Procedures and Criteria for Approving Leave Requests. Managers must respond to leave requests as soon as practicable and, absent extenuating circumstances, not later than five (5) business days after receipt of the request. The parties encourage open communication and discussion to bring finality to requests. Managers will evaluate and decide leave requests based upon the legitimate business needs of LSC, the reasonableness of the notice provided, and the employee’s leave history (e.g. if there are patterns that may suggest abuse), and other objective criteria, including the nature of the need for or interest in leave (e.g,. family emergency). Each manager will evaluate and determine what the work needs are during peak vacation times (e.g., around holidays). When there are competing leave requests and the manager has determined that legitimate business needs dictate that not all of the requesting employees can be away from the office at the same time, tiebreaking factors may include length of tenure, equitable examination of past leave use, “first-come first-served,” the need of employees to expend “use or lose” leave, and overall leave balance. Alternately, employees may be asked to agree amongst themselves on a satisfactory resolution. Upon request, managers must be able to furnish a written reasonable justification for a denial. An employee may submit an informal appeal of a denial to the OHR Director. Such an appeal does not preclude initiating a formal grievance.
