(A) All employees serving in full-time and part-time permanent positions shall be entitled to sick leave at the rate specified in the “Compensation Plan” adopted by Council.
(B) Sick leave shall be used for the following reasons:
(1) Physical or mental illness, injury, or disability of the employee;
(2) Physical or mental illness, injury or disability of one or more of the employee's immediate family members, requiring the employee's personal care and attendance. (See the definition of IMMEDIATE FAMILY in § 33.02.)
(3) Necessary appointments with healthcare providers.
(C) Sick leave may also be requested for other members of an employee's household and may be approved at the discretion of the City Manager, or the City Manager’s designee, on a case-by-case basis, based upon the circumstances of each particular case.
(D) In order to qualify for sick leave payments, the employee must notify the employee’s supervisor not later than one-half hour before the employee’s normal starting time on the first day of absence, unless the circumstances surrounding the absence make such reporting impossible, in which case such report must be made as soon as possible. Sick leave for appointments must be requested 48 hours in advance, except in emergency situations.
(E) New employees shall be granted, at the date of their employment, an “advance” of three days of sick leave. However, no additional sick leave will be allowed to accumulate until the end of the third month of employment.
(F) In the event an employee requests sick leave for a period of longer than two consecutive days, or for the day immediately preceding or following a holiday, the supervisor may require the employee to submit a doctor's certificate verifying the illness and justifying the necessity of the absence. If the supervisor determines that an employee's use of sick leave is not justified, the supervisor shall have the authority to charge the absent time to the employee's vacation or sick leave balance or to record the absent time as leave without pay.
(G) The City Manager, assisted by all supervisory personnel, shall be responsible for preventing abuses of sick leave. Sick leave shall not be considered leave time which an employee may use for personal business. The employer may require medical proof of the necessity of sick leave, in which event the involved employee shall be required to produce a statement from a medical doctor certifying to the necessity of such absence. If an employee is found to have abused this sick leave policy provision, they shall be subject to disciplinary action, including possible suspension or dismissal.
(H) Vacation leave, personal leave or compensatory time may be used to supplement sick leave when the latter is exhausted. All sick leave shall be requested according to the procedures outlined in the administrative orders of the City Manager.
(Am. Ord. 01-04, passed 2-2-04; Am. Ord. 69-08, passed 9-15-08; Am. Ord. 99-13, passed 12-9-13; Amendment effective 1-1-22; Am. Res. 81- 23, passed 11-13-23)