(A) Sick leave with pay shall be granted to all permanent or probationary employees at the accrued rate of eight hours credit for each completed month of service. Employees of the Fire Department who work on a combat shift basis shall accrue 12 hours of sick leave credit for each completed month of service. Sick leave shall be computed on a fiscal year basis, but shall accrue for only those months during which an employee has worked or has been paid for three quarters or more the regular work days. Employees may accrue an unlimited amount of sick leave to be used as set forth herein. Sick leave shall not be considered as a right which may be used at the employee's own discretion but rather as a privilege. An employee shall be eligible to use sick leave credits for any period of absence from employment which is due to personal illness, bodily injury, maternity, medical quarantine due to the exposure to a contagious disease, or attendance upon members of the immediate family who are ill where the employee's presence is required. Unless authorized pursuant to the procedures and policies established pursuant to divisions (K) and (1) of this section, no more than five working days in any calendar year and no more than five combat shifts for Fire Department employees on shift schedules may be taken as sick leave because of illness within the immediate family. In order to be granted sick leave with pay an employee must meet the following conditions:
(1) Notification of the employee's absence must be submitted to the employee's immediate supervisor not later than two hours after the commencement of the scheduled work day or shift.
(2) Upon request by the department head the employee shall submit to a medical examination, nursing visit, or inquiry which the city deems advisable.
(3) Upon request by the department head the employee shall submit a medical certificate signed by a physician stating the nature of the employee's illness or injury, that the employee has been incapacitated for work for the period of absence and is currently able to assume all job functions.
(B) Sick leave with pay will be applied towards all regularly scheduled hours not worked for any of the reasons set forth in division (A) above.
(C) The applying for or taking of accrued sick leave when physically fit shall be grounds for any disciplinary action, set forth in this code, including termination.
(D) Accrued sick leave may be taken as necessary and an employee shall not be awarded sick leave unless it has been previously accrued. In the event of an extended illness, and at the request of the employee, the department head may apply any of the employee's currently accrued vacation or compensatory time as though it were sick leave.
(E) Employees terminated from city employment shall not be paid for any accrued sick leave and shall forfeit same, unless terminated for a disability.
(F) Employees who resign in good standing shall be paid a maximum of one-half of their accrued sick leave not to exceed 50% of 840 hours, provided they have completed five years of continuous service with the city and any employee separated from employment prior to completing five years of continuous service shall forfeit and not receive compensation for any accrued sick leave. The foregoing notwithstanding, for non-bargaining employees who began their employment with the city prior to June 18, 1991 and have, in addition, maintained continuous service throughout such time, compensation shall be paid for accrued sick leave as set forth in this section regardless of their length of service.
(G) Employees who retire shall be paid their accrued sick leave to a maximum amount of 840 hours, provided they have completed five years of continuous service with the city and any employee separated from employment prior to completing five years of continuous service shall forfeit and not receive compensation for any accrued sick leave. The foregoing notwithstanding, for non-bargaining employees who began their employment with the city prior to June 18, 1991 and have, in addition, maintained continuous service throughout such time, compensation shall be paid for accrued sick leave as set forth herein regardless of their length of service. For the purposes of this division (G) any employee who had accumulated more than 840 hours of sick leave credit as of October 1, 1984 shall retain the number of hours as the maximum amount that the employee is entitled to receive.
(H) Employees who die while employed by the city shall have their accrued sick leave paid to their estate as though they had retired, provided they had completed five years of continuous service with the city. The foregoing notwithstanding, for non-bargaining employees who began their employment with the city prior to June 18, 1991 and had maintained continuous service throughout such time accrued sick leave as set forth herein shall be paid regardless of length of service.
(I) For purposes of division (G) herein the term “retired” shall be defined as either the normal, early, or disability retirement granted by the Board of Pension Trustees of either the General Employees' Retirement System or the Police and Firefighters' Retirement System.
(J) Sick leave payout as provided for in divisions (F) through (H) shall be computed by multiplying the appropriate number of sick leave hours (the number of hours at or below the cap after being adjusted by the appropriate payout percentage) by the employees' average earning of their last ten years of employment.
(K) The City Manager is authorized to create a leave bank(s) into which employees may donate accrued sick leave/vacation time which may be utilized upon authorization by the City Manager by employees during an acute or catastrophic illness or event of themselves or by members of their immediate families. Authorizations for use of sick leave bank time shall not be withheld by the City Manager for arbitrary or capricious reasons. Policies and procedures regarding the donation of time and the use thereof shall be established by the City Manager as an administrative policy.
(L) In the event of a serious health condition in the immediate family which requires inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider, the City Manager may grant additional use of personal sick leave. Policies for requesting additional sick leave and procedures for use thereof shall be established by administrative policy.
(M) Sick leave conversion. Effective September 30, 1994 and on each September 30 thereafter, employees may convert a maximum of the unused portion of one-half of their annual sick leave accrual into annual leave. Conversion shall be subject to the following:
(1) Conversion calculation shall be based on sick leave accrued and utilized during the converting fiscal year.
(2) An employee will be eligible to convert sick leave if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) Following a conversion, the employee shall retain a minimum of 96 unused sick leave hours.
(b) An employee may convert up to a maximum of 48 hours of sick,leave in any converting year provided upon conversion there remain a minimum of unused accrual from the converting year of 48 hours.
(3) Conversions of sick leave must be in increments of eight hours provided, however, that through the conversion process, eight hours of sick leave will convert to four hours of annual leave, therefore, an employee must have a minimum of 16 hours of sick leave available for conversion in order to be eligible to convert sick leave to annual leave.
(4) Sick leave hours converted into annual leave hours shall be subject to the provisions of § 34.129(C) which places a cap on the number of annual hours an employee may accrue.
('58 Code, § 11.95.3) (Ord. 69-85, passed 9-9-69; Am. Ord. 81-79, passed 8-25-81; Am. Ord. 82-29, passed 2-9-82; Am. Ord. 85-18a, passed 1-2-85; Am. Ord. 91-51, passed 5-7-91; Am. Ord. 91-60, passed 6-18-91; Am. Ord. 93-70, passed 9-14-93; Am. Ord. 95-8, passed 10-18-94; Am. Ord. 98-17, passed 11-9-97)