Monterey Municipal Code Art. 12 Leave of Absence Provisions

a.All full-time personnel shall accrue annual vacation leave at the rates provided below.

Regular Part-time Employees shall accrue annual prorated vacation leave at 75% of the rates provided above. (Ord. 3280 §1, 2000)

b.Employees shall accrue vacation in accordance with the above schedule for every month worked, or major fraction thereof, on the last day of the month. All employees shall, upon separation for any reason, be entitled to receive payment at their current base straight-time rate of pay for all vacation hours earned, but not taken, as of the effective date of the separation.

c.An employee who works over one half of the month in which the employee separates employment shall be entitled to receive such payments for the full month.

d.The department head and employee shall schedule the times at which vacation leave is to be taken with due consideration being given to the desires of the employee and the operational needs of the department. Use of vacation leave in less than fifteen (15) minute increments shall not be permitted. Scheduling of vacation shall be in accordance with any established departmental policy and subject to department head approval. The decision of the department head shall be final.

e.Based upon operational needs or employee preference, the use of vacation leave earned in a given year may be deferred to the following year. However, the total amount of vacation which may be accumulated, including current year accrual, shall not exceed 448 hours for fire operations personnel and 320 hours for all other employees. Any vacation accruals in excess of these limits as of December 31 of each year will be paid at the prevailing rates in accordance with a procedure set by the Finance Director.

f.In the event a City holiday for which the employee is eligible (unless provided otherwise by memorandum of understanding) falls during the period of an employee’s vacation leave, that day shall not be charged against vacation accrual. Where an employee is ill or injured during vacation and desires to charge that time to sick leave, the employee shall provide a doctor’s certification of illness or injury for the days to be charged to sick leave.

g. Vacation in advance of accrual.An employee may be granted vacation in advance of accrual by their department head subject to the following conditions:

1.If an employee has served at least six (6) months and has accumulated at least the equivalent of five (5) days vacation available for use, the employee may be granted an additional five (5) days of vacation in advance of accrual. Fire suppression personnel, after six (6) months of service, may take vacation that would accrue by the end of the calendar year, but not more than the equivalent of the amount of vacation that would accrue in twelve months.

2.An employee who has served the City for five or more continuous years may be granted vacation time that would otherwise accrue during the next twelve (12) months, provided that the employee has accumulated and has available for use the equivalent of ten (10) days vacation.

3.When such vacation is granted in advance of accrual, the employee shall be required to repay any vacation taken, but not yet accrued, at the time of separation.

a.All Full-Time and Regular Part-Time employees shall be provided paid sick leave as set forth below.

b. Sick Leave Accrual.

1.Full-time employees shall accrue sick leave credits at the rate of eight (8) hours per month or major portion thereof; except that fire operations personnel shall accrue such credits at the rate of 12 hours per month or major portion thereof. Regular Part-Time employees shall accrue sick leave credits at the rate of six (6) hours per month of major portion thereof. (Ord. 3280 §1, 2000)

2.Employees shall accrue sick leave and be permitted to use such accrued leave upon employment for the permitted uses in 12.02.c.

3.All Full-Time and Regular Part-Time employees may accrue sick leave without limitation. (Ord. 3280 §1, 2000)

c. Sick Leave Usage.

1.Accrued sick leave may be used, at any time, for any bona fide illness of, or injury to an employee, and, under certain circumstances, for critical illness or death as provided in paragraph e., and for family sick leave as provided in paragraph d. Such leaves may also be used for medical and dental appointments in accordance with paragraph f. Sick leave must be used in accordance with the provisions of the salary continuation plan when applicable.

2.When utilizing the sick leave benefit, the employee shall notify the immediate supervisor, in accordance with departmental regulations and rule 11.01(b).

3.Where the period of absence due to illness or injury is not known at the outset, it shall be the responsibility of the employee to remain in contact with the immediate supervisor, on a daily basis if deemed necessary by the supervisor.

