(a) Sick leave.
(1) Full time and part time - Class A employees of the village shall be credited with sick leave of .0575 hours for each one hour of work. Employees may use sick leave, upon approval of the responsible administrative officer of the village, for absence due to personal illness, pregnancy, injury, exposure to contagious disease, which could be communicated to other employees, and to illness, injury, or death in the employee's immediate family. When sick leave is used, it shall be deducted from the employee's credit on the basis of one hour for every one hour of absence from previously scheduled work and the employee will be paid his or her normal hourly rate. The previously accumulated sick leave of an employee who has been separated from the public service shall be placed to his or her credit upon his or her re-employment in the public service, provided that such re-employment takes place within ten years of the date on which the employee was last terminated from public service. An employee who transfers from one public agency to another shall be credited with the unused balance of his or her accumulated sick leave up to the maximum of the sick leave accumulation permitted in the public agency to which the employee transfers. If the sick leave exceeds three days, the Mayor and/or the Village Administrator shall require an employee to furnish a satisfactory written, signed statement to justify the use of sick leave. A certificate stating the nature of the illness from a licensed physician shall also be required to justify the use of sick leave in excess of three days. Falsification of either a written, signed statement or a physician's certificate shall be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal. The village maintains the right to investigate any employee's absence.
(2) If any employee of the village engages in any form of activity while on sick leave from the village, which is inconsistent with the employee's claimed reason for the sick leave, said employee's sick leave shall immediately terminate.
(3) This section does not interfere with existing unused sick leave credit in any agency of government where attendance records are maintained and credit has been given employees for unused sick leave.
(4) Unused sick leave shall be cumulative without limit.
(5) Upon retirement, any employee of the village who has accumulated sick time shall be compensated at a rate of one day's pay for each four days of sick leave.
(b) Bereavement leave. Each full time and part time - Class A employee shall receive three pro-rated days off, with pay, after the death of an immediate family member - spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparent, parent, brother or sister, (including in-laws) step father, step mother, half brother, half sister - for the purpose of attending the funeral of the deceased. The Mayor or Village Administrator must approve special circumstances for unpaid bereavement.
(c) Military leave.
(1) In accordance with state law, any employee who presents official orders requiring his or her attendance for a period of training or other active duty as a member of the United States Armed Forces shall be entitled to military leave. Such military leave shall be in addition to and may not be concurrent with authorized vacation leave. Any employee who enters extended military service with the Armed Forces shall be granted a leave of absence without pay to extend until 90 days beyond the termination of such military service.
(2) It is the intent of this division to effect exact compliance with the provisions of the Universal Military and Service Act, 50 U.S.C. 459, and the provisions of such Act, as amended, are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
(3) Nothing in division (c)(1) hereof shall be construed to require the village to hold a job for or grant any leave of absence to, any employee of the village who voluntarily enlists in any branch of the United States Armed Forces or who volunteers to go on active duty while in the reserves.
(4) Employees who belong to military-reserve units and who are required to spend two weeks per year in training shall notify their immediate supervisors of the dates scheduled for such training upon learning of them. An employee will be paid the difference between his or her regular salary and the total amount received for military reserve time.
(5) If an employee is called into active duty and placed on military leave, the employee's medical, hospital, prescription, life, dental, and vision insurance benefits will continue until the employee is covered by military insurance.
(6) Military service time shall be counted as village service for the purpose of determining vacation benefits.
(d) Absence without leave. All unauthorized and unreported absences shall be considered absence without leave and a deduction of pay shall be made for the period of absence. Such absence may be grounds for disciplinary action. An unauthorized leave for three or more consecutive working days may be considered by the department head as an automatic resignation.
(e) Return to service after unpaid leave of absence. An employee returning after a leave of absence without pay shall be reinstated in his or her former position. However, if the Mayor and/or the Village Administrator, during such absence, found it necessary to fill the position and notified the absent employee to this effect, and if, further, the latter refused, in writing, to curtail his or her leave and return to work, or failed to respond to his or her notification, then it is not required that such employee be reinstated in his or her former position.
(1) Upon the written request of a permanent employee, the Village Administrator and/or Mayor may grant the employee a leave of absence without pay.
(2) The maximum duration of a leave of absence without pay for personal reasons of the employee shall not exceed six months.
(3) The maximum duration of a leave of absence without pay for purposes of education, training or specialized experience which would benefit village service, or for other related reasons shall not exceed two years.
(4) The authorization of a leave of absence without pay is solely a matter of administrative discretion, and each request will be decided by the Mayor and/or the Village Administrator, based upon the merits of the request.
(5) When an employee fails to return to work upon the expiration of an authorized leave of absence without pay, that employee shall be considered as having resigned from the position.
