Chapter 2.40
LEAVES OF ABSENCE
Sections:
2.40.015 PERS 1 management employees.
2.40.070 Unauthorized absences.
2.40.110 Sick leave transfer (SLT).
2.40.120 Vacation and paid time off buy-back program.
2.40.010 Eligible employees.
All employees of the city of Yakima shall be eligible for vacation pay, sick leave, civil leave, military leave and holiday pay as provided in this chapter, except as follows:
1. Temporary or emergency employees shall not be eligible for any leave or holiday privileges. Employees in permanent seasonal positions shall be eligible for all leave privileges except vacation leave.
2. Management employees who are not a member of the Public Employees’ Retirement System Plan 1 (PERS 1) are not eligible for vacation or sick leave accruals and will be governed by the paid time off policy for unrepresented management employees. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 2051 § 3, 1977: Ord. 1938 § 1, 1976: Ord. 1468 § 1, 1972: Ord. 1451 § 1, 1972: Ord. 447 § 1, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1, 1960).
2.40.015 PERS 1 management employees.
All employees of the city of Yakima who are members of PERS 1 and in the management group shall accrue and accumulate the following types of leave:
A. Vacation Leave.
1. Vacation leave shall accrue at the following rates:
a. Employees with less than two years of service shall earn eight hours per month of service (twelve days per year);
b. Employees with two years or more but less than six years of service shall earn nine and one-third hours per full month of service (fourteen days per year);
c. Employees with six years or more but less than ten years of service shall earn twelve hours per full month of service (eighteen days per year);
d. Employees with ten years or more but less than fifteen years of service shall earn fourteen hours per month of service (twenty-one days per year);
e. Employees with fifteen or more years of service shall earn sixteen hours per full month of service (twenty-four days per year);
f. Employees with twenty or more years of service shall earn 17.08 hours per full month of service.
2. The employee may accumulate vacation leave time in an amount equal to the vacation time the employee earns during two years of service, according to the accrual rates above.
3. One time per calendar year, the employee may sell back up to one-third of the accrued vacation hours that were earned in the preceding twelve-month period submitted on a form generated by the finance department.
4. Vacation Terminal Leave.
a. A permanent employee, when leaving the service of the city in good standing and who has given at least two weeks’ notice of their intention to leave, shall be compensated for vacation leave earned and accumulated to the date of separation.
b. No compensation for vacation leave shall be payable to any employee who terminates their employment or is terminated before they have completed six months of service.
c. Any eligible employee who is discharged or resigns as a result of disciplinary action shall be entitled to be compensated for only that vacation leave which was earned in preceding calendar years and not used at time of separation. This provision shall apply to employees who quit without giving at least two weeks’ notice.
d. Terminal leave shall be computed by multiplying the hourly rate in effect at the time of termination by the number of hours accumulated.
B. Sick Leave.
1. Sick leave shall accrue at the rate of two working days of leave for each of the first six full calendar months of the employee’s service with the city, and no sick leave shall accrue for any such employee for the seventh through the twelfth full calendar months of service. Thereafter, commencing with the thirteenth full calendar month of service, each employee shall accrue sick leave at the rate of one working day of leave for each full calendar month of service.
2. Unused sick leave may be accumulated for an unlimited maximum period.
3. Permissible use of sick leave shall be governed by YMC 2.40.030(B), (C) and (D).
4. Employees may exchange accrued sick leave for pay or for additional leave time as appropriate, subject to the following provisions:
a. Except as provided in subsection (B)(4)(c) of this section, exchange of accrued sick leave for cash will be granted for those employees with less than ninety days (seven hundred twenty hours) of accrued sick leave in accordance with the following:
i. Upon retirement the employee’s accrued sick leave will be exchanged for pay at the rate of fifty percent of the employee’s current base pay to a maximum of eighteen thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.
ii. Upon termination under honorable conditions, as distinct from retirement, the employee’s accrued sick leave will be exchanged for pay at the rate of twenty-five percent of the employee’s current base pay to a maximum of eighteen thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars. Honorable termination includes layoff for budget reasons, resignation with proper notice, and position abolition.
b. Except as provided in subsection (B)(4)(c) of this section, exchange of accrued sick leave for additional leave days or for cash will be granted to employees who have accrued ninety days (seven hundred twenty hours) or more days subject to the following:
i. Upon retirement the employee’s accrued sick leave up through a maximum of one hundred twenty-five days (one thousand hours) will be exchanged for pay at the rate of one hundred percent of the employee’s current base pay to a maximum of forty-one thousand dollars.
