CHAPTER 3 ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCE

Chapter 3
ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCE

Article 1 Authority.

Article 2 Attendance, In General.

Article 3 Leaves of Absence, In General.

Article 4 Annual Leave.

Article 5 Military Leave.

Article 6 Family and Medical Leave.

Article 7 Other Leaves With Pay.

Article 8 Leaves of Absence Without Pay.

Article 9 Records and Reports.

Article 1. AUTHORITY

7300 Purpose.

This Chapter contains the general policies, rules, and standards pertaining to attendance of city employees at their places of work, and the availability, accrual, and usage of leaves of absence.

Specific Authority: Chap. 2.72 MMC; Resolution No. 2014-06

History: New 1/2014

7301 Application.

Unless otherwise expressly indicated, the provisions of this Chapter apply to all employees in the Career service.

Article 2. ATTENDANCE, IN GENERAL

7320 Hours of Work.

Except as provided by Section 9780, the established workweek and the hours of work shall, insofar as practicable, be uniform within occupational groups and shall be determined in accordance with the needs of the city service and the reasonable needs of the public who may be required to do business with various city departments and divisions.

(a) The workweek and hours of work for each department, division, section, office, and/or bureau shall be established by the department director with the concurrence of the City Manager.

(b) Tardiness with unexcused absence from work will be penalized fifteen minutes of pay for each fifteen minutes or fractional part thereof of tardiness.

7321 Overtime.

Any employee whom the City Manager has not designated "Exempt" pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act shall be compensated for hours worked in excess of forty (40) per week, at the rate of compensation required by that Act; provided, however, that to the extent permitted by the Fair Labor Standards Act, such compensation shall be by compensatory time off (CTO), and not by cash payment, unless expressly approved in advance by the City Manager pursuant to Section 7550 hereof.

7322 Lunch Periods.

Lunch schedules and durations shall be set in a manner to best serve the public.

(a) Employees are expected to utilize their lunch periods during the hours designated by their supervisors.

(b) Unused lunch periods do not accumulate.

7323 Attendance Enforcement.

The head of each department, division, section, office, and/or bureau shall be responsible for ensuring attendance of all subordinate employees.

7324 Attendance Record Keeping.

Each department director shall keep complete attendance records on all employees assigned to his department, including records of annual leave, sick leave, overtime, compensatory time, and the like.

(a) Records of attendance shall be reported as provided in this Chapter.

(b) Falsification of attendance records is a fraudulent act, and may subject the employee to possible criminal prosecution, in addition to disciplinary action.

Article 3. LEAVES OF ABSENCE, IN GENERAL

7350 Findings.

The City Council finds that leaves of absence serve valuable workplace purposes, among them: 1) recovery from illness, accident, or disability of the employee or specified dependents; 2) physical and mental refreshment from the rigors and demands of the workplace; 3) limited-duration service to the country as a member of the armed forces; 4) limited-duration service to the community as a juror; 5) observance of holidays; and 6) other allowable personal circumstances affecting its workforce.

7351 Application and Scope.

Except as otherwise provided in this Title, and to the extent there is no conflict with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, leaves of absence are available to all employees in city service, at rates of accrual, accumulation, usage, and cash convertibility specified in this Chapter, and elsewhere in Parts 2 and 4 of this Title.

7352 Types of Leave.

Depending on individual eligibility, employees in the city service have access to two types of leave: 1) leave with pay; and 2) leave without pay.

7353 Leaves of Absence With Pay.

There are in city service ten categories of leave of absence which may be paid under conditions specified herein:

(a) Annual leave;

(b) Compensatory leave;

(d) Court duty leave;

(e) Disability leave;

(f) Educational leave;

(g) Examination leave;

(h) Holiday leave;

(i) Military leave;

(j) Family and medical leave;

7354 Leaves of Absence Without Pay.

Where an absence which does not meet the conditions for use of paid leave is requested, or accumulations of paid leave then available are inadequate for the requested absence, an employee may request a leave of absence without pay.

