Sick Leave Allowance Faculty with a full-time assignment shall accrue sick leave at the rate of eight
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.
Vacation, Sick Leave and Holidays Executive shall be entitled to four (4) weeks (28 business days) of vacation, and also sick leave and holidays at full pay in accordance with the Company’s policies established and in effect from time to time.
Sick Leave Use An employee shall be granted sick leave with pay to the extent of the employee's accumulation for absences necessitated by the following conditions:
Sick Leave Pay A Nurse granted sick leave shall be paid for the period of such leave at her or his regular hourly rate of pay and the number of hours thus paid shall be deducted from the accumulated sick leave credits of the Nurse.
Overtime Meals When employees are required to work more than two (2) hours beyond their regular work days, the Employer will provide hot meals at no cost to the employees, up to a maximum of sixteen dollars ($16.00) (receipts to be submitted) plus paid meal periods of one-half (1/2) hour at the prevailing rate and thereafter at four (4) hour intervals. Any early morning start before regular starting time is entitled to a paid meal. The breakfast limit is thirteen dollars ($13.00) (receipts to be submitted). Employees called out on overtime shall be paid for meals as above, after four (4) hours work.
Sick Leave Abuse When the Employer suspects sick leave abuse, the employee will be provided the opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding their sick leave use prior to disciplining the employee, or making reference to sick leave use in the employee’s performance evaluation. The Employer may not adopt or enforce any policy that counts the use of paid sick leave time as an absence that may lead to or result in disciplinary action for an authorized purpose. The Employer may not discriminate or retaliate against an employee for the use of paid sick leave for an authorized purpose.
SICK LEAVE WITH PAY Sick leave with pay for employees shall be determined in the following manner:
Payment for Unused Sick Leave (a) An employee with less than ten (10) years of FIU service who separates from FIU shall not be paid for any unused sick leave.
(b) An employee who has completed ten (10) or more years of FIU service, has not been found guilty or has not admitted to being guilty of committing, aiding, or abetting any embezzlement, theft, or bribery in connection with State government, or has not been found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction of having violated any State law against or prohibiting strikes by public employees, and separates from FIU because of retirement for other than disability reasons, termination, or death, shall be compensated at the employee's current regular hourly rate of pay for one-eighth of all unused sick leave accrued prior to October 1, 1973, plus one- fourth of all unused sick leave accrued on or after October 1, 1973; provided that one-fourth of the unused sick leave since 1973 does not exceed 480 hours. The compensation in this paragraph 8(4)(b) shall not be given to an employee who starts employment at FIU on or after July 1, 2006.
(c) Upon layoff, an employee with ten (10) or more years of FIU service shall be paid for unused sick leave as described in paragraph b., above, unless the employee requests in writing that unused sick leave be retained pending re-employment. For an employee who is re-employed by the University within twelve (12) calendar months following layoff, all unused sick leave shall be restored to the employee, provided the employee requests such action in writing and repays the full amount of any lump sum leave payments received at the time of layoff. An employee who is not re- employed within twelve (12) calendar months following layoff shall be paid for sick leave in accordance with this Policy.
(d) All payments for unused sick leave shall be made in lump sum and shall not be used in determining the average final compensation of an employee in any State administered retirement system. An employee shall not be carried on the payroll beyond the last official day of employment, except that an employee who is unable to perform duties because of a disability may be continued on the payroll until all sick leave is exhausted.
(e) If an employee has received a lump sum payment for accrued sick leave, the employee may elect in writing, upon re-employment within 100 days, to restore the employee's accrued sick leave. Restoration will be effective upon the repayment of the full lump sum leave payment.
(f) In the event of the death of an employee, payment for unused sick leave at the time of death shall be made to the employee's beneficiary, estate, or as provided by law.
Sick Leave Bonus For every six (6) months of perfect sick leave attendance after July 1, 1987, the employee will receive eight (8) hours of bonus time. This bonus time will be prorated for part-time employees. Such bonus time can be used for any leave purpose covered by this Agreement. Such bonus time shall be counted as vacation leave credits for purposes of determining eligibility for carry- over and cash payments.
