Successive Disabilities If, following a period of total disability with respect to which benefits are paid from this Plan, an employee returns to work for a continuous period of six (6) months or more, any subsequent total disability suffered by that employee, whether related to the preceding disability or not, shall be considered a new disability and the disabled employee shall be entitled to benefit payments after the completion of another waiting period. In the event the period during which such an employee has returned to work is less than six (6) months and the employee again suffers a total disability that is related to the preceding disability, the subsequent disability shall be deemed a continuation of the preceding disability, and the disabled employee shall be entitled to benefit payments without the necessity of completing another waiting period. Should such an employee suffer a subsequent disability that is unrelated to the previous disability and provided the period during which the employee returned to work is longer than one (1) month, the subsequent disability shall be considered a new disability and the employee shall be entitled to benefit payments after the completion of another waiting period. If the period during which the employee returned to work is one (1) month or less, the subsequent disability shall be deemed a continuation of the preceding disability and the disabled employee shall be entitled to benefit payments without the necessity of completing another waiting period.
Recurring Disabilities (a) Employees who return to work after being absent because of illness or injury, and within fifteen (15) consecutive scheduled days of work again become unable to work because of the same illness or injury are considered to still be within the original Short Term Plan period as defined in Section 1.2(a).
(b) Employees who return to work after being absent because of illness or injury and within fifteen (15) consecutive scheduled workdays again become unable to work because of a new illness or injury unrelated to the illness or injury that caused the previous absence shall be entitled to a further seven (7) months of benefits under this Plan.
(c) Employees who return to work after being absent because of illness or injury, and after working fifteen (15) or more consecutive scheduled days of work, again become unable to work because of the same illness or injury will be entitled to a further seven (7) month period of benefits under this plan except as provided in (d) below, where the Short Term Plan period shall continue to be as defined in Section 1.2(a).
(d) Where an employee is returning to work after a period of illness or injury and where the Screening Committee approved such return on a trial basis for assessment and/or rehabilitation purposes, the Short Term Plan period shall continue to be as defined in Section 1.2(a). Such trial period must be approved during the period the employee is receiving short term benefits, however, the end of the trial period can go beyond the Short Term Plan benefit period.
(e) Employees who return to work after a period of illness or injury and who do not work the same number of hours that were scheduled prior to the illness or injury shall receive prorated benefits under this plan, however, not beyond seven (7) calendar months from the initial date of absence as defined in Section 1.2(a), if absence is due to the same illness or injury.
Permanent Disability Permanent Disability" shall mean Employee's physical or mental incapacity to perform his or her usual duties with such condition likely to remain continuously and permanently as determined by Employer.
SICK LEAVE AND LONG-TERM DISABILITY (Articles 12.01 to 12.11 apply to full-time nurses only)
12.01 The Hospital will assume total responsibility for providing and funding a short-term sick leave plan at least equivalent to that described in the 1980 Hospitals of Ontario Disability Income Plan brochure. Effective January 1, 2006, new hires will be covered under the 1992 Hospitals of Ontario Disability Income Plan. The Hospital will pay 75% of the billed premium towards coverage of eligible employees under the long-term disability portion of the Plan (HOODIP or an equivalent plan). The employee will pay the balance of the billed premium through payroll deduction. For the purpose of transfer to the short-term portion of the disability program, employees on the payroll as of the effective date of the transfer with three (3) months or more of service shall be deemed to have three (3) months of service. For the purpose of transfer to the long-term portion of the disability program, employees on the active payroll as of the effective date of the transfer with one (1) year or more of service shall be deemed to have one (1) year of service.
12.02 Effective the first of the month following the transfer, all existing sick leave plans in the Participating Hospitals shall be terminated and any provisions relating to such plans shall be null and void under the respective Collective Agreements except as to those provisions relating to payout of unused sick leave benefits which are specifically dealt with hereinafter.
12.03 Existing sick leave credits for each employee shall be converted to a sick leave bank to the credit of the employee. The sick leave bank shall contain the unused sick leave days to the credit of the nurse on the effective date of the transfer to the Plan set out in Article 12.01. The "sick leave bank" shall be utilized to:
(a) Supplement payment for sick leave days under the new plan which would otherwise be at less than full wages, and;
(b) Where a payout provision existed under the former sick leave plan in the Collective Agreement, payout shall be made on the termination of employment, or in the case of death, to the nurse's estate. The parties may agree to voluntarily cash out existing sick leave banks. The amount of the payout shall be a cash settlement at the nurse's then current salary rate for any unused sick credits to the maximum provided under the sick leave plan in which the nurse participated as of October 23, 1981;
(c) Where, as of the effective date of transfer, an employee does not have the required service to qualify for payout on termination, her or his existing sick leave credits as of that date shall nevertheless be converted to a sick leave bank in accordance with the foregoing and the nurse shall be entitled to the same cash out provisions as set out in paragraph (b) above providing the nurse subsequently achieves the necessary service to qualify for payout under the conditions of the sick leave plan in which she or he participated as of October 23, 1981;
(d) Where a payout provision existed under the former sick leave plan in the Collective Agreement, a nurse who, as of the date of this award, has accumulated sick leave credits and is prevented from working for the Hospital on account of an occupational illness or accident that is recognized by The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board as compensable within the meaning of the Workplace and Safety Insurance Act, the Hospital, on application from the nurse, will supplement the award made by The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for loss of wages to the nurse by such amount that the award of The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for loss of wages, together with the supplementation of the Hospital, will equal one hundred per cent (100%) of the nurse's net earnings to the limit of the nurse's accumulated sick leave credits. Nurses may utilize such sick leave credits while awaiting approval of a claim for WSIB benefits.