4.Usage of sick leave shall be charged to the employee’s balance on an hour-for-hour basis in one-fourth (1/4) hour increments or in accordance with current law

d. Family Sick Leave.Up to 40 hours of accrued sick leave hours may be used each calendar year to care for and attend to a spouse, principal domestic partner, child, stepchild, parent, parent-in-law, or a close relation residing in the employee’s household, unless a different amount of leave time is specified in the employee’s memorandum of understanding or benefits resolution. (Ord. 3273, 2000)

e. Family Member Critical Illness/Death.

1.All employees may be authorized to use up to 32 hours of accrued sick leave per calendar year to visit or care for a critically ill family member; and to use up to 40 hours of such leave per calendar year for the death of a family member or close relation. The maximum combined allowable use of sick leave for the above purposes shall not exceed seventy-two (72) hours in any calendar year for a single family member. The annual allotments available to fire operations shall be 33.6 shift hours for critical illness and 56 shift hours for bereavement. The maximum combined allowable use of sick leave by a fire operations employee for the above purposes shall not exceed 89.6 shift hours in any calendar year for a single family member.

2.At the department head’s discretion, the employee may be required to provide evidence that the leave was used for the purposes intended by this section.

3.For purposes of determining the use of sick leave for critical illness and death of a family member, the following definition shall be used: The employee’s spouse, principal domestic partner, child, parent, brother, sister, grandparents, parents-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, step-parents, step-siblings, step-children, step-grandparents or grandparents-in-law.

f. Medical/Dental Appointments.Accrued sick leave may, with department head approval, be used for medical and dental appointments of the employee where it is infeasible to schedule them on the employee’s own time.

g. Sick Leave Abuse.

1.Sick leave abuse shall mean: “Any use of sick leave, for purposes other than those identified in this section.” Sick leave abuse may subject the employee to disciplinary actions.

2.When the department head has reason to suspect that an employee has abused sick leave benefits, the department head may require that employee to file a personal affidavit or physician’s affidavit stating the cause of the absence. The department head, at their discretion, may establish methods of verification as deemed appropriate. These means may include, but are not limited to, examination by a physician selected by and paid for by the City. If an employee is required to be examined by a physician selected by the City, the employee will be paid for the time, if off duty, and will be given reimbursement for mileage to attend the examination.

3.The payment of sick leave may be suspended or curtailed by the City Manager where there is evidence that absences taken on a given day or days are the result of a concerted action on the part of two or more employees which is related to a labor dispute with the City directly, or one in which the City is involved as a third party. Sick leave may be restored when proof is provided that the sick leave was taken as provided in these Rules.

h. Sick Leave in Advance of Accrual.An employee may be granted sick leave in advance of accrual subject to the following conditions:

1.Employee must exhaust all available leaves that provide for paid status.

2.Use of advanced sick leave will require department head approval, and may require employee documentation.

3.Advanced sick leave will only be authorized during periods of a pandemic or other similar emergency situation as designated by the City Manager.

4.Employee would not qualify for advanced sick leave if the employee’s illness qualifies for paid disability, workers’ compensation and/or catastrophic leave.

5.Employee may exceed the family sick leave limit of 48 hours per calendar year (72 hours for sworn fire) for the care/illness of an immediate family member. However, the employee must utilize all available paid leaves before any advanced sick leave is granted.

6.Family medical leave may run concurrently with advanced sick leave if the illness qualifies as a serious health condition under the federal Family Medical Leave Act and/or the California Family Rights Act.

7.Under no circumstance can an employee have a negative sick leave balance that exceeds 40 hours for full time (56 hours for sworn fire) and 30 hours for regular part-time.

