Grant of Additional Sick Leave Days. The Parties recognize that there may be circumstances under which a lump sum grant of additional sick leave days in order to qualify a bargaining unit member for additional credited service recognizable by TRS may be in the best interests of not only the bargaining unit member but also the District. Consequently, the Association and the Administration shall identify those bargaining unit members qualified to retire under the early retirement option who might upon a grant of lump sum sick leave achieve sufficient years of credited service to avoid an early retirement option penalty. The Parties shall then analyze whether or not the payment required of the District by reason of making a grant of additional sick leave days beyond the normal annual allocation would exceed the penalty to be incurred by the District by reason of a bargaining unit member taking advantage of the early retirement option. Should TRS confirm that the ERO penalty would exceed the additional payment required of the District by reason of the grant of sick leave, the District shall grant such additional days of sick leave as would qualify the bargaining unit member for retirement without the imposition of an ERO penalty upon either the bargaining unit member or the District.
