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G-10-02-25-9C1 - 2/25/2010ORDINANCE NO. �� CU'iYL'ZrJ' "K) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 4.05 SICK LEAVE, 4.06 FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) AND 4.07 EMERGENCY LEAVE OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL AND ADDING SECTION 4.11 CATASTROPHIC LEAVE POOL; AND PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS: I . That Section 4.05 of the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual of the City of Round Rock, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: 4.05 SICK LEAVE PURPOSE To provide guidelines related to the use of sick leave. POLICY Regular full-time and part-time employees who are normally scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week are eligible to accrue and use paid sick leave Sick leave entitlement will accrue the first and second pay period for each month provided that the full-time employee works at least 40 hours or the part-time employee works at least 20 hours during the pay period or is on paid leave. Regular full-time non -firefighting employees accrue 8 hours of sick leave per month. There is no maximum accrual limit. Regular part-time employees who are normally scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week accrue sick leave at a prorated rate. Former employees who are re-employed within one year of leaving the City will have 50% of their sick leave balance restored. SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL FOR NON -CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL AND USAGE FOR CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES Regular full-time firefighting employees accrue 15 hours per month, with no maximum accrual limit. Civil Service employees who use sick leave shall first use sick leave accrued under Sec 143.045. If the employee exhaust all of his/her 143.045 sick leave, then the employee shall next use sick accrued after January 1, 1994 but before October 30, 2001, If the employee exhaust all of these sick leaves, then the employee shall use sick bank leave accrued before January 1, 1994, if any. O:\wdox\SCClnts\0112\1005\MUNICIPAL\00183180.DOC/scl USE OF SICK An employee may use sick leave if the employee is absent from work due to LEAVE • illness or temporary disability due to sickness, injury or pregnancy and confinement; • an appointment with a doctor (including general physicians, dentists, obstetricians, or other licensed medical specialists); • legal or doctor ordered quarantine; or • illness of a member of the employee's immediate family who requires the employee's personal care and attention. Sick leave for immediate family members not residing in the employee's household is limited to time necessary to provide care and assistance. Immediate family includes: spouse, child, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, or son-in-law of the employee who needs care and assistance as a direct result of a documented medical condition. Employees using sick leave are charged with the actual number of hours taken. Use of sick leave for less than a full workday should be recorded in increments of 15 minutes. CONSECUTIVE Sick leave taken for three or more consecutive days may be subject to the Family DAYS OF SICK and Medical Leave Act. LEAVE ABUSE OF SICK LEAVE An employee must provide his or her supervisor with a doctor's certificate to return to work. All other relevant medical information or documents shall be submitted to Human Resources. The City recognizes that absence because of illness can be unavoidable but encourages employees to accumulate a reasonable sick leave balance for use in the event of a serious or long-term illness. Evidence of abuse of leave privileges can include, but is not limited to: • frequent absences on Friday and/or Monday; • maintaining low or zero paid leave balances; and/or • frequent absences prior to or following a holiday. A doctor's statement may be required for each incident of sick leave taken. A supervisor may ask for a doctor's statement regardless of the number of days absent or the frequency of absence. ILLNESS WHILE When an illness or physical incapacity occurs during the time an employee is on ON VACATION vacation leave, accrued sick leave may be granted to cover the period of illness LEAVE or incapacity and the charge against vacation leave reduced proportionately. A medical statement must be presented to the employee's supervisor to be eligible for adjusted leave. SICK LEAVE Employees may donate sick leave to the Catastrophic Leave Pool. Donations are DONATIONS strictly voluntarily and are at the discretion of the employee. All donations are irrevocable. EXHAUSTED An employee who has exhausted his or her sick leave (and, for applicable LEAVE employees, who has exhausted his or her Sick Bank leave) will automatically be placed on vacation leave if (1) the employee has vacation leave available; and (2) 2 the employee has not requested a temporary leave of absence without pay. No advance of unearned sick leave benefits will be made for any reason. Qualifying employees may request leave from the Catastrophic Leave Pool. SEPARATION Unused sick leave accrued after January 1, 1994 by non -Civil Service employees FROM is lost without compensation upon termination of employment. EMPLOYMENT Civil Service fire fighters who leave the classified service for any reason are entitled to receive in a lump -sum payment the full amount of their firefighter's salary for