(a) Full-time employees are eligible to earn/accrue sick leave immediately upon employment. Full-time employees shall accrue no more than 4.6 hours sick leave per a maximum of 80 hours of work and/or approved leave paid in a pay period. Employees who do not record 80 hours of work and/or approved paid leave will receive a sick leave accrual equal to the number of hours worked divided by 80, times 4.6 hours. Employees do not accrue sick lave when they are on sick leave or on unpaid leave. Eligible employees may accrue sick leave hours without limit. Medical documentation may be required from the employee's doctor to justify sick leave. The Municipality may also request its own doctor of choice to certify an employee's fitness for return to work at the Municipality's expense.
(b) At the end of each calendar year, any employee who has accumulated, as an employee of the Municipality, more than 960 hours of accrued but unused sick leave may elect to reduce the number of said hours to not less than 960 pursuant to the following conditions:
(1) In no event shall the number of hours being reduced exceed 250 hours per year and in no event shall the employee's accrued but unused sick leave fall below 960 hours as a result of the reduction specified herein.
(2) The request for payment of accrued but unused sick leave must be made in writing and submitted to the Treasurer.
(3) The Municipality will pay the funds for any valid request in the last pay period of December each year. The request for any such payment may be made only once per year, and must be submitted between November 1 and December 15 of the year in which payment is requested.
(4) In exchange for such reduction, the Municipality shall pay the employee for one-third of the number of sick leave hours being eliminated converted. Such payment shall be made at the employee's normal rate of pay in effect at the time of the employee's request.
(c) At the time of retirement from active service with the Municipality or upon an employee's death during active service with the Municipality an employee with twenty (20) or more years of service with the Municipality shall be paid in cash one quarter of the value of his or her unused sick leave accrued with the Municipality, to a maximum of 360 hours. In calculating the amount of such accrued sick leave, all sick leave taken shall first be deducted from sick leave accrued with the Municipality.
(d) Post-partum female employees are required to use accrued sick time for that portion of the family leave which is certified as medically necessary, then accrued vacation and personal time (in that order) until all such time is exhausted or until the employee returns to work. Employees who request leave following the birth of a child are required to use accrued sick leave for that portion of the family leave which is certified as medically necessary to care for the mother and/or child, then accrued vacation and personal time (in that order) until all such time is exhausted or until the employee returns to work.
(e) Holiday pay will not be earned if sick leave is used the day preceding or after a paid holiday, unless an acceptable medical excuse is provided to the employee's department head.
(f) Sick Leave Donation Program.
(1) Purpose. The purpose of the sick leave donation program is to allow employees of the Municipality to voluntarily provide assistance to their co-workers who are in critical need of leave due to serious illness or injury of the employee, the employee's spouse, the employee's child, or parent.
(2) Eligibility to donate sick leave. An employee may donate sick leave if the donating employee meets all of the following conditions:
A. The employee voluntarily elects to donate sick leave and does so with the understanding that donated sick leave will not be returned;
B. The employee donates a minimum of eight (8) hours;
C. The employee retains a sick leave balance of at least one hundred (100) hours; and
D. The employee executes a Sick Leave Donation Form provided by the Treasurer.
(3) Eligibility to receive donated sick leave. An employee may receive donated sick leave if the employee meets all of the following conditions:
A. The employee, the employee's spouse, child, or a parent has a serious illness or injury and such serious illness or injury is demonstrated with documentation certified by a medical doctor;
B. The employee has exhausted his or her own sick leave, vacation, paid holiday time (including period days), and compensatory time; and
C. The employee has applied for and exhausted any Worker's Compensation or benefits program for which the employee is eligible.
(4) No more than four hundred fifty (450) hours of sick leave may be donated to any one employee from all employees combined.
(5) Hours donated shall be credited on an hour-for-hour basis, regardless of the rate of pay of the employee donating sick leave and the employee receiving sick leave.
(6) Employees using donated sick leave shall be considered in active pay status and shall accrue leave and shall be entitled to all benefits that they are normally entitled to receive.
(7) The Mayor is authorized to issue rules and regulations necessary to administer this Sick Leave Donation Program.
(Ord. 2016-16. Passed 3-9-16.)