2101.29 Accumulation of Sick Days.

   Employees in salary groups A-1 through A-15, and 94 hired into the City on or before 12/31/92 shall have the option of maintaining their current sick leave accrual and severance pay plan as set forth in part (a) of this section or electing the sick leave conversion plan as set forth in part (b) below. This election may be made during the one hundred and twenty (120) day period following passage of this legislation. Employees opting into the plan must remain in the plan. Employees hired on or after 1/1/93 and all employees in salary groups E-1 through E-4, and L-1 through L-4, shall be covered exclusively by the Sick leave plan set forth in part (b). Employees who move to the exempt service from other units and who are already enrolled in the City's Sick Leave Conversion Plan set forth in paragraph (b) shall remain under such plan.

   (a)   Eligible employees who elect to maintain their current sick leave accrual and severance pay plan shall be credited with sick days in accordance with the following formula: one and one quarter (1 1/4) days shall be credited for each month of service, not to exceed fifteen (15) days per calendar year. Such days shall continue to accumulate at such rate without any maximum limitations. Provided the conditions of Section 2101.44, Termination and Severance Pay, have been met, unused sick leave accumulated to the time of termination shall be paid at the rate of one-half (1/2) for all such accumulated sick time up to two hundred (200) days and full pay for accumulated sick time in excess of two hundred (200) days.

   (b)   (i)   Employees hired on or before December 31, 1992 who elect the sick leave conversion plan set forth herein, and all employees in salary groups E-1 through E-4, L-1 through L-4, will bank accumulated sick leave through December 31, 1995. This banked sick leave accumulation will be used as the need for sick pay arises or may be converted to cash under the terms set forth in paragraph (b)(iii). Provided the conditions of Section 2101.44, Termination and Severance Pay, have been met, unused sick leave from that banked effective December 31, 1995 will be paid as follows at the employee's regular rate as of the date of separation: One-half for all banked sick time up to two hundred (200) days and full pay for accumulated sick time in excess of two hundred (200) days.

      (ii)   On and after January 1, 1996, employees covered by this Sick Leave Conversion Plan shall be credited with sick days in accordance with the following formula: One and one-quarter days shall be credited for each month of service not to exceed a maximum of fifteen (15) days per calendar year. Such days shall continue to accumulate at such rate without any maximum limitation.

      (iii)   Sick time not used by the end of the year can either be turned in for payment of a percentage of salary as indicated herein or carried over until retirement or separation. The maximum number of sick days allowed for year-end payment will be five (5). Employees using two and one-half (2½) or fewer days of sick leave in the preceding calendar year shall be entitled to a conversion to pay at fifty percent (50%). Employees using more than two and one-half (2½), but five (5) or fewer days shall be entitled to a conversion at twenty five percent (25%). Employees with fewer than sixty (60) days of accrued sick time or who have used more than five (5) days in the preceding calendar year, shall not be eligible for this conversion privilege. The employee's accrued sick leave shall be reduced by the number of days converted to cash.

      (iv)   Provided the conditions of Section 2101.44, Termination and Severance Pay, have been met, unused sick leave accrued after enrollment in this plan will be paid as follows at the employee's regular rate at the time of termination: thirty-three percent (33%) of salary for the first eighty (80) days and fifty percent (50%) of salary for the next eighty (80) days for a maximum of one hundred sixty (160) days.

   (c)   An employee granted a leave of absence without pay for thirty (30) calendar days or more shall not accumulate sick pay during the period the employee is on such leave.

   (d)   An employee hired from another political jurisdiction within Ohio may transfer his or her unused sick time to his sick leave bank with the City. Such time may be used and may be paid in accordance with the terms of this Chapter. However, for employees hired after September 30, 1995, such time shall not be counted toward the sixty (60) day minimum necessary for sick leave to be converted.

(Ord. 599-23. Passed 11-21- 23; Ord. 122-24. Passed 4-10-24.)

