249.36 ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE POLICY.
   (a)   Each employee serves a vital role in the City’s ability to provide quality service to the public. The degree of success achieved in providing these services is directly proportionate to the dedication and dependability of each employee.
   (b)   Employment with the City required that employees conform to certain standards to which all employees must adhere, and each employee has a personal responsibility to report to work on time and to continue to work until the end of the work day, unless relived from duty pursuant to approved leave. In addition, an employee’s attendance record is a significant factory affecting the employee’s performance evaluation rating; consequently, the attendance record can directly impact upon the employee’s continued employment.
   (c)   The City recognizes that there are times when employees are unable to work because of illness, injury, weather emergencies, or other reasons specified in this manual. Abuse of such leave, or other leaves, however is prohibited.
   (d)   All sick leaves, vacation leaves, and other absences from work shall be reported by the employee to the employee’s immediate supervisor in accordance with notification and approval requirements.
   (e)   Salaried employees are exempt from compensation for “overtime” and are expected to work those hours necessary and incidental to accomplishment of their assigned job duties; however, salaried employees are generally expected to work an eight (8) hour work day and a forty (40) hours work week.
   (f)   The City also recognizes that operational needs and workload requirements may at time necessitate variations in salaried employees’ starting and ending times, as well as variations in the total hours that salaried employees may be required to work each day and week.
   (g)   When a salaried employee’s work performance and attendance record are satisfactory, the employee may be permitted to take time off, with pay, so that the employee may “flex” or “balance” his or her working hours in order to carry out his or her working hours in order to carry out his or her assigned job duties and to allow the employee to work a reasonable number of hours per work week. This paid time off is not to be construed as “compensatory time” or “overtime compensation” of any kind; rather, salaried employees are permitted to reasonable take paid time off in order to ensure that they remain effective and efficient in the performance of their job duties, especially in situations when their assigned job duties require them to work an inordinate number of hours in a work day or work week.
   (h)   When taking such paid time off, a salaried employee is encouraged to advise his or her staff and/or immediate supervisor as to where and how the employee could be reached in case or emergency.
   (i)   If a salaried employee’s use of such paid time off interferes with the satisfactory performance of his/her job duties or infringes upon the employee’s ability to diligently and adequately represent and protect the best interests of the City, the employee will be subject to appropriate corrective action, up to and including discharge.
(Ord. 02-013. Passed 8-26-02.)