitled to receive pay each year for said excess at least on March 31 of each year, or he/she may opt to authorize the agency to make a money transfer of said excess or part thereof to the Department of the Treasury with the purpose of apportioning as full or partial payment of any outstanding income tax debt.
(c) When an employee is absent from work due to sickness, he/she may be required a medical certificate, vouching for:
(A) The fact that he/she was truly sick, or had been exposed to a contagious disease, or was unable to work during the period of his/her absence.
(B) The sickness of his/her child(ren).
(C) The sickness of elderly or disabled persons of the family unit, to be understood as the fourth degree of consanguinity and second in affinity, or persons who live under the same roof, or persons of whom the employee is their legal guardian or tutor.
In addition to the medical certificate, the inability of the employee to show up to work due to sickness may be ascertained by any other appropriate means. The above shall not apply or be construed in a manner so as to undermine the ADA or the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
(d) In cases of sickness in which the employee does not have sick leave accrued, an advance of up to a maximum of eighteen (18) work days may be given to any regular employee who has rendered services to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for a period of not less than one (1) year, when there is reasonable certainty that the employee shall return to the service. Any employee who has been given sick leave days in advance and becomes separated from the service, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, before having rendered services for the necessary period required to accrue the total amount of leave days he/she was given in advance, shall be under the obligation to reimburse to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico any sum of money outstanding that he/she had been paid on account of said leave.
(e) In cases of prolonged sickness, once the sick leave has been depleted, employees may use all vacation leave days they have accrued, after having been authorized by their immediate supervisor. If the employee should deplete both leaves and continues to be sick, he/she may be granted leave without pay.
(3) Maternity leave.—
(a) Maternity leave shall comprise the period between prenatal rest and postpartum rest to which all pregnant employees are entitled. Likewise, it shall comprise the period to which an employee adopting a minor is entitled pursuant to the applicable legislation.
(b) All pregnant employees shall be entitled to a resting period of four (4) weeks before they give birth and four weeks after. Provided, That the employee may enjoy consecutively four (4) additional weeks for the caring of and tending to the minor.
Birthing shall mean the act whereby the conceived being is expelled from the mother’s body naturally, or legally extracted through surgical-obstetrical procedures. Likewise, it shall comprise any premature birthing or miscarriage, including, in this last case, those legally induced by medical staff, sustained by the mother at any time during the pregnancy.
(c) The employee may opt to take only one (1) week of prenatal rest and extend up to seven (7) weeks the postpartum resting period to which she is entitled, or up to eleven (11) weeks, should the four (4) additional weeks for the caring of and tending to the minor be included. In these cases, the employee shall submit to the agency a medical certificate vouching for the fact that she is fit to render services up to one week before the birthing.
(d) During the maternity leave period, the employee shall earn her full salary.
(e) In the case of an employee with transitory status, the maternity leave shall not exceed the period of appointment.
(f) Should the birthing occur before the employee has enjoyed her four (4)-week prenatal resting period in full, or before she has begun to enjoy said period, the employee may opt to extend the postpartum resting period for a period of time equal to the time she could not enjoy her prenatal rest.
(g) The employee may request to return to work before the expiration of her postpartum resting period, provided she presents to the agency a medical certificate vouching for the fact that she is fit to perform her functions. In this case, it shall be understood that the employee waives the unused balance corresponding to the maternity leave to which she was entitled.
(h) When the probable due date is estimated wrongly and the employee has enjoyed her four (4) weeks of prenatal rest and the birthing does not occur, she shall be entitled to have her prenatal resting period extended, with full pay, until she goes into labor. In this case, the employee shall retain the right to enjoy four (4) weeks of postpartum rest as of the date of the birthing, and four (4) additional weeks for the caring of and tending to the minor.
(i) In cases of premature birthing, the employee shall be entitled to enjoy eight (8) weeks of maternity leave and four (4) additional weeks for the caring of and tending to the minor.
(j) An employee who suffers a miscarriage may claim up to a maximum of four (4) weeks of maternity leave. However, to be entitled to such benefits, the miscarriage must be of such a nature so as to produce the same physiological effects as they are regularly produced as a consequence of labor, pursuant to the determination and certification of the physician tending to her during the miscarriage.