8.If, upon leaving City service, the employee has a negative sick leave balance, the balance of the negative hours shall be applied against any eligible paid leave. If no eligible leave is sufficient to cover the negative hours, the employee’s final paycheck shall be reduced to cover the difference.

i. Family Sick Leave for Catastrophic Illness or Injury.Up to 480 hours of accrued sick leave may be used each calendar year to care for and attend to an immediate family member for a catastrophic illness or injury. All other leave banks must be exhausted before this additional sick leave can be utilized. If other accrued leaves are utilized, the combined total of leaves used cannot exceed 480 hours. An immediate family member is defined as a spouse, child, parent, or registered domestic partner. For purposes of this section, the definitions contained in Labor Code section 233 for “child” and “parent” shall apply. A catastrophic illness or injury is defined as a life threatening or debilitating illness or injury that is expected to incapacitate the employee’s immediate family member that requires the employee to be absent from work, for an extended period of time. The illness or injury must be anticipated to extend longer than sixty (60) calendar days in a twelve (12) month period, as certified by a medical doctor. (Ord. 3486 § 1, 2013; Ord. 3439 § 1, 2009)

Family Leave under the federal Family Medical Leave Act shall be granted in compliance with the implementing City policy. In general terms, Family Leave may be taken under the following circumstances.

a.For the birth of a child, child care, or care of a newborn of an employee;

b.The placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster care of a child;

c.Leave to care for a child, spouse, or parent (excludes parent-in-law) who has a serious health condition; or

d.Leave because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee’s position.

a. Coverage.The provisions of this Section shall apply to all full-time employees. Compensation of employees who are unable to observe such holidays shall be governed by Section 11.05 of these Rules. The compensation of other eligible employees for work performed on a City holiday shall also be set forth in Section 11.05.

The provisions of this Section shall also apply to all Regular Part-Time employees at a prorated rate of 75%.

If a holiday falls of a Regular Part-Time employee’s regular scheduled work day, and the employee does not work, the employee will receive 6 hours of holiday pay at their straight time base rate of pay. If an employee works on a holiday that is their scheduled work day, they shall receive the holiday compensation mentioned above, plus the employee shall be paid at their straight time base rate of pay for the number of hours worked.

If a holiday falls on a Regular Part-Time employee’s scheduled day off, and the employee does not work, the employee will receive 6 hours of accumulated holiday time in their leave bank. This is subject to the limitations described in Section 12.04.b.3. If an employee works on a holiday that falls on their regularly scheduled day off, the employee will receive holiday compensation as mentioned in this paragraph, plus the employee shall be paid at their straight time base rate of pay for the number of hours worked.

b. Holidays Observed.

1.The City shall observe the following holidays. The work status of employees on these days shall be provided in the appropriate memorandum of understanding.

a.First day of January (New Year’s Day)

b.Third Monday of January (Martin Luther King’s Birthday)

c.Third Monday in February (Washington’s Birthday/ President’s Day) Ord. 3273, 1/00

d.Last Monday in May (Memorial Day)

e.Nineteenth day of June (Juneteenth)

f.Fourth day of July (Independence Day)

g.First Monday in September (Labor Day)

h.Ninth day of September (Admission Day)

i.Eleventh day of November (Veteran’s Day)

j.Fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving Day)

k.Day following Thanksgiving Day

l.Twenty-fifth day of December (Christmas Day)

m.The employee’s last working day immediately preceding Christmas

n.The employee’s first working day immediately following Christmas

o.Every day appointed by the Governor of the State or the President of the United States as a memorial, public fast, thanksgiving or holiday when affirmed by the City Council.

2.When any of the aforementioned holidays falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as the holiday. When a holiday falls on a Saturday or other regularly scheduled day off, eight (8) hours of holiday time off shall be provided.

3.Holiday time off accrued under this Section shall be limited to 40 hours. Any time accumulated in excess of this limit shall be paid out at the employee’s base straight-time rate prevailing at the time of payment.

c. Floating Holiday.If the applicable memorandum of understanding provides, employees shall be eligible to receive a specified number of floating holidays per fiscal year. These days shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year and may be used at the employee’s discretion subject to prior approval by the department head. Floating holidays shall have no cash value. (Ord. 3665 § 3, 2023)

a.An employee who is called to serve as a juror shall be entitled to leave during the period of such service or while necessarily being present in court as the result of such a summons. Under these circumstances, the employee shall be paid full salary for this period and shall be allowed to retain all fees and reimbursements received for service as a juror.