7355 Construction.

Unless otherwise specified in this Chapter, a leave of absence is not to be construed as an entitlement, but rather as a privilege; provided, however, that no eligible employee or group of employees shall be denied access to any leave benefit which is available to any other employee or group of employees similarly situated.

(a) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the authority of the City Manager or department directors from scheduling the use of leaves of absence as may be necessary for the efficient and orderly operation of the city or any of its departments, divisions, offices, sections, and bureaus.

7356 Absence Without Leave.

An absence of an employee from duty, including any absence for a single day or part of a day, that is not authorized by a specific grant of leave under the provisions of this Title shall be deemed to be an absence without leave. Any such absence shall be without pay, and may subject the employee to disciplinary action.

7357 Vacancy Resulting From Leave of Absence.

A vacancy resulting from an approved leave of absence may be filled by an intermittent or temporary appointment.

(a) A person appointed to fill a vacancy pursuant to this section shall be informed that his employment is of a limited nature, for durations as provided in this Title.

7358 Revocation of Leave.

A leave of absence may be revoked by the City Manager at any time upon evidence that the cause for granting it was misrepresented or has ceased to exist.

7359 Returning From Leave of Absence.

Whenever an employee who has been granted a leave of absence wishes to return to his employment before the expiration of such leave, he shall notify his supervisor or department director as far as possible in advance of his return.

7360 Failure to Return From Leave.

Failure of an employee to return to his employment upon termination of an authorized leave of absence shall be grounds for dismissal from city service.

7361 Administration. Enforcement. Abuse.

Each department director is responsible for the administration of the city leave policy within his department, and shall take care that leaves of absence are used only as intended, and that abuse of authorized leave will be dealt with through appropriate administrative action.

Article 4. ANNUAL LEAVE

7400 In General.

Annual leave may be requested for personal or emergency reasons or for vacation or for personal or family illness. Vacations are for the purpose of rejuvenating both physical and mental faculties and all employees are urged to avail themselves of vacation periods. Sick leave may be requested by an eligible employee in cases of: 1) actual illness or disability of the employee; 2) medical, dental or vision examination or treatment for which arrangements cannot be made outside of working hours; and 3) illness or death in the employee’s immediate family, all as more fully described in this Article.

7401 Eligibility for Leave Benefit.

(a) All employees in permanent positions in the Career service shall be entitled to earn and accrue annual leave at rates and under conditions specified in this Article.

(b) Employees in other than permanent positions shall not be eligible for annual leave.

(c) Part time employees in permanent positions who work at least one thousand forty (1,040) hours per year shall be entitled to pro rata leave at rates specified in Section 7403 hereof.

7402 Rate of Leave Accrual. Full-Time.

Each full-time employee who has served full-time continuously for a period of six (6) months in a permanent position shall be entitled to one hundred-eight (108) hours of annual leave with pay. Thereafter, such leave shall be accrued at the following monthly rates:

(a)	Up to 5 years of continuous service	18 hours
(b)	5 to 10 years of continuous service	20 hours
(c)	10 to 15 years of continuous service	22 hours
(d)	15 to 20 years of continuous service	23 hours
(e)	20+ years of continuous service	24 hours

7403 Rate of Leave Accrual. Part-Time.

Each part-time employee who has served the equivalent of six (6) months of full-time continuous service in a permanent position shall be entitled to annual leave with pay in an amount which bears the same ratio to the rates specified in Section 7402 as the number of hours regularly worked each week bears to forty (40) hours.

7404 Earned Leave Credited.

Annual leave is earned monthly in arrears for each month of continuous service or major fraction thereof, and may not be credited or used in advance.

7405 Maximum Leave Accumulation.

The maximum of unused annual leave which may be carried over from one year to the next shall not exceed a total of three hundred eighty-four (384) hours. Leave ceases to accrue after leave balance available to any employee reaches 384 hours. The date for computation of excess leave for each year shall be the last day of the calendar year.

