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.
Maternity Leave Without Pay (1) An employee who becomes pregnant shall, upon request, be granted maternity leave without pay for a period beginning before, on or after the termination date of pregnancy and ending not later than eighteen (18) weeks after the termination date of pregnancy.
(a) Notwithstanding 35.7(A)(1):
(i) where the employee’s new-born child is hospitalized within the period defined in 35.7(A)(1); and
(ii) where the employee has proceeded on maternity leave without pay and then, upon request and with the concurrence of the Council, returns to work for all or part of the period during which her new- born child is hospitalized; the period of maternity leave without pay defined in 35.7(A)(1) may be extended beyond the date falling eighteen (18) weeks after the date of termination of pregnancy by a period equal to that portion of the period of the child’s hospitalization during which the employee returned to work, to a maximum of eighteen (18) weeks.
(b) The extension described in 35.7(A)(1)(a) shall end not later than fifty-two (52) weeks after the termination date of pregnancy.
(2) At its discretion, the Council may require an employee to submit a medical certificate certifying pregnancy.
(3) An employee who has not commenced maternity leave without pay may elect to:
(a) use earned vacation and compensatory leave credits up to and beyond the date that her pregnancy terminates;
(b) use her sick leave credits up to and beyond the date that her pregnancy terminates, subject to the provisions set out in the Sick Leave Article. For purposes of this clause, illness or injury as defined in the Sick Leave Article shall include medical disability related to pregnancy.
(B) An employee shall inform the Council in writing of her plans for taking leave with and without pay to cover her absence from work due to the pregnancy at least four (4) weeks in advance of the initial date of continuous leave of absence during which termination of pregnancy is expected to occur.
(C) Leave granted under this clause shall be counted for the calculation of “continuous employment” or “service” as applicable for the purpose of calculating severance pay and vacation leave. Time spent on such leave shall be counted for pay increment purposes.
Special Parental Allowance for Totally Disabled Employees (a) An employee who:
(i) fails to satisfy the eligibility requirement specified in subparagraph 17.05(a)(ii) solely because a concurrent entitlement to benefits under the Disability Insurance (DI) Plan, the Long-term Disability (LTD) Insurance portion of the Public Service Management Insurance Plan (PSMIP) or via the Government Employees Compensation Act prevents the employee from receiving Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan benefits, and
(ii) has satisfied all of the other eligibility criteria specified in paragraph 17.05(a), other than those specified in sections (A) and (B) of subparagraph 17.05(a)(iii), shall be paid, in respect of each week of benefits under the parental allowance not received for the reason described in subparagraph (i), the difference between ninety-three per cent (93%) of the employee's rate of pay and the gross amount of his or her weekly disability benefit under the DI Plan, the LTD Plan or via the Government Employees Compensation Act.
(b) An employee shall be paid an allowance under this clause and under clause 17.05 for a combined period of no more than the number of weeks during which the employee would have been eligible for parental, paternity or adoption benefits under the Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan, had the employee not been disqualified from Employment Insurance or Québec Parental Insurance Plan benefits for the reasons described in subparagraph (a)(i).
Incentive, Savings and Retirement Plans During the Employment Period, the Executive shall be entitled to participate in all incentive, savings and retirement plans, practices, policies and programs applicable generally to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated companies, but in no event shall such plans, practices, policies and programs provide the Executive with incentive opportunities (measured with respect to both regular and special incentive opportunities, to the extent, if any, that such distinction is applicable), savings opportunities and retirement benefit opportunities, in each case, less favorable, in the aggregate, than the most favorable of those provided by the Company and its affiliated companies for the Executive under such plans, practices, policies and programs as in effect at any time during the 120-day period immediately preceding the Effective Date or if more favorable to the Executive, those provided generally at any time after the Effective Date to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated companies.
Unpaid Leave - Affecting Seniority and Benefits Any employee granted unpaid leave of absence totalling up to twenty (20) working days in any year shall continue to accumulate seniority and all benefits and shall return to her/his former job and increment step. If an unpaid leave of absence or an accumulation of unpaid leaves of absence exceeds twenty (20) working days in any year, the employee shall not accumulate benefits from the twenty-first (21st) day of the unpaid leave to the last day of the unpaid leave but shall accumulate benefits and receive credit for previously earned benefits upon expiration of the unpaid leave.
Parental Leave Without Pay (a) Where an employee has or will have the actual care and custody of a new- born child (including the new-born child of a common-law spouse), the employee shall, upon request, be granted parental leave without pay for a single period of up to thirty-seven (37) consecutive weeks in the fifty-two (52) week period beginning on the day on which the child is born or the day on which the child comes into the employee’s care.
(b) Where an employee commences legal proceedings under the laws of a province to adopt a child or obtains an order under the laws of a province for the adoption of a child, the employee shall, upon request, be granted parental leave without pay for a single period of up to thirty-seven (37) consecutive weeks in the fifty-two (52) week period beginning on the day on which the child comes into the employee’s care.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b):
(i) where the employee’s child is hospitalized within the period defined in the above paragraphs, and the employee has not yet proceeded on parental leave without pay, or
(ii) where the employee has proceeded on parental leave without pay and then returns to work for all or part of the period during which his or her child is hospitalized, the period of parental leave without pay specified in the original leave request may be extended by a period equal to that portion of the period of the child’s hospitalization during which the employee was not on parental leave. However, the extension shall end not later than one hundred and four (104) weeks after the day on which the child comes into the employee’s care.
(d) An employee who intends to request parental leave without pay shall notify the Employer at least four (4) weeks in advance of the expected date of birth of the employee’s child (including the child of a common-law spouse), or the date the child is expected to come into the employee’s care pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b).
(e) The Employer may,
(i) defer the commencement of parental leave without pay at the request of the employee;
(ii) grant the employee parental leave without pay with less than four
Shift Employees Employees who work rotating shift patterns or those who work qualifying shifts shall be entitled, on completion of 12 months employment on shift work, to up to an additional 5 days annual leave, based on the number of qualifying shifts worked. The entitlement will be calculated on the annual leave anniversary date. Qualifying shifts are defined as a shift which involves at least 2 hours work performed outside the hours of 8.00am to 5.00pm, excluding overtime. Number of qualifying shifts per annum Number of days additional leave per annum 121 or more 5 days 96 – 120 4 days 71 – 95 3 days 46 – 70 2 days 21 – 45 1 day
Personnel Selection Leave 35.6.1 Where an employee participates in a personnel selection process for a position in the Public Service, as defined in the Financial Administration Act, the Council shall grant leave of absence with pay for the period during which the employee's presence is required for purposes of the selection process, and for such further period as the Council considers reasonable for the employee to travel to and from the place where his presence is so required.
Sick Leave Separation Cash Out At the time of retirement from state service or at death, an eligible employee or the employee’s estate will receive cash for their compensable sick leave balance on a one (1) hour for four (4) hours basis. For the purposes of this Section, retirement will not include “vested out of service” employees who leave funds on deposit with the retirement system.
Volunteer Firefighting Leave Leave without pay will be granted when an employee who is a volunteer firefighter is called to duty to respond to a fire, natural disaster or medical emergency.
