– SICK LEAVE AND OCCUPATIONAL INJURY LEAVE. A. The purpose of sick leave is to protect Employees against loss of pay for time lost because of illness or injury not covered by Worker’s Compensation. Full-time Employees shall accrue four (4) hours of sick leave for each month of active service cumulative up to a maximum of five hundred (500) hours. Employees must be in a compensated pay status for eighty (80) hours in a month in order to accrue sick leave for the month.
B. An Employee absent due to illness or injury outside of work shall be compensated for the time missed (exclusive of overtime) up to the extent of his sick leave credit, and such time will be deducted from his accumulated sick leave bank.
C. It is agreed that the Union will cooperate with the Company wherever possible to combat any abuse of the sick leave provisions of this Agreement. Any Employee who uses sick leave for any other purpose than for their own illness/injury will be subject to disciplinary action by the Company, up to and including discharge.
D. A new Employee shall begin to earn sick leave from the first day of work, but it will not be available to them until they have completed their probationary period.
E. An Employee who reaches sick leave accrual of three hundred sixty (360) hours may convert one hundred (100) hours of sick leave to eighty (80) hours of additional vacation. An Employee must use a minimum of one hundred (100) hours but no more than one hundred (100) hours at any one time to convert to vacation. The Employee will have the option to receive the cash equivalent in lieu of additional vacation days.
F. Occupational injury benefits will be governed by applicable Workers’ Compensation laws. It is the Employee’s responsibility to report all such injuries to his Supervisor immediately. In the event an Employee is eligible for Workers’ Compensation benefits and there is a waiting period before benefits commence, the Employee may utilize sick leave during the waiting period to the extent sick leave has been accrued. Should Workers’ Compensation benefits subsequently be paid for the same period, the duplicate sick leave will be deducted from the Employees’ next paycheck and his sick leave bank will be credited accordingly.
G. During an Occupational Injury Leave an Employee shall retain and accrue seniority; however, longevity for purposes of pay and vacation progression shall accrue only for the first thirty (30) days of such leave. An Employee may be on an Occupational Injury Leave for a period not to exceed th...
