(a) Sick Leave.
(1) The sick leave policy of the Village shall be defined, interpreted and followed as set forth herein, for all full time Village employees of any department, division or employment relationship, regardless of whether or not the employee is appointed or promoted to or within the department or division.
(2) The sick leave policy of the Village shall only be applicable to leave with pay, and shall not be construed or interpreted by a court of competent jurisdiction to conflict with the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, Code of, Federal Regulations, Title 29, Part 825 (FMLA).
(3) Sick leave and Family Medical Leave shall run concurrently. If the Village Manager or his designee send paperwork to an employee to determine if Family Medical Leave is available, the employee shall, within a reasonable time, return said paperwork to the City Manager or his designee. A reasonable time is defined as seven (7) days from receipt of the request for information from the Manager or his designee. If the request is mailed the date of mailing shall commence the time to run. Failure to return the request for information is cause for discipline.
(4) Definitions of sick leave.
A. Sick leave is the period of time during which an employee is excused from the work place by reason of illness or injury.
B. Sick leave may be requested by an employee for only the following reasons:
i) Illness or injury of the employee or a member of his/her immediate family.
ii) Medical, dental, optical examinations of an employee or a member of his/her immediate family, or treatment which prevents the employee from performing assigned duties within the department or division.
iii) Pregnancy, childbirth, adoption or guardianship of a minor child, or related medical conditions of the employee or member of his/her immediate family.
(5) Sick leave credits earned and use. For the purpose of this policy, the "immediate family member'' shall be defined as (1) spouse, (2) mother, (3) father, (4) child, (5) step-child living within an employee's home, (6) minor ward, (7) brother or (8) sister.
(6) Sick leave credits earned and use.
A. Every employee who has completed a month in active pay status shall earn one and one fourth (1 ¼) days of paid sick leave credit. Active pay status is defined as actual hours worked, hours on vacation, hours on holiday leave and hours of paid sick leave. Sick leave may be accrued subject to the limits set forth below.
B. The maximum amount of sick leave that can be accrued is unlimited.
C. An employee of the Village may elect, at the time of retirement from active service or terminated by death and with five or more years of service with the Village, to be paid in cash the employee's accrued but unused sick leave credit up to 960 hours. Such payment shall be based on the employee's rate of pay at the time of retirement. 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.
D. Sick leave shall be paid at the same level or basic hourly, daily or bi-weekly rate as if the employee was engaged in active employment status subject to the master wage ordinance.
(7) Notice and request for sick leave procedure.
A. Any employee requesting sick leave shall notify the Manager or his designee of this fact in person, via telephone or in writing on a form prepared for this purpose. The notice shall constitute a "Notice of Absence" with pay and shall clearly and accurately inform the Manager or his designee of the nature of the request and the anticipated hour date of return to active employment. The Notice of Absence" shall be requested not less than one (1) hour prior to an employee's scheduled active employment and at least two (2) hours prior to an afternoon or night shift active employment
B. The Manager or his designee shall be responsible for maintaining records of sick leave credits earned, sick leave credits used and balance remaining for each employee. The Manager is hereby authorized to prescribe forms to implement the policy. Every employee requesting sick leave shall upon returning to work, if not having previously completed the Notice of Absence, complete and sign the Notice of Absence for any reasons set forth in subsection (4) above.
C. All employees shall be required to furnish a satisfactory written physician's statement to the Manager or his designee, to justify the use of sick leave for any absence of more than three (3) consecutive days; and if an employee is using sick leave for any immediate family member, as defined in subsection (5) above a written physician's statement shall be required to maintain eligibility for paid sick leave.
D. Any employee who provides false or misleading information as to the eligibility for receiving sick leave, shall be subject to immediate disciplinary action by the Manager, up to and including termination of employment.
(8) Use of vacation leave as sick leave.
A. If an employee has exhausted all of his/her accrued sick leave credits, the employee may use his/her accrued vacation leave as sick leave.
(9) Wellness program. The Village establishes a Wellness Program. Each full-time employee who uses zero (0) sick hours during a calendar year shall be compensated one hundred dollars ($100.00) in January of the following year by a separate check.
(b) Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
(1) The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29, Part 825 sets forth the FMLA. The Manager shall establish policies consistent with the act to ensure all eligible employees receive the benefits of the act. Sick leave and Family Medical leave are concurrent.
(2) An employee who has exhausted all paid leave but is still eligible for FMLA shall not accrue or be entitled to any benefits afforded to other employees on paid sick leave under this ordinance except any benefits set forth in the current FMLA policy adopted by the Manager and/or Council, and Health Care coverage as set forth in the Village Policy in Section 147.31 Codified Ordinances.
(c) Vacation Leave.
(1) The vacation year shall date from January 1 through December 31 each year. Employees shall take their vacation for the relevant calendar year prior to December 31 each year. Vacations must be requested in writing to the Manager or his designee by January 31 st of the calendar year for which vacation leave is requested.
(2) If, for some reason, it is not practicable for an employee to take all vacation leave to which he/she is entitled by the end of the calendar year, the employee shall notify the Manager in writing and request that the employee receive his remaining unused vacation pay in a separate check paid in the last pay period of January of the following year. The Manager's decision is final.
(3) Unused vacation shall not be carried over into the following calendar year.
(4) Any employee of the Village who resigns, or retires is entitled to be paid for all unused personal days or unused vacation days. This amount shall be paid in a separate check in the next payroll period.
(5) Each full time employee of the Village of Sebring who has at least one full year of service with the Village shall receive vacation leave as set forth in the master pay ordinance.
(d) Personal Leave. Each full time employee after sixty continuous days of service shall be entitled to three (3) personal days per year. Requests to use a personal day or any part thereof must be submitted to the Manager, in writing, three (3) days prior to requested personal day.
(e) Bereavement Leave. Each full time employee of the Village shall be eligible for up to three (3) calendar days additional paid personal leave in the event of the death of an immediate family member. Immediate family is defined as: mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, employee's children, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparents, or grandchildren.
(Ord. 56-2020. Passed 11-23-20.)