Sierra County Municipal Code Ch. 3.09 Leave

A. Length of Service Required. Vacation leave may be used as accrued.

B. Time of Vacation Set by Appointing Authority. Department heads shall have full responsibility and discretion for setting vacation periods for all employees under their supervision. In doing so, they shall be guided by the good of the county service, the wishes of the individual employee, and the orderly conduct of the work of the department.

C. Vacation Use – Permanent Part-Time Employees. For permanent part-time classified employees, vacation may only be used on those days that are specified on their work schedule on file with the Auditor.

D. Effect of Illness on Vacation Usage. In the event of illness (one requiring hospitalization in excess of 10 days) or serious injury in a job-related manner (one which renders the employee unable to work for a period in excess of 30 days) which results in the employee being unable to utilize his or her vacation time during the calendar year of the catastrophic illness or serious job-related injury, the employee may, with the consent of his or her appointing authority, carry accrued vacation time in excess of the maximum otherwise permitted by the County Code for a period not to exceed 60 days into the subsequent calendar year.

E. Accrued Vacation upon Termination with County. Any employee, after satisfactory completion of probation and upon becoming a permanent full-time or permanent part-time employee, shall be entitled upon resignation or layoff to compensation in lieu of accrued vacation, payable at the salary rate on the last day of employment. Prior to satisfactory completion of probation, upon resignation or termination, such employee shall not be entitled to compensation for accrued vacation, if any.

F. Rate of Accrual. Vacation leave for permanent full-time and permanent part-time classified employees shall accrue as follows:

1. Day one through five years of continuous service: 0.0385 hours per hour;

2. Six through 10 years of continuous service: 0.0577 hours per hour;

3. Eleven through 15 years of continuous service: 0.0770 hours per hour;

4. Sixteen or more years of continuous service: 0.0962 hours per hour.

G. Maximum Vacation Accrual. Vacation leave may be accumulated and carried over from one calendar year to another up to the following limits:

1. Up to six years of continuous service: 160 hours;

2. Six through 10 years of continuous service: 200 hours;

3. Eleven through 15 years of continuous service: 240 hours;

4. Sixteen or more years of continuous service: 320 hours.

An employee whose vacation leave balance is at the above limits at the start of a calendar year shall not accrue further vacation leave until the leave balance is reduced below the cap on leave balance for the employee based on the employee’s length of service.

H. A department head or other supervisor of an employee may order an employee to leave work if the employee reasonably appears to be ill and is displaying symptoms that could spread his or her illness to other employees or members of the public. An employee ordered to leave work shall use his or her accrued sick leave or vacation leave or compensatory time off when absent from work due to any such illness; provided, however, if the employee does not have sufficient accrued leave balances or CTO, the employee shall be allowed to accrue a negative leave balance not to exceed 16 hours. Any such negative balance shall be offset against the subsequent accrual of any such leave and/or CTO prior to the employee gaining a positive balance in any such accounts.

If the employee disputes the need to be removed from the work place due to illness the employee shall promptly see a doctor to determine if the employee is ill and potentially contagious and a report shall be provided by the doctor to the county on a form to be provided by the county. If the doctor determines that the employee is not ill and potentially contagious then the county shall be responsible for the expense of the visit to the doctor.

I. An employee shall be entitled to a cash buy-out of any accrued and unused vacation time existing on the date of separation from service, calculated at their current rate of pay and payable on the last day of service. (Ord. 1104, eff. 11/4/21; Ord. 1028, eff. 1/6/11; Ord. 771, eff. 5/7/91; Ord. 491, eff. 3/17/77; Ord. 326, eff. 11/6/68; Ord. 216, eff. 8/21/57)

A. Eligibility. Permanent full-time and permanent part-time employees are eligible for sick leave with pay.

B. Eligibility – Permanent Part-Time Employees. Work schedules for permanent part-time employees shall be maintained on file with their department heads and with the Auditor’s Office. Such employees shall only be eligible for sick leave when time off occasioned by sickness at a time when the permanent part-time employee is otherwise scheduled to work by his or her appointing authority. An employee may not use sick or vacation leave to receive payment for a day or part of a day when the employee was not scheduled to work.

