Prepaid Leave Permanent Employees will be entitled to take a leave of absence financed through a salary deferral arrangement in accordance with the provisions of the Prepaid Leave Plan set out in Article 44 of this Agreement.
Use of Paid Leave With the approval of the Appointing Authority, employees will be allowed to utilize accrued sick leave, personal holiday or vacation leave when on authorized leave without pay due to illness or injury.
Special Leave Without Pay Section 1. Employees may participate in a Special Leave Without Pay Program as established by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. The Special Leave Without Pay Program period is from date of County Board Approval through December 31, 2021.
Section 2. Upon the request of either party, the EMPLOYER and the UNION shall meet and confer on the extension of this Special Leave Without Pay Program each year through 2021.
Section 3. The EMPLOYER's policy on use of Special Leave Without Pay (SLWOP) provides that employees may use SLWOP in cases where they would otherwise not take the leave. The EMPLOYER will therefore interpret its policy on SLWOP to allow SLWOP for Union Leave and Parenting Leave in cases where the employee would not otherwise take the leave.
Unpaid Leaves of Absence 24.01 An employee who has completed one (1) year of continuous service with the Employer may be granted a leave of absence without pay or benefits because of injury, illness, education purposes, employment by the Union, or other personal reasons, including maternity leave. The decision to grant the leave or the length of the leave period will be at the discretion of the Employer with due consideration given to the reasons and evidence presented by the employee to the Employer. Such requests shall not be unreasonably denied.
24.02 All leaves of absence (and any extensions thereof) must be applied for and granted in writing on forms provided by the Employer (with a copy to the employee). Except in cases of emergency, the leave request shall be filed with the employee's Department Head not later than two (2) weeks prior to the date on which the leave is to start. Along with the request for the leave, he shall supply any and all available documentation in support of said leave. This documentation shall consist of medical proof of disability in cases where the leave is for medical purposes and the specific reason for the leave when the leave is for other purposes. An employee will be notified in writing within five (5) working days from the date the application was made of the approval or disapproval of the leave of absence request for ten (10) working days or less. For a leave request in excess of ten (10) working days, the employee will be notified within two (2) weeks from the date the application was made of the approval or disapproval of the leave. An employee who is granted such a leave shall not accrue any benefits during his absence, including seniority.
24.03 Leaves of absence will not be granted for the employee to seek employment with another employer, nor shall any employee work for another employer during the time period he is on leave. Any employee who works for another employer while on leave shall have his leave canceled immediately and be subject to disciplinary action.
24.04 When an employee returns to work after a leave of absence, he will be assigned to the position which he formerly occupied or to a similar position if his former position no longer exists at the applicable rate of pay, provided the employee is able to perform the work.
24.05 An employee may, upon request, return to work prior to the expiration of any leave of absence, provided that such early return is agreed to by the Employer.
24.06 Employees absent from work without authorization or approval shall be considered on an unauthorized leave. An unauthorized leave for a period of more than four (4) eight (8) hour consecutive working days may, at the Employers discretion, subject the employee to disciplinary action, including discharge.
Paid Leave Contributions will continue whilst a member of a fund is absent on paid annual leave, sick leave, long service leave, public holidays, jury service, bereavement leave, or other paid leave.
Unpaid Leaves Employees on unpaid leaves may not participate in the matching program while on leave.
Paid Leaves SECTION A At the beginning of the school year, each administrator shall be credited with ten (10) days sick leave per year for all administrators except the High School Principal, Chief Information Officer, Director of Facilities/Maintenance, and the Director of Adult Education who shall be credited with twelve (12) sick leave days per year, accruable to a maximum of one hundred twenty (120) days. Unused personal business leave days may be accrued at the rate of two (2) days per year to extend maximum sick leave accumulation to one hundred forty (140) days. If the administrator should become a teacher in the district, teacher sick leave policies will apply.
SECTION B Up to five (5) days of accrued sick leave per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) may be used for the critical illness of a member of the administrator’s immediate family which shall be defined as the administrator’s spouse, child, parent, or any relative who is a permanent resident of the administrator’s household or is a dependent for tax purposes. Critical illness shall be defined as a serious emergency or life-threatening condition requiring the presence of the administrator.
SECTION C An administrator may use up to four (4) days per fiscal year, not charged to sick leave, for personal business. These days shall not be accumulative except as indicated in Section A. The use of these days must be arranged in advance with the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel. An administrator planning to use a personal business day at least three (3) days in advance, except in cases of emergency. Prior approval by the Superintendent is required for personal business days taken the day before or the day following a holiday or vacation or during the first five (5) or last five (5) days of the school year.
SECTION D Each administrator will be granted five (5) days leave not charged to sick leave in the case of a death in the immediate family which shall be defined as parent, spouse, and child. Two (2) days not charged to sick leave, will be granted for the death of grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings (including in-law and step-relatives.) One (1) day, not charged to sick leave, may be granted by the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for the funeral of a person whose relationship to the administrator warrants such attendance. Additional days may be granted by the Superintendent.