7406 Use of Annual Leave.

Annual leave may be granted to an eligible employee for any of the following purposes:

(a) Vacation leave;

(b) Absence for transaction of personal business which cannot be conducted during off duty hours;

(c) Religious holidays other than those designated by these rules as official holidays or designated by the City Council as holidays;

(d) Personal illness or injury not connected with work;

(e) Personal medical, dental, or optical appointments, examinations, or treatments which are necessary during working hours;

(f) Exposure to a contagious disease which would endanger others;

(g) Family leave;

(h) For supplemental payments during periods of disability, in conjunction with workers’ compensation benefits;

(i) In case of death in the employee’s immediate family, or where death, in the opinion of a medical doctor, may be imminent-up to five (5) days paid absence.

(j) Any authorized absence from work not covered by other types of leave provisions established by these rules.

7407 Limitations on Use of Annual Leave.

No employee shall be entitled to annual leave for personal illness while absent from duty on account of any of the following causes:

(a) Disability arising from any sickness or injury purposely self-inflicted or caused by his willful misconduct;

(b) Sickness or disability sustained while on leave of absence without pay or absence without leave;

7408 Minimum Charge.

One hour is the minimum charge to annual leave, and additional leave is charged in multiples of one hour per occurrence.

7409 Request for Leave.

A request to use annual leave for a planned absence, including vacation time or medical and dental appointments, shall be submitted in advance of the planned absence to the employee’s immediate supervisor on a form approved for that purpose by the Personnel Director. For an absence to be compensable as a personal illness, an employee must notify his immediate supervisor within the first fifteen (15) minutes of the start of his daily work shift.

(a) Planned absences may be taken only with the approval of the department director so that, insofar as practicable, the department, division, section, office, or bureau can function without the hiring of additional, temporary help.

(b) Vacation time will be granted, to the extent possible, in accordance with employee preferences, considering operational demands on the employee’s work unit.

(c) Failure of an employee to notify his immediate supervisor of his absence due to personal illness the first day off duty will result in one day’s loss of pay; an additional day’s loss of pay will result for each succeeding days in which notification is not made in the prescribed manner.

7410 Certification of Medical Necessity.

A medical certificate signed by a licensed physician may, and in the case of an absence of three (3) consecutive working days or more shall, be required by an employee’s department to substantiate a request for leave due to personal illness when:

(a) The period of absence due to illness or injury consisted of three (3) or more consecutive working days;

(b) Absence from duty recurs repeatedly and the employee has been notified or warned that a certificate may be required for future absences.

7411 Filing Certification of Medical Necessity.

Whenever a certificate is required pursuant to this Article in order for an absence to be compensable as personal illness, such medical certificate must be submitted prior to the employee being allowed to resume his work.

7412 Impermissible Employment While on Leave.

No person shall be entitled to work for compensation for the city in any capacity during the time of his paid annual leave from city service.

Article 5. MILITARY LEAVE

7450 Leave During Time of War.

Any permanent employee who joins the military forces of the United States during time of war or other national emergency may be placed on military leave without pay in accordance with conditions set forth in state law.

(a) Leave under this Section shall extend through a date not to exceed thirty (30) days after the employee is relieved from military service.

(b) An employee hereunder shall be entitled to be restored to the position which he vacated, provided application is made to the City Manager within thirty (30) days of the date of his discharge under honorable conditions, and he is physically and mentally capable of performing the work of the position.

(c) In the event a position vacated by a person entering the military service no longer exists at the time he qualifies to return to work, such person shall be entitled to be reemployed in another position of the same status, class and pay in the city service, provided such reemployment does not necessitate the laying off of another permanent employee.

7451 Leave for Reserve or National Guard Duty.

Permanent and probationary employees who are commissioned reserve officers or reserve enlisted personnel in the United States military or Naval service or members of the National Guard will be allowed leave of absence with pay from their respective duties without deduction from any available leave balances, on all days during which they are engaged in training ordered under the provisions of United States military or Naval training regulations for such personnel when assigned to active or inactive duty for a period not to exceed seventeen (17) working days, or such longer period as may be declared by valid executive order of the governor, in any one annual period.

(a) An employee taking leave hereunder shall be required to submit an order or statement from the appropriate military commander as evidence of required duty, which order or statement must accompany the formal request for military leave.

