(a) All full-time employees shall earn sick leave at the rate of 4.615 hours per pay period. Employees may use sick leave upon prior approval of the responsible administrative officer of the department, for absence due to FMLA designated events, the employee’s illness, funeral leave (as defined below), injury, or exposure to contagious disease, which could be spread to other employees. The responsible administrative authority of the department may require the employee to furnish a satisfactory statement, or a certificate from a licensed physician, as to the nature of the employee’s illness or other acceptable reason for absence as provided in this section. No sick leave may be granted an employee after the employee’s retirement or termination of employment.
(b) An employee shall be granted time off with pay for the purposes of attending the funeral of a member of the employee’s immediate family. The employee shall be entitled to three (3) work days off not deducted from any leave in the case of death of the spouse, child, step-child, or parent (or person acting in Loco Parentis), or sibling of the employee/spouse. In case of death of grandparent of an employee or spouse, son/daughter-in-law, or aunt/uncle of the employee, the employee will be granted up to a three (3) days funeral leave, with such time to be deducted from any available leave time as designated by the employee. (An additional two (2) deductible days may be granted if travel is necessary). Spouse Defined: legally married persons, regardless of their genders.
(c) An employee who has prior service with the State of Ohio or any political subdivision of the State of Ohio shall be allowed to transfer up to 400 hours of unused accumulated sick leave upon presenting proper documentation of said prior service within sixty (60) days after commencement of employment. However, sick leave transferred from another political subdivision is not eligible for conversion to vacation time or cash out upon retirement.
(d) Sick leave accumulated by employees above seventy-five (75) days/six hundred (600) hours may be converted to vacation time at a ratio of three (3) days of accrued sick leave to one day of vacation. Vacation time earned in this manner shall not exceed ten (10) days in any calendar year and shall be granted in accordance with the City’s administrative policies and procedures. For sick leave accumulated in excess of 600 hours may also be exchanged for pay at a rate of three (3) days sick leave for one (1) day’s pay per calendar year. Upon resignation in good standing the employee may exercise the vacation time conversion option. Upon these conditions, the total payout may not exceed twenty (20) days. Under no circumstances may accrued sick leave of less than seventy-five (75) days be converted to vacation leave at the time of termination. Sick time may be exchanged for vacation days by employees after a balance of 600 hours are accumulated and provided the exchange does not reduce the employee’s balance below 600 hours. The employee can exchange 24 hours of sick leave for eight (8) hours vacation, not to exceed 240 sick leave hours for 80 hours of vacation in a calendar year. In the alternative, sick days may also be exchanged for pay at the rate of 24 hours of sick leave for eight (8) hours at the employee’s rate of pay, not to exceed 80 hours of pay per calendar year. Only sick leave hours earned during the period of employment with the City of Trotwood are eligible for conversion under this section.
(e) Employees may earn one (1) additional personal day for every six (6) months, which is one (1) day for not using any sick leave time for that (6)-month period. Personal days under this section shall not be accumulated and must be used within the following six (6) month period or may be taken as pay at the employee's option. However, a personal day under this section which cannot be scheduled within the appropriate six (6) month period due to the operational needs of the department may be carried over for an additional six (6) month period.
(f) Sick Leave Donation Program. This program is established so that employees of the City of Trotwood may make voluntary donations of their earned sick leave to other employees for humanitarian reasons, and is available to those employees in need because of serious or catastrophic illness or injury, and who have exhausted all other paid leave including sick, vacation, holiday, and personal. This program does not supersede or replace other retirement or disability programs. When the Human Resource Manager is made aware of the need for sick leave donations, a notice will be posted advising all City employees of this need. Any eligible employee may then voluntarily elect to contribute permanently sick leave credits for this employee. The Following Criteria will apply:
(1) Only regular, full-time, non-probationary, employees are eligible to donate sick leave credits or to be a recipient of a donation. The employee must have at least forty (40) sick leave credits (320 hours) accumulated at the time of donation.
(2) A sick leave credit will be defined as eight (8) hours and will not have an hourly rate attached.
(3) An employee may contribute only five (5) sick leave credits (40 hours) per year.
(4) A sick leave credit donation is permanent and therefore cannot be returned to the donor or converted to cash by the donee's estate.
(5) The sick leave credits will be used in place of the employee's regularly scheduled work days to the extent they are necessary.
(6) A donated sick leave credit will not count as a separate absence for the donating employee.
(7) Donated sick leave credits can be used to cover retroactive unpaid regularly scheduled work days.
(8) An employee will not accrue holiday pay, vacation, or sick leave while receiving donated sick leave.
(9) An employee will be eligible for this program up to one year after he/she has exhausted all accumulated paid sick leave (sick, vacation, and personal).
(10) An employee's illness or disability must be certified by a physician.
(11) When an employee is about to exhaust his own accumulated sick leave a request for donated sick leave may be made in writing to the Manager. The physician's certification must be attached to the request. The City will determine eligibility for donations and that determination will be final. Employees who have documented disciplinary action within the preceding three (3) years of sick leave abuse are automatically ineligible for this program. If it is determined that an employee is eligible to receive donated sick leave credits, notice of need will be posted, and any eligible employee may donate sick leave. An employee who voluntarily chooses to donate sick leave credits must complete a Sick Leave Donation Form and submit it to the immediate supervisor who will in turn submit this form to the Manager. A copy of the donation form will be maintained in the donor's personnel file, and a copy to payroll to deduct the credit from the employee's sick leave balance. (Ord. 32-18. Passed 12-3-18.)