SECTION E Each fiscal year an administrator will be allowed one (1) professional day which may accumulate from year to year to a maximum of five (5) days. Subject to the prior approval of the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel, a professional day(s) may be used for any educational purpose. A written request shall be made at least five (5) days in advance of a planned professional day absence.
SECTION F An administrator who is summoned and reports for jury duty, as prescribed by applicable law, shall receive regular compensation. Any compensation received for jury service (not to include expense reimbursement) shall be submitted to the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel or his designee. Leave of absence with pay shall be granted for court appearances as a witness in any case in which the administrator’s connection with the case stems from his employment with the Board, provided that the legal action is not instigated by or on behalf of the administrator or Association against the Board. Any witness fee paid to the administrator shall be submitted to the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel. Worker’s compensation will be the exclusive remedy for any work-related injury or disability provided worker’s compensation is available.
Unpaid Leave Accrued compensatory time off may be used at the employee’s discretion, with management approval, after exhaustion of 100% sick leave (No. 3 above). However, FLSA compensatory time off shall not be counted against the employee’s four (4) month (nine [9] pay period [720 hours]) family or medical leave entitlement. Therefore, any use of FLSA compensatory time off under this Section shall extend the employee’s family or medical leave by the total amount of FLSA compensatory time off used.
Pre-Paid Leave The Employer agrees to introduce a pre-paid leave program, funded solely by the employee, subject to the following terms and conditions:
(a) The plan is available to employees wishing to spread four (4) years’ salary over a five (5) year period or three (3) years’ salary over a four (4) year period, in accordance with Part LXVII of the Income Tax Regulations, Section 6801, to enable them to take a maximum one (1) year leave of absence following the four (4) years or three (3) years of salary deferral. The plan is not to provide benefits to employees on or after retirement.
(b) The employee must make written application to the appropriate Director at least three (3) months prior to the intended commencement date of the program (i.e., the salary deferral portion).
(c) The number of employees that may be absent at any one (1) time shall be three (3), with a maximum of one (1) per program or department, subject to operational requirements.
(d) Written applications will be reviewed by the appropriate Director or designate and granted subject to operational requirements. The principle of seniority shall govern in cases of suitable applications greater than the number outlined in (c). Decisions will be made twice a year, February 15th and September 15th.
(e) During the years of salary deferral, twenty percent (20%) or twenty-five percent (25%) as applicable, of the employee’s gross annual earnings will be deducted and held for the employee and will not be accessible to her or him until the year of the leave or upon withdrawal from the plan.
(f) The manner in which the deferred salary is held shall be at the discretion of the Employer.
(g) All deferred salary shall be paid to the employee at the commencement of leave or in accordance with such other payment schedule as may be agreed upon between the Employer and the employee.
(h) Accrued interest, if any, shall be payable to the employee in the year that it is earned.
(i) All benefits shall be kept whole during the years of salary deferral.
(j) During the year of the leave, seniority will be retained but will not accumulate. Service for the purpose of vacation and salary progression and other benefits will be retained but will not accumulate during the period of leave. Employees shall become responsible for the full payment of premiums for any health and welfare benefits in which they are participating. Contributions to the Pension Plan will be in accordance with the Plan. Employees will not be eligible to participate in the disability income plan during the year of leave.
(k) An employee may withdraw from the plan only as a result of financial or other hardship, provided one (1) month’s notice is given to the Director. Deferred salary, plus accrued interest, if any, will be returned to the employee, within a reasonable period of time.
(l) If the employee terminates employment, the deferred salary held by the Employer plus accrued interest, if any, will be returned to the employee within a reasonable period of time. In case of the employee’s death, the funds will be paid to the employee’s estate.
(m) If the Employer intends to fill the temporary vacancy, then Article 10 shall apply. If the Employer is unable to find a suitable replacement, it may postpone the leave. The Employer will give the employee as much notice as is reasonably possible. The employee will have the option of remaining in the plan and rearranging the leave at a mutually agreeable time or of withdrawing from the plan and having the deferred salary, plus accrued interest, if any, paid out to the employee within a reasonable period of time.
(n) The employee will be reinstated to her or his former position unless the position has been discontinued in which case the employee may exercise her/his seniority to bump as per Article 11. The employee must plan to return for a minimum of one (1) year.
(o) Final approval for entry into the pre-paid leave program will be subject to the employee entering into a formal agreement with the Employer in order to authorize the Employer to make the appropriate deductions from the employee’s pay. Such agreement will include:
i) A statement that the employee is entering the pre-paid leave program in accordance with Article 13.10 of the Collective Agreement.
ii) The period of salary deferral and the period for which the leave is requested.
iii) The manner in which the deferral salary is to be held.
iv) The letter of application from the employee to enter the prepaid leave program will be appended to and form part of the written agreement.
Paid Leaves of Absence Paid leaves of absences granted under this Article shall not exceed the employee's normal work schedule.