(k) In case the employee suffers from any postpartum complication which prevents her from returning to work after having enjoyed in full the post-partum resting period and the four additional (4) weeks for the caring of and tending to the minor, the agency shall grant her a sick leave.
In these cases, a medical certificate shall be required, which shall state the condition of the employee and the time it is estimated said condition shall persist. Should the employee have no sick leave accrued, she shall be granted a vacation leave. In the case she does not have sick or vacation leave accrued, she may be granted leave without pay for the term recommended by her physician.
(l) An employee who adopts a minor of preschool age, be it understood as a minor five (5) years of age or younger, who is not enrolled in an educational institution, pursuant to the legislation and legal procedures in effect in Puerto Rico or in any United States jurisdiction, shall be entitled to the same maternity leave benefits, with full pay, enjoyed by employees who give birth naturally. In the case of the adoption of a minor six (6) years of age or older, the employee shall be entitled to paid maternity leave for a term of fifteen (15) days. The term of this leave shall begin on the date the minor is welcomed into the family unit, which shall be vouched for in writing.
(m) Maternity leave shall not be granted to employees who are enjoying any other kind of leave, whether with or without pay. Exception from this provision is made of employees who have been authorized to go on vacation leave or sick leave and employees who are on leave without pay due to pre-labor complications.
(n) A pregnant employee or an employee who adopts a minor is under the obligation to notify the agency in advance of her plans to enjoy her maternity leave and her plans to return to work.
(o) The agency may authorize an advance payment of the salaries corresponding to the maternity leave period, provided the employee so requests sufficiently in advance. Should the employee return to work before her postpartum resting period has expired, she shall be under the obligation to reimburse the balance corresponding to the unused maternity leave.
(p) In case the newborn dies before the maternity leave period has transpired, the employee shall be entitled to claim solely that part of the postpartum resting period which completes the first eight (8) weeks of unused maternity leave. Provided, That the benefit of four (4) additional weeks for the caring of the minor shall cease on the date of death of the infant, insofar as there is no longer the need to take care of and tend to the newborn, reason which justified its being granted. In these cases, the employee may avail herself of any other leave to which she is entitled.
(4) Paternity leave.—
(a) Paternity leave shall comprise a period of five (5) work days as of the date of birth of the child.
(b) When claiming this right, the employee shall certify that he is legally married to or lives with the mother of the minor, and that he has not incurred domestic abuse. Said certification shall be made by presenting the form required by the agency for such purposes, which shall also bear the signature of the mother of the minor.
(c) The employee shall request paternity leave and as soon as possible, he shall submit the birth certificate.
(d) During the paternity leave period, the employee shall earn his full salary.
(e) In the case of an employee with transitory status, the paternity leave shall not exceed the term of appointment.
(f) Paternity leave shall not be granted to employees who are enjoying any other kind of leave, whether with or without pay. Exception from this provision is made of employees who have been authorized to go on vacation leave or sick leave.
Clauses (d), (e), and (f) of this subsection shall apply equally in those cases in which the employee requests the benefits of the leave established in the preceding paragraphs.
(g) An employee who, jointly with his spouse, adopts a minor of preschool age, be it understood as a minor five (5) years of age or younger, who is not enrolled in an educational institution, pursuant to the legislation and legal procedures in effect in Puerto Rico or in any United States jurisdiction, shall be entitled to a paternity leave for a term of fifteen (15) days. The term of this leave shall begin on the date the minor is welcomed into the family unit, which shall be vouched for in writing. In the case of the adoption of a minor six (6) years of age or older, the employee shall be entitled to paid paternity leave for a term of fifteen (15) days. When claiming this right, the employee shall certify that he is legally married, if applicable, and that he has not been convicted of domestic violence, a sex offense, or child abuse. Said certification shall be made by presenting the form required by the agency for such purposes, which shall also bear the signature of the spouse.