C. Rate of Accrual. Sick leave for permanent full-time or permanent part-time classified employees shall accrue at the rate of 0.0462 hours per hour worked.

1. Accrual: There shall be no limit on the accrual of sick leave for an employee.

2. Length of Service Required: Sick leave may be used as accrued.

D. Sick Leave Uses.

1. For illness, injury or routine medical or dental appointments of the employee, sick leave may be used in any reasonable amount.

2. For each death of a member of the immediate family, sick leave may be used in an amount not to exceed five days for each death per calendar year.

3. For illness, injury, routine medical or dental appointments for a member of the immediate family, sick leave may be used by an employee in any reasonable amount up to seven days per calendar year.

4. For permanent part-time classified employees, sick leave may only be used on those days that are specified on their work schedule on file with the Auditor.

E. Letter from Medical Officer. An employee shall notify such employee’s supervisor or their appointing authority as soon as possible that sick leave will be used. An employee taking more than three consecutive days of sick leave for injury or illness shall, at the request of their appointing authority, furnish the appointing authority a letter from a medical officer stating that the employee is not medically fit to return to work, which letter must include a prognosis and reasonable estimate of the date upon which the employee may return to work, if ever. Before returning to work after an absence of five or more consecutive work days, at the request of the employee’s appointing authority, the employee must furnish a letter from a medical officer stating that the employee is medically fit to return to work. If the absence from work for nonwork related injury or illness is greater than 20 cumulative work days within a 12-month period or seven consecutive work days within a 12-month period, the appointing authority may require the employee to be examined by a county-appointed medical doctor at county expense. In the event of any work-related injury, giving rise to a workers’ compensation claim for which the employee receives medical attention, the employee shall furnish a medical report from a medical officer giving an evaluation of the injury. Further, before returning to work after such work-related injury, the employee shall furnish the County Auditor and the employee’s appointing authority with a letter or report from a Medical Officer stating that the employee is medically fit to return to work. A medical officer means a duly California- or Nevada-licensed medical doctor, nurse practitioner, or such other medical personnel approved by the county.

F. Disability. An employee who is entitled to temporary disability indemnity under the Labor Code may elect to take as much of the accumulated sick leave or accumulated vacation leave after accumulated sick leave becomes exhausted as, when added to the disability indemnity, will result in a payment of the full salary or wage.

G. Sick Leave Incentive Plan. Any employee who has worked for the county for 15 years or more, upon retirement through PERS or death, shall be eligible to receive, payable to the employee, or their estate or designated beneficiary, a sum equal to 40 percent of their unused sick leave up to a maximum credit of 120 days of compensation computed on the basis of the hourly equivalent of such employee’s monthly salary as of the time of retirement or death.

H. Donation of Sick Leave for Catastrophic Use. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code relating to the accumulation and use of sick leave, a permanent employee shall, subject to the provisions below, be allowed to donate and transfer sick leave from his or her sick leave account to a blind catastrophic leave account for use by permanent county employees. Any such donation and use of transferred sick leave shall only be made subject to the following provisions:

1. The receiving employee must have exhausted all other leave balances, including sick and vacation leave and compensatory time and all time accrued while on leave; shall currently be on FMLA – CFRA and/or pregnancy leave and shall incur a minimum of five full days of unpaid leave immediately in advance of the time off for which the employee is requesting use of donated sick leave. A receiving employee must not be eligible for compensation for time off from work from any other source including without limitation, disability insurance.

2. The donating employee must have a minimum sick leave in his or her account following the donation of 120 hours. An employee may not make a donation of more than 40 hours within two months of his or her separation from county employment.

