(A) The best interests of the city and its employees are served when injured or ill employees return to work as soon as they are able. Light duty work is work which requires only a minimum of physical exertion, and can be accomplished by an injured or ill employee without risk to the employee's recuperation process and without potential risk of harm to others. When employees are on leave of absence for an injury or illness, the department head may recommend and the City Manager may approve a light duty assignment in accordance with the procedures identified below. There is no guarantee of a light duty assignment. Light duty assignments will be considered on a case-by-case basis and shall be at the discretion of the department head or based on the operational needs of the city.
(B) Further, light duty assignments are temporary and are reserved for employees who will be able to recover from their injuries. Light duty assignments are intended to benefit the employee and the city and to the extent that light duty assignments cease to serve the operational needs of the city, light duty assignments will be terminated.
(1) An employee may be required, or may volunteer, to work in an available revised duty assignment, whether the injury was sustained on-duty or off-duty. The number of light duty assignments available is limited. Therefore, on-duty injuries have priority over off-duty injuries in the selection of light duty assignments, and are at the discretion of the department head.
(2) The work the employee performs must be within the physical limitations prescribed by the employee's and/or city-designated physician.
(3) The work the employee performs must have existed within the department before the illness or injury occurred.
(4) No employee will be moved from his regular job in order to make a light duty situation available to another employee.
(5) The performance of light duty work shall not otherwise disrupt the functioning of the department within which the light duty is being performed.
(6) Employees may be removed from limited duty assignments if appropriate work is not available, or if the employee cannot satisfactorily perform the work assigned. In most cases, light duty assignments will not be allowed for more than 90 days.
(7) It is recognized that the nature of the injury and the skills of the employee will determine what assignments are made. The nature of the injury and the skills of the individual must be balanced against the needs of the department (e.g. an administrative or clerical employee with a broken arm may be able to perform office work that a utility person or mechanic with the same type of injury is unable to do).
(8) The city is the employer, not the department. It is the primary goal of this policy that departments find alternative work assignments for employees assigned to their respective departments. However, when the employee's department head cannot find suitable work, suitable restricted work may be sought in other departments.
(9) An employee who is authorized and assigned light duty work shall continue in his or her status as an employee of the city, with the same wage and benefits that were assigned to his or her regular position.
(10) The city may require the employee to submit to an examination by another physician at the city's expense in order to determine the employee's fitness for duty, even light duty. The determination of the city's physician will govern in the case of a dispute between the city's physician and the employee's physician. The city also reserves the right to review an employee's status at any time during the duration of the light duty assignment.
(11) The decision of the City Manager shall be final with respect to the determination of whether a light duty assignment is available within the limits of the physician's restrictions. No light duty assignments will be made permanent and requests for light duty may be denied where there is no reasonable expectation of the employee returning to regular duty within 90 days.
(12) If an employee is granted light duty, the light duty assignment generally shall not exceed 90 days. If at the end of that time, the employee is still not medically released to perform full duties as defined by the employee's official job description, he shall either: (1) be reclassified or reassigned; or (2) be placed on a leave of absence with or without compensation; or (3) apply for a disability pension; or (4) be subject to commencement of the termination process. Such decision shall be made by the City Administrator and department head based on the circumstances of each specific case and in accordance with applicable laws.
(13) The city will treat pregnancy as any other non-job related disability. Any restrictions imposed by a pregnant employee's physician or the city-designated physician will be reviewed to determine if light duty assignments are available consistent with the employee's prenatal restrictions.
(14) Failure to report for or to carry out the assignments of the limited duty work status may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
(15) No light duty assignments shall result in overtime.
(C) Nothing herein shall be construed to require the city to create a light duty assignment for an employee. Employees will only be assigned light duty assignments when the city determines that the need exists, and only as long as such need exists.
(Ord. 1061, passed 4-5-21)