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HomeMy WebLinkAbout112.001 - Sick Leave (Units 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 13, and 14) ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL SICK LEAVE USAGE AND REPORTING 112.001 SICK LEAVE (UNITS 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 13, AND 14) EFFECTIVE: JUNE 2011 Current Revision Date: 9/5/19 Next Revision Date: 9/5/22 Author’s Name/Rank: Timothy J. Fulmer, Administrative Battalion Chief Review Level: 1 Administrative Support: Sherrie L. Badertscher, Management Analyst II PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to provide Units 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 13, and 14 members with clarification of the City of Fresno (City) and Fresno Fire Department (Department or FFD) policies and guidelines regarding sick leave usage and to establish uniformity in the method of reviewing member sick leave usage APPLICATION In keeping with the Department goals and expectations, the following sick leave policy applies to Units 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 13, and 14 members and should improve consistency of practices within the Department. The goal is to effectively manage and set acceptable limits of sick leave usage by providing follow-up procedures, as needed, and progressive corrective action as defined in Administrative Order 2-20, Sick Leave Policy (AO 2-20) and Administrative Order 2-14, Guide to Corrective Action (AO 2-14). OPERATIONAL POLICY It is the policy of the Department to administer sick leave usage in accordance with AO 2-20 and the appropriate labor agreements. In the event of any conflict in City policy, the departmental policies shall apply. Where Department policy does not address specific issues, the Fresno Municipal Code and City’s Administrative Order policies, procedures, rules, and regulations concerning sick leave usage shall apply. 1. Annual Review Procedure: The Department will conduct annual sick leave reviews. If a member has exceeded the allowable adjusted hours or established a pattern of abuse (such as use of sick leave on weekends, days prior to or after a vacation, shift trade obligations, etc.), a supervisor or division manager is to conduct a counseling session with the member on sick leave usage. According to AO 2- 20 the acceptable limit by the City for sick leave usage is 8 days or 64 hours Section 112.001 Page 1 of 7 per fiscal year. For members who work on a 4/10 schedule, the limit is 8 days or 80 hours per fiscal year. For members who work a 56 hour schedule, the limit is 96 hours per fiscal year. AO 2-20 further specifies records of counseling will be kept by the division manager or his/her designee and will not be placed in the member’s personnel files. Once the member has been counseled, his/her sick leave usage will be reviewed on a quarterly basis, with the next review to take place three (3) months after the initial counseling session. 2. Quarterly Review Procedure: Under the quarterly review procedure, and as defined by AO 2-20, the 56- hour member may use a maximum of 24 hours of sick leave in the three- month period following initial counseling (16 hours for 5/8 employees and 20 hours for 4/10 members). If a member’s sick leave usage does not exceed the quarterly review hours listed above, no further action will be taken. If a member’s sick leave usage exceeds the quarterly review hours an Administrative Manual, Section 106.146, Letter of Understanding (FD-84) will be issued informing the member of a medical practitioner’s statement requirement. The member will be required to provide written verification, from the medical practitioner, for all sick leave usage in the following three-month period. Sick leave usage will be reviewed at the next quarterly review. If a member’s sick leave usage does not exceed the quarterly review hours following the requirement for a medical practitioners excuse, the requirement will cease and no further action will be taken. If an employee's usage remains within the limit for a 24-month period following removal from the physician's medical practitioner’s verification requirement, or initial counseling session, the first step for any future action will be counseling. If an employee's sick/annual leave usage continues to be excessive, progressive corrective action as defined in AO 2-14 may be taken, up to and including suspension or dismissal. Before progressive corrective action is taken, an employee's sick/annual leave usage over their City career will be considered in determining the appropriateness of discipline. Section 112.001 Page 2 of 7 OPERATIONAL GUIDELINE This section intentionally left blank. PROCESS Entry of Sick Leave in TeleStaff: Members are to be guided by Administrative Manual, Section 101.005, Leave Usage and Approval, for entries made in TeleStaff. Note: Each member is responsible for ensuring his/her hours are accurately entered in TeleStaff. Any changes to TeleStaff entries are to be completed by a battalion chief or the administrative division staff in order to eliminate missed or inaccurate entries, which may be added after TeleStaff is uploaded to PeopleSoft. Per Administrative Order 2-19, Leave of Absences, all leave requests are to be submitted 48 hours in advance of leave date, with the following exceptions: In the event of an emergency In the event of an injury or illness As defined in the respective individual MOU As defined in the Administrative Manual, Section 101.002, Constant Staffing Policy Medical Practitioner’s Statement for Sick Leave Usage: If members receive a medical practitioner’s statement for a sick leave occurrence, the statement should be sent electronically to the health and wellness officer at Fire- healthandwellness@fresno.gov and fire payroll at Fire.Payroll@fresno.gov when they return to full duty. Members are encouraged to retain a copy of the statement for future reference. Section 112.001 Page 3 of 7 INFORMATION 1. Exempt Hours: During the annual sick leave review, reports from TeleStaff and an individual’s calendar are reviewed to determine how many hours of sick leave were exempt, in accordance with AO 2-20, Procedures, (2) (a-g). During the annual review, any written physician statements will be accepted by the Department as an exemption for those specific hours. (This applies only to the annual review and not those under quarterly review.) 