3. To qualify for use of donated/transferred of sick leave, a permanent employee must use of the leave for:

a. Leave to care for a child, parent, or spouse who has a serious health condition attested to by a physician licensed by the appropriate state board of medical examiners (“licensed physician”); or

b. Leave because of a serious health condition attested to by a licensed physician that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position;

c. Absences for a full day or days;

d. Absences for less than a full day as part of ongoing medical treatment or the phasing of the employee resuming work after a qualifying injury or illness which phasing plan should result in resuming of full duties within 90 days from the initial date of return. (Nothing herein is intended to require the county to accept an employee back to work if the employee is otherwise unable to perform the essential duties of his or her position.)

4. All donations will be made to a blind pool and shall not identify or specify an intended recipient. Donations are to be made in writing on a form to be provided by the County Auditor’s Office. Any donation, which fails to comply with the provisions of this section, will be rejected.

5. Use of the sick leave from the donated pool will be applied for on a pay period basis. All requests meeting the qualifications set forth above will be approved to the extent that the pool contains sufficient donations of sick leave. In the event that there are multiple requests and insufficient leave exists within the pool, the approval and allocation of the available sick leave will be made on a prorated basis, without regard to any other factors or considerations.

Except as may be required for accounting purposes the county shall attempt to keep confidential the identity of parties donating sick leave to the blind pool.

I. A department head or other supervisor of an employee may order an employee to leave work if the employee reasonably appears to be ill and is displaying symptoms that could spread his or her illness to other employees or members of the public. An employee ordered to leave work shall use his or her accrued sick leave or vacation leave or compensatory time off when absent from work due to any such illness; provided, however, if the employee does not have sufficient accrued leave balances or CTO, the employee shall be allowed to accrue a negative leave balance not to exceed 16 hours. Any such negative balance shall be offset against the subsequent accrual of any such leave and/or CTO prior to the employee gaining a positive balance in any such accounts.

If the employee disputes the need to be removed from the work place due to illness the employee shall promptly see a doctor to determine if the employee is ill and potentially contagious and a report shall be provided by the doctor to the county on a form to be provided by the county. If the doctor determines that the employee is not ill and potentially contagious, then the county shall be responsible for the expense of the visit to the doctor.

J. Any employee that is receiving workers’ compensation pending his or her return to employment shall have their compensatory time off, then sick leave, then vacation leave balances used as necessary to provide the employee with full compensation (at his or her normal rate of pay) during the period of time that the employee is off on workers’ compensation. The Auditor shall make automatic deductions from such CTO or leave balances so as to provide the employee with full compensation during any such pay period. (Ord. 1028, eff. 1/6/11)

A. The following days are designated as official county holidays:

January 1st (New Year’s Day)

Second Monday in February (Lincoln’s Birthday)

Third Monday in February (Washington’s Birthday)

Last Monday in May (Memorial Day)

July 4th (Independence Day)

First Monday in September (Labor Day)

September 9th (Admissions Day)

November 11th (Veterans Day)

Fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving Day)

Friday after Thanksgiving

December 24th (day before Christmas)

December 25th (Christmas Day)

B. Observance of Holiday Occurring on Weekend. All holidays occurring on a Saturday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. All holidays occurring on a Sunday shall be observed on the following Monday.

C. Christmas Eve Holiday. The December 24th holiday should be observed on the last working day prior to the day when the December 25th holiday is observed.

D. Except as to employees in the Sheriff’s Office (including the corrections officers, Deputy Sheriffs and administrative staff), permanent full-time employees working on a flex schedule (such as four 10-hour days per week) shall be entitled to 10 hours of pay when a holiday falls on a normally/customarily scheduled day of work for the employee. If a holiday falls on a noncustomary work day for the employee (when the employee would otherwise not be at work), the employee will not receive any compensation (or additional time off). If the employee is required to work on such noncustomary workday/holiday then such work shall be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay. Employees shall not be allowed to adjust their work schedules to change their regular work days in advance of any holiday. Permanent part-time employees will get a proportionate credit for holiday leave based on their percentage of FTE; i.e., a permanent part-time employee working at 50 percent of FTE will get a credit of four hours of holiday pay irrespective of whether the holiday falls on a day when the employee was scheduled to work or not. Each department head shall provide a schedule to the Auditor at the beginning of each month showing the days and hours to be worked by employees within their respective departments for the following month.