ii. Upon termination under honorable conditions, as distinct from retirement, the employee’s accrued sick leave up to a maximum of one hundred twenty-five days (one thousand hours) will be exchanged for pay at the rate of fifty percent of the employee’s current base pay to a maximum of eighteen thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.
iii. Employees who have accrued more than ninety days (seven hundred twenty hours) of sick leave may exchange such sick leave for bonus (additional) leave days at the rate of four days of sick leave for each additional leave day, not to exceed a total of five added leave days annually.
c. Upon the death of an employee, the accrued sick leave up through a maximum of one hundred twenty-five days (one thousand hours) will be exchanged for pay at the rate of one hundred percent of the employee’s current base pay to a maximum of forty-one thousand dollars.
d. The employee is eligible for sick leave transfer as provided in YMC 2.40.110. (Ord. 2018-001 § 1, 2018: Ord. 2015-024 § 1, 2015: Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014).
2.40.020 Vacation leave.
A. Rate of Accrual and Accumulation of Vacation Leave. Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall accrue and accumulate vacation leave in the amount specified in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
B. City Manager Discretion. The city manager shall have the discretion to adjust PTO accruals for all management employees.
C. Reporting. Vacation and PTO leave with pay shall be reported to the personnel department on forms and according to procedures as specified by the director of personnel. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 2013-036 § 1, 2013: Ord. 98-34 § 1, 1998; Ord. 3403 § 6, 1991; Ord. 2363 §§ 1, 2, 1980; Ord. 2265 § 4, 1979; Ord. 2153 § 5, 1978; Ord. 1901 § 1, 1976; Ord. 1900 § 1, 1976; Ord. 1745 § 6, 1975: Ord. 1614 § 6, 1974; Ord. 1474 § 3, 1972; Ord. 1408 § 1, 1972; Ord. 1402 § 1, 1972; Ord. 1317 § 1, 1971; Ord. 447 § 2, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1 (part), 1960).
2.40.030 Sick leave.
A. Rate of Accrual and Accumulation of Sick Leave. Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall accrue and accumulate sick leave in the amount specified in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
B. Permissible Use of Sick Leave. An employee eligible for sick leave with pay shall be granted such leave for the following reasons:
1. Personal illness or physical incapacity resulting from causes beyond employee’s control;
2. Quarantine of employee due to exposure to a contagious disease;
3. On-the-job injuries; any employee receiving sick leave with pay who is eligible for time-loss payments under the workman’s compensation law shall, for the duration of such payment, receive only that portion of the employee’s regular salary which, together with said payments, will equal the employee’s regular salary. In order not to work an undue hardship on the employee caused by the time lag involved in time-loss payments, the employee shall be paid full salary and on receipt of time-loss payments shall endorse such payments to the city. Said employee shall be charged with sick leave only for that portion of the employee’s regular salary for which the city is not reimbursed by the workman’s compensation payments endorsed to the city;
4. Subject to and in accordance with YMC 2.40.035, the death of a member of the immediate family of an employee or employee’s spouse;
5. Illness and disability caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or childbirth;
6. Sick leave shall not be allowed for any period of time that the employee is gainfully employed by another employer;
7. Leave taken pursuant to and in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and the FMLA policy of the city of Yakima;
8. To care for a child of the employee with a health condition that requires treatment or supervision; “child” as used herein means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis who is (a) under eighteen years of age or (b) eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability;
9. To care for a spouse, parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent of an employee who has a serious health condition or an emergency condition; “parent” as used herein includes an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child.
C. Requirements for All Paid Sick Leave.
(1) Every employee must report to the representative designated by his department head the reason for the absence as far in advance of the starting of his scheduled work day as possible, but in no event shall this report be made later than the first day of absence.
(2) An employee must keep his department head informed of his condition if absence is of more than three working days in duration.
(3) For each absence an employee must submit upon the approved form an explanation of the reason for such absence. A statement by the attending physician may be required if an absence caused by illness or injury extends beyond three working days, or for each absence, if requested by the department head.
(4) Employees must permit home visits or medical examinations at the expense and convenience of the city.
D. Enforcement of Sick Leave Provisions.
(1) Any failure to comply with the provisions of subsection C of this section shall be grounds for denial of sick leave with pay for the period of absence.
(2) Misrepresentation of any material facts in connection with paid sick leave by any employee shall constitute grounds for suspension or discharge.