b.An employee who is subpoenaed to appear in court as a result of official duties as a City employee shall be allowed to do so without loss of compensation. Any witness fees paid as required by law shall be submitted to the City if the employee is required to attend the legal proceeding in an official capacity. An employee subpoenaed to appear in court in a matter unrelated to official duties as a City employee shall be permitted to use accrued vacation, holiday, and/or compensatory time off.

c.Except as provided in an applicable memorandum of understanding, employees shall be required to return to work, where reasonable, upon release from their daily court duties for completion of their assigned work shift. “Reasonableness” shall be determined by the department head, or the department head’s designated representative.

a.Based upon medical evidence of disability, a pregnant employee shall be entitled to a reasonable period of disability leave of up to four (4) months in duration. This leave shall be paid subject to the availability of sick leave and salary continuation benefits. The actual duration and scheduling of the disability leave shall be based upon a doctor’s certification of disability. (Note: The period of four (4) months is a statutory maximum and the doctor’s certification may be for a period of shorter duration.) The City shall retain the right to have an employee examined by a physician of the City’s choice to substantiate the claim of disability or to determine fitness to return to employment.

b.Once the disability period has lapsed, the employee must return to work or face termination, unless additional leave is approved by both the department head and the City Manager or designee. This additional leave is totally discretionary, and the granting of such an extension to one person does not give any right to others for such an additional period of leave. Such leave may be paid or unpaid, depending on the availability of other leave banks, such as vacation time, accumulated holiday time, or compensatory time off which has accrued.

c.The employee shall, insofar as possible, notify the City of when the pregnancy disability leave will be taken, the dates of the leave period, and present a statement of disability from the physician to the City verifying the above period of disability.

Military leave shall be granted in accordance with the provisions of the State Military and Veterans Code. An employee requesting leave for this purpose shall provide the department head with a copy of the military orders specifying the dates, site and purpose of the activity or mission as soon as possible and prior to the actual taking of leave, when possible. Within the limits of such orders, the department head may determine when the leave is to be taken and may modify the employee’s work schedule to accommodate the request for leave.

a.Any eligible City employee who is a military reservist (or member of the National Guard) who is on an active duty short-term military leave (six months or less) or active duty long term military leave (over six months), shall receive supplemental salary for 180 calendar days within a continuous 24 month period. Supplemental salary shall be in addition to the first 30 calendar days of full City salary which is already provided once per fiscal year for each short-term military leave and long term military leave as required by State law. The City Manager may authorize additional supplemental salary from 181 days up to a maximum of 330 days within a continuous 24-month period if needed. Any supplemental salary beyond 330 days will require additional Council approval. Such supplemental salary shall be determined by subtracting the employee’s full military wages from the employee’s normal base City salary as further detailed below, in a similar pay period. Housing stipends provided by the military shall not be considered as military wages if the employee is required to maintain a second residence necessitated by the call to active duty.

An eligible employee, for purposes of receiving supplemental pay under this policy, shall be defined as an executive manager, regular full time or regular part-time City employee who completed one year of satisfactory service for the City prior to being called to active duty.

Base City salary, for purposes of this policy, shall be defined as base wages plus any of the following pay that the employee was receiving from the City at the time the employee was called to active duty:

-Education Incentive Pay

-Continuing Education Incentive Pay

-Premium Pay for the Position of Assistant Engineering Surveyor

-Premium Pay for the position of Associate Engineering Surveyor

-Management Incentive Pay

-Longevity Pay

-Special Assignment Differential Pay (as described in the Monterey Police Association Memorandum Of Understanding, Section 12)

-Bi-Lingual Pay

-Deferred compensation matching funds

In order for an employee to collect under this supplemental salary, the employee must submit paystubs from the military as proof of compensation as soon as possible, but in no event later than 45 days after activation. Employees may submit written estimates of military pay, as generated by the military initially, but the City must receive proof of pay within 45 days of activation, or the City will cease payment until receipt of such proof. (Ord. 3408, 2008; Ord. 3329, 2003)

a.Due to the unique aspects of the Executive and Management normal job duties, these employees shall receive Management Compensation Pay in the amount indicated in the appropriate Memorandum of Understanding, Resolution or Employment contract.

b.Management compensation pay will be paid on a semi-monthly basis as a percentage of the employee’s prevailing salary rate.

c.Management compensation pay will not be affected by any Management Unpaid Leave taken during the calendar year.