(6) An employee who has received an authorized leave of absence without pay does not earn sick, vacation or longevity credit. However, time spent on the leave of absence may be considered in determining length of service for purposes where tenure is a factor and may be considered for promotion purposes.
(7) If it is determined that an employee is abusing the leave of absence and not actually using the leave for the purpose specified, the Mayor and/or Village Administrator may cancel the leave and provide the employee with a written notice directing the employee to report for work.
(8) Persons who are on an authorized leave of absence may continue their hospitalization insurance coverage only by paying the premium in full to the Clerk/Treasurer. The employee is fully responsible for payment of such premium.
(f) Family leave: the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Available to employees as provided by federal law.
(g) Jury or witness duty.
(1) Each full time and part time - Class A employee who is called to and reports for jury or witness duty during regularly scheduled work hours shall be compensated at his or her regular straight time rate, less any moneys received for such duty and/or travel expenses.
(2) If jury or witness service is for a period of time less than the employee's regularly scheduled work day, he or she shall be excused only for that portion of the day required for such service, plus reasonable time for travel and changing clothes. No overtime shall be granted to employees performing such duties.
(3) In reference to appearances at hearings before a court, legislative committee or judicial or quasi-judicial body, such appearances shall be considered leave with full pay only if the appearance is the result of village employment and approved by the village.
(h) On-duty injuries. Any employee who is injured on the job may be paid to the extent of one working day (the day the injury is sustained) for each new and separate injury, in addition to and prior to the use of sick leave accumulation. Such injury leave shall be in accordance with the following rules:
(1) An on-duty injury of any nature shall be immediately reported to the department head that in turn shall immediately report the incident to the village offices. The accident report form shall include a brief description of the accident and injury in the "remarks" section and shall be sent to the Mayor and/or the Village Administrator. The length of injury leave shall be based on the written verification of the employee's standing physician; such verification shall be provided to the Mayor and/or the Village Administrator within 48 hours of the injury. To confirm the projected length of injury leave, the village may require that the employee be examined by a physician designated and paid for by the village. If there is a difference of opinion between the employee's physician and the village's physician concerning the length of injury leave, the opinion of the village's physician will take precedence.
(2) When an employee is unable to work as a result of an on-duty injury, the department supervisor shall cause to be filed an application for workers' compensation for the employee.
(3) An injured employee may elect to use accrued sick leave and vacation leave prior to receiving payments from Worker's Compensation. Employees may not receive payment from sick leave while simultaneously receiving payment from Worker's Compensation.
(4) Where disability caused by an on-duty injury continues for a period of 12 months after the use of all sick leave and vacation time accrued and due, the employee shall apply for disability retirement.
(5) As soon as it is determined by the employee's physician or the village's designated physician that the injured employee is able to return to full duty, the village may require the employee to report to work and terminate injury leave. The village will require a written determination of the employee's ability to return to work by a physician at least at the beginning of each 30 day interval and more often if warranted. Again, if there is a disagreement between the employee's physician and the village's physician concerning the employee's ability to work, the opinion of the village's physician takes precedence.
(6) The village shall require the employee to furnish medical proof or submit to medical examination by the village and at the village's expense to determine whether a subsequent injury is a new and separate injury or an aggravation of a former injury sustained while in village service.
(7) Leave of absence without pay may be granted by the department head with the approval of the Mayor and/or the Village Administrator, for off-duty injuries, illness or temporary physical disability.
(i) Administrative leave with pay.
(1) An appointing authority may, in their sole discretion, place an employee on administrative leave with pay when the health or safety of an employee or any person or property entrusted to the employee's care could be adversely affected.
(2) The length of administrative leave with pay granted under this section is solely in the discretion of the appointing authority but it shall never exceed the length of the situation for which the leave was granted.
(3) Compensation for an employee placed on administrative leave with pay shall be equal to the employee's current base rate of pay and the employee shall retain benefits of employment, including the accrual of leave and service credit.
(4) Time spent on administrative leave with pay shall not be used toward calculating hours worked for overtime purposes.
(5) An employee placed on administrative leave with pay must always be in workready status during their regularly scheduled work time and must be able to report to work on short notice.
(6) An employee on administrative leave with pay may be separated if during their administrative leave he/she accepts any other employment without prior approval of the village, files for unemployment compensation, or, upon return from leave, refuses a job reassignment from the village.
(7) An employee placed on administrative leave shall return all village property on or before the last workday, unless otherwise permitted by the appointing authority.
(8) For the purposes of this division, the appointing authority for the village departments shall be as follows:
A. Mayor - Police Department, Fire Department, and Administrator.
B. Clerk-Treasurer - Income Tax Department.
C. Administrator - All other departments.
(Ord. 3050, passed 12-19-16; Ord. 2020-O-3180, passed 3-30-20)