(a) Award of Sick Leave Credits. Each regular, full-time employee of the City shall be entitled to 0.0577 hours of sick leave credit for each completed hour in active pay status. Part-time, seasonal, student, external, temporary, volunteer, or other nonpermanent employees shall not be entitled to sick leave credits.
(b) Accumulation. Sick leave accumulation for all full-time employees shall be capped at a maximum of two thousand eighty (2,080) hours.
(c) Transfers. An employee who transfers to City employment from another public agency shall be credited with the unused, accumulated balance of the employee's accumulated sick leave with the other public agency, up to the maximum accumulation permitted under division (b) of this section, upon proper certification of the unused, accumulated sick leave balance from the employee's prior public agency employer.
(d) Reinstatements. An employee's accumulated, unused sick leave that the employee does not elect to be paid for under division (e) of this section shall be placed to the employee's credit upon the employee's reemployment with the City, provided that the reemployment takes place within ten (10) years of the date on which the employee was separated from public service with the City. The ten (10) year period shall be tolled for any period during which the employee holds elective public office, whether by election or by appointment.
(e) Payment upon Separation.
(1) Upon separation of employment for any reason, subject to the limitations of this division, an employee with at least one (1) full year of employment with the City may elect to be paid for accumulated and unused sick leave earned up to the date of separation. Such payment will be equal to the employee's current hourly rate of pay, times the number of accumulated, unused sick leave credits (up to a maximum of 1,400 hours), times a percentage credit. The percentage credit will be a minimum of five percent (5%) plus an additional one percent (1%) for every thirty-two (32) hours of accumulated, unused sick leave expressed as:
% credit = 5% + H/32
where "H" is the accumulated, unused sick leave hours (up to a maximum of 1,400 hours) at separation of employment. In all cases, the percentage credit shall not exceed 48.75.
(2) In case of death of a current employee with at least one (1) full year of employment with the City, payment will be made, in accordance with this division, to the employee's estate or legal beneficiaries in accordance with state law.
(3) Payment made for accumulated, unused sick leave shall eliminate all sick leave credit accrued but unused by the employee at the time payment is made.
(4) If the employee does not elect to receive payment, the employee's unused sick leave shall remain to the employee's credit for a period of ten (10) years from the date of the employee's termination or resignation, at which time such sick leave shall expire and no longer be valid. The employee's sick leave will credited to him or her upon his or her reemployment with the City or transferred to another public agency within said ten (10) year period, in accordance with ORC 124.38.
(f) Personnel Policy. The Administrative Steering Committee shall establish and maintain a policy or policies in the City's Personnel Policy Manual regarding the use of sick leave, donation of sick leave, wellness incentives, any disciplinary procedures regarding the abuse or misuse of sick leave, and other related matters.
(Ord. 2022-13. Adopted 05/26/22)