157.03 SICK LEAVE.

   The following regulations shall govern sick leave for all employees of the Municipality. Only full-time employees shall be entitled to sick leave.

   (a)   “Sick leave” means leave with pay granted, upon approval of the responsible administrative officer, when an employee is necessarily absent from employment for any of the following reasons:

      (1)   Illness or injury which makes the employee unable to perform his duties or a hazard to others in the performance of his duties.

      (2)   Exposure to contagious disease which could be communicated to others.

      (3)   Death or serious illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family or household. “Immediate family” means an employee’s spouse and the employee’s and spouse’s parents, brothers, sisters, children and grandparents.

      (4)   Time off to visit a doctor or dentist for medical care.

         (Ord. 1993-32. Passed 5-19-93.)

   (b)   Sick leave shall be earned at the rate of 4.6 hours of sick leave for each eighty hours worked. Sick leave may be used only in increments of one hour of leave at a time. When sick leave is used, it shall be deducted from the employee’s credit on the basis of one hour for every one hour of absence from previously scheduled work.
(Ord. 1998-76. Passed 12-16-98.)

   (c)   An employee requiring or requesting sick leave shall conform to the following guidelines:

      (1)   An employee requiring sick leave must so advise his superior within one hour before the employee would normally report for work in order to receive sick leave.

      (2)   An employee requesting sick leave shall furnish a satisfactory written signed statement to justify use of sick leave.

      (3)   Requests for use of sick leave for absences from regularly assigned duties for a period of three or more consecutive work days shall be accompanied by medical certification subject to verification.

      (4)   Requests for use of sick leave for absences from regularly assigned duties for a period of less than three consecutive work days may be approved without medical certification, upon the employee’s written statement as provided in subsection (a) hereof; provided however, that use of sick leave without medical certification, shall not exceed four work days in any consecutive twelve-month period.

      (5)   Requests for use of sick leave for the day preceding and/or the day following a legal and/or scheduled holiday shall be accompanied by medical certification subject to verification.

      (6)   When an employee is on sick leave for a period of at least fourteen days, he shall advise his immediate supervisor of his recovery progress at least once every two weeks.

   (d)   In the event an employee is determined to have falsified his request for use of sick leave or medical or other related documentation or is found to have taken sick leave without due cause, such leave shall be cancelled forthwith and the employee ordered to return to work. In addition to any other penalty permitted by law for such falsification or improper taking of sick leave, an employee may be deprived of wages for the period of his improper absence, compelled to repay any wages he may have received therefor, penalized by forfeiture of any part or all of his accrued sick leave, and may be subjected to other disciplinary action, including dismissal. To prevent improper taking of sick leave, the Mayor may require an employee, at reasonable intervals and at the Village’s cost, to submit to examination by a physician designated by the Mayor and approved by Council to ascertain the nature and extent of illness claimed.

   (e)   Unused sick leave shall be cumulative without limit for sick leave purposes, but shall be limited as stated in subsection (f) herein for purposes of payment at the time of retirement. The previously accumulated sick leave of an employee who has been separated from public service of this Municipality may be placed to his credit upon his or her reemployment by the Village within ten years of the date of his or her last separation.

   (f)   An employee with ten or more years of service may elect at the time of his or her disability or service retirement from active service with the Municipality to receive pay for one-fourth the value of his or her accrued but unused sick leave credit. The payment shall be based on the employee’s rate of pay at the time of retirement and eliminates all sick leave credit accrued but unused by the employee at the time payment is made. For purposes of this payment, the maximum permitted accumulation of accrued but unused sick leave credit shall not exceed two hundred forty hours for any employee of the Village, so that the maximum payment shall not exceed sixty hours at the employee’s rate of pay at retirement. Such payment shall only be made once to any employee.

Any payment for any accumulated sick leave is forfeited upon termination of employment other than by election upon retirement as indicated in subsection (f) herein.
(Ord. 1993-32. Passed 5-19-93.)

   (g)   Council hereby authorizes full-time employees of the Village to transfer sick leave balances from prior employment with other states, municipalities, school districts, villages, libraries, townships and other agencies covered by PERS, STRS, SERS or PFPDF.
(Ord. 2001-98. Passed 12-19-01.)

   (h)   An employee may receive donated leave, up to the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work each pay period, if the employee who is to receive donated leave:

      (1)   Has a serious illness or injury;

      (2)   Has no accrued leave;

      (3)   Has not been approved to receive other paid benefits; and

      (4)   Has applied for any paid leave, workers’ compensation, or benefits program for which the employee is eligible.

   (i)   Employees may donate leave if the donating employee:

      (1)   Voluntarily elects to donate leave and does so with the understanding that donated leave, will not be returned; and

      (2)   Donates no more than 50% of the donating employee’s leave balance.

   (j)   The leave donation program shall be administered on a pay period by pay period basis. Employees using donated leave shall be considered in active pay status and shall accrue leave and be entitled to any benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled. Leave accrued by an employee while using donated leave shall be used, if necessary, in the following pay period before additional donated leave may be received. Donated leave shall not count toward the probationary period of an employee who receives donated leave during his or her probationary period. Donated leave shall be considered sick leave, but shall never be converted into a cash benefit.

   (k)   Employees who wish to donate leave shall certify:

      (1)   The name of the employee for whom the donated leave is intended;

      (2)   The number of hours to be donated;

      (3)   That the employee’s donation of leave is no more than 50% of the employee’s leave balance; and

      (4)   That the leave is donated voluntarily and the employee understands that the donated leave will not be returned.

   (l)   The Village administration shall ensure that no employees are forced to donate leave. The Village administration shall respect an employee’s right to privacy, however the Village administration may, with the permission of the employee who is in need of leave or a member of the employee’s immediate family, inform employees of their co-worker’s critical need for leave. The Village administration shall not directly solicit leave donations from employees. The donation of leave shall occur on a strictly voluntary basis.

      (Ord. 2012-83. Passed 11-21-12.)