(a) Permanent City employees who are members of the Ohio National Guard, the Ohio Military Reserve, the Ohio Naval Militia or members of other reserve components of the Armed Forces of the United States are entitled to leave of absence from their respective City duties pursuant to the laws of the State of Ohio, when called for military service.
(1) Employees, while on such military leave, shall receive pay from the City for a maximum of one month of each calendar year. The pay due from the City shall be the difference between the employee's gross monthly wage or salary and any monetary compensation the employee receives from the duty in the uniformed services.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in division (c) of this section, any permanent City employee who is entitled to the leave provided under division (a) of this section, and who is called or ordered to the uniformed services for longer than a month, for each calendar year in which the employee performed service in the uniformed services, because of an executive order issued by the President of the United States, because of an act of Congress, or because of an order to perform duty issued by the Governor pursuant to section 5919.29 of the Revised Code is entitled, during the period designated in the order or act, to a leave of absence and to be paid, during each monthly pay period of that leave of absence, the lesser of the following:
(1) The difference between the permanent public employee's gross monthly wage or salary as a permanent public employee and the sum of the permanent public employee's gross uniformed pay and allowances received that month;
(2) Five hundred dollars.
(c) No permanent City employee shall receive payments under division (b) of this section if the sum of the permanent City employee's gross uniformed pay and allowance received in a pay period exceeds the employee's gross wage or salary as a permanent City employee for that period or if the permanent public employee is receding pay under division (a) of this section.
(d) Each permanent public employee who is entitled to leave provided under division (a) or (b) of this section shall submit to the permanent public employee's appointing authority the published order authorizing the call or order to the uniformed services or a written statement from the appropriate military commander authorizing that service, prior to being credited with that leave.
(e) Any permanent public employee of a political subdivision whose employment is governed by a collective bargaining agreement with provision for the performance of service in the uniformed services shall abide by the terms of that collective bargaining agreement with respect to the performance of that service, except that no collective bargaining agreement may afford fewer rights and benefits than are conferred under this section.
(f) Continuation or reactivation of health benefit coverage of state employees called to active duty:
Notwithstanding sections 1751.54, 3923.381 [3923.38], and 3923.382 [3923.38.2] of the Ohio Revised Code, the City, at the request of any person who is employed by the City who is called or ordered to duty as described in division (c) of section 5923.05 of the Revised Code, or at the request of the spouse or dependent of such a person, shall continue or reactivate the health, medical, hospital, dental, vision, and surgical benefits coverage of the person, whether provided by an insurance company, health insuring corporation, or other health plan or entity, for the duration of the time the person is on duty as described in that division. The person, or the spouse or dependent of the person, who requests the continuation or reactivation of the coverage and the employing City are each liable for payment of the same costs for the coverage as if the person were not on a leave of absence.
(g) Continuation of accrued leave. When a permanent City employee is on active military leave, the accrual of accumulated paid leave will cease. Sick leave balances of the employee shall be retained for the duration of the employee's military leave, and will remain available at the time of the return to work consistent with the Ohio Revised Code provisions on reinstatement. Any existing balances of other paid leave (apportioned annual leave, compensatory time, etc.) may be dispersed at the employee's written option. The options available to the employee for dispersal of the employee are:
(1) Designate all paid leave balances to be retained for use after reinstatement;
(2) Request payment of the cash equivalent of all balances, to be paid at the time of commencement of the military leave, at the rate at the time of the leave;
(3) Request a partial payment of a designated portion of the existing leave balances, to be paid at the time of commencement of the military leave, at the rate at the time of the leave.
(h) The reinstatement and re-employment rights of any permanent City employee on leave for duty in the uniformed services shall be provided in accordance with the appropriate sections of Ohio law.
(1) "Permanent city employee" means any person holding a position with the City of Kent that requires working a regular schedule of twenty-six consecutive biweekly pay periods, or any other regular schedule of comparable consecutive pay periods, which is not limited to a specific season or duration. "Permanent city employee" does not include student help; intermittent, seasonal, or external interim employees; or individuals covered by personal services contract.
(2) "Position" means employment, full-time, part-time, probationary, or otherwise, held at the time of entrance into the uniformed services, but does not include temporary or casual employment or an office filled by election.
(3) "Service in the uniformed services" means the performance of duty, on a voluntary or involuntary basis, in a uniformed service, under competent authority, and includes active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty for training, full-time national guard duty, and performance of duty or training by a member of the Ohio organized militia pursuant to Chapter 5923 of the Revised Code. "Service in the uniformed services" includes also the period of time for which a person is absent from a position of public or private employment for the purpose of an examination to determine the fitness of the person to perform any duty described in this division.
(4) "Uniformed services" means the armed forces, the Ohio organized militia when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or full-time national guard duty, the commissioned corps of the public health service, and any other category of persons designated by the President of the United States in time of war or emergency.
(5) "Public employee's gross monthly wage or salary" means the employee's base hourly rate multiplied by 2080, divided by twelve. In the case of permanent part-time employees, it shall mean the gross wages paid during the preceding fifty-two weeks (or equivalent projected calculation thereof), divided by twelve.
(Ord. 2002-60. Passed 5-15-02.)