2101.30 Reserved.

2101.31 Death Benefit.

   A death benefit as set forth in the schedule below shall be paid to the designated beneficiary of an employee of the City upon death, providing such death occurs after the employee has completed the probationary period:

   Except for Police and Fire Deputy Chiefs, employees in the Exempt Service, and including the Mayor, shall be granted insurance coverage one and one half (1 1/2) times their annual salary. Fire Deputy Chiefs shall be provided twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) coverage. Police Deputy Chiefs shall be provided twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) coverage. Members of City Council shall be granted fifty thousand ($50,000) dollars insurance coverage.

   Those covered shall furnish the City with a designation of beneficiary. In the event the employee fails to designate a beneficiary, then the benefit shall be paid in accordance with the inheritance laws of the State of Ohio.

   Those covered shall be permitted to convert this benefit at the time of their retirement from the City at their own expense.

   The Mayor shall be authorized to enter into an agreement or agreements with a qualified insurance carrier or carriers to provide said death benefits herein set forth for City officials and City employees upon compliance with established City bidding procedures. The Director of Finance shall be authorized to issue his/her warrant or warrants in those amounts necessary to pay the cost of said death benefit insurance.

2101.32 Hospitalization; Prescriptive Drug; Dental Insur ance.

   (a)    GENERAL PROVISIONS: The City shall continue to provide hospital, medical, surgical, major medical outpatient diagnostic laboratory services, prescription drug, dental care and benefits under the terms and conditions set forth below. Coverage will be in accord with any mandatory requirements of Federal law. In the event of any conflict between mandatory requirements of Federal law and the City's health benefits plan, the Federal law will prevail.

      (i)    Coverage shall be provided to each employee, each employee's spouse, and all dependent members of the employee's family to age twenty-six (26) or other age as determined by applicable state or federal law. Spouses who are both employed by the City must jointly elect only one coverage. A new election may occur at open enrollment, or due to circumstances such as a job status change, layoff or other separation of one of the spouses, death, or divorce.

      Where the spouse of a City employee has health care coverage through a different employer, the spouse must enroll in his/her employer's plan. Dependents shall be covered as provided by the "Birthday Rule", as that term is defined in the Summary Plan Document (SPD). Coordination of benefits shall be provided so that coverage is extended to the spouse and dependents that is not provided by the other employer's plan. Special consideration will be given to cases of demonstrated hardship due to excessive premiums based on spousal income. An "excessive premium" is identified in the following circumstances: (a) A spouse whose gross base income is less than $30,000 who is required to pay 30% or more of their premium cost for "employee only" primary coverage; (b) A spouse whose gross base income is more than $30,001 but less than $50,000 must accept their employer's plan for "employee only" coverage. However, if the spouse is required to pay 40% or more of their premium cost for "family" coverage, the eligible dependents may be eligible to enroll in this Plan as primary and the spouse may be eligible for coverage under this Plan as secondary; (c) A spouse whose gross base income is more than $50,001 must accept their employer's plan coverage and must carry any eligible dependents in accordance with the "Birthday Rule". The spouse and dependents may be eligible for secondary coverage through this Plan.

      (ii)    Coverage for this purpose shall be furnished through the insurance carrier(s) selected exclusively by the City on a fair fee basis until such time as some other insurer may be selected or the City determines that it would be in its best interest to self insure these benefits.

      (iii)    Full-time employees covered by another health care program due to marriage, or other reasons may waive their City of Toledo coverage and receive twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) in additional life insurance coverage. This shall also be extended to those employees whose spouses are also employed by the City.

   (b)    The following cost sharing plan and cost coverage restrictions shall be effective for all employees:

      (i)    There shall be a one thousand dollar ($1000.00) annual per person maximum on chiropractic care subject to the major medical deductible ($100/individual and $200/family) and co-insurance (80%/20%).

