All department heads must notify City Hall upon leaving the city limits for any reason during working hours. Additionally, department heads must notify City Hall when they are out due to vacation, sick, personal or other leave. Notice will consist of personally recording absences in the sign-out book located in City Hall.
(A) Unpaid leave. Unpaid leave may be granted only after all paid leave benefits have been exhausted, except as specifically sent forth in the sections below.
(B) Injury leave. An employee suffering from an injury that is job related under the Workers Compensation Laws will be entitled to leave for such injury strictly and exclusively in accordance with those laws. Subject to the qualifications below, an employee injured on the job will be eligible for injury leave which will not be charged against his or her sick and/or vacation leave.
(1) All employees, while on injury leave, will continue to earn vacation and sick leave at the regular rate, but will be required to return to work after the approval of a certified physician.
(2) When an employee is injured on the job, the department head should be notified immediately and should report to the City Hall to fill out an injury report form. The department head should be informed as to the circumstances surrounding the injury, time and place of occurrence, and condition of the employee. The department head should also secure information regarding the injured employee's condition, duration, and corrective measures from the employee's physician and report this information to the City Council.
(3) An employee who is able to but fails to report immediately any injury incurred in the line of duty to his or her department head and take such first aid treatment as may be necessary, may be declared ineligible for occupational disability or injury leave.
(C) Medical leave. An employee who has no sick leave entitlement and reasonably anticipates illness, disability or convalescence for more than 10 working days will apply to the Council for an unpaid medical leave of absence. Applications will be filed at least 2 weeks prior to the requested leave. The employee will inform the City Council in writing of the nature of the medical reason and approximate time needed for leave, and will accompany the application with a statement from the attending physician. In case of emergency or incapacitation of the employee, the Council will waive these requirements. The Council may, in its sole discretion, allow or deny the request for medical leave; no employee is entitled to medical leave.
(D) Bereavement leave. A maximum of 3 days leave may be taken by an employee who has a death in his or her immediate family. Full-time employees are entitled to paid bereavement leave; part-time and temporary employees are entitled to bereavement leave without pay. In addition to the foregoing bereavement leave, a department head may grant any employee an unpaid day of leave to participate in the funeral of an aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin, or friend; or the employee may at his or her discretion take a paid vacation day.
(E) Military leave. Any employee called to active duty in or drafted in the Armed Services of the United States or ordered to training with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard Reserves, or National Guard, will be entitled to unpaid leave for the duration of his or her service. Such an employee will present his or her orders in advance of taking leave, and will report back to work within 10 business days after return from active duty. Military leave will not be granted to an employee who voluntarily joins the active Armed Services of the United States in a national emergency.
(F) Jury leave. An employee called for jury duty will be given leave to attend jury duty. The employee, upon receiving a summons, will immediately provide a copy to his or her department head, or if the employee is a department head, to his or her committee chairperson. An employee taking jury leave has the following options regarding pay:
(1) The employee may continue to receive pay from the city and pay over to the City Treasurer all compensation paid by the court;
(2) The employee may take an unpaid leave of absence from the city and retain all compensation paid by the court; or
(3) The employee may take paid vacation days and retain all compensation paid by the court.
(G) Maternity leave.
(1) A pregnant employee is entitled to an unpaid maternity leave of absence. An employee who becomes pregnant will notify her department head (or, if the employee is a department head, her committee chairperson) of her condition by the beginning of the fifth month of the pregnancy and submit to her department head a written statement from her personal physician specifying the estimated delivery date and the estimated date that the employee should cease working. From time to time, the employee will provide written statements from her personal physician if the initial estimated dates change. The department head will forward all such statements to the Council.
(2) A maternity leave of absence will commence when the employee's physician certifies that she is no longer able to perform work safely and efficiently. Maternity leave will continue until such time as the employee's physician certifies that the employee is able to return to work, but not later than 10 weeks after commencement of maternity leave, or 8 weeks after the birth of the child, whichever is later. An employee on maternity leave is required to contact City Hall and report her return to work plans within 30 days of the birth of her child.
(3) An employee may submit a request for an extended maternity leave in excess of the above time periods to her department head (or, if the employee is a department head, to her committee chairperson) at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the leave or of any extension. The department head or committee chairperson will forward the request, with recommendations, to the Council. The Council, in its sole discretion, may approve or disapprove the extension or approve the extension in part.
(4) An employee who returns to work at the conclusion of maternity leave will be restored to her former position or to a comparable position at the same rate of pay unless circumstances have changed or made it impossible or unreasonable to reinstate the employee.
(5) A pregnant employee may, consecutively with her unpaid maternity leave, take any accrued sick days or her then allowable vacation days.
(6) Accrual of sick and vacation credit, will stop effective the date that such leave begins.
(Ord. 062402A, passed 6-24-2002; Am. Ord. 2005-MC12, passed 10-24-2005)