Sec. 22-90(1). Vacation leave accrual. The city's leave benefit plan shall include vacation, sick, military leave and other paid and unpaid leave and time off work as hereafter set forth. The number of days and accrual rates for vacation, sick leave, and military leave, and conditions governing compensation for unused accrued leave paid to employees separating from city service are as follows, further provided that any provision for compensation of unused accrued sick leave is subject to retroactive and/or prospective change at any time.
a. Permanent, full-time employees, including Public Safety, shall accrue paid vacation leave as follows:
Continuous Years of Service
| Per Pay Period
| Per Year
|
Continuous Years of Service
| Per Pay Period
| Per Year
|
0 - 1 years of continuous service*: | 4 hrs. 0 min. | 13 days (104 hrs.) |
Over 1 to 2 years of continuous service*: | 4 hrs. 30 min. | 14 days, 5 hrs. (117 hrs.) |
Over 2 to 6 years of continuous service*: | 5 hrs. 0 min. | 16 days, 2 hrs. (130 hrs.) |
Over 6 to 9 years of continuous service*: | 6 hrs. 0 min. | 19 days, 4 hrs. (156 hrs.) |
O v e r 9 t o 1 4 y e a r s o f c o n t i n u o u s s e r v i c e * : | 6 hrs. 30 min. | 21 days, 1 hrs. (169 hrs.) |
O v e r 1 4 t o 1 7 y e ars of continuous service*: | 7 hrs. 0 min. | 22 days, 6 hrs. (182 hrs.) |
Over 17 to 20 years of continuous service*: | 7 hrs. 24 min. | 24 days, 0 hrs. (192 hrs.) |
Over 20 years plus*: | 8 hrs. 0 min. | 26 days, 0 hrs. (208 hrs.)
|
*Continuous service excludes AWOL/LWOP
b. Permanent, part-time employees who work twenty (20) or more hours per week accrue a prorated amount of paid vacation leave according to the actual hours worked and hours of paid leave used per pay period.
c. Permanent employees who work less than twenty (20) hours per week and non- permanent employees do not accrue paid vacation leave.
d. Employees who have accrued thirty- six (36) days (two hundred eighty-eight (288) hours) of vacation leave in any pay period will not accrue additional vacation leave for that pay period. The number of hours of vacation leave that would otherwise have accrued for that pay period will be credited to the employee as additional sick leave accrual. Commissioned fire personnel at or below the rank of captain may receive a maximum of two hundred eight (208) hours of such additional sick leave accrual each year, starting with the pay period in which April 1 falls. All other employees may receive a maximum of fifty-six (56) hours (seven (7) days) of such additional sick leave accrual each year, starting with the pay period in which April 1 falls. Notwithstanding the forgoing provisions that impose caps on the vacation and additional sick leave that can be accrued by employees, special vacation leave accrual and cash payment rules shall apply for a limited portion of the 2020 calendar year, as set forth in section 22-90(1)(g) below.
e. An employee who is on leave without pay or any unpaid leave status for up to one-half(1/2) of the pay period shall accrue vacation leave on a pro-rated basis for that pay period based on the actual hours worked and hours of paid leave used. An employee who is on leave without pay or any unpaid leave status for more than one-half(1/2) of a pay period does not accrue vacation leave for that pay period.
f. Employees on paid leave shall be paid their regular salaries and shall continue to accrue their normal vacation and sick leave.
g. Permanent, full-time employees, including public safety, shall accrue additional vacation leave pursuant to the city's vacation leave carryover program ("VLCP") from March 15, 2020 until December 19, 2020 (the "COVID vacation period"). Employees who have accrued the maximum amount of vacation leave and additional sick leave under section 22-90(1)(d) above, at any time during the COVID vacation period, shall accrue additional vacation leave that is classified as VLCP hours. The accrual of VLCP hours shall occur at the applicable accrual rate set forth in section 22-90(1)(a) above, and shall be tracked separately from any vacation leave or additional sick leave previously accrued. Employees who accrue VLCP hours in accordance with this section 22-90(1)(g) shall be compensated for any unused accrued VLCP hours at the employee's base rate of pay on the earlier of (i) the employee's separation from employment with the city or (ii) December 31, 2020. The VLCP shall expire and have no further effect on vacation leave accruals as of December 20, 2020. The provisions of this section 22-90(1)(g) shall supersede any provision of section 22-90 to the contrary, with regard to VLCP hours accrued during the COVID vacation period.
