Page | 55 as low as one hour. Employees may not borrow against their vacation leave banks; therefore, no advance leave will be granted unless approved by the Department Head and the City Manager. When vacation leave is used, the employee is required to request payment of vacation leave hours according to his/her regularly scheduled workday. For example, if an employee works a six-hour day, he/she would request six hours of vacation when taking that day off. Any employee that becomes ill during a scheduled vacation cannot change a vacation day to a sick day. Scheduled vacation days count as vacation even if an employee would ordinarily take a sick day. When a City designated holiday falls during a scheduled vacation, it is not counted as a vacation day. When an employee is out on leave that is protected by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), that employee will continue accruing vacation leave as long as the employee is in active pay status. If an employee on FMLA leave uses all paid leave in accordance with the City’s FMLA policy and remains unable to return to work, then the remainder of the FMLA leave will be unpaid. During the period of unpaid FMLA leave, the employee will not continue to accrue vacation paid leave, consistent with the City’s policy for all types of unpaid leave. Payment Upon Separation – In the event of voluntary or involuntary termination, earned and unused vacation leave benefits will be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay provided that he/she has satisfactorily completed the 6-month trial period, and has given a minimum of two weeks’ notice. SICK LEAVE BENEFITS 604 The City’s sick leave program is an earned benefit that is designed primarily to provide limited income protection when an eligible employee is unable to work as a short-term result of injury, illness or temporary disability. Basic Eligibility –To be eligible for sick leave benefits, an employee must be in a regular full-time or regular part-time position. Other employee categories are not eligible to receive sick leave benefits. Accrual Rate – Sick leave benefits are earned at a rate of 3.692 hours each full pay period worked (96 hours per year). The employee must remain in active pay status for the full pay period in order to receive the accrual. Eligible regular part-time employees earn prorated sick leave benefits based on their full-time equivalency. Employees on an unpaid leave of absence will cease to accrue sick leave until they return to active pay status for a full pay period. Acceptable Use – Sick leave benefits may also be used for the following: • RoutineMedical Care/Wellness – Employees may use sick leave to cover absences due tomedical, dental or optical examinations and treatments. When possible, employees are expected to schedule planned medical appointments in a manner that minimizes disruption of workflow. • Care for Eligible Family Members – Up to forty (40) hours of sick leave per calendar year may be used for illness, injury, or preventative health needs for eligible family members. For the purposes of this policy, eligible family members include the employee’s spouse, dependent child or parent. An adult child may also be covered under this policy if they have a pre-existing/long-term condition that makes them incapable of self-care. An additional 40 hours of sick leave may be used to care for a spouse immediately following childbirth or immediately following the legal adoption of a child. Sick Leave may not be used prior to being earned, and employees may only use sick leave for its intended purpose (outlined above). Employees using sick leave shall not engage in any activities including other employment, self-employment, sports, hobbies, etc., whichmay impede recovery from the injury/illness. Managers will monitor employee sick leave usage for appropriate usage and patterns of abuse. Abuse of paid sick leave will result in denial of benefits and/or disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
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