(a) Each non-aligned regular and civilian full-time employee of the Fire Department shall be entitled to 4.6 hours of sick leave for every eighty hours of regularly scheduled employment. Fire Department personnel normally employed on a forty hour per week schedule shall be entitled to accrue sick leave not to exceed 1,750 hours. Employees working thirty-five hours per week shall be entitled to accrue sick leave not to exceed 1,531 hours.
(b) Absences due to service connected injury will not be charged against an employee's accumulated sick leave so long as it does not exceed the employee's attending physician's and/or the Police Surgeon's prognosis as to the employee's ability to return to employment. Once an employee has returned to assume normal duties, following an absence due to a service connected injury, subsequent absences, alleged as being due to a service connected injury, will be charged against the employee's accumulated sick leave, unless excused by the certification of the employee's attending physician's and/or the Police Surgeon. In the case of disagreement between physicians, the certification of a third physician will be required.
(c) An employee may use a portion of his or her accumulated sick leave for funeral arrangements and services for his or her spouse, child, parents, mother-in-law, father-in- law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, sister, brother, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandchildren, step-parent, step-sister, step-brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece and nephew. Funeral leave so utilized shall not be charged so as to reduce the employee's sick leave incentive.
(d) At the time of retirement from active duty with the City or death of the employee, the employee, or the employee's estate, will be paid in cash for sixty percent of the value of his or her accrued, but unused, sick leave credit. Such payment shall be based on the employee's rate of pay at time of retirement or death. Retirement shall be as defined in Police and Fire Pension Fund or Ohio Public Employee Retirement System regulations. Payment for sick leave on this basis shall be considered to eliminate all sick leave credit accrued by the employee at that time. Such payment shall be made only once to any employee. The maximum payment which may be made shall be sixty percent of 1,200 hours for a forty hour per work week employee and sixty percent of 1,050 hours for a thirty-five hour work week employee. The formula for computation shall be:
(1) In the case of employees working 40 hours per week:
annual rate x (accumulated hours x 60%)
2,080
(2) In the case of employees working 35 hours per week:
annual rate x (accumulated hours x 60%)
1,820
NOTE: Annual rate of pay used in above unused sick time payment calculations is based on the total of the base salary and longevity pay only.
(e) For Fire Department personnel, the following sick leave conservation incentive table shall prevail:
(1) In the case of employees working forty hours per week:
Unused Sick Leave Days | Incentive Payment Hours |
120 | 30 |
112 | 28 |
104 | 26 |
96 | 24 |
88 | 22 |
80 | 20 |
72 | 18 |
64 | 16 |
56 | 14 |
48 | 12 |
40 | 10 |
Less than 40 | -0-
|
(2) In the case of employees working 35 hours per week:
Unused Sick Leave Days | Incentive Payment Hours |
105 | 30 |
98 | 28 |
91 | 26 |
84 | 24 |
77 | 22 |
70 | 20 |
63 | 18 |
56 | 16 |
49 | 14 |
42 | 12 |
35 | 10 |
Less than 35 | -0-
|
(f) For payment purposes, the equivalent hourly rate to be paid will be that hourly rate in effect as of December 31, in the year in which the sick leave days are accumulated. Payment is to be concurrent with the second payroll in February following the year in which sick leave days were accumulated. Such incentive payment will in no way diminish an employee's sick leave accumulation.
(g) The incentive for conservation of annual sick leave shall be prorated and paid for the year in which separation, by death or retirement, of an employee of the Fire Department shall occur.
(Ord. 1997-20. Passed 6-23-97; Ord. 2000-16. Passed 4-10-00; Ord. 2000-53. Passed 11-27-00; Ord. 2006-10. Passed 3-30-06; Ord. 2013-7. Passed 2-25-13.)