12.04 When a nurse has completed any portion of her or his regularly scheduled tour prior to going on sick leave benefits or WSIB benefits, the nurse shall be paid for the balance of the tour at her or his regular straight time hourly rate. This provision will not disentitle the nurse to a lieu day under Article 15.05 if she or he otherwise qualifies.
12.05 Any dispute which may arise concerning a nurse's entitlement to short-term or long- term benefits under HOODIP or an equivalent plan may be subject to grievance and arbitration under the provisions of this Agreement. The Union agrees that it will encourage a nurse to utilize the carrier’s medical appeals process, if any, to resolve disputes.
12.06 Nurses presently employed who are covered by a long-term disability plan in effect as of the date of this award, may elect to be covered by HOODIP or to continue their present coverage.
12.07 The Hospital further agrees to pay employees an amount equal to any loss of benefits under HOODIP for the first two days of the fourth and subsequent period of absence in any calendar year.
12.08 The Hospital will notify each nurse of the amount of unused sick leave in her or his bank annually.
12.09 For nurses whose regular hours of work are other than the standard work day, the short-term sick leave plan will provide payment for the number of hours of absence according to the scheduled tour to a total of 562.5 hours. All other provisions of the existing plan shall apply mutatis mutandis.
12.10 Absences due to pregnancy related illness shall be considered as sick leave under the sick leave plan.
12.11 A nurse who is absent from work as a result of an illness or injury sustained at work and who has been awaiting approval of a claim for WSIB benefits for a period longer than one complete tour or more may apply to the Hospital for payment equivalent to the lesser of the benefit the nurse would receive from WSIB if the nurse's claim was approved, or the benefit to which the nurse would be entitled under the short-term sick portion of the disability income plan (HOODIP or equivalent plan). Payment will be provided only if the nurse provides evidence of disability satisfactory to the Hospital and a written undertaking satisfactory to the Hospital that any payments will be refunded to the Hospital following final determination of the claim by The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. If the claim for WSIB benefits is not approved, the monies paid as an advance will be applied towards the benefits to which the nurse would be entitled under the short-term portion of the disability income plan. Any payment under this provision will continue for a maximum of fifteen (15) weeks. (Articles 12.12, 12.13 and 12.14 apply to both full-time and part-time nurses)
12.12 Nurses returning to work from an illness or injury compensable from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board will be assigned light work as necessary, if available.
12.13 A nurse who transfers from full-time to part-time may elect to retain her or his accumulated sick leave credits to be utilized during part-time or subsequent full-time employment as provided under the sick leave plan in which the nurse participates as of October 23, 1981.
12.14 If the Employer requires the employee to obtain a medical certificate, the employer shall pay the full cost of obtaining the certificate.
Illness or Disability If, because of Employee’s illness or other disability for a continuous period of more than 45 days, Employee is unable to render the services required by the Company as provided herein, the Company may terminate Employee’s employment hereunder by written notice to Employee at least 30 days in advance of such termination. Upon such termination Employee shall not be entitled to any further payments of any nature, except for payment of (a) any earned but unpaid Annual Base Salary, (b) any unpaid bonuses and (c) unreimbursed business expenses (collectively, “Payable Amounts”). All Payable Amounts shall become due and payable on the date of such termination.
