Child Rearing Leave Subd. 1 Child rearing leave of absences shall be available to teachers for a period of time, not to exceed twelve (12) calendar months, for the purpose of caring for a newborn infant or pre-school adopted child for which the applicant has the legal responsibility for the care and/or support of said child. Such leave may be taken subsequent to birth of the teacher's child, or in the case of adoption, when the child is physically turned over to the teacher-parent.
a. At least two (2) calendar months prior to the estimated delivery date of the child, the employee shall be required to notify the Employer in writing whether or not the employee intends to take child rearing leave. This election may be changed at any time before the teacher is no longer disabled from working due to childbirth or pregnancy related disability or before the fifteenth (15th) day after the birth of the child, whichever is sooner.
b. Upon filing an application for adoption of a pre-school child, the employee shall be required to notify the Employer, in writing, of the teacher's intention to take a child rearing leave. Such notice to include the estimated date when such leave shall become effective.
Subd. 3 In connection with the election to take child rearing leave, the teacher shall submit a request for such leave in writing. Such request shall include an estimated commencement date and return date. The estimated commencement date shall be the physician's projected date the teacher will no longer be disabled from teaching due to childbirth or pregnancy related disability, or in the case of an adoption, the agency's estimated date when the child will be turned over to the parent.
Subd. 4 In making the final determination under Subd. 3 concerning the duration of a child rearing leave of absence, the Employer shall not be required to grant a leave of absence in excess of two (2) semesters. The actual commencement date of child rearing leave shall be the date on which the teacher is no longer disabled due to childbirth and pregnancy related disability as determined by the physician; or, in the case of an adoption, the date when the child is physically turned over to the teacher-parent. The return date shall be twelve (12) calendar months following the actual commencement of the leave except as may be provided in Subd. 7.
Notification of Absence A unit member shall contact the office of the division xxxx whenever there is a need to be absent and at least thirty (30) minutes prior to missing any work assignment. Should circumstances prohibit this notification, the unit member shall notify the division office in writing, within one week of returning to work, providing the reasons why advance notification was not given.
Application for Leave Any request for a leave of absence shall be submitted in writing by the employee to the Employer or designee. The request shall state the reason the leave of absence is being requested and the length of time off the employee desires. Authorization for a leave of absence shall be furnished to the employee by the Employer or designee, and it shall be in writing.
Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leave An Employee who is expecting the birth or adoption of a child shall be entitled to maternity/paternity/adoption leave without pay, provided she presents a medical certificate confirming the probable date of confinement, or in the case of adoption, gives the Employer notice of eligibility. Except in extenuating circumstances, the notice shall be submitted in writing at least twenty-eight (28) days in advance of the leave and shall specify the probable date of commencement and the anticipated length of leave. The following conditions shall apply:
(a) Leave of Absence for maternity/paternity/adoption shall be for up to eighteen (18) months as requested by the Employee, except in extenuating circumstances when, in the opinion of a medical practitioner, the leave should be further extended.
(b) Upon return from such leave, the Employee will resume employment at the same worksite, in the same or in a comparable position prior to the granting of such leave. In the event the Employee on Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leave is affected by lay off, she shall be afforded access to the provisions of Article 26, Layoff And Work Resumption.
(c) Notice of intention to return to work or request for a change of the length of the leave of absence, must be forwarded to the Employer twenty-eight (28) days prior to the expiration of the leave. The Employee shall be entitled to one (1) extension of said leave. However, the entire length of such leave of absence shall not exceed eighteen (18) months.
(d) An Employee shall have access to sick leave credits as per Article 12.07.
(e) Accrual of seniority when on such leave is calculated as follows:
(i) For full-time Employees, seniority shall accrue as if they were working.
(ii) For other than full-time Employees who have worked for one (1) year or more: 52 Week of Leave
(iii) For other than full-time Employees who have worked for less than one (1) year:
(f) Supplemental Employment Insurance Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Supplemental Employment Benefit (SEB) The Employer will implement a Supplemental Employment Benefits Plan. Employees will receive the Supplementary Employment Benefits if they meet eligibility requirements. Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Supplemental Employment Benefit (SEB) shall apply to all Employees.
MATERNITY-RELATED REASSIGNMENT OR LEAVE a. An employee who is pregnant or nursing may, during the period from the beginning of pregnancy to the end of the fifty-second (52nd) week following the birth, request the Council to modify her job functions or reassign her to another job if, by reason of the pregnancy or nursing, continuing any of her current functions may poses a risk to her health or that of the foetus or child.
b. An employee’s request under sub-clause (a) above must be accompanied or followed as soon as possible by a medical certificate indicating the expected duration of the potential risk and the activities or conditions to avoid in order to eliminate the risk. Dependant upon the particular circumstances of the request, the Council may obtain an independent medical opinion.
c. An employee who has made a request under sub-clause (a) above is entitled to continue in her current job while the Council examines her request, but, if the risk posed by continuing any of her job functions so requires, she is entitled to be immediately assigned alternative duties until such time as the Council:
i. modifies her job functions or reassigns her, or
ii. informs her in writing that it is not reasonably practicable to modify her job functions or reassign her.
d. Where reasonably practicable, the Council shall modify the employee’s job functions or reassign her.
e. Where the Council concludes that a modification of job functions or a reassignment that would avoid the activities or conditions indicated in the medical certificate is not reasonably practicable, the Council shall so inform the employee in writing and shall grant leave of absence without pay to the employee for the duration of the risk as indicated in the medical certificate. However, such leave shall end no later than fifty two (52) weeks after the birth.
f. An employee whose job functions have been modified, who has been reassigned or who is on leave of absence shall give at least two (2) weeks notice in writing to the Council of any change in duration of the risk or the inability as indicated in the medical certificate, unless there is a valid reason why that notice cannot be given. Such notice must be accompanied by a new medical certificate.
