<<Leave without pay.doc>> <<Leave without pay.txt>>
Michael Cox - Director of Administrative Services
City of Santa Maria, CA, 805-925-0951 #210
Leave without pay.doc
>From Lisa De Angelis at the City of Brisbane:
The appointing authority may grant an employee a leave of absence without
pay for a definite period not to exceed three months. Department heads may
grant such leaves not to exceed five working days.
The request for leave, and the reasons therefore, shall be submitted in
writing by the employee and must be approved in advance by the appointing
authority or the department head, as appropriate.
On expiration of the approved leave, the employee shall be reinstated to his
former position or to a comparable one if the former position is abolished
during the period of leave and the employee otherwise would not have been
laid off. Based upon unforseeable changes in operating requirements, the
appointing authority may recall the employee from leave prior to it
expiration.
Failure on the part of an employee to return to work on the date originally
scheduled or subsequently modified shall be considered as a resignation.
Leaves of Absence Without Pay: Affect on Seniority and Benefits
Except as provided under State law for employees on military leaves of
absence, employees on leaves of absence without pay shall not, after the
first 30 days of such leave, accrue service or leave credits, nor shall the
City be required to maintain contributions toward group insurance coverages.
During the period of such leaves, all service and leave credits shall be
retained at the levels existing as of the effective date of the leave.
Just a note, these are the two sections as they exist today. Our Personnel
Rules and Regulations will be sent out soon for review by Liebert Cassidy
(employment law firm). It is uncertain if they will recommend any changes
to these two particular changes.
>From Richel Thaler at the City of Santee:
The City of Santee does not have a formal policy for leave without pay. We do have a
paragraph in the Personnel Rules. However, we do have a formal Catastrophic Leave
Policy should you need that.
>From Bruce Moe at the City of Manhattan Beach:
Our policy is that an employee can request LWOP if they have no other leave
time available, but it must be approved by the City Manager in advance.
>From Ron Nault at the City of Tustin:
Tustin allows the dept. head to authorize up to 30 days. 30 to 90 days
requires the City Manager's approval, anything above requires the approval
of the City Council.
>From Veeda Cumming at the City of Paso Robles:
16.10 OTHER LEAVES WITHOUT PAY
The City Council may grant an employee a leave of absence without pay for a
definate period not to exceed one year. The request for leave, and the
reasons therefore, shall be submitted in writing by the employee and must be
approved by both the department head and the appointing authority [City
Manager].
Upon expiration of the approved leave, the employee shall be reinstated to
his former position or to a comparable one if the former position is
abolished during the period of leave and the employee would otherwise not
have been laid off.
Failure on the part of an employee to return to work on the date scheduled
shall be cause for termination.
16.11 LEAVES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY - AFFECT ON SENIORITY AND BENEFITS
Except as provided under State law for employees on military leaves of
absence, employees on leaves of absence without pay exceeding thirty days
shall not continue to accrue service or leave credits, nor shall the City be
required to maintain contributions toward group insurance or retirement
coverage. During the period of such leaves, all service and leave credits
shall be retained at the levels existing as of the effective date of the
leave.
Leaves of limited duration (generally, a few days) are simply handled
administratively with the approval of the department manager and, if
necessary, the City Manager.
>From Hector De La Rosa at the City of Soledad:
LEAVES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY
I. PURPOSE
To enable employees to receive extended time away, of 6 to 30 consecutive days, from
work to satisfy military service obligations, handle compelling personal business or
to accommodate medical needs for which no other leave is available.
II. SCOPE
This policy applies to regular full-time employees.
III. POLICY
Leaves of absence without pay may be granted to regular employees to maintain
continuity of service only in instances where unusual or unavoidable circumstances
require prolonged absence. (See IV, Definition, Policy No. 322, page 2.)
No loss of service credit with the City may occur as a result of the leave of absence,
but no benefit credit may accrue toward vacation and sick leave entitlement for the
duration of the leave.