Sec. 22-90(2). Sick leave accrual.
a. Probationary and permanent, full-time employees, except permanent, full time commissioned fire and commissioned police personnel, shall accrue sick leave as follows:
Per Pay Period | Per Year |
4 hrs. 0 min. | 13 days (104 hrs.) |
b. Permanent full time commissioned fire and commissioned police employees shall accrue sick leave as follows:
Per Pay Period | Per Year | |
0--10 years of continuous service: | 4 hrs. 0 min. | 13 days (104 hrs.) |
Over 10 to 15 years of continuous service: | 4 hrs. 38 min. | 15 days, 28 min. (120 hrs. 28 min.) |
Over 15 years of continuous service: | 6 hrs. 10 min. | 20 days, 20 min. (160 hrs. 20 min.) |
c. Probationary and permanent, part time employees who work twenty (20) or more hours per week (forty (40) or more hours per pay period) shall accrue the greater of either a pro-rated amount of sick leave according to the actual hours worked and hours of paid leave used per pay period or shall accrue one hour of sick leave for every thirty (30) hours worked.
d. Non-permanent employees and permanent part-time employees who work less than twenty (20) hours per week, shall accrue sick leave at the rate of one (1) hour for every thirty (30) hours worked.
e. Employees on leave without pay or any unpaid leave status for up to one-half (1/2) of a pay period shall accrue sick leave on a pro-rated basis for that pay period based on the actual hours worked and hours of paid leave used. An employee who is on leave without pay for more than one- half (1/2) of a pay period does not accrue sick leave for that pay period.
f. Earned paid sick time (as defined in A.R.S. § 23-371) is not additional sick leave, but is the first 40 hours accrued annually. Earned paid sick time accrues as stated above in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) and is capped at a maximum of forty (40) hours accrual and usage per year. A maximum of forty (40) hours of unused earned paid sick time may be carried over to the following calendar year. Any carryover of earned paid sick time is available for an employee's immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent calendar year, subject to the annual forty (40) hour maximum usage.
g. Accruals in excess of the forty (40) hours maximum of earned paid sick time is designated sick leave, and accrues at the rates stated above in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d). Any earned paid sick time in excess of the maximum carryover of forty (40) hours on January 1 of any subsequent calendar year shall be converted to sick leave.
h. Sick leave credit is cumulative with no maximum accrual.
Sec. 22-90(3). Compensation for unused accrued leave to employees separating from city service.
a. Permanent employees shall be fully compensated for unused accumulated vacation day/hours at the employee's base rate of pay at the time of separation.
b. Employees, excepting commissioned police officers and commissioned fire personnel, who retire from the city, under a normal, early, disability or a retirement incentive program and are eligible for benefits from the Tucson Supplemental Retirement System shall be compensated for accumulated sick leave in accordance with the following schedule and using the employee's base rate of pay at the time of separation for the calculation.
Accrued sick leave hours payment:
0--240 | 0% of total |
Over 240--480 | 25% of total balance |
Over 480--720 | 35% of total balance |
Over 720 | 50% of total balance |
c. Commissioned police officers and commissioned fire personnel who retire from the city and are eligible for normal or permanent disability retirement benefits from the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System shall be compensated for accumulated sick leave as hereafter provided using the employee's base rate of pay at the time of separation for the calculation.
1. Those who retire with sick leave balances of two hundred eighty-seven (287) hours or less will be compensated for those hours at fifty (50) percent of the employee's base rate of pay.
