§ 35.03. Sick leave for permanent full-time employees.

A.

In addition to vacation leaves, all permanent, full-time employees of the City who have completed ninety days of service shall be entitled, for each completed month of service, to sick leave of one and one-quarter workdays with pay. Employees may use sick leave, on approval of the responsible appointing administrative officer of the employing unit, for absence due to illness, injury, exposure to contagious disease which could be communicated to other employees, illness or death in the employee's immediate family, and to preventive treatment, under the supervision of a physician or other appropriate professionally trained person, for addiction to, or abuse of, alcohol or drugs. No sick leave shall be granted when sickness is caused by intoxication. The responsible appointing Administrative Officer of the City may require the employee to furnish a satisfactory affidavit to the effect that his absence was due to any of the foregoing causes. Unused sick leave for all permanent full-time employees except sworn personnel of the Police and Fire Divisions shall be cumulative up to one thousand hours unless more than one thousand hours are approved by the responsible appointing administrative officer of the employing unit or authorized by other provisions of this chapter. Fire Division employees shall accumulate unused sick leave up to nine hundred sixty (960) hours. The previously accumulated sick leave of an employee who has been separated from the service with the City may be placed to his credit on his reemployment with the City.

B.

In order to receive compensation while absent on sick leave, each employee shall make written application for leave of absence and take steps to notify his immediate superior of his illness, as may be specified by the department head. When such absence is for more than two days, the employee concerned, in order to receive compensation, must file with his request for sick leave a certificate from a registered physician stating that such employee was unable during the whole of such absence to perform his duties, or submit other satisfactory proof of such illness. Unexcused absences because of alleged illness in excess of two days shall be charged against the annual vacation allowance.

C.

In the event a permanent full-time employee of the City dies, his estate shall be credited with such unused sick leave cumulative up to nine hundred sixty hours and his estate shall be paid for any unused sick leave as of the date of his death.

D.

In computing the pay for any employee who has lost time or service by reason of illness as provided for in this section, such computation shall be based on a day being the number of hours in the employee's regularly scheduled workshift. No days lost by sick leave and paid for shall be computed in determining the weekly earnings so as to affect premium pay.

1.

Akron Firefighters Association Local #330 bargaining unit members who request sick leave, and are scheduled to work a forty (40) hour work week, shall have sick leave hours deducted from their sick leave bank on an hour for hour basis. Local #330 bargaining unit members who request sick leave and are scheduled to work a 24/48 hour schedule shall have sick leave hours deducted from their sick leave bank using a multiplier of .8333 per hour times each hour of work missed.

E.

Subsections A through D of this section shall apply to all permanent full-time employees of the City except sworn personnel of the Police Division and all management and nonbargaining unit employees in the classified service.

F.

Bargaining unit members in the Akron Firefighters Association Local #330 bargaining unit who have attained 120 days of sick leave under subsection (A) of this section prior to each calendar quarter (March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31) shall accrue one (1) additional day or eight hours of sick leave at the end of such quarter provided that the employee has at least 960 hours of sick leave at the end of such quarter, up to 32 hours per year. All accumulated unused sick leave benefits will be paid in cash upon retirement, death, or disability retirement as defined by the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund. One-half of those bonus sick leave days accrued during each calendar year will be paid out in February of the following year that the bonus days are accrued. Such payout will be based on the employee's hourly rate as of December 31 of the prior calendar year and those bonus sick leave days will be deduced from the employee's bonus sick leave bank.

G.

1.

A permanent employee who wishes to retire and is of sufficient age and has sufficient service with the City, to qualify for a normal service retirement pension under the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) or the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund shall receive pay for his/her unused accumulated sick leave in an amount not to exceed nine hundred sixty hours, unless authorized by other provisions of this chapter, on his/her separation from the active payroll.

2.

A permanent employee who wishes to retire and can provide written verification that he or she is otherwise eligible to receive a service retirement pension under PERS or the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund shall receive pay for his/her unused accumulated sick leave in an amount not to exceed nine hundred sixty hours, unless authorized by other provisions of this chapter, on his/her separation from the active payroll.

3.

A permanent employee who files for a disability retirement pension under PERS or the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund and does not have sufficient age and service to qualify for a service retirement pension, shall receive pay for his/her unused accumulated sick leave in an amount not to exceed nine hundred sixty hours, unless authorized by other provisions of this chapter, on his/her separation from the active payroll and after the disability retirement is granted by PERS or the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund and accepted by the employee.

4.

Effective January 1, 2005, the amount of unused accumulated sick leave shall be increased to one thousand hours for all permanent full-time employees except sworn personnel of the police and fire divisions.

(Ord. 3-2003; Ord. 183-2002; Ord. 843-1983; Ord. 364-1981; Ord. 662-1979; Ord. 453-1979; Ord. 613-1978; Ord. 1048-1977; Ord. 636-1974; Ord. 330-1971)

(Ord. 210-2010; Ord. 65-2012)