After more than 31 consecutive days leave of absence, the employee may be responsible
for paying the entire cost of his or her group health insurance coverage and that of
his or her dependents.
A. Military Service Leave of Absence. An employee who volunteers or is called to
active military duty in a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces may be granted a leave of
absence according to applicable state and federal law for the period of active duty.
Limited rights to compensation during said leave may also be available.
B. Military Reserve Training. A regular employee on active military reserve
status may be granted a leave of absence according to applicable state and federal law
for a period not to exceed 180 days for military reserve training. Limited rights to
compensation during said leave may also be available.
C. Personal Leave of Absence. A personal leave of absence to handle compelling
personal business may be granted to regular, full-time employees. Length of a
personal leave of absence may range from five to 30 consecutive days. To be eligible,
the employee must have maintained a satisfactory record of employment with the City
for a minimum of one year. Employees must use all accrued vacation before a personal
leave of absence commences.
A personal leave of absence is approved at the discretion of the City Manager. The
employee must be available to return to regular employment on or before the expiration
date of the leave.
D. Any employee who is absent without leave for more than three (3) consecutive
days shall be treated as having resigned his/her employment and shall be terminated;
such termination to be automatic without the necessity of any action on the part of
the City or any rights of appeal by the employee.
IV. DEFINITION
"Leave of absence" is defined as an excused absence without pay beyond five
working days. An absence involving paid time off (i.e., jury duty, sick leave or
bereavement leave) is not considered a leave of absence, nor is personal time off up
to five days.
V. PROCEDURE
A. Application and Commencement.
1. Requests for leave of absence or an extension thereof must be
submitted in writing to the City Manager two weeks prior to the commencement date.
2. Extensions of leaves of absence are ordinarily not granted. No extension may
be granted beyond 120 days without the City Manager approval.
B. Reinstatement.
1. Upon return from military service leave of absence, employees may be
reinstated according to applicable law.
2. Employees receiving leaves of up to 60 days may be reinstated in the same job
classification, if available, without loss of service credit or benefit entitlement.
Employees receiving leaves of 60 to 120 days may be reinstated without loss of service
credit or benefit entitlement, in the first available job, opening for which they are
qualified in their same job grade. No such assurances can be given, however, to
employees whose leaves of absence exceed 120 days.
3. Employees on leave of absence must notify their Supervisor and/or Department
Manager at least two weeks prior to end of leave to inform the City of availability
for return to work.
4. The City may require employees to have a physician's release or a physical
examination to determine fitness for work prior to return from a leave of absence.
5. An employee's failure to return from leave of absence, or failure to contact
his or her Supervisor and/or Department Manager or the Human Resource Officer within
three days after the scheduled date of return, may be considered a voluntary
resignation.
>From Joy Apilado at the City of Vacaville:
Leaves of Absences are covered in our Personnel, Polices and Procedures.
3.210 Leave Without Pay. The City Manager or designee may grant a
regular employee a leave of absence without pay not to exceed one (1) year.
No leave shall be granted except upon written request of the employee
submitted to the City Manager. If such leave of absence is for medical
reasons, the employee must use all accumulated sick leave prior to
commencing a leave of absence without pay. Such leaves may be granted when
it is in the interest of the City to do so. Failure on the part of an
employee on leave to report promptly at its expiration shall result in
dismissal of the employee. Vacation and sick leave shall not accrue to an
employee on leave of absence. The decision of the City Manager on granting
or refusing to grant a leave of absence or extension thereof shall be final
and conclusive and shall not be subject to the grievance procedure. At the
expiration of the leave without pay, the employee shall be reinstated only
to the same department and to the position vacated if the position still
exists or to any other vacant position in the same classification within the
department. Anniversary date for the purposes of all step raises shall be
adjusted according to the length of the leave.
Irwin Bornstein of the City of Mission Viejo has a policy that can be faxed if
requested.
Jed Christensen of the City of Napa has a policy that can be faxed if requested.
