(A) Leave with pay may be authorized in writing by the Chief Administrative Officer for any employee to attend an official meeting where the good of the city service is involved, or to serve required court-related duty, or to attend an educational institution, or to secure special instruction, or to testify on behalf of the city in Court. If an employee is required to serve court-related duty, any compensation he or she receives for such duty shall be paid to the city by the employee.
(B) Four bargaining unit members who are designated by a union as the union's negotiating team pursuant to § 3-2-13, Labor-Management Relations, will receive leave with pay to attend scheduled bargaining sessions with the city negotiating team which occur during the employee's normal work hours. This benefit is limited to the bargaining necessary to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement and does not include ongoing negotiations during the term of a collective bargaining agreement. Leave for collective bargaining may begin no earlier than 60 days prior to expiration of an existing agreement and ends when tentative agreement is reached on a successor agreement. This leave must be approved by the Chief Administrative Officer upon the verification of the City's lead negotiator. The Chief Administrative Officer shall promulgate rules of procedure concerning leave for collective bargaining.
(C) Military leave with pay will be authorized for permanent employees who are members of the National Guard or Air National Guard of New Mexico or any organized reserve unit of the armed forces of the United States, including the Public Health Service, for a period not to exceed 15 working days in each federal fiscal year which begins October 1, in addition to other authorized leave, when they are ordered to active duty training with such units. Permanent employees who are members of an unorganized reserve component may be granted military leave not to exceed 15 working days in each federal fiscal year which begins October 1, for the purpose of attending organized courses of instruction or training periods authorized such personnel. Permanent employees called to active military duty in emergencies declared by the Governor or the President for short periods of time not to exceed 15 days may be granted military leave. Military leave with pay will be authorized for public safety employees covered under the respective collective bargaining agreements for a period not to exceed 420 hours for sworn, full-time police officers and full-time prisoner transport officers, and 528 hours for sworn, full-time firefighters per calendar year. To receive military leave benefits, an employee must file orders or a letter from their military commander containing the details of the leave with the City Human Resources Department, and their respective payroll department(s).
(D) Upon the specific recommendation of the department director, the Chief Administrative Officer may grant leave with pay for a period not to exceed six calendar months to permanent employees having at least five years continuous service and 12 calendar months to permanent employees having at least ten years continuous service in the city upon demonstration of extreme hardship, due to personal injury or sickness. No employee will be eligible for such leave unless he has clearly exhibited exceptional performance of duties which have been specifically so certified by the employee's department head. Leave with pay for such purposes may be granted by the Chief Administrative Officer only after usage of vacation leave, sick and emergency leave and injury time, and only if the employee is not eligible for pension benefits under the city or state retirement programs or under Federal Social Security. A decision of the Chief Administrative Officer not to grant such leave with pay will not be the subject of a grievance as defined in this article.
(E) Leave with pay for an employee's birthday is authorized for any employee who is not represented by an employee organization as defined in §§ 3-2-1 et seq., Labor-Management Relations, in collective bargaining. If the employee's birthday falls on a day other than a normal working day, or if the employee is required to work on the birthday, the employee may select an alternate day, but such day must be approved by the division or department head.
(F) An employee under investigation by the city for alleged misconduct may be placed in leave with pay status during the investigation. Such leave shall be limited to 30 working days. Leave in excess of 15 working days shall require approval by a committee composed of the Director of the Human Resources Department, the Director of the Office of Employee Relations and the City Attorney, or their designees.
(G) The Chief Administrative Officer may develop a leave program for the purpose of allowing city employees to act as loaned executives.
(H) Leave with pay may also be authorized by the Chief Administrative Officer for services or activities of an employee outside of the scope of his or her employment which can be reasonably anticipated to directly or indirectly benefit the city.
(I) Parental leave with pay will be authorized for all employees qualified for benefits as described in § 3-1-6(E), who have completed at least 12 months of continuous service and have worked 1,250 hours within the 12 months preceding the date the parental leave will begin.
(1) Parental leave will be available for any eligible employee who experiences a qualifying event.
(a) A qualifying event includes a birth or the placement of a minor child with the employee for adoption or foster care (excluding the adopting of a stepchild or partner's child) experienced by the employee, the employee's spouse, or domestic partner.
(2) Parental leave will consist of 12 standard work weeks at full pay to be used within six months of the qualifying event. If an employee is eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), parental leave must be taken concurrently with leave under the FMLA.
('74 Code, § 2-9-17) (Ord. 52-1978; Am. Ord. 69-1988; Am. Ord. 30-1989; Am. Ord. 47-1989; Am. Ord. 29-1998; Am. Ord. 2017-022; Am. Ord. 2018-036)