accumulated sick leave not to exceed 90 days. Sick Leave Bank -Employees employed, prior to January 1, 1994 who have banked sick leave will receive payment of the qualifying portion based on his or her hourly wage at the time the bank was created. RELATED 1.08 Re-employment POLICIES AND 3.02 Time Reporting PROCEDURES 4.06 Family and Medical Leave 4.11 Catastrophic Leave Pool 10.00 Separation City Portal - Catastrophic Leave Pool Application Process City Portal — Catastrophic Leave Pool Donation Process EFFECTIVE November 9, 2000 DATE Revised November 20, 2001 Revised March 24, 2004 Revised , 2010 II. That Section 4.06 of the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual of the City of Round Rock, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: 4.06 FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) PURPOSE To explain the provisions of leave under the FMLA. POLICY Consistent with FMLA guidelines, the City of Round Rock will provide paid or unpaid leave for a FMLA qualifying event. ENTITILEMENT TO To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for the City for LEAVE 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately before the date when the leave is requested to begin. (The 12 months need not have been consecutive). An eligible employee is entitled to 12 workweeks of paid or unpaid leave during any 12 -month period for the following purposes: (1) birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order to care for 3 such son or daughter; (2) placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care; (3) in order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee if such spouse, son, daughter or parent has a serious health condition; (4) a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee; or (5) due to any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation. An eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of a covered servicemember is entitled to 26 workweeks of paid or unpaid leave during a single 12 -month period to care for the servicemember. DEFINITIONS The FMLA provides the following definitions: • "Son or daughter" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in the place of a parent. The child must be under 18 years of age or an individual 18 years of age or older who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability. • "Spouse" means a husband or wife as defined or recognized under state law for purposes of marriage, including common law marriage. • "Parent" means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who who was the employee's legal guardian. • "Covered servicemember" means a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness. "Outpatient Status" with respect to a covered servicemember, means status of a member of the Armed Forces assigned to — (A) a military medical treatment facility as an outpatient; or (B) a unit established for the purpose of providing command and control of members of the Armed Forces receiving medical care as outpatients. • "Next of kin" used with respect to an individual, means the nearest blood relative of that individual. • "Serious injury or illness" in the case of a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, means an injury or 4 CALCULATION OF TWELVE MONTH PERIOD CERTIFICATION OF FMLA QUALIFYING EVENT /REQUIRED NOTICES illness incurred by the member in line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces that may render the member medically unfit to perform the duties of the member's office, grade, rank, or rating. • "Serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves: (A) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or (B) continuing treatment by a health care provider. The 12 -month period is measured starting from the date any employee's first FMLA leave begins. Subsequent qualifying periods for FMLA leave are measured from the end of the previous FMLA event. An employee requesting leave (a) in order to care for the employee's spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition; (b) because the employee has a serious health condition; or (c) in order to care for a covered servicemember must submit a certification issued by the health care provider of the person with the serious health condition to the Human Resources Department. The certification must state: (1) the date on which the serious health condition commenced; (2) the probable duration of the condition; (3) the appropriate medical facts regarding the condition; (4) if appropriate, a statement that the employee is needed to care for the spouse, son, daughter or parent and an estimate of the amount of time that the employee is needed; and (5) if appropriate, a statement that the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position. An employee requesting leave because of a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation, must submit a certification issued as prescribed by the Secretary of Labor. In the case of leave for birth or placement of a son or daughter, an employee must provide not less than 30 days notice before the date the leave is to begin. If the date of the birth or placement requires leave to begin in less than 30 days, the employee must provide such notice as is practicable, usually within one or two business days of the date the employee is aware of the need to request leave. In the case of leave to care for the spouse or a son, daughter or parent who has a serious health condition, to care for a covered servicemember or if the 5 SECOND, THIRD OPINIONS