(3) It shall be the responsibility of the department head or his designated representative to:
a. Review all applications for sick leave and approve those which are bona fide and comply with the provisions of this section and forward same to the personnel department. The director of personnel shall not certify the payment of sick leave until the approved applications have been received, except that employees still absent at the end of a pay period may be certwfied for payment of sick leave by the director of personnel upon recommendation of the department head as indicated by his signing the time sheet and subject to the receipt of an approved application for sick leave pay immediately upon the employee’s return to work;
b. Investigate any suspected abuse of sick leave;
c. Withhold approval of sick leave pay in the event of unauthorized use;
d. Initiate disciplinary action if, as a result of investigation, it is determined that an employee has been guilty of willful misrepresentation in a request for sick leave pay. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 2005-30 § 1, 2005; Ord. 2003-78 § 1, 2003: Ord. 2001-64 § 1, 2001; Ord. 2000-29 § 1, 2000; Ord. 3403 § 7, 1991; Ord. 3077 § 1, 1988; Ord. 2153 §§ 6, 7, 1978; Ord. 1828 § 1, 1975; Ord. 1614 § 7, 1974: Ord. 1381 § 1, 1972; Ord. 854 § 4, 1966: Ord. 447 § 3, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1 (part), 1960).
2.40.035 Bereavement leave.
In the event of the death of a member of the immediate family of a management employee or his/her spouse, the employee shall be granted up to three days of bereavement leave without loss of pay per calendar year. For purposes of this section, “immediate family” means husband, wife, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, or sister of the employee or his/her spouse. No leave of absence in excess of three days for a family death shall be taken by an employee unless additional leave is recommended by the employee’s department head and approved by the appointing authority. Approved leave in excess of three days for the death of a family member shall be debited against the employee’s accrued sick leave, annual leave, compensatory time, paid time off and/or other accrued leave. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 2001-64 § 2, 2001).
2.40.040 Civil leave.
Any necessary leave shall be allowed by the head of the department to permit any employee to serve as a member of a jury, or to exercise other civil duties. Each employee who is granted such leave, and who, for the performance of the civil duties involved, received only compensation, shall be paid by the city for the time absent only in the amount of excess of the regular salary over the compensation so received. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 619 § 1, 1965; Ord. 447 § 4, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1 (part), 1960).
2.40.050 Military leave.
Leave not to exceed twenty-one days during each year beginning October 1st and ending the following September 30th, over and above annual vacation or sick leave, may be allowed any employee who is a member of the National Guard or of any organized reserve or Armed Forces of the United States. The employee will be paid their normal pay during such military leave period when taking part in active training duty. No days shall be charged against the twenty-one day military leave period for nonwork days before the beginning or after the end of any active military leave period. (Ord. 2016-015 § 1, 2016: Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 1911 § 1, 1976: Ord. 69 § 1 (part), 1960).
2.40.060 Leave without pay.
A. All leave without pay must be requested and approved by the department head prior to the beginning date of such leave.
B. Leave without pay for more than fifteen working days must be approved in advance by the appointing authority.
C. Leave without pay may be granted to an employee who has accrued vacation recorded. This section shall not be construed as forbidding the use of leave without pay as a disciplinary measure. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 182 § 2, 1975: Ord. 1745 § 7, 1975: Ord. 1614 § 8, 1974: Ord. 447 § 5, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1 (part), 1960).
2.40.070 Unauthorized absences.
Unauthorized absences from duty for three consecutive days shall constitute grounds for discharge at the discretion of the city manager subject to civil service rules and regulations. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 447 § 6, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1 (part), 1960).
2.40.080 Holidays with pay.
A. The following days are established as holidays with pay for all eligible employees of the city of Yakima: the first day of January (New Year’s Day), the third Monday of January (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), third Monday of February (Presidents Day), the last Monday of May (Memorial Day), nineteenth day of June (Juneteenth), fourth day of July (Independence Day), first Monday of September (Labor Day), eleventh day of November (Veterans Day), fourth Thursday of November (Thanksgiving Day), the day immediately following Thanksgiving Day, and the twenty-fifth day of December (Christmas).