E. Full-time employees in the Sheriff’s Office (including the corrections officers, Deputy Sheriffs and administrative staff) shall receive eight hours of holiday pay for each holiday listed in subsection (A) of this section.

F. Permanent part-time employees will get a proportionate credit for holiday pay based on their percentage of FTE; i.e., a permanent part-time employee working at 50 percent of FTE will get a credit of four hours of holiday pay irrespective of whether the holiday falls on a day when the employee was scheduled to work or not. Each department head shall provide a schedule to the Auditor at the beginning of each month showing the days and hours to be worked by employees within their respective departments for the following month. (Ord. 1046, eff. 8/3/13)

A. Leave of Absence Without Pay. A leave of absence without pay is a period approved in advance pursuant to this chapter during which an employee is not required to work and is not paid. If an employee is absent from work without approval such employee may be disciplined pursuant to this title. An employee may only take a leave of absence without pay if such employee has no compensatory time, or vacation time available for use.

B. Eligibility for Leave of Absence Without Pay. Any permanent full-time or permanent part-time employee may be granted a leave of absence without pay, pursuant to the following provisions.

C. Approval Required for Leave of Absence Without Pay.

1. The appointing authority may grant an employee a leave of absence without pay not to exceed 30 days per year.

2. The Board of Supervisors may grant a department head a leave of absence without pay of any duration.

3. The Board of Supervisors may grant an employee a leave of absence without pay of more than 30 consecutive calendar days.

D. Employment Terms During Leave of Absence Without Pay. During any leave of absence without pay, the employee shall not accrue any sick leave or vacation leave or receive any holiday pay. The employee’s anniversary date for the purpose of eligibility for step or merit increases and the accrual of leave and other benefits and probation period, if applicable, shall be extended to reflect the cumulative leave of absence without pay. The county and the employee shall each pay their respective shares of group insurance premiums for any leave of absence of up to 30 consecutive days. Unless otherwise expressly provided for in this title or in the most current memorandum of understanding with the employee’s bargaining unit, the employee shall pay both the county and the employee’s shares of all health and life insurance premiums for that portion of any leave of absence in excess of 30 consecutive days.

E. Administrative Leave Computation Policy. For good legal cause, the appointing authority with the concurrence of the County Personnel Director and/or County Counsel may place an employee on administrative leave with pay. During such period, the employee shall receive full compensation, benefits and accruals. Upon being given written notice (or verbal notice confirmed in writing) of being placed on administrative leave which shall, if reasonably possible, be made prior to the effective date of the leave, the employee shall not attend his or her county employment. Administrative leave shall not be construed as disciplinary action. The appointing authority shall initiate any administrative leave action.

F. Leave Policy for Volunteer Emergency Response Personnel. County employees who are members in good standing of volunteer emergency response organizations within Sierra County which are pre-designated by the appointing authority, including volunteer fire departments, search and rescue, emergency medical technicians, and ambulance crews, may be granted up to one working day per month of leave to respond to bona fide emergencies within the county. Such leave shall be compensated at the employee’s normal wage and benefit rate, provided the employee receives no compensation from the emergency service. If the employee receives compensation from the emergency service, such amount may be deducted from the employee’s county compensation.

A. Department heads may authorize the use of up to five days of earned sick leave to an employee attending or making arrangements for the funeral of an “immediate family” member.

B. Authorization shall be in conformance with the provisions of SCC 3.09.020. Where insufficient sick leave is available to the employee for this purpose, compensatory leave and/or vacation leave may be granted. Where sufficient leave of this nature is unavailable, leave without pay may be granted in accordance with the provisions of SCC 3.09.040.

C. For the purposes of this section, “immediate family” shall mean the employee’s spouse, child, parent, sister, brother, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, or any other person living in the employee’s household or primarily supported by the employee.

A. An employee required to serve as a member of a jury panel or as a witness of the court shall be granted leave with pay upon the remittance to the county of jury or witness fees or upon the submission of evidence that such fees were waived.