employee has a serious health condition, if the necessity of such leave is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employee shall: (1) make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the operations of the City, subject to the approval of the health care provider; and (2) provide the Human Resources Department with notice of the employee's intentions to take leave not Tess than 30 days notice before the date the leave is to begin. If the date of the treatment requires leave to begin in less than 30 days, the employee shall provide such notice as is practicable. In the case of leave because of a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation, if the necessity of such leave is foreseeable, the employee shall provide such notice to the Human Resources Department as is reasonable and practicable. An employee on FMLA leave should maintain contact with the appropriate Department Director to report on his or her status. The City may also require subsequent re -certifications as reasonably needed. The City may require a second opinion from a health care provider as to the need for and scheduling of FMLA leave. The second opinion, if sought and obtained by the City, will be paid for by the City and will be obtained from an independent health care provider designated or approved by the City. If the second opinion conflicts with the original opinion, a third opinion is necessary, and this opinion is final. The third opinion will be paid for by the City and will be obtained from an independent health care provider designated or approved jointly by the employee and the City. LEAVE Although City policy does allow for the use of sick leave to be taken to provide RESTRICTIONS care for the employee's spouse, son, daughter, parent, mother-in-law, father- in-law, daughter-in-law or son-in-law who has a "serious health condition", the mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law are not included in the FMLA provisions. Additionally, FMLA leave provisions do not include grandparents, or unmarried domestic partners. LIMITS OF If spouses are employed by the City and the qualifying event is related to the BENEFITS birth or placement of a child, or a serious health condition of a parent, 12 workweeks of leave is the aggregate leave limit for both during any 12 -month period. If spouses are employed by the City, and the qualifying event is related to care for a covered servicemember, 26 workweeks of leave is the aggregate leave limit for both during the single 12 month period. An eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member shall be entitled to a total of 26 workweeks of leave during a 12 -month period to care for the service member. The leave shall only be available during a single 12 -month period. 6 The total cumulative time which an employee may be absent from work on family leave during any 12 -month period is 12 workweeks or 26 workweeks as appropriate, regardless of whether all or a portion of the leave period is paid or unpaid. If an employee has accrued sick, vacation, or personal leave, they must exhaust all leave before being eligible for unpaid family leave. Where an employee normally works a part-time schedule or variable hours, the amount of leave to which an employee is entitled is determined on a pro rated basis. Once all leave available to the employee has been exhausted, the City will provide enough unpaid leave to cover the balance of the total 12 workweeks or 26 workweeks as appropriate. During the unpaid portion of an employee's family leave period, the employee accrues no vacation, sick, or any other type of leave. INTERMITTENT Leave may be taken on an intermittent basis or an employee may request a LEAVE OR reduced work schedule for the birth or placement of a son or daughter within REDUCED WORK one year following the event. The City and the employee must mutually agree SCHEDULE to a schedule. Leave for serious health conditions - either of the employee or of eligible family members of the employee or care for a covered servicemember - may be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule if medically necessary, provided the other conditions of these policies concerning certification and notification requirements are met. In the case of leave for the treatment of a serious medical condition, the employee should make a reasonable effort to schedule treatments so as not to unduly disrupt the City's operations. If the employee's request for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the City may require the employee to transfer temporarily to an alternative position, with equivalent pay and benefits, that better accommodates recurring periods of leave. Leave because of a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. EMPLOYEE An employee on FMLA leave does not lose any previously accrued seniority or STATUS AND employment benefits, but does not earn any leave or other benefits during the BENEFITS unpaid portion of the leave. An employee receiving donated leave does not PROTECTION earn any leave or other benefits. While an employee is on FMLA leave, the City will continue the employee's health benefits during the leave period at the same level and under the same conditions as if the employee had continued to work. While on paid leave, the City will continue to make payroll deductions to collect the employee's share of the premium. While on unpaid leave, the employee must continue to make this payment, either in person or by mail, by the due date required by the City. If the payment is more than 30 days late, the employee's health care coverage may be dropped for the duration of the leave. The City will provide 15 days notice prior to the employee's loss of coverage. 