(b) Leave hereunder shall not be charged to annual leave, but shall be charged against military leave.

(c) Permanent and probationary employees who are members of the United States Military Reserve or California National Guard and who are ordered to report for active military service, in accordance with the provisions of state law shall receive their full salary for the first thirty (30) days of such service, and are entitled to unlimited unpaid leave and reinstatement to their former positions or to a position of similar seniority status and pay without loss of retirement or other benefits, unless the City’s circumstances have so changed as to make reinstatement impossible or unreasonable.

(d) Permanent and probationary employees who are members of the California National Guard and who are ordered to state active duty in accordance with the provisions of state law shall receive their full salaries for the seventeen (17) days of such duty, and shall thereafter receive pay in an amount necessary to bring their total salaries, inclusive of base military pay, to the levels earn-ed at the time they were called to active duty.

(e) The city will continue to provide insurance benefits to all employees enrolled in a city-sponsored insurance program, and to their covered dependents, during authorized periods of leave under this Section.

Article 6. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

7475 Definitions.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Title to the contrary, for purposes of this Article the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

(a) "Act" means the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

(b) "Qualified Family Member" means parent, spouse, son or daughter, as those terms are defined in the Act.

7476 Family and Medical Leave Defined.

Family and medical leave is a period of approved leave, whether with or without pay, which an eligible employee is entitled to take for the purposes of: 1) postpartum recovery, assistance in that recovery, bonding with a new child by either or both parents, or other reasonable needs associated with adjustment to the addition to an employee’s family of a new child; 2) caring for a qualified family member with a serious health condition; and 3) a serious health condition which renders the eligible employee incapable of performing the functions of his or her job.

7477 Eligibility for Leave Benefit.

Subject to applicable provisions of this Article, all permanent employees in city service who have been employed for at least one year and who have worked a minimum of One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty (1,250) hours in the twelve month period immediately preceding an absence hereunder, shall be eligible for family and medical leave.

7478 Applicability in Cases Involving New Children.

Family and medical leave may apply when a child arrives as a result of childbirth, adoption, assumption of legal guardianship, or other assumption by an employee of a formal "in loco parentis" relationship.

7479 General Rules of Usage.

(a) Family and medical leave shall be a charge against available annual leave, or compensatory leave balances, or leave without pay, or a combination of all of these.

(b) Requests for the use of paid annual leave are subject to the same terms, conditions and restrictions as apply to any other use of that leave; provided, however, that if the purpose for leave hereunder is the serious health condition of the employee or qualified family member, certification of medical necessity, in the form approved for that purpose by the Personnel Director, signed by a licensed physician, must be presented at the time of the employee’s request for leave, or on demand by the city.

(d) Any employee returning from leave to his place of employment within the time authorized by his department head, will be returned to the same position he held at the commencement of leave, or to another position of equivalent pay and related benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

(e) An employee on family and medical leave who does not return to his place of employment for a period of at least thirty (30) consecutive calendar days shall be responsible for the city’s share of all health insurance premiums paid on behalf of the employee for the entire period of such leave, and the City Manager shall withhold or recover such premiums in any lawful manner.

7480 Request for Leave.

An employee wishing to take family and medical leave should request specific amounts of leave time with as much advance notice as possible (e.g., early in pregnancy) so that the department director is given maximum opportunity to plan for any needed office or workload accommodations.

7481 Length of Leave.

Length of time for family and medical leave will be determined on an individual basis, and will include consideration by the city of the employee’s leave circumstances, the nature of his job, and his personal objectives.

(a) Generally, the combination of paid and unpaid time off associated with family and medical leave will be limited to a total period of twelve (12) weeks from the date that the leave begins; provided, however, that exceptions for longer leave periods may be approved by the City Manager in accordance with Article 8 of this Chapter.

(b) If more than one qualified family member is employed in city service by the same appointing authority, each such family member is entitled to the full twelve (12) weeks of leave hereunder, subject to eligibility.

