Sick Leave Donation Program A Labor Management Committee will be established for the purpose of proposing rules and procedures for a new, program. The LMC will be to develop consistent, transparent and equitable proposals for processes across all departments within the City. The LMC shall also explore proposals to lower the minimum leave bank required to donate sick leave and permit donation of sick leave upon separation from the City. The LMC must consult with the Office of Civil Rights to ensure compliance with the City’s Race and Social Justice Initiative. Once the LMC has developed its list of proposals, the City and Coalition of City Unions agrees to reopen each contract on this subject.
Leave Donation Program Employees may donate paid leave to a fellow employee who is otherwise eligible to accrue and use sick leave and is employed by the same Agency. The intent of the leave donation program is to allow employees to voluntarily provide assistance to their co-workers who are in critical need of leave due to the serious illness or injury of the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family. The definition of immediate family as provided in rule 123:1-47-01 of the Administrative Code shall apply for the leave donation program.
A. An employee may receive donated leave, up to the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work each pay period, if the employee who is to receive donated leave:
1. Or a member of the employee's immediate family has a serious illness or injury;
2. Has no accrued leave or has not been approved to receive other state-paid benefits; and
3. Has applied for any paid leave, workers' compensation, or benefits program for which the employee is eligible. Employees who have applied for these programs may use donated leave to satisfy the waiting period for such benefits where applicable, and donated leave may be used following a waiting period, if one exists, in an amount equal to the benefit provided by the program, i.e. fifty six hours (56) pay period may be utilized by an employee who has satisfied the disability waiting period and is pending approval, this is equal to the seventy percent (70%) benefit provided by disability.
B. Employees may donate leave if the donating employee:
1. Voluntarily elects to donate leave and does so with the understanding that donated leave will not be returned;
2. Donates a minimum of eight hours; and
3. Retains a combined leave balance of at least eighty hours. Leave shall be donated in the same manner in which it would otherwise be used except that compensatory time is not eligible for donation.
C. The leave donation program shall be administered on a pay period by pay period basis. Employees using donated leave shall be considered in active pay status and shall accrue leave and be entitled to any benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled. Leave accrued by an employee while using donated leave shall be used, if necessary, in the following pay period before additional donated leave may be received. Donated leave shall not count toward the probationary period of an employee who receives donated leave during his or her probationary period. Donated leave shall be considered sick leave, but shall never be converted into a cash benefit.
D. Employees who wish to donate leave shall certify:
1. The name of the employee for whom the donated leave is intended;
2. The type of leave and number of hours to be donated;
3. That the employee will have a minimum combined leave balance of at least eighty hours; and
4. That the leave is donated voluntarily and the employee understands that the donated leave will not be returned.
E. Appointing authorities shall ensure that no employees are forced to donate leave. Appointing authorities shall respect an employee's right to privacy, however appointing authorities may, with the permission of the employee who is in need of leave or a member of the employee's immediate family, inform employees of their co-worker's critical need for leave. Appointing authorities shall not directly solicit leave donations from employees. The donation of leave shall occur on a strictly voluntary basis.
Vacation Leave 11.1 Employees will retain and carry forward any eligible and unused vacation leave that was accrued prior to the effective date of this Agreement.
VACATION LEAVE WITH PAY 14.01 The vacation year shall be from April 1st of one calendar year to March 31st of the following calendar year inclusive.
Vacation Leave Maximum Employees may accumulate maximum vacation leave balances not to exceed two hundred and forty (240) hours. However, there are two (2) exceptions that allow vacation leave to accumulate above the maximum:
A. If an employee’s request for vacation leave is denied by the Employer, and the employee is close to the vacation leave maximum, the Employer will grant an extension for each month that the Employer must defer the employee’s request for vacation leave.
B. An employee may also accumulate vacation leave days in excess of two hundred and forty (240) hours as long as the employee uses the excess balance prior to the employee’s anniversary date. Any leave in excess of the maximum that is not deferred in advance of its accrual as described above, will be lost on the employee’s anniversary date.
Education Leave If required by the Hospital, an employee shall be entitled to leave of absence with pay and without loss of seniority and benefits to write examinations to upgrade his or her employment qualifications. Where employees are required by the Hospital to take courses to upgrade or acquire new employment qualifications, the Hospital shall pay the full costs associated with the courses. Subject to operational requirements, the Hospital will make every reasonable effort to grant requests for necessary changes to an employee's schedule to enable attendance at a recognized up-grading course or seminar related to employment with the Hospital."
Sick Leave Donation 10.3.1 A worker may donate days of sick leave to individual District workers who, due to a serious health condition, have exhausted all accumulated sick leave. Donating workers must retain a sixty (60) day balance of sick leave after their donation. No worker may receive more than 40 days of donated leave per year.
10.3.1.1 A “serious health condition” is defined as an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition which involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, or continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider as defined in 29 USC 825.114(a) and as certified by a worker’s physician or other qualified medical practitioner.