B. Where court duty is in the same town that an employee normally reports to work, no mileage payment shall be authorized. Where the employee is required to travel to another locale, travel reimbursement shall be authorized at court rate and authorized by the court.

C. When an employee elects to use vacation or compensatory time instead of court leave, the jury or witness fees may be retained.

Every employee shall be entitled to such leave of absence with pay and other benefits as are provided in the Military and Veterans Code §395 et seq.

A. Maternity leave of up to four months without pay shall be granted to any employee consistent with federal law and California Pregnancy Disability Leave Act.

B. During any period of approved leave under this policy, an employee’s group health insurance coverage will be maintained at the same level and under the same conditions as before the leave began. For part-time employees, the coverage will be computed on an average of the previous 12-month period.

1. Employees who normally make a contribution toward their health insurance coverage must continue to do so. If on paid leave, the employee’s contribution will be collected in the same manner as if the employee were reporting to work. During periods of unpaid leave, the employee must make payment arrangements with the Auditor’s Office, prior to commencement of the leave, for the payment of the employee’s share of the insurance premium.

2. An employee who does not return to duty from an unpaid leave under this policy will be liable for the county’s group health insurance premium contribution and any part of the employee’s share paid by the county during the unpaid leave, unless the failure to return to duty is caused by continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition that would entitle the employee to leave under this policy, or for circumstances beyond the employee’s control. Where recovery of premiums is permitted, the county shall be entitled to offset the amount against any final pay or monetary benefit to which the employee would otherwise be entitled.

3. Employees will not accrue other benefits (i.e., sick leave, vacation, holidays, seniority for the purposes of grade or longevity steps) while in an unpaid leave status, including seniority rights, unless these benefits are authorized by an applicable employee bargaining agreement, County Code provision, or any other applicable ordinance or statute.

C. Employees taking leave under this section may take leave intermittently upon production of a health care provider’s certification. To the extent possible, such certification should provide the dates and duration any treatment and leave is expected. Employees using leave on an intermittent basis must try to schedule the leave to minimize disruption to normal operations. An employee may be reassigned to an alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates the recurring periods of leave.

D. Employees who anticipate taking California Pregnancy Disability Leave must provide as much advance notice to the department as may be practicable under the circumstances surrounding the health condition.

E. Required Certifications. Failure to provide the required health care medical certifications may result in denial or postponement of the leave or request for leave. The county may request, at the county’s expense, that an employee submit a second opinion from a health care provider designated and approved by the county. The county may require an employee to obtain subsequent medical re-certification, on a reasonable basis, as a requirement for continued leave approval. An employee who has been on leave for California Pregnancy Disability will be required to present a certification of fitness for duty from a health care provider prior to commencement of work.

A. General Purpose. This policy describes the circumstances and conditions under which an employee may take family care and medical leave in accordance with the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (hereinafter FMLA). The policy is applicable to all county departments, and provides a uniform procedure for processing requests for leaves available under the FMLA to all eligible county employees. It is separate and distinct from any other leave policies, procedures, or employee bargaining agreement provisions that are available to Sierra County employees.

B. General Application. The FMLA leave policy will not diminish the county’s obligation to comply with any employee bargaining agreement, county policy, or benefits plan that provides the greatest benefit to the employee. This policy will supplement leaves available to employees through employee bargaining agreements, or other county leave policies, and will represent the county’s policy and guide for applying FMLA leaves when employee bargaining agreements, county policies, and state leave laws are silent or less generous than the leaves available under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act. This policy will be made available and shall apply equally to both male and female employees.