Any employee who individually adopts a minor of preschool age, be it understood as a minor five (5) years of age or younger, who is not enrolled in an educational institution, pursuant to the legislation and legal procedures in effect in Puerto Rico or in any United States jurisdiction, shall be entitled to a paternity leave for a term of eight (8) weeks. The term of this leave shall begin on the date the minor is welcomed into the family unit, which shall be vouched for in writing. In the case of the adoption of a minor six (6) years of age or older, the employee shall be entitled to paid paternity leave for a term of fifteen (15) days.
Clauses (d), (e), and (f) of this subsection shall apply equally in those cases in which the employee requests the benefits of the leave established in the preceding paragraphs.
(5) Special breastfeeding leave with pay.—
(a) Breastfeeding mothers shall be granted the time so that, after having enjoyed their maternity leave, they have the opportunity to breastfeed their babies, for half (1 / 2) an hour within the full-time work day, which may be distributed into two (2) fifteen (15)-minute periods each. This benefit shall be granted for those cases in which the agency has a child day care center within its facilities and the mother is able to go to said center in which the baby is, to breastfeed him/her, or to [extract] milk in a place habilitated for such purposes within the workplace.
(b) Within the workplace, the breastfeeding period shall have a maximum duration of twelve (12) months, to be counted as of the date the employee returns to her functions.
(c) Employees who wish to use this benefit shall present to the agency a medical certificate, during the period corresponding to the fourth (4th) and the eighth (8th) months of age of the infant, vouching for the fact and certifying that she is breastfeeding her baby. Said certificate shall be presented not later than five (5) days into each period. Provided, That the agency shall designate an area or physical space that guarantees the privacy of the breastfeeding mother, as well as her safety and hygiene, without this entailing the creation or construction of physical or organizational structures, contingent upon the availability of resources of the government entities. Agencies shall establish regulations on the operation of said breastfeeding areas.
(6) Leave without pay.—
(a) Leave without pay shall not be granted in the case the employee intends to use the same to venture into other job opportunities.
(b) In case the cause for which the leave was granted ceases, the employee shall return immediately to his/her job or notify the agency of the reasons why he/she is unavailable, or of his/her decision not to return to the job he/she held.
(c) In addition to the leaves without pay that may be granted by each agency through regulations, the following shall be granted:
(A) To career employees with regular status, to render services in other agencies of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or in a private entity, should it be determined that the experienced to be gained by the employee will solve a proven training need for the agency or the public service.
(B) To career employees with a regular or probationary status, to render services on a transitory basis pursuant to the provisions of § 1461d of this title.
(C) To career employees with a regular status, to protect their status or the rights to which they may be entitled in cases of:
(i) A disability claim before the Retirement System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or other entity, and the employee has depleted his/her sick and vacation leaves.
(ii) Having suffered a work-related accident and being under medical treatment with the State Insurance Fund Corporation or pending a final determination concerning the employee’s accident, and he/she [has] depleted his/her sick and vacation leaves.
(D) To employees who so request after the birth of their child. Provided, That this kind of leave without pay may be granted for a period of time which shall not exceed six (6) months as of the date on which it is authorized.
(E) To employees with a regular status who move on to render services as confidential employees at the Office of the Governor or at the Legislature, for the term they are rendering such services.
(F) To employees with a regular status who have been elected in the general elections or have been selected to fill vacancies of an elective public office within the Executive or Legislative Branch, including the offices of Resident Commissioner in the United States and mayor, for the term they are rendering such services.
(7) Furthermore, special leaves for a justified cause shall be granted, with or without pay, as the case may be, such as but not limited to: leave for judicial purposes; leave with pay in activities in which the employee is representing the country; military leave; two (2) working-hour leave at the beginning and the end of each school semester to go to their children’s school to be informed of their academic performance; leave to vaccinate their children; leave for volunteer services to the Civil Defense Corps in cases of disaster; leave to render volunteer services to the American Red Cross; sports leave; and leave to donate blood. Provided, That the aforementioned leaves shall be governed by the special laws that grant them through regulations.
History —Aug. 3, 2004, No. 184, § 10.1; June 13, 2007, No. 47, § 1; July 28, 2011, No. 160, §§ 1, 2.