Disability Leave a. An employee who has suffered possible injury in the performance of assigned duties shall immediately undergo such medical examination as the appointing authority deems necessary. He or she shall not be considered absent from duty during the time required for such examination.
b. A regular employee who is unable to perform any appropriate work assignment because of disability incurred in the performance of assigned duties shall be entitled to the following disability leave benefits, in addition to those provided pursuant to the California Worker's Compensation Insurance Act.
(1) During any period of disability for which payment is not provided under Worker's Compensation Insurance, the employee shall be placed on disability leave with pay to the extent of any leave with pay which he or she has accrued. Such disability leave with pay shall be charged against the employee's accrued leave with pay.
(2) During any period of disability for which payment is provided under Worker's Compensation Insurance, the employee shall elect either:
(a) Retain any Workers' Compensation Benefits received during the pay period and receive full pay. The employee shall use their accrued sick leave, vacation CTO and HIL on an hour- for-hour basis to cover all hours the employee is absent from duty due to the work-related disability during the applicable pay period. Or,
(b) Retain any Workers' Compensation Benefits received during the pay period and receive a partial paycheck in an amount so that the partial pay and the Workers' Compensation Benefits added together are equivalent to the employee's full pay. The employee shall use their accrued sick leave, vacation, CTO, and HIL in an amount equal to one-half of the number of hours the employee was absent from work during the pay period due to the work-related disability. If, however, the amount of the Workers' Compensation Benefits is subtracted from the employee's full pay for the time off due to the disability, and the remainder is less than one-half of the amount of such full pay, then only the number of leave balance hours necessary to equal that remainder shall be charged.
(3) The choice of either (2)(a) or (2)(b) above shall be an irrevocable choice for the duration of the disability leave resulting from the work- related injury. However, if the employee returns to work for a period of at least thirty (30) calendar days, the employee may again elect to choose either option b.(2)(a) or b.(2)(b) for any subsequent disability leave taken as a result of (or relating to) the same injury.
c. All disability leave provisions of this section shall terminate when the employee uses all accrued sick leave, vacation, CTO or HIL balances, or upon the date of the employee's recovery from disability, receipt of permanent disability under Workers' Compensation Insurance, retirement, termination from County employment, or death.
Maternity Disability Leave Parental Leave
Pregnancy Disability Leave A. Leave for pregnancy or childbirth related disability is in addition to any leave granted under FMLA.
B. Pregnancy disability leave will be granted for the period of time an employee is sick or temporarily disabled because of pregnancy and/or childbirth. An employee must submit a written request for disability leave due to pregnancy and/or childbirth in accordance with Employer policy. An employee may be required to submit medical certification or verification for the period of the disability. Such leave due to pregnancy and/or childbirth may be a combination of sick leave, vacation leave, personal holiday, compensatory time, shared leave and leave without pay. The combination and use of paid and unpaid leave will be the choice of the employee.
Extended Illness Leave When an employee is absent from his/her duties on account of illness or accident for a period of five school months or less, whether or not the illness or accident arises out of or in the course of employment, the amount deducted from the salary due the employee for any of the five-school-month periods in which absence occurs shall not exceed the sum which is actually paid a substitute employee employed to fill the employee’s position during his/her absence, or if no substitute employee was employed, the amount that would have been paid to the substitute had a substitute been employed. The sick leave, including accumulated sick leave, and the five-month period shall run consecutively. In other words, the five-month period stipulated above begins immediately after use of the employee’s current annual ten days plus any accumulated sick leave. When the employee remains absent after use of the five-month differential pay leave, the employee shall be in unpaid status. When the employee has exhausted all available sick leave, including accumulated sick leave, and continues to be absent on account of illness or accident for a period beyond the five-month period, and the employee is not medically able to resume the duties of his/her position, the employee shall, if not placed in another position, be placed on a reemployment list for a period of 24 months if the employee is on probationary status or for a period of 39 months if the employee is on permanent status. When the employee is medically able, during the 24- or 39-month period, the employee shall be returned to employment in a position for which he/she is credentialed and is qualified. The 24-or 39-month period shall commence at the expiration of the five-month period described above. This five-month period shall be implemented as set forth in the mandatory provisions of Education Code Section 44977 (as amended by SB 1019, Chapter 30 of the Statutes of 1998) and the mandatory provisions of Education Code Section 44978.1 (as newly enacted by the same Chapter 30 of the Statutes of 1998.)
