There is hereby established for all full-time City employees the following policy for temporary leave due to injury sustained while working or on duty:
(a) Reporting of Injury. All injuries shall be reported to the employee's department head as soon as is practicable. The department head shall complete the City injury report and forward a copy to the Mayor and to Payroll.
(b) Payment of Wages. Where an employee has been injured on duty and it has been determined by a licensed physician that the employee will be unable to return to his or her job assignment, the City will pay the difference between applicable State benefits and his or her regular salary for the period beginning on the fourth scheduled work day and ending on the seventy-fifth calendar day from the date of injury. The first three scheduled work days shall be charged to sick leave, unless waived by the Mayor, thereby authorizing the three days to be charged to injury leave.
(c) Physicians' Reports. An injured employee shall request the attending physician to certify to the City the employee's physical condition, his or her anticipated date of return to a full job assignment and the date he or she may be assigned to light duty, if practical.
The Mayor may, at regular intervals, require written proof of continuing disability from the employee's physician and, in some instances, may require an examination of the employee by a physician of the Mayor's choice to determine the extent and probable duration of the disability. Such examination will be at City expense. If it is determined by such examination that the employee is physically able to return to active full-time employment, the Mayor shall promptly direct the employee to return to work on the next Monday following the conclusion of the examination. Failure by the employee to return to work as directed will be considered as voluntary termination, unless an appeal is filed with the Mayor not later than the third regular business day after the notice to return to work is received. If an appeal is filed, the employee has seven calendar days to file a third physician's report with the Mayor. The cost of such third opinion shall be paid by the employee. The Mayor's decision will be final and not appealable.
(d) Type of Duty. When the attending physician certifies the employee's physical condition, as specified in subsection (c) hereof, such physician shall designate the employee's duty status as one of the following:
(1) Unable to perform work of any nature;
(2) Able to perform very-light-duty work, i. e. work which requires minimum physical exertion and can be adapted to the particular physical disability of the employee, including, but not limited to, answering telephones, relaying messages, reviewing calculations, posting data, taking inventories of equipment or supplies and filing;
(3) Able to perform light-duty work, i. e. work which requires restricted physical exertion and can be adapted to the particular physical disability of the employee, including, but not limited to, all of the activities referred to in paragraph (d) (2) hereof, dusting furniture, light maintenance work, cleaning equipment, sweeping floors and groundskeeping; or
(4) Able to work full duty, i. e. perform the regular work assignment.
(e) Light-Duty Assignment.
(1) An employee shall return to his or her respective department for light-duty assignment.
(2) If no light-duty assignment is available within the employee's own department, he or she shall report to the Mayor or Administrative Director for assignment to another department where a light-duty assignment is available.
(3) If no light-duty assignment is available in any department, the employee shall continue on injury leave.
(f) Injury-On-Duty Leave. Injury-on-duty leave, as specified in subsection (b) hereof, will not be charged against sick leave. Any light-duty assignment will be paid at the employee's normal wage rate, provided that one-third of the light-duty time and two-thirds of the very-light-duty time worked by the employee shall be charged against injury-on-duty leave.
(g) Continued Disability. If an employee's disability continues beyond seventy-five calendar days, such employee shall apply for leave of absence as specified in Section 250.09. Health and other related benefits shall continue while on medical leave of absence. The Mayor shall have the authority to extend the injury-on-duty leave for an additional seventy-five calendar days or any part thereof, or allow such employee to charge his or her sick leave.
(h) Veteran Employees. For those employees who have been injured on duty and have completed twenty-five years of service and/or become eligible for a pension, the compensation defined in subsection (b) hereof shall cease and such covered employee shall make application to the appropriate pension fund.
(Ord.84-0-36. Passed 2-12-85.)