      (ii)    There shall be a two hundred dollar ($200.00) co-pay for all emergency room visits, which shall be waived if the individual is admitted. An employee who is not admitted but is referred to the emergency room by his or her primary care physician, or by an urgent care facility, or by a tele-medicine service, may appeal the payment of one-half (1/2) of the co-pay. Such appeal will be decided by the City's third-party administrator for health care, with any further appeal to be made to the Health Care Cost Containment Committee, whose decision shall be final.

      (iii)    There shall be a monthly co-premium paid by each employee for coverage under this section, depending on the type of coverage selected. Coverage selections are: single coverage (employee only); single +1 coverage (employee plus one (1) dependent); family coverage (employee plus two (2) or more dependents).

   Employees will pay the following monthly co-premiums:

   Single: $94

   Single +1: $160

   Family: $166

The co-premium payments will be made by payroll deduction on a pre-tax basis. Spouses who are both employed by the City of Toledo will only pay one co-premium based on the type of coverage selected. The "Birthday Rule" and the spousal exclusion language in Section 2101.32(a) continue to apply to coverage options.

      (iv)    Upon any future increases in monthly co-premiums that apply, uniformly, to all City of Toledo bargaining units covered under the City of Toledo's health benefits plan, the monthly co-premiums for employees covered under this Chapter shall increase to reflect the same monthly co-premiums. Such increase shall have the same effective date as that agreed to by the bargaining units.

      (v)    Office visits rendered in the physician's office shall be subject to a ten dollar ($10.00) co-payment, which shall be counted toward the individual's major medical deductible;

   (c)    The City shall continue to provide a major dental program which provides the following:

   Type A Services: Preventative 100%

   Type B Services: Major and minor restorative 80%

   Type C Services: Orthodontia 60%

   Deductible for Type B Services: fifty dollars ($50.00) per person per year; maximum payment of one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300.00) per year.

   Maximum lifetime benefit for Type C Services for any covered person: one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300.00); coverage limited to dependent children under age 19.

   (d)    The City shall provide a prescription drug program with a zero dollar ($0) employee co-pay for generic drug prescriptions (Tier 1), a fifteen dollar ($15.00) employee co-pay for preferred brand prescriptions (Tier 2), and a thirty dollar ($30.00) employee co-pay for non-preferred brand prescriptions (Tier 3). This program shall include a generic drug mandate. The City may select an alternative pharmacy benefit manager at its option.

   (e)    The selection of the insurance carrier to provide all coverages herein is the exclusive right of the City.

   (f)    The City shall provide a vision care plan, which will contain a deductible plan. The City may select a carrier or become a self insurer as it deems necessary.

(Ord. 504-20. Passed 12-15-20.)

2101.33 Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio.

   (a)    The City shall continue to participate in the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio as provided in the Ohio Revised Code.

   (b)    In the event that the employee's share of the pension payment increases due to a change in law or regulation, the employee shall be responsible for paying the entire amount of the increased employee contribution.

   (c)    The City shall not pay any percentage of any employee's pension contribution in lieu of the employee paying same unless specifically required by law.

(Ord. 279-14. Passed 9-9-14; Ord. 599-23. Passed 11-21-23.)

2101.34 Safety Shoes and Glasses.

   The City will provide a purchase program to its employees who because of the regular course of their work exposure require in its opinion use of safety shoes, or special soled shoes, and safety glasses.

   The purchase program shall make these items available to the employee at forty (40%) percent of the cost with the remaining sixty (60%) percent to be paid by the City. However, when the City requires the use of safety shoes or special soled shoes, one hundred percent (100%) of the cost shall be borne by the City. A payroll deduction system will be established whereby the employee can authorize payment for items purchased under this program through the automatic deduction from the employee's paycheck. The Division of Human Resources shall determine which employees will be authorized to purchase equipment through this program.

2101.35 Deferred Compensation.

   The City shall continue during the term of this Chapter, the opportunity for all employees who have completed the probationary period to participate through payroll deduction in a Deferred Compensation Plan (Section 401-K Plan or Section 457 Plan) developed and administered by a provider designated by the City.