Maternity Leave Allowance
(a) An employee who qualifies for maternity leave pursuant to Clause 21.1, shall be paid a maternity leave allowance in accordance with the Supplemental Employment Benefit (SEB) Plan. In order to receive this allowance, the employee must provide to the Employer, proof that she has applied for and is eligible to receive employment insurance benefits pursuant to the Employment Insurance Act. An employee disentitled or disqualified from receiving employment insurance benefits is not eligible for maternity leave allowance.
(b) Pursuant to the Supplemental Employment Benefit (SEB) Plan, the maternity leave allowance will consist of 15 weekly payments equivalent to the difference between the employment insurance gross benefits and any other earnings received by the employee and 85% of the employee's basic pay.
Family Illness Leave An employee will be granted leave of absence for up to five (5) days per year without loss of pay or benefits for family illness. Additional family illness leave may be granted by the employer.
Disability Separation A. An employee with permanent status may be separated from service when the Employer determines that the employee is unable to perform the essential functions of the employee’s position due to a mental, sensory, or physical disability, which cannot be reasonably accommodated. Determinations of disability may be made by the Employer based on an employee’s written request for disability separation or after obtaining a written statement from a licensed physician or licensed mental health professional. The Employer can require an employee to obtain a medical examination, at Employer expense, from a licensed physician or licensed mental health professional of the Employer’s choice. Evidence may be requested from the licensed physician or licensed mental health professional regarding the employee’s limitations.
B. When the Employer has medical documentation of the employee’s disability and has determined that the employee cannot be reasonably accommodated in any available position for which they qualify, or the employee requests separation due to disability, the Employer may immediately separate the employee.
C. The Employer will inform the employee in writing of the option to apply to return to employment prior to their separation due to disability. The Employer will provide assistance to individuals seeking reemployment under this Article for two (2) years. If reemployed, upon successful completion of the employee’s probationary period, the time between separation and reemployment will be treated as leave without pay and will not be considered a break in service.
D. A disability separation is not a disciplinary action. Disability separation at the employee’s request is not subject to the grievance procedure in Article 30.
Temporary Disability Leave Upon application, and approval by the school employer, a temporary disability leave of absence shall be granted to teachers of this school corporation on the following basis:
Illness Leave Employees on an illness leave shall use all of their available entitlement time (i.e., vacation and paid or unpaid personal days) prior to using excused unpaid time.
Disability Plan The City and the Union agree to the following changes to the Medium Term Disability (MTD) and Long Term Disability Plans as defined in Schedule “J”, Letter of Intent (all other provisions of Schedule “J” Letter of Intent continue to apply):
a) Conditions of Payment Medium Term Disability as defined percentages of regular gross earnings for MTD benefits for any claim and continuing for a maximum period of 50 weeks as specified below: Effective July 1, 2013 95% of regular gross earnings all MTD hours Effective Jan. 1, 2015 90% of regular gross earnings all MTD hours Effective January 1, 2013, Long Term Disability at 67% of regular gross earnings to a maximum benefit of $4,500 per month commencing on the expiry of MTD (52 weeks from date of disability); such benefit to be indexed annually in accordance with annual general increases in wage rates for the appropriate group from which the claimant is a member. In all instances, benefits cease on the employee ceasing to be disabled, death, or the employee’s minimum retirement age (60 for all employees), or that age when the employee can retire without reduction in his/her accrued pension benefit (55 and 35 years’ service for all employees). The maximum benefit payment period is twelve (12) years from the commencement of disability and is inclusive of Short Term Sick Leave, Medium Term Disability and Long Term Disability Benefits. Existing LTD claims will be “grandfathered”. If an employee in receipt of Short Term Sick Leave or Medium Term Disability returns to full-time employment then the disability will be considered as a new disability if it occurs one hundred and twenty (120) or more calendar days after he/she has returned to work.
b) Disabled Employees The City and the Union recognize that certain employees who are physically disabled are unable to continue in their regular position. Such employees may be able to work on a part-time or full-time basis in light work positions. The City and the Union encourage a cooperative effort between Management and Union representatives and the Burnaby Municipal Benefit Society and have agreed to form a committee to review the cases of such employees. The four-member committee shall consist of the Director of Human Resources, the Department Head of the Department in which the affected employee is currently employed, the President - Local 23, and the Chairman of the Union Division in which the affected employee is currently a member, or their designates; and any decisions of the committee must be unanimous. The committee may decide that a disabled employee be placed in a light duty position, as agreed to by the committee; however, any resulting increase in staff budget costs is subject to the approval of the City Manager.
