(a) Sick Leave Policy. The sick leave policy for all non-bargaining unit employees of the City, excluding elected officials, is hereby established as follows:
(1) Sick leave credit.
A. Accumulation of credit-sick leave is earned in accordance with the state minimum requirement at the rate of one and one-fourth days per month of employment or fifteen days per year.
B. Regular full-time employees shall receive annual sick leave according to the following formula:
Sick leave days per year = 1.25 x months x hours
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Sick leave days per year represent the eight-hour days accumulated; months represents the months worked per year; hours represents the hours worked per day.
C. Employees may transfer accumulated sick leave credit upon employment with the City in accordance with State law, subject however to use and payment thereof as regulated herein.
(2) Use of Sick Leave. Employees may use sick leave for absence due to:
A. Personal illness, injury or exposure to contagious disease where quarantined by the Board of Health.
B. Illness in the immediate family. Employees may use up to fifteen work days per year of earned and accumulated sick leave if necessitated by illness in the employee's immediate family. For purposes of this section, "immediate family" shall be interpreted to be spouse, children, parents of the employee, regardless of place of residence; and other relatives living within the household of the employee.
C. Proof of absence. The department head shall require that the employee furnish a satisfactory affidavit to the effect that the absence was caused by illness or due to any of the foregoing causes.
D. Return to work. If an employee is absent on sick leave for more than three consecutive work days, the City shall require the employee to present medical evidence that the employee was under a doctor's care and is able to return to work. The City shall review the attendance records of employees periodically and at least once in each three-month period. If it believes that an employee is developing an attendance problem, it shall notify the employee in writing that medical evidence will be required for absence of one day or less. When an employee's record becomes satisfactory, the requirement for such medical evidence for short-term absences shall be removed, and the employee shall be notified in writing.
E. Accumulated sick leave credit may be used and shall be deducted, as permitted herein, based on its annual or chronological acquisition such that the earliest or first sick leave credit earned must be used or deducted first, including any sick time credit transferred pursuant to Section 161.01(a)(1) (C) hereinabove.
(3) In the event the City questions whether the employee is physically able to do the work, it shall require the employee to furnish a City supplied medical certificate from a physician supporting his claim of fitness, and the City shall have the right to have the employee examined by a doctor of its choice. If the original doctor's response is insufficiently detailed, the employee shall authorize the City to contact the doctor to secure necessary information. The charges for the second physician shall be borne by the City.
(b) Jury Duty and Witness Pay. An employee called for jury duty shall be granted a leave of absence for the period of jury service and shall be compensated at full pay for absences necessarily caused by the jury duty. An employee who is required to be absent from scheduled work to serve as a witness called by the City or by a party in litigation with the City shall be paid for time lost from scheduled straight time work. Witness pay shall not be paid for purposes other than those stated herein.
(c) Funeral Leave.
(1) A full-time employee shall be granted a five-day leave of absence with pay, in the event of the death of an immediate family member.
(2) A full-time employee shall be granted a five-day leave of absence with pay, in the event of the death of an immediate family member who resides outside the State.
(3) For the purpose of this section, “immediate family” includes parent, parents of spouse, spouse and children of the employee, brothers and sisters of the employee, brother and sister of spouse, grandparents, grandparents of spouse, grandchildren, spouse of children, step-parents of the employee, stepparents of spouse, step-children as well as other relatives living with the employee if the employee is acting as parent or guardian. In the event of a death of any other person not listed an employee shall use his accumulated sick leave or may use sick leave to extend funeral leave time subject to the approval of the department’s Director.
(d) Parental Leave. All employees shall be entitled to parental leave upon the birth or adoption of a child.
Parental leave in all respects, including, but not limited to, availability, time permitted, procedural requirements, notices, pay and return to work, shall be governed exclusively by the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.
(e) Probationary Period. All new employees shall be considered to be on probation for a period of 180 days. The department head shall undertake three job performance evaluations of all new employees during the probationary period.
The first such evaluation shall be completed within the first sixty days of employment.
The second evaluation shall be completed between the sixtieth day and 120th day of employment.
The third shall be completed by the 179th day of employment.
If it is determined by the third evaluation that the employee has not progressed sufficiently or the work being performed is not satisfactory, such employee shall not be retained.
The department head is hereby directed to counsel the employee through the probationary period and extend the necessary direction and training necessary to assist the employee through the job assignment process.
A copy of all such aforementioned evaluations shall be provided to the department head's appropriate director and the Director of Human Resources.
(f) Payment of Accumulated Sick Leave Credit. An employee shall be paid for unused, accumulated sick leave at the time of disability, retirement or death. For purposes of this paragraph, the terms "disability" and "retirement" shall mean, respectively, "disability or service retirement under any state retirement system in this State." Payment shall be based upon the basic hourly rate of pay at the time of disability, retirement or death plus longevity and the amount shall be one-half of the unused sick leave with a maximum payment of 700 hours in 1993, 800 hours in 1994, 900 hours in 1995, and 1,000 hours beginning January 1, 2002 and thereafter, except in the event that such sick leave balance was not entirely earned while employed by the City but rather was transferred, in whole or part, pursuant to Section 161.01(a)(1) C. Employees who have transferred sick leave credit shall be paid, as to such transfer balance, in accordance with State law maximum pursuant to R.C. 124.39(B) and, for unused sick time accumulated during employment with the City, additional payment shall be made in accordance herewith but in no event shall any employee, by combination of payments, exceed the maximum amount permitted herein.
In the case of death, such sick leave credit payment shall be made in the following order of precedence:
(1) As directed in writing by the employee.
(2) If there is no direction in writing, then to the spouse of the employee.
(3) If there is no spouse, then to the estate of the employee.
(Ord. 2020-109. Passed 11-4-20.)