2. Those who retire with sick leave balances of at least two hundred eighty- eight (288) hours will be compensated for two hundred eighty-eight (288) of those hours at one hundred (100) percent of the employee's base rate of pay, however, any sick leave hours remaining, in excess of two hundred eighty-eight (288) hours, will be compensated at the lessor rate of fifty (50) percent of the employee's base rate of pay.
d. Upon the death of a city employee, the city shall pay the employee's entire accumulated sick leave to the employee's survivor. A survivor for the purpose of this section shall be the person(s) determined in accordance with applicable state law.
Sec. 22-90(4). Military leave.
a. Employees of the City of Tucson who are members of any branch, reserve, or auxiliary of the armed forces, and are under orders for active duty, short tour training, attending camps, maneuvers, formation, or drill, shall be granted military leave in accordance with this section and state and/or federal law.
b. The military leave period is based on the average total of regularly scheduled hours in a weekly work period. An employee of the City of Tucson is entitled to up to three (3) times the average of regularly scheduled work hours in a weekly work period each year and up to six (6) times the average of regularly scheduled work hours in a weekly work period in any two (2) consecutive years.
- 240 hours for an employee assigned to work a 5/8-hour schedule
- 300 hours for an employee assigned to work a 4/10-hour schedule
- 360 hours for an employee assigned to work a 3/12-hour schedule
- 720 hours for an employee scheduled to work a 56-hour schedule
This paid military leave is not to exceed thirty days (30) per federal fiscal year (Oct.1- Sept. 30), as described above. Such employees will receive full city salary for normally scheduled working hours that fall within the military leave periods of training duty unless otherwise provided by the Tucson Code. Employees will not be charged military leave for days on which the employee was not otherwise scheduled for work.
Military leave shall not be carried forward or accrued. In addition to the usage provided in this subparagraph b, this additional leave may be used to perform inactive duty drills provided that the member establishes that the military leave was required to perform those drills.
c. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Day" means a shift of work.
2. "Year" means the fiscal year of the United States government.
Sec. 22-90(5). Paid Parental Leave.
a. Permanent and probationary employees with one (1) year of continuous service are entitled to twelve (12) weeks of consecutive paid parental leave for the birth of the employee's child, commencing the day of birth, or for the adoption of a child, commencing the day of adoption. If applicable, this leave shall run concurrent with Family Medical Leave.
b. Paid Parental Leave will be approved by the Human Resources Director or designee and is available only once during a continuous twelve (12) month period. Paid Parental leave is calculated as follows:
- 480 hours for an employee assigned to work an 8-, 10-, or 12- hour schedule /shift
- 672 hours for an employee assigned to work a 56-hour shift
Note – Ord. No. 10004, § 2, adopted June 28, 2004, reenacted section 22-90(5) for Fiscal Year 2005.
(Ord. No. 8881, § 1, 6-9-97; Ord. No. 9570, § 1, 6-18-01; Ord. No. 95-90, § 1, 8-6-01; Ord. No. 9719, §§ 1, 2, 6-10-02; Ord. No. 9831, § 1, 4-14-03; Ord. No. 9864, § 1, 6-16-03; Ord. No. 10004, §§ 1, 2, 6-28-04; Ord. No. 10057, § 8, 10-11-04; Ord. No. 10163, § 1, 6-14-05; Ord. No. 10425, § 1, 6-19-07; Ord. No. 10557, § 1, 6-25-08, eff. 7-1-08; Ord. No. 10678, § 3, 6-9-09, eff. 7-1-09; Ord. No. 11364, §§ 4, 5, 6-7-16, eff. 6-26-16; Ord. No. 11469, § 1, 6-20-17, eff. 7-1-17; Ord. No. 11483, § 1, 8-8-17, eff. 9-1-17; Ord. No. 11595, § 7, 10-23-18; Ord. No. 11795, §§ 3, 4, 10-20-20; Ord. No. 11911, § 1, 2-23-22; Ord. No. 11967, § 1, 11-14-22; Ord. No. 11968, § 1, 11-14-22; Ord. No. 12080, § 1, 4-25-24)
Editors Note: Due to a scrivener's error, § 22-90(1) should read effective FY 03.
Note: Section 22-90(1)e. is effective July 1, 2007.