Personal Illness and Injury Leave 10.1.1 Full-time bargaining unit members shall be entitled to ten (10) days leave with full pay for each school year for purposes of personal illness or injury. Bargaining unit members who work less than full-time shall be entitled to that portion of the ten (10) days leave as the number of hours per week of scheduled duty relates to the number of hours for a full-time bargaining unit member in a comparable position.
10.1.2 After all earned leave as set forth in 10.1.1 above is exhausted, additional non-accumulated leave shall be available for a period not to exceed five (5) school months, provided that the provisions of 10.1.4 below are met. The amount deducted for leave purposes from the bargaining unit member's salary shall be the amount actually paid a substitute employee employed to fill the position during the leave, or, if no substitute is employed, the amount which would have been paid to a substitute. The five-month period shall begin on the eleventh (11) day of absence due to illness or injury.
10.1.3 If a bargaining unit member does not utilize the full amount of leave as authorized in Article
10.1.1 above in any school year, the amount not utilized shall be accumulated from year to year.
10.1.4 Upon request by District management, a bargaining unit member shall be required to present a medical doctor's certificate verifying the personal illness or injury and/or a medical authorization to return to work. If the illness or injury exceeds twenty (20) consecutive days, the District may require a certified medical specialist to visit the bargaining unit member and make all necessary inquiries in order to be fully informed as to the nature and severity of the illness or injury, and to report such findings to the Superintendent or designee. If the report concludes that the absence is not due to personal illness or injury, or that the illness is not sufficiently severe to warrant continued absence, then the Superintendent or designee, after notice to the bargaining unit member, may refuse to grant such a leave. If requested by the District management to furnish a medical doctor's authorization, bargaining unit member shall submit said authorization upon returning to work.
10.1.5 Whenever possible, a bargaining unit member must contact the designated District Office personnel as soon as the need to be absent is known, but no later than ninety (90) minutes prior to the bargaining unit member's starting time, in order to permit the employer time to secure a substitute. Failure to provide adequate notice may be grounds for denial of leave with pay.
10.1.6 A bargaining unit member who is absent for one-half day or less may have deducted one-half day from the accumulated leave; and if the absence exceeds more than one-half day, a full day may be deducted from accumulated leave.
10.1.7 A bargaining unit member may not be allowed to return to work and may be required to pay the cost of the substitute secured if the bargaining unit member fails to notify the District of the bargaining unit member's intent to return to work prior to the close of the bargaining unit member's preceding workday, and such failure results in a substitute being secured.
10.1.8 Each bargaining unit member may request notification of the accumulated leave by September 30th of each school year.
Limitation of Vendor Indemnification and Similar Clauses This is a requirement of the TIPS Contract and is non-negotiable TIPS, a department of Region 8 Education Service Center, a political subdivision, and local government entity of the State of Texas, is prohibited from indemnifying third-parties (pursuant to the Article 3, Section 52 of the Texas Constitution) except as otherwise specifically provided for by law or as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Article 3, Section 52 of the Texas Constitution states that "no debt shall be created by or on behalf of the State … " and the Texas Attorney General has opined that a contractually imposed obligation of indemnity creates a "debt" in the constitutional sense. Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. MW-475 (1982). Thus, contract clauses which require TIPS to indemnify Vendor, pay liquidated damages, pay attorney's fees, waive Vendor's liability, or waive any applicable statute of limitations must be deleted or qualified with ''to the extent permitted by the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas." Does Vendor agree? Yes, I Agree TIPS, a department of Region 8 Education Service Center, a political subdivision, and local government entity of the State of Texas, does not agree to binding arbitration as a remedy to dispute and no such provision shall be permitted in this Agreement with TIPS. Vendor agrees that any claim arising out of or related to this Agreement, except those specifically and expressly waived or negotiated within this Agreement, may be subject to non-binding mediation at the request of either party to be conducted by a mutually agreed upon mediator as prerequisite to the filing of any lawsuit arising out of or related to this Agreement. Mediation shall be held in either Camp or Titus County, Texas. Agreements reached in mediation will be subject to the approval by the Region 8 ESC's Board of Directors, authorized signature of the Parties if approved by the Board of Directors, and, once approved by the Board of Directors and properly signed, shall thereafter be enforceable as provided by the laws of the State of Texas. Does Vendor agree? Yes, Vendor agrees Does Vendor agree? Yes, Vendor agrees Vendor agrees that nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as a waiver of sovereign or government immunity; nor constitute or be construed as a waiver of any of the privileges, rights, defenses, remedies, or immunities available to Region 8 Education Service Center or its TIPS Department. The failure to enforce, or any delay in the enforcement, of any privileges, rights, defenses, remedies, or immunities available to Region 8 Education Service Center or its TIPS Department under this Agreement or under applicable law shall not constitute a waiver of such privileges, rights, defenses, remedies, or immunities or be considered as a basis for estoppel. Does Vendor agree? Yes, Vendor agrees Vendor agrees that TIPS and TIPS Members shall not be liable for interest or late-payment fees on past-due balances at a rate higher than permitted by the laws or regulations of the jurisdiction of the TIPS Member. Funding-Out Clause: Vendor agrees to abide by the applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to Texas Local Government Code § 271.903, or any other statutory or regulatory limitation of the jurisdiction of any TIPS Member, which requires that contracts approved by TIPS or a TIPS Member are subject to the budgeting and appropriation of currently available funds by the entity or its governing body.
