Your rights and responsibilities

Required Medical Documentation: A correctional facility is a unique and challenging environment. The Department needs to ensure that employees are capable of performing their essential functions without undue risk to themselves or others after a medical leave of absence.

The Department requires employees who have missed at least five full days of work for a medical condition to submit an essential functions form stating whether the employee is released to full duty work or if they have return to work restrictions. The Department reserves the right to require any employee to submit medical documentation when “there is a specific concern regarding the validity of an employee’s absence or ability to safely return to work.”

To ensure no delay in your return to work, the essential functions form must be received before close of business at minimum one business day before your planned return to work. Upon receipt, DAJD Human Resources will inform you of its receipt and inform the facility management by email whether there is a full duty release or medical restrictions. Staff are generally provided a three-day grace period to allow sufficient time to process incoming information. However, placement in a light-duty position is subject to availability.

Forms:

• Captain
• Community Surveillance Officer
• Cook-Baker
• Corrections Program Specialist JA
• Corrections Officer JA
• Corrections Sergeant JA
• Customer Support Specialist III 
• Detention Officer  –  Juvenile Division
• Juvenile Detention Supervisor
• Personal Recognizance Investigator
• Staff & Charge Nurse JA

Return to work on Transitional (light) Duty

Transitional duty is offered to enable the employee to perform some of their essential functions while they recuperate and transition back to performing their full duties, including having predictable/reliable attendance and working mandatory overtime. The transitional duty assignment is subject to availability and based on the restrictions of the employee. Some pre-approved posts for Correctional Officers are the control posts, reception for Customer Service Specialist IIIs and central control for Detention Officers.

If you are seeking transitional duty, please have your doctor fill out a job analysis (JA) or an essential functions form (EFF) indicating what tasks you are medically restricted from performing, and complete all requested information

In most cases, transitional duty may last no longer than six months while you transition back to full duty. If you have medical restrictions which impact your ability to perform the essential functions of your job longer than six months or on a permanent basis, a referral to Disability Services may be made to address job accommodations.

Upon release to return to a full-duty capacity, an updated JA or EFF will be required. Return-to-work information must be faxed to DAJD Human Resources when you can be released to work or back to full duty. If no information is received by Human Resources within three days, then you are taken off work on sick leave until the documentation is received.