7 RETURN TO WORK After completion of FMLA leave, an employee will be returned either to the same position he or she held before the leave began or to a position equivalent to the previously held position in pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. EXTENSION OF FMLA LEAVE This policy may be modified for "key employees," defined as those salaried employees in the highest paid 10 percent of the City's workforce. Key employees will be notified in advance of their status. Regardless of whether the FMLA leave period is paid, unpaid, or a combination of both, the employee's health insurance coverage will be continued in the same manner and at the same level as prior to the FMLA leave period. Should the employee decide at any time after FMLA leave begins, that he or she will not return to work at the City, the employee must reimburse the City for health coverage premiums paid by the City unless the reason for not returning to work is the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition, or other circumstances beyond the employee's control. Medical condition is subject to certification. Extensions of FMLA leave beyond the 12 or 26 workweek period may be authorized by the City Manager and the employee's Department Director in no more than one-month intervals. A careful review must be conducted prior to authorizing any extension. The reason(s) for granting the extension must be documented in the employee's medical file. DOCUMENTATION All documentation regarding FMLA leave will be filed in the employee's medical file, which is maintained separate from the personnel files and is accessible by individuals only on a "need -to -know" basis or as otherwise required by law. RELATED 4.05 Sick Leave POLICIES AND 4.11 Catastrophic Leave Pool PROCEDURES 7.07 Reporting and Recording Accidents, Incidents and Environmental Events 7.08 Reporting and Recording Injuries and Illnesses Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, as amended EFFECTIVE November 9, 2000 DATE Revised 2010 III. That Section 4.07 of the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual of the City of Round Rock, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: 4.07 EMERGENCY LEAVE PURPOSE To explain polices and procedures related to emergency leave. 8 POLICY The City may provide paid absences for a death in an employee's immediate family, or for the illness of a member of the employee's immediate family. For purposes of emergency leave, "immediate family" includes spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law or grandparents of an employee, or any relative living in the employee's household. The terms, reasons, and length of leave time approved must be documented and attached to the timesheet. The length of time granted (number of hours or days) for a specific emergency leave must be approved by both the Department Director and the Human Resources Director in advance. BEREAVEMENT An employee may be granted up to 24 hours of emergency leave to attend the funeral of an immediate family member. An employee may use vacation or sick leave for additional time off. FAMILY MEMBER CARE RELATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES EFFECTIVE DATE Provided that the employee has no other leave available, twenty-four hours of emergency leave may be granted to regular full-time employees or twelve hours to regular part-time employees whose immediate family member requires the employee's personal care. 4.05 Sick Leave 4.06 Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 4.10 Additional Leave November 9, 2000 Revised , 2010 IV. That Section 4.00 of the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual of the City of Round Rock, Texas, is hereby amended by adding Section 4.11 which shall read as follows: 4.11 CATASTROPHIC LEAVE POOL PURPOSE POLICY To establish a leave pool that will allow employees who want to support their colleagues facing a FMLA qualifying event, when eligible employees have exhausted all leave balances. Employees may donate sick or vacation leave to the Catastrophic Leave Pool ("Pool") so that eligible employees will be able to remain on a paid status for a longer period of time. The amount of leave for the Pool is dependent upon the donations by employees. GENERAL For an employee to be eligible to receive hours from the Pool, the employee must PROVISIONS have a FMLA qualifying event which is estimated to last for at least 30 calendar 9 days from onset of FMLA qualifying event. In addition, the following requirements must also be met: • The employee must be regular full-time or regular part-time status; • The employee must have at least twelve months of employment with the City of Round Rock; • The employee must have exhausted all paid leave balances; • The employee must not have been disciplined for leave abuse during the 12 month period immediately preceding the qualifying event; and • The employee must have donated to the Pool within the 12 month period immediately preceding the qualifying event. DEFINITIONS Eligible Family Member: spouse, son, daughter, or parent, as defined by the FMLA. FMLA: the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as amended. FMLA Qualifying Event: an event or condition which qualifies an employee for entitlement for leave under Section 102 of