HERNANDO COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Policy Title: Effective Date: October 1, 2000 Revision Date(s): August 1, 2003 January 1, 2007 Latest Review: February 1, 2007 Policy Statement: It is the policy of Hernando County to establish specific guidelines on leave accrual and appropriate usage of leave for all county employees. Employees will no longer accrue vacation and sick leave as of January 1, 2007, due to the implementation of the new PTO policy. However, the provisions of this policy with respect to the use of remaining balances, sick leave buy-back, and the cash out of hours upon termination will continue to be in effect as long as vacation and sick leave balances exist. Employees must utilize remaining vacation and sick leave balances prior to PTO usage; please refer to PTO policy HR05-14 for complete policy provisions. HR05-13.1
Procedure A. Vacation Leave 1. Eligibility for Vacation Leave (Employees will no longer accrue vacation after January 1, 2007, please refer to PTO policy HR05-14) a. Regular full-time employees will be allowed to earn and accrue vacation leave with pay. b. Temporary and seasonal employees will not be eligible for vacation leave. c. Part-time employees (excluding reserve firefighters) will be allowed to earn vacation leave in relation to the number of hours worked per week. d. New employees who have not completed their initial six (6) month employment probationary period will earn and accrue vacation leave in accordance with this policy, but will not be eligible to use accumulated leave until their probationary period is satisfactorily completed, unless otherwise approved by the Human Resources Department. e. Promoted, demoted or transferred employees will retain all vacation leave privileges and accrued balances in prior position and/or department. f. Accrual Rate of Vacation Leave i. Regular full-time employees will earn and accrue vacation leave as follows: 40 hours per week* 56 hours per week* Continuous Employment Biweekly Accrual Annual Amount Biweekly Accrual Annual Amount Date of Hire - End of 3rd Year 3.08 80 4.31 112 Start of 4th Year - End of 6th Year 4.62 120 6.46 168 Start of 7th Year - End of 9th Year 5.54 144 7.77 202 Start of 10th Year and Over 6.15 160 8.62 224 *Leave accrual hourly factor will be applied only to regular work hours, not in excess of 40 hours per week for 40 hours-a-week employees and 56 hours per week for 56 hours-a-week employees. At no time will the hourly accrual factor be applied to earned overtime hours. HR05-13.2
ii. When employee has had a break in employment, vacation leave accrual will be handled as outlined in the Reinstatement Policy. Vacation leave will not be earned by an employee during an unpaid leave of absence or when employee has been placed in non-pay status, i.e., suspension. g. Use of Vacation Leave - Vacation leave may be granted for the following purposes: i. Vacation ii. iv. Absence for transaction of personal business which can not be conducted during off-duty hours. Religious holidays other than those designated by the Board of County Commissioners. Uncovered portion of sick leave, once such leave has been exhausted. v. Absences from work not covered by other types of leave provisions established by the Board of County Commissioners' policies. h. Request of Vacation Leave i. Requests for vacation leave should be submitted in writing on the "Leave Request Form" by employees to department manager, via the employee's direct supervisor for approval, at least one (1) week prior to requested leave. ii. iv. Departments may establish a departmental policy for operational needs which may be more restrictive or provide exceptions to the 1 week requirement. Vacation leave requests will be granted at the sole discretion of the department manager; however every effort will be made to accommodate employees. Leave may be used only as accrued, and vacation leave with pay will not be allowed in advance of leave being earned or accrued. v. Vacation leave will be charged at a minimum of one-half (1/2) HR05-13.3
hour. i. Carry-Over of Vacation Leave i. It is the intent of this policy that all employees take their vacation leave yearly for the period in which it has been earned. ii. Employees will not be paid for accrued vacation leave in lieu of taking such leave during any calendar year unless deemed in the best interest of the County with recommendation for payment by the County Administrator and approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The maximum amount of vacation leave which can be carried forward from one (1) calendar year (ending December 31st of each year) to the next is as follows: YEARS OF CONTINUOUS EMPLOYMENT TOTAL HOURS Date of Hire to End of 3rd Year 240 Start of 4th Year to End of 6th Year 360 Start of 7th Year to End of 9th Year 432 Start of 10th Year and Over 592 j. Payment of Unused Vacation Leave i. Employees who voluntarily resign or are separated from employment in good standing will receive payment for 100% of their accrued and unused vacation leave at the time of separation. Employees dismissed for misconduct will not receive the accrued vacation leave, unless specifically recommended by the department manager and approved by the Director of Human Resources.. ii. Employees placed on layoff status will receive 100% pay for accrued vacation leave up to time of the layoff. New employees who have not completed their initial six (6) month probationary period will not be eligible for payment of leave, upon separation. k. Vacation Time Contribution HR05-13.4
i. In the event that an employee s illness or physical incapacity should continue beyond a point where his/her cumulative sick leave and vacation leave have been exhausted, or short/long term disability does not apply, employee s may contribute accumulated vacation time to said employee. ii. Employee contributions must be done in multiples of at least (8) hours per employee. This must be approved by the Human Resources Director or designee. B. Sick Leave 1. Eligibility for Sick Leave (Employees will no longer accrue sick leave after January 1, 2007, please refer to PTO policy HR05.14) a. Each regular full-time employee will be allowed to earn and accrue sick leave with pay. b. Temporary and seasonal employees will not be eligible for sick leave. c. Part-time employees (excluding reserve firefighters) will be allowed to earn sick leave in relation to the number of hours worked per week. d. New employees that have not completed their initial six (6) month probationary period will earn and accrue sick leave in accordance with the policy, but will not be eligible to use the accumulated leave until the initial three (3) months of employment is completed. e. Promoted, demoted, or transferred employees will retain all sick leave privileges and accrued balances in prior position and/or department. 2. Accrual Rate for Sick Leave a. Regular full-time and part-time employees will earn and accrue sick leave as follows: 40 Hours/Week 56 Hours/Week BIWEEKLY ACCRUAL 3.7 5.2 ANNUAL ACCRUAL 96 135 HR05-13.5
