(a) All regular employees of the City shall be entitled to annual vacation with pay in accordance with the following table:
AMOUNT OF SERVICE DURING PREVIOUS YEAR THROUGH DECEMBER 31
Less than 1 full calendar year of service .916 days for each
full month of service
After 1 full calendar year of service 2 weeks
After 7 full calendar years of service 3 weeks
After 14 full calendar years of service 4 weeks
After 21 full calendar years of service 5 weeks
After 25 full calendar years of service 6 weeks
(b) In addition to the above, after one (1) full calendar year of service the employee shall be entitled to one (1) full additional discretionary vacation day.
(c) An employee should take vacation in the calendar year following the year in which it was earned. In the event an employee is not allowed to schedule their vacation in the year in which it should have been taken, they may request that such unused vacation be carried over to the following year. Such request must be submitted to the Department of Human Resources prior to December 1 of each year. All such carry over must be taken no later than April 30 of the following year.
(d) Employees shall be allowed to schedule and take vacation as provided herein in accordance with existing Departmental procedures agreed upon between the City and the Union. Where an agreement cannot be reached, the dispute will be submitted to expedited arbitration using American Arbitration Association (AAA) expedited arbitration.
(e) An employee shall not be allowed to be paid cash in lieu of receiving vacation unless the City for some valid reason has not allowed the employee to take the vacation time to which they are entitled by April 30 of the year following the calendar year in which it should have been taken. In that event, the employee shall be paid for such unused vacation days.
(f) An employee may request the advance of five days pay at the time of their vacation. The request must be made to the payroll clerk of the Division at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the payday on which the check is to be received. This may be done once each calendar year and is contingent upon the employee having worked in the period in an amount sufficient to be entitled to the advance pay requested.
(g) In determining eligibility for vacation, only continuous years of service shall be counted. Except where an employee has served nine (9) full calendar years with the City and has terminated and then returns to the City, such an employee shall be entitled to count the prior service for determining eligibility for vacation.
(h) Employees may sell back up to one hundred eighty (180) hours of vacation accrued for use in that year. Employees must declare the number of hours they wish to sell back by April 1st. Once declared, this decision may not be revoked. Employees shall be paid for time sold back on a straight time basis at their regular rate. Employees may request the payment at any time during that year as part of their regular paycheck or may elect a special check to be issued in April.