the FMLA. Employee Designee: any person(s) the employee designates either through power of attorney or other legally recognized document, to act on behalf of the employee in the event of a catastrophic injury or illness in which the employee is physically or mentally incapacitated. DONATIONS Donations to the Pool are strictly voluntary and are at the discretion of the employee. The donation process will occur quarterly and all donations are irrevocable. • Employees who donate hours from sick or vacation leave balances must have a remaining balance (of the donated leave type) in excess of 100 hours. Donations from non -firefighting employees must be made in eight (8) hour increments and donations from firefighting employees must be made in twelve (12) hour increments. Exceptions to the 100 hour balance for donations must be approved by the employee's supervisor and the Human Resources Director. • Donations may be made once per quarter and are irrevocable. • Employees may not designate who the recipient of their donated hours will be; hours from the Pool will be distributed to employees who apply and are eligible. • Employees separating service from the City of Round Rock are strongly encouraged to donate their Sick Leave to the Pool. Such donation may not exceed 80 hours. • Should the balance of the Pool fall below 720 hours, the City reserves the right to call for donations. PROCESS FOR Employees who have exhausted all paid leave due to a FMLA qualifying event must APPLICATION follow the application process to request leave from the Pool. 10 RECEIPT AND USE OF DONATIONS MAXIMUM HOURS RELATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES EFFECTIVE DATE Employees experiencing an FMLA qualifying event who are not able to complete the application process may appoint a designee to initiate and complete the process. All applications must be submitted to the Benefits Manager or designee for processing. A medical professional will review all applications for authorization of leave from the Pool. After an application for Catastrophic Leave has been received and the FMLA qualifying event is verified, the amount of leave time to be granted from the Pool, if any, will be determined the reviewing medical professional. All Pool hours must be used on a continuous and uninterrupted basis until the earliest of the following occurs: • Amount of leave time granted from the Pool is exhausted • The employee is released to return to work • The employee's employment terminates • The FMLA qualifying event is resolved or terminated Any Catastrophic Leave, which has been granted, but not used, will be added back to the Pool. All requests submitted to the Human Resources Benefits Manager will be considered on a first-come/first-served basis, with priority given in the following manner: • First priority: applications involving eligible employees who themselves are experiencing an FMLA qualifying event. • Second priority: applications from employees who are experiencing an FMLA qualifying event based on the condition or status of an eligible family member. Eligible employees may not receive more than 240 hours from the pool in a twelve month period. 4.04 Vacation Leave 4.05 Sick Leave 4.06 Family and Medical Leave Act City Portal - Catastrophic Leave Pool Application Process City Portal — Catastrophic Leave Pool Donation Process , 2010 11 v. A. All ordinances, parts of ordinances, or resolutions in conflict herewith are expressly repealed. B. The invalidity of any section or provision of this ordinance shall not invalidate other sections or provisions thereof. C. The City Council hereby finds and declares that written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of the meeting at which this Ordinance was adopted was posted and that such meeting was open to the public as required by law at all times during which this Ordinance and the subject matter hereof were discussed, considered and formally acted upon, all as required by the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, as amended. Alternative 1. By motion duly made, seconded and passed with an affirmative vote of all the Council members present, the requirement for reading this ordinance on two separate days was dispensed with. READ, PASSED, and ADOPTED on first reading this eS411 day , 2010. Alternative 2. READ and APPROVED on first reading this the day of , 2010. READ, APPROVED and ADOPTED on second reading this the day of , 2010. 12 ATTEST: SARA L. WHITE, City Secretary ALAN MCGRAW, Mayor City of Round Rock, Texas 13 DATE: February 18, 2010 SUBJECT: City Council Meeting — February 25, 2010 ITEM: 9C1. Consider an ordinance amending the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual by amending Sections 4.05 Sick Leave, 4.06 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Section 4.07 Emergency Leave and by adding Section 4.11 Catastrophic Leave Pool. (First Reading) Department: Staff Person: Justification: Human Resources Teresa Bledsoe, Human Resources Director Policies and Procedures are updated when business necessity and Human Resources practices reflect a need for such revisions. Strategic Plan Relevance: Ensure plans, policies and procedures are consistent with the vision, intent and goals of the strategic plan. This goal will be achieved by ongoing review of policies and procedures, continued collaboration with key stakeholders and review of all plans against the strategic plan. Funding: Cost: N/A Source of funds: N/A Outside Resources: N/A Public Comment: N/A