Total Disability a) Total disability, as used in this Plan, means the complete inability because of an accident or sickness of a covered employee to perform all the duties of his/her own occupation for the first two (2) years of disability. Thereafter, employees able by reason of education, training or experience to perform the duties of a gainful occupation for which the rate of pay is not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the current rate of pay of their regular occupation at date of disability will not be considered totally disabled and will therefore not be eligible for benefits under this Long Term Disability Plan.
b) Total disabilities resulting from mental or nervous disorders are covered by the Plan in the same manner as total disabilities resulting from accidents or other sicknesses, except that an employee who is totally disabled as a result of a mental or nervous disorder and who has received twenty-four (24) months of Long Term Disability Plan benefit payments must be confined to a hospital or mental institution or where they are at home, under the direct care and supervision of a medical doctor, in order to continue to be eligible for benefit payment. During a period of total disability an employee must be under the regular and personal care of a legally qualified doctor of medicine.
c) i) If an employee becomes totally disabled and during this period of total disability engages in rehabilitative employment, the regular monthly benefit from this plan will be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%) of the employee's earnings from such rehabilitative employment. In the event that income from rehabilitative employment and the benefit paid under this Plan exceeds eighty-five percent (85%) of the employee's earnings at date of disability, the benefit from this Plan will be further reduced by the excess amount.
By Disability If Executive becomes eligible for the Company’s long term disability benefits or if, in the sole opinion of the Company, Executive is unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of the position held by Executive by reason of any physical or mental impairment for more than ninety consecutive days or more than one hundred and twenty days in any twelve-month period, then, to the extent permitted by law, the Company may terminate Executive’s employment. The Company shall pay to Executive all compensation to which Executive is entitled up through the date of termination, and thereafter all obligations of the Company under this Agreement shall cease. Nothing in this Section shall affect Executive’s rights under any disability plan in which Executive is a participant.
Complete Disability “Complete Disability” shall mean the inability of the Executive to perform the Executive’s duties under this Agreement because the Executive has become permanently disabled within the meaning of any policy of disability income insurance covering employees of the Company then in force. In the event the Company has no policy of disability income insurance covering employees of the Company in force when the Executive becomes disabled, the term “Complete Disability” shall mean the inability of the Executive to perform the Executive’s duties under this Agreement by reason of any incapacity, physical or mental, which the Board, based upon medical advice or an opinion provided by a licensed physician acceptable to the Board, determines to have incapacitated the Executive from satisfactorily performing all of the Executive’s usual services for the Company for a period of at least one hundred twenty (120) days during any twelve (12) month period (whether or not consecutive). Based upon such medical advice or opinion, the determination of the Board shall be final and binding and the date such determination is made shall be the date of such Complete Disability for purposes of this Agreement.
Disability Retirement If, as a result of your incapacity due to physical or mental illness, You shall have been absent from the full-time performance of your duties with the Company for 6 consecutive months, and within 30 days after written notice of termination is given You shall not have returned to the full-time performance of your duties, your employment may be terminated for "Disability." Termination of your employment by the Company or You due to your "Retirement" shall mean termination in accordance with the Company's retirement policy, including early retirement, generally applicable to its salaried employees or in accordance with any retirement arrangement established with your consent with respect to You.
Disability The Company shall be entitled to terminate the Executive’s employment if the Board determines that the Executive has been unable to attend to the Executive’s duties for at least ninety (90) days because of a Disability (as defined below), and has received a written opinion from a physician acceptable to the Board that such condition prevents the Executive from resuming full performance of the Executive’s duties and is likely to continue for an indefinite period. Except as provided under the terms of the award, and subject to compliance with the covenants in Section 9 and Section 10 and the execution, timely return and non-revocation (if applicable) by the Executive of a release of claims in a form and substance reasonably requested by the Company (the “Release”) (unless such Release is waived by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion), any then outstanding restricted stock or restricted stock unit awards shall become fully vested (for purposes of this Section 5(b), references to “fully vested” in connection with any award subject to performance-based vesting conditions refers to vesting at the target level of achievement of the performance goal or goals under the award), and the Company shall pay severance to the Executive in accordance with its normal payroll practices, equal to twelve (12) months of the Executive’s Base Salary as in effect at the time the Executive’s employment terminates, with the first payment on the first payroll date after the revocation period for the Release has expired; provided (i) if the time period for returning and revoking the Release begins in one taxable year and ends in a second taxable year, the payments shall not commence until the first payroll date in the second taxable year; and (ii) all such payments shall immediately terminate at an earlier date if the Executive returns to active employment, either with the Company or otherwise. Any amounts payable under this Section 5(b) shall be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the amount of bona fide disability pay (within the meaning of Treas. Reg. section 1.409A-1(a)(5)) received or receivable by the Executive during such twelve-month period, provided such disability payments are made pursuant to a plan sponsored by the Company that covers a substantial number of employees of the Company and was established prior to the date the Executive incurred a permanent disability, and further provided that such reduction does not otherwise affect the time of payment of amounts pursuant to this Section 5(b). With respect to any restricted stock unit awards held by the Executive, settlement shall occur pursuant to the terms of the award. For purposes of the Agreement, “Disability” means the Executive is incapacitated due to physical or mental illness and such incapacity, with or without reasonable accommodation, prevents the Executive from satisfactorily performing the essential functions of the Executive’s job for the Company on a full-time basis for at least ninety (90) days in a calendar year.