B. In addition to the days specified in subsection A of this section, all eligible employees shall be entitled to one paid personal holiday to be selected by the employee subject to the following conditions:
1. The employee has been or is scheduled to be continuously employed for the city for more than six months;
2. The employee has given not less than fourteen calendar days of written notice to the appointing authority; provided, however, the employee and the appointing authority may agree on an earlier date;
3. The appointing authority has approved the day;
4. The day selected does not prevent a department from providing continued public service and does not interfere with the efficient operation of the department;
5. The personal day must be taken during the calendar year or entitlement to the day will lapse except when an employee has requested a personal holiday and the request has been denied; and
6. The personal holiday is not taken off immediately before or immediately after another holiday unless approved by the appointing authority.
7. Management employees who are not members of PERS 1 are not eligible for the personal holiday in this subsection B.
8. Beginning January 1, 2016, all management employees who are members of PERS 1 will be eligible for a second paid personal holiday subject to the conditions of this subsection B.
C. Except as provided by subsections I and J of this section, whenever any holiday specified in subsection A of this section falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be scheduled as a holiday for part of the employees of each city department, and the remaining employees of each department shall be granted another day off within thirty days after any such holiday, with such day off to be scheduled for each employee entitled thereto at a time determined at the discretion of the department manager to be practical so as not to interfere with service to the public, but so as to give the employee the choice of the day preferred if possible.
D. Except as provided by subsections I and J of this section, whenever any holiday specified in subsection A of this section falls on a Sunday, the succeeding Monday shall be scheduled as a holiday; provided, that if a service must be provided for the convenience or necessity of the public on that Monday, the department providing such service may assign an appropriate number of employees to work and such employees will be granted an equivalent day off within thirty days of the holiday with such day off to be scheduled for each employee entitled thereto at a time determined by the department head but giving the employee the choice of the day preferred if possible.
E. Eligible employees shall receive one day’s holiday pay at the straight time rate for each holiday specified in subsection A of this section on which those employees perform no work; if the eligible employee performs work on a holiday, that employee shall receive holiday pay plus overtime pay for all hours worked, except for employees covered by subsections I and J of this section. The holiday shall be included as “time worked” at straight time for the purpose of determining whether an employee has worked forty hours in a week.
F. When eligible employees below the level of division head other than those working on jobs where employees are scheduled to work in shifts in a service that is rendered seven days per week and twenty-four hours per day are required to work on a holiday, they shall be paid for such work at the rate of time and one-half in addition to their regular pay.
G. In the event that a holiday occurs during a period of annual leave of an employee, such holiday shall not be charged as a day of leave.
H. No employee shall be paid for a holiday unless such employee is in a pay status both the workday before and the workday after such holiday except for employees working special schedules wherein holidays are worked as a part of that schedule.
I. In the police and fire departments, holiday leave shall be governed by the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
J. A management employee in the police department shall be granted time off in lieu of holidays in an amount equal to the actual number of holidays enjoyed by other employees during the calendar year. The amount of time off in lieu of holidays to be granted during each year shall be computed each January and scheduled to be taken during the calendar year. The amount of time off in lieu of holidays to be granted an employee who is employed for a partial calendar year shall be prorated for the period of the calendar year during which that individual is employed and a deduction shall be taken from the salary of any employee who ceases employment and who has taken time off in lieu of holidays in excess of the pro rata amount to be granted the employee by the provisions of this section. Any time off in lieu of holidays not taken by December 31st of each year shall be forfeited unless the city manager extends the time within which such time off may be taken because of an emergency or other unusual circumstances.
K. In the event that a holiday falls on an employee’s regular day off, the employee shall have equal time off to be scheduled within ninety days. (Ord. 2021-028 § 1, 2021; Ord. 2015-024 § 2, 2015: Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 2002-23 § 1, 2002: Ord. 2178 § 1, 1978; Ord. 2062 §§ 1, 2, 1977; Ord. 2041 § 1, 1977: Ord. 1967 § 1, 1976: Ord. 1848 §§ 1, 2, 1975; Ord. 1203 §§ 2, 3, 1970: Ord. 1081, 1968; Ord. 447 § 7, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1, 1960).
2.40.100 Overtime pay.
A. Overtime payment will be allowed for an eligible employee below the rank of division head when ordered to work at the rate of time and one-half except as follows:
1. For all employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, overtime shall be paid in the amount required in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
2. Overtime payment may be allowed for division heads at the rate of time and one-half when required to work because of an emergency or unusual circumstances if approved by the city manager.
3. Department directors, when required to work overtime in a nonsupervisory capacity because of an emergency determined by the city manager, may be paid overtime at a straight time rate; provided, department directors, when required to work in excess of forty hours during any work week in a supervisory capacity because of an emergency or unusual circumstance approved by the city manager, shall be paid at the rate of time and one-half for such overtime work.
