(a) Sick Leave.
(1) Each regular, full-time employee of the City of Reminderville (“Employee”) shall earn four and six-tenths (4.6) hours of sick leave for each completed eighty (80) hours of service.
(2) Part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees shall not be entitled to sick leave accumulation nor can they carry-over sick leave from another employer for use at the City of Reminderville.
(3) Eligibility for sick leave shall commence on the first day of the month following the date of hire. Employees shall be eligible to use sick time beginning the first of the month following first month of accrual, except for carried-over sick leave as provided below.
(4) Sick time shall be used in increments of one-quarter (0.25) hour on a Last-In/First Out basis.
(5) When sick leave is used, it shall be deducted from the Employee’s sick leave credit balance on the basis of one (1) hour used for every, one (1) hour of absence from previously scheduled work.
(6) Sick leave from another public employer may be carried over upon receipt of confirmation of balance from the previous employer. Employees shall be eligible to use carried-over sick leave on the first of the month following the month of employment. Such sick leave carried over from another employer shall not be eligible for Sick Leave Conversion pursuant to this article.
(7) Unused sick leave shall be accumulated up to an unlimited number of hours, except for Sick Leave Conversion, as hereinafter provided.
(8) Employees may use sick leave, upon approval of the immediate supervisor, for absence due to any of the following:
A. Sickness of the Employee;
B. Injury of the Employee, except when an Employee is a member of a department that has a separate Injury Leave Policy;
C. Sickness or injury in the Immediate Family where the Employee is needed to provide care for the ill or injured Immediate Family member. Immediate Family is defined as a spouse residing in the Employee’s household and any dependent child age eighteen (18) or under. Sick leave taken for any other individual other than Employee or Immediate Family shall only be permitted with previous approval by the Mayor. Extended periods of sick leave shall be governed by the Family Medical Leave Act.
D. Medical, dental, or optical consultation or treatment of an Employee or Immediate Family member; or
E. Quarantine of an Employee because of contagious disease.
(9) Upon using three (3) consecutive days of sick leave, a certificate from a registered physician shall be required verifying the specific reason that the Employee was unable to work during the period in question and that the Employee is able to resume all duties of the position. If such documentation is not provided upon Employee’s return to work, sick leave benefits shall be denied.
(10) The misuse or fraudulent use of sick leave may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal of the Employee.
(11) Sick leave shall not be included in ‘hours worked’ when calculating overtime during a workweek.
(b) Sick Leave Conversion.
(1) Sick leave that has been accumulated at the City of Reminderville shall be payable an Employee upon retirement after ten (10) or more years of service to the City, death, or disability, as provided herein.
(2) Employees who transfer into the City shall receive accumulated sick leave credits in accordance with Ohio law, but such sick leave transfer credits shall not be included in the accumulation of time for purposes of Sick Leave Conversion pursuant to this article.
(3) Sick Leave Conversion benefits shall not be payable under any of the following circumstances:
A. The Employee was dismissed from the City of Reminderville.
B. The Employee has voluntarily terminated service with the City of Reminderville (other than retirement.)
C. At least thirty (30) days’ notice of retirement is not first given to the City of Reminderville in writing.
(4) To qualify for payments upon retirement, the retirement must be established and recognized by the Ohio Public Employee’s Retirement System or an appropriate Police and Fireman’s Pension Plan and program of this State for full-time employees.
(5) In the event of the death of Employee, all remaining benefits hereinunder shall be paid first directly to his/her surviving spouse or if there is none, then to his/her estate as provided herein. The last effective pay rate of the Employee shall be applied to all benefits herein.
(6) For the purpose hereof, a permanent disability of fifty percent (50%) or more, recognized by the State of Ohio Industrial Commission, State Police Pension Board, or competent physicians of both the City of Reminderville and the Employee shall qualify Employee for payments of accumulated sick leave when such Employee separates from service with the City of Reminderville by reason of the disability.
(7) The Employee may elect, at the time of retirement from active service with the City of Reminderville, to be paid in cash for twenty-five percent (25%) of the sick leave hours accrued but unused by the Employee up to a maximum of two thousand seven-hundred twenty (2,720) hours. The payments shall be based on the Employee’s last effective pay rate. Such election shall eliminate the Employee’s entire sick leave balance for purposes of Sick Leave Conversion. Once such cash payment has been made, any remaining balance of sick leave hours shall not be available for use as sick time should the Employee ever be re-employed with the City of Reminderville; however, such balance shall remain on file should it be requested by another employer in the future.
(8) Upon satisfaction of the above noted requirements for Sick Leave Conversion, existing Employees of the Police Department may receive one hundred percent (100%) of the sick leave hours accrued but unused by the Employee up to an unlimited number of hours accumulated prior to the effective date of this section. Any sick leave hours accrued after the effective date of this section by any Employee of any Department of the City of Reminderville shall be subject to the limitations prescribed herein.
(9) Any Sick Leave Conversion payments shall be paid over the course of two (2) years, by no more than twenty-four (24) payments.
(c) Repeal.
(1) That any other ordinance and resolutions or portions of ordinances or resolutions inconsistent herewith be and the same are hereby repealed, specifically Ordinance 28-1983 and 6-2003 (previously existing versions of 149.03 and 139.02) are hereby repealed. However, any ordinance and resolutions or portions of ordinance and resolutions not inconsistent herewith and which have not previously been repealed are hereby ratified and confirmed.
(Ord. 09-2019. Passed 6-11-19.)