(a) Computation. Each full-time employee of the City shall be entitled to sick leave of one and one-fourth work days (10 hours for 40-hour-per-week employees and 13.25 hours for shift employees within the Department of Fire) with pay for each completed month of service. Each full calendar month of service shall be deemed a completed month of service.
(b) Unused Sick Leave. Unused sick leave shall be cumulative.
(c) Allowance of Sick Leave. An employee who is eligible for sick leave with pay may use such sick leave only for absence due to illness, injury, exposure to a contagious disease which could be communicated to other employees, and illness or death in the employee's immediate family (spouse, child, parent). An employee on sick leave shall inform his or her immediate supervisor of the fact and the reason therefor as soon as possible, and failure to do so within one-half hour prior to the start of the shift may be cause for denial of sick leave with pay for the period of absence.
(d) Fractional Days. Absence for a fraction or part of a day that is chargeable to sick leave, in accordance with this section, shall be charged proportionately in an amount not smaller than one-half hour.
(e) Required Reports. Sick leave, with pay, in excess of three days, or two 24-hour shifts for shift employees within the Department of Fire, for reasons of illness or injury, may require a written statement by a reputable physician certifying that the employee's condition prevented him or her from performing the duties of his or her position. If the illness or injury continues for more than 7 calendar days, weekly written reports from the physician must be presented. In lieu of the required reports, a written statement by the appropriate director or department head will be accepted. Any employee fraudulently obtaining or attempting to obtain sick leave, and any department head falsely certifying to sick leave allowances for absence from work for other reasons, shall be suspended or dismissed and may be prosecuted. Excessive or patterned use of sick leave shall also be just cause for discipline.
(f) Sick Leave Credit. An employee who is laid off from his or her position for reasons that are not discreditable to him or her, may, if reappointed within 12 months, have available for his or her necessary use any unused sick leave existing at the time of his or her layoff. Any employee who transfers from one department to another shall be credited with the unused balance of his or her accumulated sick leave.
(Ord. 27-85. Passed 6-10-85.)
(g) Sick Leave Conversion. An employee may convert sick leave, in excess of 90 days, into vacation leave at a rate of one vacation day for one sick day, to a maximum of 5 additional vacation days per calendar year. For shift employees within the Department of Fire, "day," as used in divisions (g) and (h) of this section, shall mean 10.6 hours.
(Ord. 128-94. Passed 10-24-94.)
(h) Payment Upon Retirement. Sick leave days which have accrued at the retirement date of an employee shall be paid at a ratio of one day of pay for each 2 days earned. The rate will be that of the full-time employee at the time of retirement. There is unlimited accumulation of sick leave.
To be eligible for retirement under this section, the employee shall have worked full-time with the City and shall have attained the normal retirement age of that employee's pension system, or be granted a disability pension by the employee's pension system as the result of a service-connected disability.
(Ord. 27-85. Passed 6-10-85; Ord. 113-03. Passed 7-14-03.)