4. Compensating time off in lieu of overtime pay, as based on the rates provided by this subsection, may be taken at a time agreed upon by the department head and the employee, but may not be imposed by the department head in lieu of overtime pay upon any employee who has not so requested such compensating time off. Compensatory time off may be accumulated to a maximum of five working days unless the city manager approves additional accrual because of an emergency or other unusual circumstance; provided, however, an employee, who as of February 8, 1979, has accumulated compensatory time in excess of five days, may retain and use that accumulated compensatory time.
B. Overtime pay for eligible employees, other than fire department personnel, who are paid at a monthly rate shall be computed by dividing the basic monthly salary by one hundred seventy-three and thirty-three one-hundredths and multiplying by a factor of one and one-half.
C. Fractions of an hour served on overtime duty shall be rounded to the next full hour for the purpose of computing the amount of overtime.
D. Time spent by an eligible employee beyond the normal working day for training classes or travel shall not be considered overtime work.
E. A minimum of two hours’ pay at the time and one-half rate will be paid to an eligible employee who is called to return to work after leaving the worksite at the completion of the shift, or called to work on a day off. Such call-out time shall be counted from the time the employee leaves home and until the employee returns home.
F. Vacation leave, sick leave, paid time off, holidays and compensatory time used shall be included as “time worked” at straight time for the purpose of determining whether an employee has worked forty hours in a week. Civil leave, military leave and leave without pay shall not be included as “time worked.” (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 2709 § 1, 1983: Ord. 2421 § 1, 1980; Ord. 2400 § 1, 1980; Ord. 2265 § 7, 1979: Ord. 2014 § 2, 1976: Ord. 1923 § 1, 1976: Ord. 1614 § 9, 1974: Ord. 1203 § 5, 1970: Ord. 1129 § 1, 1969: Ord. 854 § 6, 1966: Ord. 613 § 2, 1965: Ord. 44.7 § 9, 1963: Ord. 69 § 1 (part), 1960).
2.40.110 Sick leave transfer (SLT).
A. The city of Yakima allows eligible management employees and employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that include this benefit to transfer paid sick leave to other eligible employees who have exhausted all other accrued paid leave and stand to lose compensation because either they, or their immediate family member(s), have suffered a catastrophic illness or injury.
B. This chapter applies to city of Yakima donor employees in full-time status, who have worked at least one year, in good standing with no pending disciplinary actions or history of chronic absenteeism. Recipient employees shall qualify for leave up to twelve weeks if they, or a qualifying household or family member, suffer from a catastrophic illness or injury and all of the recipient’s accrued leave is exhausted.
C. Definitions.
1. “Immediate family member” is defined as those individuals who live in the same household as the employee and are related by kinship, adoption, domestic partnership or marriage; or are foster children certified by the state of Washington. If not in the same household, an immediate family member is strictly limited to the employee’s spouse, child or parent.
2. “Licensed practitioner” includes a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or other licensed health care professional.
3. A “catastrophic illness or injury” is a severe condition or combination of conditions affecting the mental or physical health of the employee or member of the employee’s immediate family that requires treatment by a licensed practitioner for a prolonged period and that forces the employee to exhaust all leave time earned and therefore results in loss of compensation.
4. A “severe condition or combination of conditions” is one that will result in death if not treated promptly; requires hospitalization for more than seventy-two consecutive hours; or causes a person to be legally declared a danger to him or herself or others. For purposes of this chapter, pregnancy and elective surgery are not considered severe conditions, except when life-threatening complications arise from them.
D. Process for Requesting Leave Transfer.
1. An employee is eligible to request use of SLT hours for their documented personal serious medical condition.
2. SLT hours shall not be used until all personal sick, annual, compensatory and in-lieu time has been exhausted.
3. A request to use SLT hours requires submission to the human resources manager, with accompanying medical documentation, by the fifteenth of the month. It will be forwarded to the city manager for final approval. The medical documentation must include an estimate of the amount of time needed and expected date of return from the accident, illness or injury for which the sick leave is being requested. If the medical documentation does not provide a specific date of return to work, follow-up documentation must be furnished every thirty days.
4. SLT may be requested and granted in increments of no more than ninety calendar days per request, up to the maximum allowed. If the duration of the event exceeds ninety calendar days, the employee will be required to submit another request for SLT.