C. Available Leave. Eligible employees are entitled to take a maximum of 12 work weeks of leave during a 12-month period. The 12-month period shall begin on the first day that leave is taken. FMLA leave may be used for any of the following purposes:

1. Child Care Leave. Child care leave can be taken by an employee for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child in order to care for the child.

a. Child care leave must be concluded within 12 months from the date of the birth, adoption, or foster care placement. Foster care must require state action, rather than just an informal arrangement to take care of another person’s child.

b. Child care leave may be taken intermittently if approved by the respective appointing authority. If approved, such leave may be taken in increments of eight hours or more.

c. In cases where both parents of a child are employed by the county, both parents will not be granted leave concurrently, nor in amounts totaling more than four months combined leave in a 24-month period for both parents.

d. In order to provide departments sufficient time to accommodate requests for leave, employees who foresee taking leave for FMLA child care purposes are encouraged to provide notice at least 30 days prior to the date leave is anticipated to begin, or such notice as may be practicable if leave becomes necessary before a 30-day notice can be given. FMLA child care leaves will not be denied, but may be temporarily delayed if reasonable advance notice is not provided to the respective department.

2. Family Care Leave. Family care leave can be taken by an eligible employee for care of a family member (spouse, son, daughter, or parent) who has a serious health condition.

a. For purposes of FMLA leave, a “family member” is defined as:

i. The employee’s spouse as defined in California Family Code Section 300;

ii. A child (under the age of 18) who may be biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, legal ward, or one for whom the employee has day-to-day care and financial responsibilities;

iii. A child (over the age of 18) who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability;

iv. An employee’s parent means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or a person who acted in place of a parent (i.e., in local parents) in relation to an employee when the employee was a child. A county department head, or the Administrative Director, may request that an employee requesting FMLA leave submit proof of a parental relationship.

b. A “serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which involves either:

i. Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or

ii. Continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider of more than three calendar days; or

iii. Continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider for a chronic or long term health condition that is incurable or so serious that, if not treated, would likely result in incapacity for more than three calendar days; or for prenatal care.

c. Employees requesting leave under family care must present a certification from a health care provider containing the date on which the serious health condition commenced, the probable duration of the condition, a statement that the employee is needed to care for the family member, and an estimate of the amount of time such care will be required.

d. Employees taking leave under family care may take leave intermittently upon production of a health care provider’s certification that the intermittent leave is necessary for, or will assist, the care of the family member. To the extent possible, such certification should provide the dates and duration any treatment and leave is expected. Employees using leave on an intermittent basis must try to schedule the leave to minimize disruption to normal operations. An employee may be reassigned to an alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates the recurring periods of leave.

e. Employees who anticipate taking family care leave to care for a seriously ill family member must provide as much advance notice to the department as may be practicable under the circumstances surrounding the health condition. FMLA family care leaves will not be denied, but may be temporarily delayed if reasonable advance notices, or required medical certifications, are not provided to the appointing authority.

3. Self-Care. Self-care leave can be taken when an employee is unable to perform the essential functions of the position that the employee holds because of a serious health condition.

a. Employees seeking leave for self-care must have a serious health condition, as defined by subsection (C)(2)(b) of this section.

b. Employees requesting leave under self-care must provide a certification from a health care provider containing the date the serious health condition commenced, the probable duration of the condition, and a statement that the employee is unable to perform the essential functions of the position. Employees seeking the certification must provide the health care provider with the county’s written job description and/or list of essential functions of the position.

c. Employees taking leave under self-care may take the leave intermittently upon production of a health care provider’s certification that the intermittent leave is medically necessary. The certification must indicate, if possible, the expected duration of the leave. Employees who elect to use the available leave on an intermittent basis must try to schedule this leave in a way to minimize disruption to normal operations when possible. An employee may be reassigned temporarily to an available alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodate the recurring periods of leave.

d. Employees who anticipate taking self care leave for a serious leave condition are encouraged to provide as much advanced notice to the Administrative Director as may be practicable under the circumstances surrounding the health condition.

4. Required Certifications. Failure to provide the required health care medical certifications may result in denial or postponement of the leave or request for leave. The county may request, at the county’s expense, that an employee submit a second opinion from a health care provider designated and approved by the county. The county may require an employee to obtain subsequent medical recertification, on a reasonable basis, as a requirement for continued leave approval. An employee who has been on leave for self care will be required to present a certification of fitness for duty from a health care provider prior to commencement of work.