*Leave accrual hourly factor will be applied only to regular work hours, not in excess of 40 hours per week for 40 hours-a-week employees and 56 hours per week for 56 hours-a-week employees. At no time will the hourly accrual factor be applied to earned overtime hours. b. Sick leave will not be earned by an employee during an unpaid leave of absence or when employee has been placed in non-pay status, i.e., suspension. 3. Use of Sick Leave - Sick leave may be granted for the following purposes: a. Personal illness, injury or disability not connected to work. b. Medical, dental, optical or chiropractic examination or treatment of the employee. c. Illness or injury in an employee's immediate family, residing within their household or other close family member with the approval of the Department Director and the Director of Human Resources. d. Supplement income for time loss due to work related personal illness, injury, or disability where statutory workers' compensation payments are being received. In no instance shall this combination exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the employee's regular base rate. e. Maternity or paternity leave purposes. f. Supplement income for time loss due to disability not work related, where employee is receiving disability insurance benefits/payments. In no instance shall this combination exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the employee's regular rate of pay. 4. Request for Sick Leave a. To receive compensation for sick leave, the employees shall notify their immediate supervisor or department manager as soon as employee knows that they will be unable to work. Notice must be given no later than the first day of absence and preferably before the starting time for employee's scheduled shift. Employees failing to notify and report to the department within three (3) consecutive work days will be considered as having resigned (quit without notice) and employment will be terminated. Any absence not properly reported by employee, less than three (3) consecutive work days can be grounds for disciplinary action, in accordance with policy. HR05-13.6
b. Leave may be granted for compensation only as accrued, and sick leave with pay will not be allowed in advance of being earned or accrued. c. A doctor's statement as proof of illness may be required by department manager if leave extends beyond three (3) consecutive work days or at any other time that a department manager has reason to believe that the employee is abusing use of sick leave. Use of sick leave or false claim of illness, injury, or disability or falsification of proof of sick leave, will be cause for dismissal. d. Sick leave will be charged at a minimum of one-half (1/2) hour. 5. Abuse of Sick Leave a. Abuse of sick leave privileges will be grounds for disciplinary action. When an employee's absences are such that the County has reasonable grounds to believe that an abuse of sick leave exist, the employee will be notified in writing, by their department manager, of the suspected abuse, and thereafter may be required, regardless of the duration of the absence, to submit a satisfactory doctor's certificate or affidavit indicating the specific nature of the disability and its duration to the employee's department manager before such absence may be charged against the employee's accumulated sick leave balance. Reasonable grounds of abuse include a pattern of numerous one-day absences throughout the year, particularly if leave is always taken on Mondays or Fridays; frequency of absences; low/zero accumulated sick leave balances; and other patterns of abuse. b. Further disciplinary action, up to and including termination, may be taken by the department manager when an employee's attendance continues to be unsatisfactory. c. Abuses in leave will be included on the employee's annual performance evaluation. 6. Carry-Over and Cash Payment of Accrued Sick Leave a. An employee may request cash payment for portions of accrued sick leave to receive annual reimbursement from the County, in accordance with the provisions of this policy. b. For reimbursement purposes the year will be defined as the first pay period in September through the last pay period in August. HR05-13.7
c. Employees with a sick leave balance over 320 hours, will be eligible to receive thirty-five percent (35%) reimbursement of accrued sick leave over the 320 hours, up to 200 hours annually, at their hourly rate of pay as of September 30th. Compensation shall be contingent upon budgetary restrictions and granted by the Board of County Commissioners in conjunction with the budgetary process. d. Prior to October 1st, each qualified employee must request reimbursement in writing on the "Sick Leave Reimbursement Form" to the Human Resources Department for annual reimbursement. The form must be certified and approved by the department manager. The Human Resources Department will provide further approval. Employees approved for reimbursement, will receive the additional compensation prior to the first payroll of October. e. Sick leave that is not reimbursed in cash payment will remain credited to the employee's accrued sick leave balance, unless accrual exceeds maximum accrual amounts. f. The maximum amount of sick leave which can be carried forward from one (1) calendar year (ending December 31st of each year) to the next is as follows: YEARS OF CONTINUOUS EMPLOYMENT TOTAL HOURS Date of Hire to End of 10th Year 640 Start of 11th Year and Over 880 7. Payment of Sick Leave upon Separation a. Employees who voluntarily resign or are separated in good standing will be paid twenty-five percent (25%) of up to 520 hours of accrued sick leave, at time of termination. Employees dismissed for misconduct will not receive the accrued sick leave payment, unless specifically recommended by the department manager and approved by the Human Resources Director or County Administrator. b. Employees placed on lay-off status will receive twenty-five percent (25%) of up to 520 hours of accrued sick leave, upon separation. c. New employees who have not completed their initial six (6) month probationary period will not be eligible for payment of leave, upon separation. HR05-13.8