The City Manager or department head may place an employee in the Classified or Exempt Service on administrative leave where, in his/her judgment, such action would be in the best interests of the City service. This leave shall be with or without pay, as determined by the City Manager. Its application may include, but not be limited to, situations where an investigation is being conducted and disciplinary matters are pending.

a.The City Manager may grant an employee in the Classified or Exempt Service a leave of absence without pay for a definite period not to exceed three months, and may grant leaves of longer duration on approval of the City Council. Such leaves shall be without pay and shall not provide for the accumulation of seniority or benefit credits as provided below in Section e. Except as provided in Section e, an employee who is on leave without pay for a full calendar month shall not receive a City contribution towards medical, dental, optical and life insurance.

b.The request for leave, exact dates, and the reasons therefor, shall be submitted in writing to the department head who shall forward it to the Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07) with the department head’s recommendation. The Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07) shall forward the request to the City Manager with the Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07)’s recommendation. The City Manager’s approval or denial of such request shall be in writing with a copy to be provided the Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07) and department head.

c.On expiration of the approved leave, the employee shall be reinstated to the former position or to a comparable vacant position if the former position is abolished during the period of leave and the employee otherwise would not have been laid off. The City Manager may recall the employee from leave prior to its expiration should unforeseeable changes in operating requirements occur.

d.Failure on the employee’s part to return to work on the date originally scheduled or subsequently modified by mutual agreement shall be considered as a resignation.

e.Except as provided under State law for employees on military leaves of absence or federal law under the Family Medical Leave Act, employees on leaves of absence without pay shall not accrue service or leave credits, nor shall the City maintain contributions toward group insurance coverage. During the period of such leaves, all service and leave credits shall be retained at the levels existing as of the effective date of the leave.

a. Purpose.The purpose of this section is to provide a method for employees to assist fellow employees who have exhausted their leave time due to a catastrophic illness or injury of the employee or his or her immediate family member. It is not the intent of this section for any employee to enrich him or herself, but to aid only those employees that are truly in need of assistance. All eligible employees, as defined in Section 25-12.11(b)(1) are covered under this policy.

b. Definitions.

1.Eligible Employee – to be eligible to receive surrendered catastrophic leave the employee must meet all the following criteria:

a.Be an active full-time or regular part-time employee.

b.Have exhausted all leave balances and applied for leave without pay due to the catastrophic illness or injury of the employee or the employee’s immediate family member.

c.Have provided the required documentation to verify a catastrophic illness or injury of the employee, or the employee’s immediate family member.

d.Immediate family member includes a spouse, registered domestic partner, child, or parent. For purposes of this section, the definitions contained in Labor Code section 233 for “child” and “parent” shall apply.

2.Catastrophic Illness or Injury – a life threatening or debilitating illness or injury that is expected to incapacitate the employee, or an employee’s immediate family member that requires the employee to be absent from work, for an extended period of time and which creates a financial hardship because the employee has exhausted all of his or her accumulated leave. The illness or injury must be anticipated to extend for longer than sixty (60) calendar days in a twelve (12) month period, as certified by a medical doctor.

c. General.

1.Employees may surrender to the City of Monterey accrued vacation, holiday or compensatory time (but not sick leave) to be used by an approved eligible employee. Surrendered leave will be converted to sick leave and added to the approved eligible employee’s sick leave balance.