D. Leave Calculation.

1. An employee is eligible for FMLA leave if all of the following criteria are met:

a. The employee has been employed by Sierra County for at least 12 months; and

b. The employee has been employed for at least 1,250 hours during the immediately preceding 12-month period; and

2. The 12-month period for FMLA eligibility begins with the date of first absence qualifying for FMLA leave, and rolls forwards from that date. FMLA leave may be taken in either a block form or on an incremental basis.

3. When calculating the eligible leave, the calculation will be based on actual hours worked during the previous 12-month period. In other words, this calculation will not include any paid time off, such as vacation, sick leave, compensatory time off, or holiday leave.

E. Use of Accrued Paid Leave While on FMLA Leave. The employee shall be required to also use sick leave, vacation, and compensatory time off (CTO) while on FMLA leave; except that employees shall have the option of retaining up to 40 hours of accrued vacation leave and up to 80 hours of accrued sick leave on the books.

F. Benefits While on Leave. Subject to the following requirements and restrictions, during any period of approved leave under this section, an employee’s group health insurance coverage will be maintained at the same level and under the same conditions as before the leave began. For part-time employees, the coverage will be computed on an average of the previous 12-month period.

1. Employees who normally make a contribution toward their health insurance coverage must continue to do so. If on paid leave, the employee’s contribution will be collected in the same manner as if the employee were reporting to work with appropriate deductions being made from the employee’s paycheck. During periods of unpaid leave, the employee must make payment arrangements with the Auditor’s Office, prior to commencement of the leave, for the payment of the employee’s share of the insurance premium. If an employee fails to make payment for his or her share of the medical insurance for more than 60 days, the county shall be entitled to drop the employee from the health insurance plan/coverage.

2. An employee who does not return to duty from an unpaid leave under this policy will be liable for the county’s group health insurance premium contribution and any part of the employee’s share paid by the county during the unpaid leave, unless the failure to return to duty is caused by continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition that would entitle the employee to leave under this policy, or for circumstances beyond the employee’s control. Where recovery of premiums is permitted, the county shall be entitled to offset the amount against any final pay or monetary benefit to which the employee would otherwise be entitled.

3. Employees will not accrue other benefits (i.e., sick leave, vacation, holidays, seniority for the purposes of grade or longevity steps) while in an unpaid leave status, including seniority rights, unless these benefits are authorized by an applicable employee bargaining agreement, County Code provision, or any other applicable ordinance or statute.

G. Return to Duty. Upon return to duty, an employee who has been on leave is entitled to restoration to the former position, or if that is not possible, to an equivalent position with equivalent pay and benefits.

An employee who has taken leave for self care will be required to present a certification of fitness for duty from a health care provider prior to commencement of work. Failure to provide the certification may cause denial of reinstatement.

H. Role of Auditing Department. The Auditing Department will be responsible for ensuring that this leave policy is uniformly and equitably applied throughout all county departments. The Personnel Department will provide information and assistance to county departments when reviewing employee leave requests for FMLA leaves. All requests for FMLA, required medical certifications, and related information will be submitted by departments and reviewed by the Auditor who will decide if the request for leave meets the leave requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act and this policy. Leaves meeting the requirements of the Act will be approved for processing by the Auditor.

I. Forms. All applicable FMLA forms are available from the Auditing Department and may be obtained upon request. Forms include:

1. Family and medical leave request form;

2. Family medical certification form;

3. Your rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

J. Complaint Procedure. Any employee who receives a denial of a request for FMLA leave by a county department head may appeal the matter to the Auditor. Final authority to approve or deny a leave for FMLA reasons will rest with the Auditor.

A. The Personnel Director, with the cooperation of the County Auditor-Controller, shall establish such procedures and maintain such records as are necessary to administer the provisions of this chapter.

B. Where the provisions of this section conflict with presently existing memorandums of understanding with particular bargaining units, the presently existing memorandums shall supersede and take precedence.