5. If the request is approved, the human resources office will immediately route a copy to the payroll office for processing and notification to the employee and supervisor that the request has been approved.
6. The human resources manager will coordinate distribution of an email communication soliciting voluntary leave hour donations on behalf of the employee.
7. Requests cannot be retroactively used unless documentation is provided regarding conditions warranting delay in receipt of their request.
E. Conditions for Donating Leave.
1. Employees who wish to donate leave to another employee must have a minimum balance of eighty hours of annual leave and/or three hundred eighty-eight hours of sick leave remaining following the transfer of leave hours. The transfer of compensatory time or in-lieu time does not require a minimum balance remain.
2. The minimum amount for each transfer is eight hours except an employee may donate all or part of their personal holiday.
3. A donation form, available in human resources, must be completed and submitted to the payroll office by the twenty-fifth of the month. (The funding of the donation will come from the donor employee’s division budget. The division budget of the recipient will receive the funds.)
4. Once the sick leave transfer has been approved and processed by finance, it cannot be canceled.
5. The hours transferred to recipient employees by the employee’s spouse, either of their parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, children or grandchildren will be processed prior to those received from other employees.
6. Leave hours may be transferred from an employee’s leave balance to an employee approved to use donated leave hours at any time prior to the effective date of retirement or termination from the city. The donation cannot consist of excess leave that the donor would not be able to take during the period between the date of the request and the donor’s anniversary date.
F. SLT Usage.
1. SLT hours may be used consecutively or intermittently, up to the total number of hours available in the month. If hours in excess of the number needed for a full paycheck are received they will be held and used monthly, up to ninety days, if needed.
2. Receiving employees must provide notice to their department head and the human resources manager if there is any change in the circumstances for which the leave is being taken or if additional leave is needed beyond the period covered in the original request.
3. Receiving employees may not use more than twelve weeks (four hundred eighty hours) of transferred leave per catastrophic event.
4. A participating employee must not be receiving state-funded disability benefits intended to replace all or a portion of the employee’s income. This applies to employees on workers’ compensation or other city- or state-funded disability income insurance.
5. An employee or supervisor who attempts to coerce or pressure another employee to transfer or not transfer leave will be subject to disciplinary action. The selling or purchasing of leave is also strictly prohibited.
G. Coordination with Other Leave and Benefits.
1. Annual leave and sick leave accruals will not be earned if fifty percent or more of the hours of the month’s compensation are from transferred leave.
2. Pursuant to WAC 415-108-468, transferred leave hours are not eligible for Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) service credits.
H. When the employee is absent from work because of a catastrophic illness or injury, the employee’s department head shall require that, prior to the employee’s return to work, the employee submit a licensed practitioner’s written statement that the employee was required to be absent from duty because of the condition and the date that the employee is able to return to work. The statement must also specify what limitations, if any, exist to the employee’s ability to perform his or her essential job functions. If limitations exist, the supervisor shall contact the human resources manager.
I. The city manager is the administrator of the SLT program, but may delegate approval authority as he or she deems necessary. (Ord. 2014-026 § 1 (part), 2014: Ord. 2014-023 § 6 (part), 2014: Ord. 2012-20 § 2, 2012).
2.40.120 Vacation and paid time off buy-back program.
A. Purpose. The city of Yakima’s annual vacation and PTO buy-back program is provided as an optional benefit for management employees who elect to convert accrued vacation and PTO into an annualized cash value. The goal of the program is to improve attendance, increase benefit flexibility, create uniformity with existing programs of represented employees, and limit accrued financial liabilities.
B. Applicability. This section is applicable to management full- and part-time employees of the city of Yakima who elect to sell back their accrued vacation and PTO hours to the city.
C. Eligibility Criteria.
(1) Regular full-time and part-time employees may sell back up to one-third of their annual vacation and PTO accrued leave.
(2) Vacation and PTO hours eligible for buy-back are those hours earned up to the one-third maximum, accrued within the preceding twelve-month period.
(3) No more than one request may be made per calendar year.
D. Procedure.
(1) Employee Responsibility. The employee shall request a vacation and PTO buy-back form from finance, indicate their requested hours, and submit the form through their supervisor back to finance.
(2) Finance Department Responsibility. The finance department will generate a customized leave accrual form, complete the form, and route back to the employee through the employee’s supervisor. Finance will process for inclusion in next pay cycle. (Ord. 2014-028 § 1, 2014).