10.3.1.2 The Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and the Chief Stewards by mutual agreement will verify the certification for eligibility. If the certification from the worker’s physician is insufficient, a certification by a physician of the District’s choosing may be required, at District expense. The District may require additional medical opinions.
10.3.2 Donated leave must be in one-day increments (no less than 8 hours). Recipients of donated sick leave shall be solely responsible for any state and federal taxes on the donated time. Such taxes shall be withheld at the normal rate for the recipient worker. In the event that the state or federal governments rule that tax liability is due other than as taxed, the recipient shall be solely liable for such liabilities.
10.3.2.1 The donated sick leave may be used only when the worker has exhausted accumulated sick leave and either is not eligible for long- term disability or is eligible but has not begun to receive the long-term coverage.
10.3.2.2 The Vice Chancellor of Human Resources shall be notified of solicitation of donations. Solicitations of donations may be made by the individual or his/her representative(s).
10.3.2.3 Donation of sick leave shall be authorized by a signed pledge form prepared by and filed with the District Office of Human Resources. In the event several workers donate sick leave, the sick leave shall be used in the order in which the signed pledge forms are filed with Human Resources.
10.3.2.4 If the worker does not use all donated sick leave, the sick leave shall be returned to the donating worker(s).
Recall from Vacation Leave When during any period of vacation leave an employee is recalled to duty, he shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, as normally defined by the Employer, that he incurs:
Annual Vacation Leave 33.01 An Employee shall not take vacation leave without prior authorization from the Employer.
33.02 Vacation entitlements with pay, shall be as follows:
(a) an Employee who has completed less than twelve (12) full months' service as of December 31st, shall receive one and one-quarter (1 1/4) work days' vacation for each calendar month worked from the commencement of service, provided that when employment has commenced on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of any month, vacation entitlements shall be earned from the first (1st) day of that month, and when employment has commenced on or after the sixteenth (16th) day of any month vacation entitlements shall be earned from the first day of the following month;
(b) an Employee who has completed twelve (12) full calendar months' service as of December 31st, shall receive fifteen (15) work days' vacation;
(c) an Employee who has completed five (5) years' service as of December 31st shall in the subsequent year(s) receive twenty (20) work days' vacation;
(d) an Employee who has completed thirteen (13) years' service as of December 31st shall in the subsequent year(s) receive twenty-five (25) work days' vacation;
(e) an Employee who has completed twenty-one (21) years' service as of December 31st shall in the subsequent year(s) receive thirty (30) work days' vacation;
(f) an Employee who has completed thirty (30) years' service as of December 31st shall in the subsequent year(s) receive thirty-five (35) work days vacation.
33.03 All calculations which result in one quarter (1/4) or three quarters (3/4) work day fractions shall be rounded out to the next one half (1/2) or full day, whichever applies; except when vacation pay is paid out upon termination pursuant to Clause 33.11.
33.04 If a paid holiday falls during an Employee's annual vacation period, the Employee shall be granted an equivalent day of vacation credit.
33.05 An Employee shall earn vacation leave pursuant to Clause 33.02 when authorized the following absences:
(a) financially assisted Education Leave;
(b) sick leave or Workers' Compensation for the first forty-four (44) consecutive work days;
(c) any other authorized leave of absence with pay for the first twenty-two (22) work days.
33.06 Vacation leave may be taken in one continuous period or in separate periods.
33.07 Except as is otherwise provided herein, vacation leave in respect of each year of service shall be taken:
(a) within twelve (12) months after the end of that year; and
(b) at such time or times as may be approved by the Employer; or with the approval of the Employer, before the end of that year.
33.08 Notwithstanding the:
(a) other provisions of this Article, and subject to operational requirements, an Employee who so requests may be authorized to take vacation leave which has been earned at a specified time within the year in which it was earned, and the vacation leave to be taken by the Employee in the following year shall be correspondingly reduced.
(b) where a terminated Employee has taken more vacation than they are entitled, the Employer is authorized to recover the monies from the Employee’s final pay cheque.
33.09 Where an Employee is allowed to take any leave of absence, other than sick leave, in conjunction with a period of vacation leave, the vacation leave shall be deemed to precede the additional leave of absence, except in the case of maternity leave which may be authorized before or after vacation leave.
33.10 Once vacations are authorized they shall not be changed, other than in cases of emergency, except by mutual agreement.
33.11 An Employee shall not be paid cash in lieu of vacation earned but not taken, except upon termination, when the Employee shall be paid in cash for the total vacation entitlement standing to the Employee's credit at the termination date.
33.12 The Employer shall, subject to operational requirements make every reasonable effort to grant an Employee, upon request, at least two (2) weeks of annual vacation entitlement during the summer months.
Vacation Leave Accrual After a full-time employee has been in pay status for eighty (80) non-overtime hours in a calendar month, the employee will accrue vacation leave according to the rate schedule below. Vacation leave accrual for part-time employees will be proportionate to the number of hours the part-time employee is in pay status during the month to that required for full-time employment.