(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) hereof, eligible spouses shall be limited to a combined total of twelve (12) weeks of leave during any 12-month period if the leave is taken:

(1) for birth of their son or daughter, or to care for the child after birth;

(2) for placement with the spouses of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care, or to care for the child after placement; or

(3) to care for a parent of one of the spouses with a serious health condition.

(d) Any time remaining from an employee’s annual twelve week entitlement after leave taken pursuant to subsection (c) hereof, may be taken for the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition.

Article 7. OTHER LEAVES WITH PAY

7550 Compensatory Leave.

Compensatory leave (also called compensatory time off) shall be granted any employee whom the City Manager has designated "Non-Exempt" pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, for all authorized overtime hours worked.

(a) Leave time shall be earned at the rate of one and one-half (1½) hours for each authorized hour of overtime worked.

(b) The department director shall maintain an accurate record of compensatory leave times earned by eligible employees of the department.

(c) In his discretion, the City Manager may authorize the payment of cash compensation for all or a portion of earned compensatory leave in lieu of time off, when he first finds that the needs of the service require the presence of employees with accumulated compensatory leave balances, or other similar justification.

(d) Authorizations given by the City Manager pursuant to this Section shall be for specific occurrences and no future authorization shall be implied or anticipated by the exercise of such discretion.

7551 Compulsory Leave.

An employee may be required to take a leave of absence when, in the opinion of his department director, he is temporarily unable to perform his duties due to physical or mental illness or non-service-connected injury.

(a) Before a department director may order a compulsory leave of absence, the employee must submit to a medical examination by a licensed physician designated by the city.

(1) Costs of medical examinations hereunder shall be borne by the city.

(2) Refusal by an employee to submit to a required medical examination or to take the leave ordered hereunder shall be grounds for immediate dismissal.

(b) If the report of the medical examination indicates that the employee is unable to perform his duties fully and effectively, the employee shall be required to take such leave of absence as is medically determined sufficient to restore him to normal health.

(c) Compulsory leave time shall first be charged against available sick leave balance and thereafter against available annual leave balance.

(d) Any employee who is ordered to take compulsory leave, and who has exhausted his accumulated sick leave and thereafter his annual leave balance, shall be placed on leave of absence without pay until his return.

(e) If the medical examination indicates that the nature of the illness or injury is such that the employee cannot be restored to health within the period of his leave, the employee shall be retired on disability or be terminated as the City determines on a case by case basis.

7552 Court Duty Leave.

An employee summoned for jury duty or subpoenaed to appear as a witness in a judicial proceeding, except in personal matters affecting the employee outside of his city employment capacity, shall be given paid leave of absence without charge against any accumulated leave balances, as herein provided.

(a) An employee wishing to receive leave with pay for qualifying court duty must present a copy of the summons or subpoena to his immediate supervisor in advance of his absence, along with his request for absence on the form approved for that purpose by the City Manager.

(b) If such employee receives compensation (as salary) for his service, he shall be required to endorse such payment over to the city; alternatively, he may elect to retain the compensation received for his court duty, in which case his authorized leave shall be a leave of absence without pay.

(c) An employee on authorized court duty leave shall immediately return to his normal workplace whenever he is excused by the court. Failure to do so shall result in loss of pay for affected time, and may subject the employee to disciplinary action.

7553 Disability Leave.

A permanent, probationary or limited-term employee who is disabled because of an injury arising out of, and in the performance of, his job duties with the city, may be eligible to receive supplemental payments from the city which, when added to Workers’ Compensation payments received by the employee, would equal his full pay, subject to the following conditions:

(a) The disability must be of an immediate incapacitating nature, not one alleged to have occurred at some time in the past;

(b) The disability must not be the result of the individual’s own misconduct, breach of discipline, or violation of safety or personnel rules and regulations, or failure to use appropriate safety equipment;

(c) The supplemental payments shall be a charge against the employee’s accumulated annual leave balance, after which such supplemental payments shall cease;

(d) If at any time Workers’ Compensation benefits are discontinued or suspended under provisions of state law, disability leave and any city supplemental payments made pursuant thereto, shall be discontinued;