2. Protected Sick Leave: Employees are allowed to use in any calendar year, the accrued and available sick leave entitlement in an amount not less than the sick leave that would be accrued during six months at the member’s current rate of entitlement per fiscal year for Protected Sick Leave. Protected Leave may be used only for those purposes defined in the California Labor Code, Article 1, Section 233, General Occupations. (Refer to the appropriate MOU for accruals respective to each unit.) 3. Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families: The first three (3) days of sick leave used by an employee on or after July 1st of each fiscal year will be considered leave taken under Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 (Assembly Bill No. 1522 [AB 1522]), and will not be subject to corrective and/or disciplinary action. These days can be used for the following: Diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee. Diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of a “Family member” which means any of the following: o A child, which for purposes of this article means a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. This definition of a child is applicable regardless of age or dependency status. o A biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or the employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child. o A spouse Section 112.001 Page 4 of 7 o A registered domestic partner o A grandparent o A grandchild o A sibling For an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the purposes described in the California Labor Code, Article 1, Section 230.1(a), General Occupations. After the employee has taken the first three days of sick leave on or after July 1st of each year, the provisions regarding AB 1522 will not be applicable. Employees who terminate City employment and return within one (1) year of such termination will be entitled to reinstatement of their sick leave balances at the time of termination from City employment, up to a total of 48 hours. The City shall not deny a Department member the right to use sick leave or discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against a member for using, or attempting to exercise the right to use, sick leave to attend to an illness of a child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner of the member up to a total of 72 hours as defined in the prior paragraph. Childcare is not covered under the California Labor Code, and family sick leave is not authorized for childcare. 4. Child Birth: Family sick leave can be used by the member to be present at the birth of a child if a written physician statement is provided for a specific amount of time, not to exceed 72 hours for the fiscal year. In adherence to the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the Department will allow the member to bond with the child for a maximum of 12 weeks after birth. The member may use any and all holiday leave accrued. If the member has exhausted the current year’s holiday leave, a special request for other types of leave to be used may be made to the Fire Chief or designee. If the child or mother has health issues and a written physician’s statement requires the presence of the member for an extended period of time, and the family sick leave has been exhausted, the member can apply for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protection and approval to use other types of leave for up to 12 weeks. Section 112.001 Page 5 of 7 5. Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): A Department member on leave (or planning to take leave) for a serious health condition (or to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition) may apply for protection under FMLA. FMLA ensures employees who are off work on qualifying medical leave are afforded employment protections. It also allows for a member who exhausts all leave balances and is on leave-without-pay status, to continue his/her health and pension benefits for the duration of his/her FMLA. To qualify for FMLA, members must have been employed with the City for at least one (1) year and must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the preceding year. The request for FMLA should be submitted within two (2) days of returning to work. FMLA is reviewed and approved by the City’s Risk Management Division. FMLA provides protection of the paid or unpaid leave status of a member for up to 12 weeks (total for the fiscal year). If all leave accruals have been exhausted and the member still cannot return to work, per his/her doctor, the member may continue to be off work without pay for the remainder of the 12 weeks. FMLA allows members to use leave to care for a military service member with a serious injury or illness if the military service member is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of the member. When an immediate family member is on active duty in the National Guard or Reserves, up to 12 weeks of FMLA protected leave may be used for certain qualifying exigencies (i.e., attendance at certain military events, arranging for alternative child care, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, etc.). DEFINITIONS This section intentionally left blank. CROSS-REFERENCES Administrative Manual Section 101.002, Constant Staffing Policy Section 101.005, Leave Usage and Approval Section 106.146, Letter of Understanding (FD-84) Section 111.001, Corrective Action Section 112.001 Page 6 of 7 Administrative Order 2-14, Guide to Corrective Action 2-19, Leave of Absences 2-20, Sick Leave Policy California Labor Code Section 203.1, General Occupations Section 233, General Occupations California Family Rights Act Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 Fresno Municipal Code Chapter 3 – City Personnel Assembly Bill No. 1522, Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act of 2014 Memoranda of Understanding Unit 1 – Non-Supervisory Blue Collar Unit 3 – Non-Supervisory White Collar Unit 5 – Non-Management Fire Unit 10 – Fire Management Unit 13 – Non-Management Confidential, Non-Confidential Management Unit 14 – Management Classes Section 112.001 Page 7 of 7