Sick leave with pay shall be granted to all full-time employees at the rate of 1-1/4 work days for each full month of active service. An employee on probationary status may utilize sick leave at the discretion of the department head who may require a certificate from a licensed physician.
(A) Sick leave shall not be considered as a privilege which an employee may use at his discretion, but shall be allowed only in case of necessary and actual sickness or disability of the employee, or because of illness in his immediate family which necessitates his absence from employment.
(B) To receive compensation while absent on sick leave, the employee shall notify his immediate superior prior to the time set for beginning his daily duties. The department head may require an employee to furnish a satisfactory written affidavit to justify the use of sick leave. If medical attention is required, or if an employee is absent for more than four consecutive working days, a certificate stating the nature of the illness from a licensed physician may be required to justify the use of sick leave with pay.
(C) Unused sick leave may be accumulated to a total of not more than 225 working days for regular full-time employees who are normally entitled to benefits and who are not specifically covered by a labor agreement. The employee shall not be compensated for unused sick leave except as provided in the options below:
(1) Upon retirement from city service and approval of retirement benefits in a State of Ohio public employee retirement system, an employee may be compensated for accumulated sick leave days at the rate of one day's pay for each two days accumulated with a maximum payment equal to not more than 112.5 days of pay.
(2) Upon submitting a resignation for retirement purposes and acceptance of such resignation by the City Manager, an employee who is eligible to receive retirement benefits in a state of Ohio public employee retirement system may take terminal leave at the rate of one day for each two days of accumulated sick leave (112.5 days maximum leave) immediately preceding the effective date of resignation. An employee shall not earn sick leave while on terminal leave.
(3) An employee may select only one of the above stated options or the One-Time Good Attendance Bonus in § 34.041, but may not combine the above stated options. Upon payment under option (1) or the exhaustion of terminal leave under option (2), an employee's sick leave balance will be reduced to zero.
(D) An employee who transfers from another public agency to the city shall be credited with the unused balance of his accumulated sick leave up to the maximum permitted by the city, upon receipt by the City Manager of a written statement signed by the employee's previous appointing authority or personnel officer attesting to the amount of unused accumulated sick leave claimed and certifying that the individual has not been in any way compensated for the unused sick leave claimed. This section shall apply to all future employees only upon their permanent appointment to a position in the city government. In the event, however, that the employee has been compensated for unused sick leave by the previous employer, no such credit balance shall be permitted.
(E) Pregnancy is not an illness, however an employee who has accumulated sick leave may utilize their sick leave during or after their pregnancy if they are directed by their doctor to quit work, and may continue the use of their sick leave until they are given permission by their doctor to return to work.
(Ord. 17-1971, passed 4-5-71; Am. Ord. 4-1983, passed 1-17-83; Am. Ord. 11-1983, passed 4-4-83; Am. Ord. 2-1984, passed 1-3-84; Am. Ord. 2-1989, passed 1-16-89; Am. Ord. 13-1990, passed 5-21-90; Am. Ord. 07-1997, passed 3-3-97; Am. Ord. 15-1997, passed 5-19-97)