All full time employees of the City shall be granted sick leave with pay as follows:
(a) Non-occupational illness or injury leave shall be defined as an absence with or without pay necessitated by:
(1) Illness or injury to the employee;
(2) Exposure by the employee to contagious disease communicable to other employees;
(3) Serious illness, injury or death in the employee's immediate family; or
(4) Other leave under subsection (b) hereof.
(b) An employee is eligible for a leave of absence for one of the following reasons:
(1) Birth and care or placement for adoption or foster in your home of a son or daughter.
(2) Care for an immediate family member who has a serious health condition.
(3) The employee has a serious health condition, including a disability due to pregnancy, which renders the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee's job.
(c) If an employee needs a leave for conditions occurring under subsection (b)(1), the employee will be granted up to twelve weeks within twelve months of the birth or placement of the child provided the employee has been in the employ of the City for at least twelve months and have worked at least 1250 hours during the last twelve months.
(d) If an employee needs a leave under subsections (b)(2) or (b)(3) above, unless waived by the department head, the employee must provide timely certification that a serious health condition exists by having the Health Care Provider certify that fact, in writing, on the form provided.
(e) Intermittent leave under subsection (b)(1) above will only be available with the approval of the City. Intermittent leave under subsections (b)(2) or (b)(3) will be made available if foreseeable based on a planned medical schedule; however, an employee may be required to transfer to another position, with equal pay and benefits, which more easily accommodates the schedule.
(f) During an absence under this section, an employee must exhaust all paid leave available to them in the following order:
(1) Sick leave;
(2) Paid personal leave;
(3) Vacation;
(4) All other.
thereafter, sick leave under this section is unpaid.
(g) Upon return from leave, an employee will be returned to the employee's former position or one with equivalent pay and benefits.
(h) An employee must give thirty days advance notice of the need for Family Leave or, if thirty days is not possible, as soon thereafter as notice can be given.
(i) During leave under this section, Group Health insurance benefits will be continued for the length of the leave, not to exceed the provisions of Section 147.08, under the same conditions as if an employee continued to work. Provided, however, if an employee does not return at the end of the leave, depending on the reason, the employee may be required to reimburse the City for its insurance premium cost.
(j) The City has a form available entitled CERTIFICATION OF SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION BY A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER for purposes of obtaining a leave hereunder and complying with the Family Leave Act.
(k) The City may have a doctor of its own choosing review all requests for leave due to illness or injury and to request both additional medical verification and possible examination of the employee by a doctor selected and paid for by the City, including an examination to establish that the employee is not disabled from the performance of their normal duties and that return to duty will not jeopardize the health of other employees. In the alternative, the City may upon receipt of the report from the doctor, require that the employee perform other services for the City, not part of the employees normal duties but are duties which the employee is medically capable of performing, regardless of the department in which the duties are to be performed.
(l) The total duration of leave under this section is twelve weeks. After that time has elapsed, the City will decide what course of action will be taken. Also, so that the City can be properly advised of the employee’s medical status, medical leave periods will be granted for only thirty calendar days at a time. Once a leave has been granted and the employee is physically unable to return to work on or before the expiration of the leave, the employee must request, and may be granted, an extension of upon thirty calendar days by providing medical certification as required originally. This must be provided no later than the expiration date of the leave. Additional extensions may be requested and granted in the same manner subject to limitations provided above.
(m) An employee is expected to notify the City in advance of the employee's expected date of return. An employee is also expected to obtain a statement from the employee's physician stating that the employee is physically able to resume work.
(n) Each employee shall earn, for each completed eighty hours of service, paid sick leave of four and six tenths hours. Service shall include all hours compensated by the City excluding sick pay; overtime premium shall not be included as compensated time. Employees may use sick leave, upon approval of the responsible administrative officer of the employing unit, as provided herein.
(o) An employee who is to be absent because of illness or injury shall notify his department head of such absence and the reason therefor at least as soon as practicable before the beginning of their work shift.
(p) Sick leave pay may be used in segments of not less than one (1) hour.
(Res. 1997-58. Passed 12-29-97.)
(q) When the use of sick leave is due to illness or injury in the immediate family, "immediate family" shall be defined to only include the employee's spouse, children, step children or parents.
(Ord. 2004-6. Passed 5-17-04.)
(r) An employee who transfers from this department to another department of the Employer shall be allowed to transfer his accumulated sick leave pay to the new department.
(s) Any employee of the Employer who has accumulated sick leave pay earned from being employed by the State of Ohio or any other political subdivision of the State of Ohio and who has become employed by the Employer within ten years from his termination from such other public employer shall be allowed to transfer said accumulation to his sick leave pay accumulation with the Employer, providing that such sick leave pay accumulation shall be limited to the existing maximum accruable amount in effect at the time of transfer in this chapter.
(Ord. 2006-22. Passed 12-18-06.)
(t) Upon the retirement of a full-time employee who has not less than ten years of continuous service with the Employer, such employee shall be entitled to receive a cash payment equal to his daily rate of pay at the time of retirement less longevity pay, multiplied by thirty-five percent (35%) of the total number of accumulated but unused paid sick days earned by the employee as certified by the Finance Director, providing that such resulting number of days to be paid shall not exceed sixty days. (Ord. 2012-10. Passed 12-17-12.)
(u) No eligible employee shall be entitled to sick leave benefits of any kind should their status as a full time employee of the City cease for any reason.
(v) An eligible employee shall not be considered on sick leave on a Saturday, Sunday or holidays unless regularly assigned to duty on those days.
(w) Upon written request of an eligible employee, the City may pay the difference between the amount received from the Worker's Compensation Fund of Ohio for any period of disability and the regular pay of such employee and charge the same to any accumulated sick leave to which the employee is then entitled.
(x) Any employee who attempts to obtain sick leave compensation for reasons not set forth within this provision shall be subject to immediate disciplinary action including dismissal. Any employee disciplined pursuant to this section shall have the right to appeal said disciplinary action to the Civil Service Commission.
(y) Temporary, part-time, and seasonal recreational employees shall not be entitled to sick leave.
(z) If an employee does not take unscheduled sick time between January 1 and June 30, the employee shall receive one (1) bonus day with pay. If an employee does not take unscheduled sick time between July 1 and December 31, the employee shall receive one (1) bonus day with pay. If an employee does not take unscheduled sick time for the entire calendar year beginning January 1 of each year, the employee shall receive three (3) bonus days with pay.
(Ord. 2006-22. Passed 12-18-06.)
(Ord. 2006-22. Passed 12-18-06.)