(e) In order for an employee on disability leave to remain eligible for supplemental payments, he must contact his department director at least once in each work week while the employee is on disability leave to report his medical condition and prognosis;

(f) If an employee is unable to perform his regularly assigned duties as a result of an injury, but is able to perform some type of needed work, the employee may, at the employing department’s discretion, be assigned other duties during the period of his recuperation;

(g) Any employee physically able but unwilling to accept an assignment of other duties during the period of recuperation shall be ineligible for disability leave and shall not receive any supplemental payments from the city;

(h) The department director shall have the authority to order an employee on disability leave to be examined by a physician selected and approved by the city, as a condition of continued eligibility to receive supplemental payments from the city;

(i) If an employee refuses to submit to a city-ordered medical examination, he shall be immediately removed from dis-ability leave and shall be ineligible to receive any supplemental payments from the city;

7554 Educational Leave.

A full-time permanent employee may be granted educational leave with pay without charge against any available leave balances for the purpose of pursuing educational courses or training directly related to his work, as determined by the department director with the concurrence of the City Manager, during the employee’s normal working hours.

(a) Full pay will be granted in each of the following instances:

(1) To attend department-sponsored training, seminars, and conferences;

(2) To pursue a course of study at an accredited college or university, which course of study has been expressly determined by the department director to be materially beneficial to the employee’s required work performance;

(3) To pursue a course of study designed to prepare individuals to take a high school graduation equivalency examination.

(b) No leave with pay shall be granted pursuant to this Section to pursue a course of study, seminar, training, or conference which appears to be primarily for the personal, spiritual, or psychic improvement of participants.

7555 Examination Leave.

An employee shall be granted leave of absence with pay while participating in a promotional examination given by the city, for time actually spent in the examination.

7556 Holiday Leave.

All permanent employees in the city service shall be entitled to leave of absence with pay for such holidays as are established.

(a) Full-time permanent employees shall be granted eight hours of holiday leave with pay for each declared holiday, regardless of variations in work schedules.

(b) Employees in other than permanent positions are not entitled to paid holiday leave.

(c) Part-time permanent employees who work at least twenty (20) hours per week shall be entitled to pro rata holiday leave with pay at the same ratio as hours regularly worked per week bears to forty (40).

(d) Holidays which occur during authorized annual leave shall not be charged against annual leave.

(e) An employee shall not be paid for holidays which occur during a period of leave without pay, absence without leave, or suspension.

7557 Sick Leave for Non-Permanent, Temporary or Extra-Help Employees.

Non-permanent, temporary or extra-help employees who work more than thirty (30) days within a twelve-month period (defined as "eligible employees" for purposes of this section) shall be entitled to earn and accrue paid sick leave at rates and under conditions specified in this Section, as generally required by the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.

(a) Eligible employees accrue paid sick leave at the rate of one hour of leave for every thirty (30) hours worked, beginning on the first day of employment.

(b) Paid sick leave hereunder ceases to accrue after the leave balance available to an eligible employee reaches forty-eight (48) hours; provided, however, all unused, accrued hours may be carried over from one year to the next, but shall not be paid upon separation from City employment.

(c) Accrued sick leave hours may not be used until eligible employees have worked at least ninety (90) days as non-permanent, temporary or extra-help employees of the City.

(d) Eligible employees shall be allowed to use a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours of accrued paid sick leave within a twelve-month period, and only for the following reasons:

(1) For eligible employees’ own diagnosis, care or treatment of an existing health condition or preventive care;

(2) For the diagnosis, care or treatment of an existing health condition or preventive care for eligible employees’ family members, defined as any of the following:

(A) Child, including a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild, legal ward or a child to whom the eligible employee stands in loco parentis;

(B) Spouse or registered domestic partner;

(C) Parent, including biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent or legal guardian of the eligible employee or the eligible employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner or a person who stood in loco parentis when the eligible employee was a minor child;

(D) Grandparent;

(E) Grandchild;

(F) Sibling.

