The city offers sick leave as approved in this section and the Tipp City Personnel Manual.
(A) Rate. Sick leave shall be earned and credited at the rate of ten hours for each month except for permanent part-time employees in active pay status, including paid vacations, sick leave, and injury leave, but not during a leave of absence without pay (i.e. workers’ compensation), or disciplinary suspension. A permanent part-time employee shall only receive sick leave with pay, based upon their regularly scheduled hours of work. Overtime hours shall not count towards sick time hours unless allowed by contract or law. Unused sick leave shall be accumulative without limit.
(B) Notification by employee. When an employee is unable to report to work, he or she will notify his or her immediate supervisor or other designated person, no less than two hours (unless extenuating circumstances prohibit) prior to the time he or she is scheduled to report to work on each day of absence, unless other arrangements are made with the employee's supervisor.
(C) Evidence required for sick leave usage. Upon return to work, an employee shall complete an application for sick leave form to justify the use of sick leave. The employer may require the employee to furnish a certificate from a physician, dentist, or other medical practitioner stating the employee was under his or her medical care and unable to perform his or her duties. Falsification of either a written signed statement or a practitioner's certificate, or abuse of sick leave, shall be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal. The employer reserves the right to investigate and verify an employee's absence.
(D) Uses of sick leave.
(1) Sick leave may be granted to an employee upon approval of the employer for the following reasons and shall run concurrent with FML when applicable:
(a) Illness or injury of the employee and the employee's spouse or child, including stepchild, where the employee's presence is required.
(b) The illness of an employee's parents or parents-in-law requiring the employee's presence at a medical office or at a hospital, shall be cause for sick leave to be granted. An employee using sick time for this purpose may apply for additional sick leave under § 37.34(G).
(c) Death of a member of the employee's immediate family, sick leave usage shall be limited to time actually required to attend the funeral, make necessary funeral arrangements, and to take care of related matters. Maximum usage is limited to three working days in addition to funeral leave as allowed under § 37.36.
(d) Emergency medical, emergency dental, or emergency optical treatment of employee, employee's spouse, employee’s parent, step child, or child, which requires the presence of the employee.
(e) If an employee's spouse, step child, or child is afflicted with a contagious disease or requires the care and attendance of the employee or who, through exposure to a contagious disease, the presence of the employee at his or her job would jeopardize the health of others.
(f) Pregnancy and childbirth, and other conditions related thereto.
(2) Sick leave usage shall be charged in minimum units of 1/4 hour.
(3) For the purpose of division (D)(1)(c), the definition of IMMEDIATE FAMILY shall be spouse, parents and stepparents, children and stepchildren, grandparents, brother, sister, grandchildren, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, mother-in-law, father- in-law, or other person who stands in place of a parent (loco parentis), or other relative residing in the same household as the employee.
(4) An employee who is laid off shall, upon reinstatement, have placed to his or her credit all accumulated sick leave existing at the time of his or her layoff.
(E) The employer may require an employee to take an examination, conducted by a licensed physician, to determine the employee's physical or mental capability to perform the duties of the employee's position. The employee may also choose to be examined by his or her own licensed physician at his or her own expense. If the diagnosis of the employee's physician differs from the employer's physician, the two physicians shall select a third physician and his or her diagnosis shall be binding. If found not qualified, the employee may be placed on sick leave, leave without pay, or Family Medical Leave. The cost of the first examination shall be paid by the employer, and the physician will send the employer the results of any examination. The cost of the third physician shall be shared equally by the employee and the employer. Prior to sending an employee to the employer's physician, the employer will provide the employee a written reason for such exam.
(F) Employees who maintain 1,440 hours of accumulated sick leave shall annually be eligible to convert such leave to vacation leave on a three for one basis. No more than three days vacation may be obtained this way per year.
(G) For the purposes of providing sick leave to employees who have experienced prolonged medical issues as provided for under § 37.34(D) and exhausted all accrued leave time, the City Manager may establish a sick leave donation fund. Donation to and receipt from this fund shall be governed by policy and procedure as promulgated by the City Manager.
(1974 Code, § 37.34) (Ord. 12-94, passed 5-16-1994; Am. Ord. 21-97, passed 8-4-1997; Am. Ord. 11-00, passed 4-3-2000; Am. Ord. 07-02, passed 3-4-2002; Am. Ord. 09-05, passed 2-22-2005; Am. Ord. 40-15, passed 10-5-2015; Am. Ord. 19-18, passed 7-16-2018; Am. Ord. 7-19, passed 4-15-2019)