Time Off for Union Business
(a) Leave of absence without pay shall be granted upon request for the reasons set out below unless it would unduly interrupt the Employer's operations:
(1) to an elected or appointed representative of the Union to attend conventions of the Union and bodies to which the Union is affiliated, to a maximum of 21 days per occurrence;
(2) for elected or appointed representatives of the Union to attend to union business which requires them to leave their general work area;
(3) for employees who are representatives of the Union on a bargaining committee.
(b) Long-term leave of absence without pay shall be granted to employees designated by the Union to transact union business for specific periods of not less than 21 days unless this would unduly interrupt the operation of the department. Such requests shall be made in writing sufficiently in advance to minimize disruption of the department. Employees granted such leave of absence shall retain all rights and privileges accumulated prior to obtaining such leave. Seniority shall continue to accumulate during such leave and shall apply to such provisions as annual vacations, increments and promotions.
(c) When leave of absence without pay is granted pursuant to Part (a) or (b), the leave shall be given with pay and the Union shall reimburse the Employer for salary and benefit costs, including travel time incurred, within 60 days of receipt of the invoice. It is understood that employees granted leave of absence pursuant to this clause shall receive their current rates of pay while on leave of absence. Leave of absence granted under this clause shall include sufficient travel time. The pay and benefits received by the employee and reimbursed by the Union under this article shall be based on the number of hours to which the Union indicates, in writing, the employee is entitled. This provision does not apply to employees on extended leaves of absence who are employed by the Union on a full-time basis.
(d) Leave of absence with pay and without loss of seniority will be granted to an employee called to appear as a witness before an arbitration board, provided the dispute involved the Employer. On application, the Arbitration Board may determine summarily the amount of time required for the attendance of any witness.
(e) The Union shall provide the Employer with reasonable notice to minimize disruption of the operation and shall make every reasonable effort to give a minimum of 14 days’ notice prior to the commencement of leave under (a) or (b) above. The Employer agrees that any of the above leaves of absence shall not be unreasonably withheld.
Restricted Employment for Certain State Personnel Contractor acknowledges that, pursuant to Section 572.069 of the Texas Government Code, a former state officer or employee of a state agency who during the period of state service or employment participated on behalf of a state agency in a procurement or contract negotiation involving Contractor may not accept employment from Contractor before the second anniversary of the date the Contract is signed or the procurement is terminated or withdrawn.
Splitting of Vacation Periods Annual vacations for employees with ten (10) work days’ vacation or more shall be granted in one (1) continuous period but may, upon request from the employee, be divided, subject to the approval of the Employer, provided that the following shall apply:
1. The Employer’s approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, taking into consideration the operational requirements of the department; and
2. At least one block of vacation shall be at least five (5) days in duration. Employees wishing to split their vacations shall exercise seniority rights in the choice of the first vacation period. Seniority shall prevail in the choice of the second vacation period, but only after all other “first” vacation periods have been approved. Seniority shall also prevail in the choice of each subsequent vacation period, but only after each previous vacation period has been approved. Annual vacations for employees with less than ten (10) work days’ vacation shall be granted in one (1) continuous period.
