Hawthorne Municipal Code Ch. 2.46 Attendance, Vacations and Leaves

All officers and employees of the city, whether members of the classified service or otherwise, shall be entitled to a vacation with pay as follows:

A. Vacation time shall be credited to each employee at a minimum rate of five-sixths of a day for each calendar month worked, unless provided otherwise in the provisions of the respective bargaining agreements.

B. No officer or employee shall be entitled to a vacation period with pay until the employee completes one year of service. The city manager may waive this provision when the interests of the city are served thereby.

C. Each vacation for employees assigned to a forty-hour week is limited to one period of ten working days. Members of the police department shall be entitled to twelve working days. The city manager and department head may approve in writing, split periods.

D. Each department head shall arrange the schedule for vacations for the members of his or her department/division.

E. In case of termination or discharge, all officers and employees shall be entitled to pay for all accrued but unused vacation.

F. All city officials and full-time employees shall continue to be paid during the period of their vacation at the same rate or scale of compensation as they were being paid at the time said vacation commenced, although step, longevity, and other periodic increases shall be effective as scheduled.

(Ord. 1157 § 2, 1977; Ord. 1190 §§ 2, 4, 6, 7, 1979; Ord. 1211 §§ 2 and 4, 1980; Ord. 1250 §§ 1, 2, 1981; Ord. 1275 §§ 2, 4, 1982; Ord. 1952 § 1, 2009)

All officers and employees of the city, whether members of the classified service or otherwise, shall be entitled to a period of sick leave under the following terms and conditions:

A. Sick leave shall accumulate at the rate of one day per month or twelve working days per year, unless provided otherwise in the provisions of the respective bargaining agreements.

B. Unused sick leave for any one year shall accumulate and can be used during subsequent years.

C. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays shall not be excluded from any computation of used sick leave if the official or employee is required to be available for duty on those days and is actually called for service on one of those days and fails to report because of illness. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays shall be excluded from any computation of used sick leave if an employee is not required to work on those days, or, if required to work on those days, is not actually called for service.

D. All city officials and full-time employees shall continue to be paid at the same rate or scale as they were being paid at the time said sick leave commenced.

E. No person shall be entitled to receive any allowance for sick leave under the provisions of Chapter 2.18 and Chapters 2.30 through 2.52 until he or she has satisfactorily completed six months' service.

F. No person shall be entitled to receive any allowance for sick leave under the provisions of Chapter 2.18 and Chapters 2.30 through 2.52 until a certificate of a regularly licensed medical practitioner under the laws of the state has been submitted to the department head and subsequently forwarded to administrative services (human resources) department, except that no such certificate shall be required when the absence caused by illness does not exceed three days. The certificate shall be in writing and certify that, due to a health condition, the employee is temporarily and totally disabled from working, and the estimated time period that the employee will be disabled from working. The intent of this section is to conform to California Civil Code Sections 56 et seq., pertaining to the medical privacy rights of employees.

Before compensation shall be allowed for sick leave of any duration, a personal affidavit shall be filed with the director stating the duration of the absence, and the fact that the absence was necessary because of actual sickness, disability, or quarantine regulations. The affidavit shall be under oath, and punitive action under the provisions of Chapter 2.18 and Chapters 2.30 through 2.52 may be taken for any false statements or misrepresentations made therein.

G. All officers and employees who, after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, execute a valid retirement contract with the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), and have accumulated sick leave pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall be entitled to cash pay for such accumulated sick leave. Said pay shall be based upon the employee's current compensation upon termination of employment.

H. All officers and employees paid in accordance with the public safety police employees salary resolution shall, effective August 7, 1982, be eligible for cash payment for fifty percent of all unused accumulated sick leave upon nondisciplinary separation from city service after completion of ten such years of service. The value of such sick leave hours shall be determined to be their value at time of payment.

(Prior code § 2-399.16; Ord. 1157 § 6, 1977; Ord. 1275 § 5, 1982; Ord. 1850 § 1, 2006; Ord. 1952 § 1, 2009)

Any officer or employee of the city, whether a member of the classified service or otherwise, may be granted a leave of absence without pay under the following conditions:

A. Upon approval of the department head/division head and city manager and civil service commission;

B. Request for leave of absence and the approval thereof shall be in writing and copies filed with the director;

C. Refusal of Leave of Absence. No leave of absence, with or without pay, shall be approved or granted where it appears to the commission that it is requested for the purpose of enabling the employment of a temporary employee to the same position, or because of political or other improper influence, or for a purpose contrary to the good of the service. Objections based upon the foregoing may be filed by any citizen with the commission. The commission shall investigate such objections and may, if the same are sustained upon investigation, order the leave revoked, to take effect on or after date of notification, in the discretion of the commission;

D. Leave of Absence Transfers. Duties of any position vacated during a leave of absence, with or without pay, shall, whenever practicable, be performed by other employees in the department, and the head of the department may assign any competent person in his or her department to perform the duties of the position without a change of compensation;

E. Protective Leave of Absence. Upon approval of the city council, and with the consent of the employee, any member of the classified service may be transferred, including promotion, and notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 2.40.010 and 2.40.020 of this title, to any position in city employment exempt from the classified service. During the time that the employee occupies the exempt position, he or she shall be granted a protective leave of absence from the last position he or she previously held in the classified service and he or she shall be entitled to all the rights and protections of the classified service that pertain to the former position in the event he or she is removed from the exempt position.

(Prior code § 2-399.17; Ord. 1069 § 4, 1974; Ord. 1952 § 1, 2009)

Any officer or employee who has been absent from duty more than three consecutive days, unless for cause allowed under the provisions of Chapter 2.18 and Chapters 2.30 through 2.52, shall be deemed to have vacated his or her position and shall be dismissed from the classified service unless reinstated with the approval of the department head, the city manager and the civil service commission. Reinstatement shall not take place unless there is a satisfactory presentation of good and sufficient reasons for the absence at the earliest possible moment.

(Prior code § 2-399.18)

The department/division heads, subject to supervision by the city manager, shall regulate the specific hours on each employee. Police services shall be rendered to the public for twenty-four hours each day. The city manager shall determine the amount of service to be rendered by all other departments unless the city council and/or collective bargaining agreement(s) provides a different means of determination.

(Prior code § 2-399.19; Ord. 1952 § 1, 2009)

All officers and employees in the classified service shall be in attendance at their work in accordance with rules regarding hours of work, holidays and leaves. All departments/divisions shall keep daily attendance records of classified employees.

(Prior code § 2-399.20; Ord. 1952 § 1, 2009)

Municipal offices shall be closed on the following legal holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Presidents' Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. When any holiday falls on a Sunday, the subsequent Monday shall be observed. When any holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed.

(Ord. 1157 § 4, 1977; Ord. 1211 § 6, 1980; Ord. 1952 § 1, 2009; Ord. 2229 § 1, 2022)