2.The recipient employee’s use of surrendered leave time must not cause the employee to receive compensation in excess of their gross regular pay. The recipient employee may receive compensation from the Salary Continuation Program, Workers’ Compensation, Long-term Disability, State Disability, Social Security, or other income replacement sources so long as money received does not exceed 100% of gross regular pay when combined with the donated leave pay. If a qualifying injury/illness is later found to be qualified industrial injury/illness, the recipient employee will be required to repay all money received under this program which would result in pay in excess of 100% of gross regular pay for the period in question. Any such excess will then be reimbursed as leave to the employees who originally surrendered the leave. The recipient employee may be required to sign an agreement prior to receipt of any funds under this program consenting to repayment pursuant to this policy, or consenting to a lien upon any Workers Compensation award as a condition of receipt of these funds.

3.The recipient employee must have exhausted all available leave time prior to using surrendered leave; however, the approval to receive surrendered leave may be made prior to the anticipated date leave balances will be exhausted. Prior to program participation, the recipient employee, recipient employee’s family, other person designated in writing by the recipient employee, or the recipient employee’s department head must submit a written request, using the “Catastrophic Leave Application Form.”

4.Medical verification, including work-related prognosis, must be provided by the recipient employee to the Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07). This verification must be signed by the treating physician. The recipient employee will be required to authorize the release of medical records to the treating physician or physician selected by the City for a second opinion to verify that the qualifying illness or injury is anticipated to extend for longer than sixty (60) days in any twelve (12) month period. The Human Resources Director (Ord 3385; 02/07) may consult with the treating physician(s) or other qualified medical providers and may require the employee to submit to a second opinion from a City designated physician to determine if an illness or injury is “catastrophic” as defined by this policy. The determination by the City designated physician of whether or not an illness or injury is catastrophic will be final and binding and not subject to grievance procedures. All information will remain confidential. The City may require periodic medical verification of the employee’s catastrophic illness or injury to determine continued eligibility for this program.

5.A recipient employee is eligible to receive a maximum of 1000 hours of surrendered leave time for the employee’s catastrophic illness or injury incident, and a maximum of 480 hours for an employee’s immediate family member’s catastrophic illness or injury incident; however, the initial receipt of leave time is limited to 100 hours. Once the recipient’s sick leave balance drops to 50 hours then an additional surrendered leave can be added to the recipient’s account up to the 100-hour limit.

6.Surrender of vacation, holiday and compensatory time are to be made as follows: two-hour minimum, additional amounts can be surrendered in one-hour increments. Once the leave surrender has been processed, it is irrevocable (subject to the exceptions found in Section 2 above and Section 10 below).

7.Surrendered leave time will be calculated on a dollar for dollar basis. The value of the surrendered time will be calculated at the surrendering employee’s regular rate of pay, then converted to hours of sick leave at the recipient’s regular rate of pay to the nearest hour to determine the number of hours of sick leave available to the recipient.

8.Names of participants and amounts of leave surrendered will be maintained as strictly confidential. Application to surrender leave will be done in writing using the attached “Confidential Leave Surrender Request Form.” This form will be picked up in the Personnel Office and submitted to the Personnel Office for processing. It may not be handed out or processed at the department level.

9.Unused sick leave hours remaining in the recipient’s leave bank when the recipient employee returns to work with the City will be retained by the recipient and will follow normal sick leave balance provisions of the applicable MOU and/or personnel rules.

10.If, however, the recipient employee separates from employment as a result of the illness or injury for which the donation was received instead of returning to work, any sick leave balance remaining will not be reportable to PERS under the sick leave service credit program and will not be payable to the employee or the employee’s estate. Such remaining sick leave balance will be transferred back on a pro-rata basis to the employee(s) who surrendered the leave as the original type of donated leave (i.e. vacation, compensatory time).

11.This is a voluntary program and no employee may be required to surrender leave.

12.Eligible employees who participate in this program and receive surrendered paid leave may be subject to the terms and requirements of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), other laws, leave policies, rules or regulations. This program is to run concurrently with other leave programs.

13.The City reserves the right to retire or separate an employee from service and/or take any other personnel action regardless of this policy or leave time balances held by an employee. (Ord. 3486 § 2, 2013; Ord. 3483 § 2, 2013; Ord. 3314, 2002)