Maternity Adoption and Parental Leave For the purposes of granting Maternity, Adoption and Parental Leave, the provisions of the Canada Labour Code and of its Regulations shall apply.
Parental/Adoption Leave a) A full-time or regular-part time nurse who commenced employment with the Employer at least thirteen (13) weeks before the expected date of delivery or date of custody of a child and is a parent, shall be entitled to thirty seven (37) weeks of parental or adoption leave of absence without pay, in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Standards Act of Ontario, except as amended in this Article.
b) The nurse shall advise the Employer in writing seven (7) weeks in advance, but not later than two (2) weeks in advance, of the date the parental/adoption leave is to commence and end. Such leave must commence no later than thirty-five (35) weeks after the child was born or came into the custody, care or control of the parent.
c) The nurse shall re-confirm her intention to return to work or may request changes to dates originally approved in subsection b) above by written notification to be received by the Employer at least seven (7) weeks in advance thereof. The nurse shall be reinstated to her former position unless the position has been discontinued in which case she shall be placed in a comparable position.
d) A full-time nurse’s seniority, vacation and sick leave shall continue to accrue during parental and adoption leave. However, the nurse will not be paid for named holidays occurring during such leaves of absence. A regular part-time nurse who is on an approved parental/adoption leave shall accrue seniority while on such leave, calculated on the basis of averaging her hours over the twenty (20) week period immediately preceding the week in which her leave commences.
e) During the nurse's parental or adoption leave, the nurse shall continue to participate in the pension plan and insured benefit plans (applicable to full-time nurses only) she is enrolled in immediately prior to commencing her leave, unless she gives the Employer seven (7) weeks advance written notice before her leave is to commence that she does not intend to do so. The nurse shall be required to prepay her share of any premiums and pension contributions.
f) A nurse returning from parental/adoption leave shall be paid at the same step in salary scale that she had attained prior to going on such leave of absence. Should an anniversary increment fall during such leave of absence, the nurse shall receive her anniversary increment upon her return to employment.
g) Nurses hired to replace nurses who are on approved parental/adoption leave, may be released and such release shall not be the subject of a grievance or arbitration. If retained by the Employer, the nurse shall be credited with seniority from her date of hire subject to successfully completing her probationary period.
Pre-Retirement Counseling Leave Each employee within four (4) years of chosen retirement age or date shall be granted, on a one-time basis, up to three and one-half (3-1/2) days leave with pay to pursue bona fide pre-retirement programs. Employees shall request the use of leave provided in this Section at least five (5) days prior to the intended day of use.
Pregnancy/Parental/Adoption Leave Pregnancy Leave will be in accordance with the current Employment Standards Act (Pregnancy and Parental Leave) at the time of application. (See Appendix A)
Donation of Sick Leave 8.10.1 On a case-by case basis and with mutual agreement between the Association and the District, any bargaining unit member may donate five (5) days (40 hours) of accumulated sick leave to another bargaining unit member who has suffered a long- term, non-industrial related illness or injury and who will exhaust all fully paid leaves. The employee suffering from such illness or designee must request, in writing, donations of sick leave from bargaining unit members only, through the Personnel Office. Requests shall be made prior to the exhaustion of all fully paid leave. Donation of sick leave will not be retroactive.
8.10.2 The Personnel Office will send out the notification of the request for donations of sick leave. The request will be sent for posting on all CUEA bulletin boards and the CUEA President notified of the request. All donations of sick leave will be voluntary with no personal solicitation of donors allowed. The names of any bargaining unit members donating sick leave under this provision will not be made public.
8.10.3 Only bargaining unit members who have a minimum of fifteen (15) days (120 hours) of accumulated sick leave remaining after donating five (5) days (40 hours) of sick leave under this provision will be permitted to participate in this program. Employees eligible to donate sick leave will do so on a District approved form and must submit that form to the Personnel Office.
8.10.4 The maximum amount of sick leave that may be donated to any one person requesting donations under this provision will be equivalent to sixty (60) days.
8.10.5 Donated sick leave will be utilized for the specified employee in the following manner:
(A) donated sick leave will be assigned a usage number. The first donated sick leave received by the Personnel Office will be the first sick leave used by the beneficiary. As sick leave is used by the unit member requesting it, the leave time will be charge against the unit member donating the sick leave.
(B) if the employee returns to work prior to using all donated days, unused sick leave will be returned to the bargaining unit member donating the sick leave.
8.10.6 Up to an additional twenty (20) days (160 hours) of donated time may be requested in writing to the Assistant Superintendent, Personnel Services by the affected member or his/her immediate family. In this case, Section 8.10.5 procedures will be put into effect.
8.10.7 When all paid leaves of absence have been exhausted, and the unit member is unable to return to work, in lieu of resigning the unit member may elect to do one of the following: take a personal leave without pay pursuant to Section 8.5 or Article VIII for not to exceed the remainder of the school year in which the leave occurs, or retire if eligible pursuant to the provisions of the State retirement system.
