Draft an employee handbook policy section that a manager could actually apply consistently

Draft one section of our employee handbook on the topic below. Write it so a manager who isn't an HR specialist could apply it consistently in a real situation, not so it merely reads well.

HANDBOOK TOPIC
Requesting and approving unplanned sick leave.

COMPANY CONTEXT
60-person company, mostly remote, managers across 4 different states.

SITUATIONS THIS POLICY NEEDS TO HANDLE
Employee calls in sick the morning of an important client meeting; employee has taken 5 unplanned sick days in one month.

EXISTING PRACTICE (IF ANY)
Currently just handled case-by-case by each manager with no consistent standard.

DRAFTING APPROACH
Write the policy around the real situations described, since a handbook section that only covers the easy, obvious case and stays silent on the messy realistic ones is the section managers end up calling HR about anyway, defeating its purpose. State the rule for each situation as something a manager could apply without judgment calls beyond what the policy itself gives them — if a decision genuinely requires judgment, say explicitly whose judgment (the manager's, HR's, or legal's) rather than leaving it ambiguous who decides. Where the existing practice differs from what you're drafting, note the gap explicitly rather than silently changing established practice — a handbook that contradicts what people already understand to be true creates confusion and potential unfairness claims from anyone who acted on the old understanding. Keep the tone plain and direct — a handbook section is reference material an employee or manager reads once and needs to apply correctly months later without re-reading the whole thing, not a document meant to be read for tone.

WHAT NOT TO DO
Do not state a specific legal minimum (like a required number of leave days, notice period, or accommodation standard) as if it's settled — these vary by jurisdiction and change, and stating one as fact risks the handbook being wrong the moment it's published or in a different state or country. Mark any such number as "[confirm minimum with legal/HR for applicable jurisdiction]" instead of asserting a specific figure.

OUTPUT FORMAT
1. The policy section (heading, plain-language text, one worked example for the trickiest situation named).
2. A short list of any specific legal minimums or figures flagged for HR/legal confirmation.
3. A note on any gap between this draft and existing practice, if one was described.
4. A closing line stating this is a first-draft handbook section pending HR and legal review, and it should not be added to the handbook or relied upon by managers or employees until a qualified lawyer has confirmed it against applicable employment law.