(3) To obtain relief or services related to being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, including the following services, when supported with appropriate certification(s) of the need for such services:

(A) A temporary restraining order or restraining order;

(B) Other injunctive relief to help ensure the health, safety or welfare of themselves or their children;

(D) To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program or rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking;

(E) To obtain psychological counseling related to an experience of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking;

(F) To participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, including temporary or permanent relocation.

(e) Eligible employees must provide reasonable notice of their need to use accrued paid sick leave, as provided in relevant part in Section 7409.

(f) Each occurrence of paid sick leave pursuant to this Section shall be a minimum charge of two hours, and additional leave is charged in multiples of one hour per occurrence.

(g) Time spent on paid sick leave hereunder shall not be considered hours worked.

(h) If an eligible employee separates from City employment and is rehired by the City in the same or another non-permanent, temporary or extra-help position within one year of the date of separation, previously accrued but unused sick leave hours earned pursuant to this section shall be reinstated.

Specific Authority: Resolution No. 2015-32.

History: Added 7/2015.

Article 8. LEAVES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY

7700 In General.

A leave of absence without pay may be granted for any good reason which does not meet the conditions for use of paid leave, or where paid leave balances then available are inadequate for the requested absence; provided, however, that leave without pay shall be granted only when it will not adversely affect the interests of the city service, as determined by the employee’s department director.

7701 Intent of Leave.

Leaves of absence without pay are intended as a means of preserving an individual’s employment status with the city during periods of absence from the workplace for personal reasons, thereby avoiding separation from city service.

7702 Eligibility.

Any permanent employee in city service is eligible to request a leave of absence without pay.

7703 Uses of Leave.

Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, leave without pay may be granted for any good reason, including:

(a) Family and medical leave, once all available paid leave balances are exhausted;

(b) Disability leave;

(d) To pursue a course of study during working hours, except department-sponsored training, seminars, and conferences as provided in Article 7 hereof, once available annual leave and executive leave (if applicable) are exhausted;

(e) Personal reasons acceptable to the employee’s department director.

7704 Request for Leave.

A request for leave without pay must be made through an employee’s immediate supervisor on a form approved for that purpose by the Personnel Director.

(a) Leave may be taken only with the approval of, and subject to, such terms and conditions as the appointing authority may require; provided, however, that leaves of absence of more than twelve (12) weeks duration must be approved by the City Manager on recommendation of the appointing authority.

(b) Failure to request and receive a grant of leave without pay shall cause an absence to be considered absence without leave.

(c) Failure of an employee to return to work at the expiration of approved leave shall be considered as absence without leave and grounds for dismissal.

7705 Effect of Leave on Employment Status and Benefits.

(a) No annual leave will be earned by an employee for the time that he is on leave without pay.

(b) For purposes of future merit salary increases, anniversary dates shall be deferred by one month for each month or major portion thereof that an employee is on leave without pay.

(c) The city will continue to provide insurance benefits on the same contribution basis as it does to any active employee similarly situated, to any employee enrolled in a city-sponsored insurance program, and to his covered dependents, for a maximum period of two (2) months from the commencement of the approved leave without pay. Thereafter, all costs of the employee’s coverage in a city-sponsored insurance program are the costs of the employee, until his return to active employment in city service.

Article 9. RECORDS AND REPORTS

7725 Reporting Obligation.

Each employee in city service has the responsibility to report his attendance and absence accurately, timely, and in the manner prescribed by the Personnel Director, and to bring discrepancies in the official records of attendance and absence to the attention of his supervisor as soon as they become known to him.

(a) Filing a falsified attendance or leave of absence report is a fraudulent act, and may subject the employee to criminal prosecution, in addition to disciplinary action pursuant to Part 2 hereof.

7726 Record Keeping.

(a) Payroll records, reports, and related documentation shall be maintained by the Administrative Services Department.

(b) Attendance, compensatory time, and leave of absence records, reports, and related documentation shall be maintained on a current basis by the respective departments; provided, however, that a record of accumulated annual balance to each employee’s credit shall be maintained by the Administrative Services Department and reported regularly at the time of issuance of payroll warrants.