§ 28-16. Attendance and leave.
(a)
Hours of work. The established work week and the hours of work shall, insofar as practicable, be uniform within occupational groups and shall be determined in accordance with the needs of the city and the reasonable needs of the public who may be required to do business with various city departments. The work schedule for each department shall be established by the department head with the advice and approval of the city administrator.
(b)
Attendance. Each department head shall be responsible for the attendance of all persons in his department. The city administrator shall keep complete attendance and other records on each employee, including annual leave, sick leave, overtime, and others, as provided in section 28-14.
(c)
Holidays. All full-time employees shall be eligible for holiday leave for the following days and other days as designated by specific action of the mayor and city council:
(1)
New Year's Day.
(2)
MLK Jr. Day.
(3)
Presidents' Day.
(4)
Good Friday.
(5)
Memorial Day.
(6)
Independence Day.
(7)
Labor Day.
(8)
Columbus Day.
(9)
Veterans' Day.
(10)
Thanksgiving Day.
(11)
Day after Thanksgiving Day.
(12)
Christmas Eve.
(13)
Christmas Day.
(14)
Day after Christmas Day.
a.
The city administrator will set the holidays by date and cause the city clerk to post and distribute the listing prior to the start of each calendar year. An employee who is not on approved leave and fails to report on his scheduled work day before or after a holiday shall not be paid for the holiday.
b.
Holidays which occur during annual or sick leave shall not be charged against annual or sick leave. Permanent employees shall be paid for holidays based on the number of hours they normally work each day, exclusive of overtime. Temporary employees will not be paid for holidays not worked.
c.
Any essential employee scheduled to work on an official city holiday shall be paid at 1½ times the regular rate for each hour worked during the actual holiday or be given compensatory time at a rate of 1½ times the amount of hours actually worked as decided by the department head. Public safety employees are an exception to this rule and will be governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act and established work schedules.
(d)
Annual (vacation) leave.
(1)
General. Vacations are for the purpose of rejuvenating both physical and mental faculties and all employees are urged to avail themselves of vacation periods.
(2)
Eligibility. All regular or permanent employees in the classified service shall be entitled to earn and accrue annual leave. Permanent part-time employees shall be entitled to annual leave in proportion to the number of hours worked. Temporary employees shall not be eligible for annual leave.
(3)
Rate of leave accrual. Full-time employees begin to accrue annual leave immediately upon employment. Employees under temporary, provisional or emergency appointments and employees not deemed to be in the classified service will not accrue annual leave under these policies. Annual leave shall be accrued according to the following schedule:
0—1 years No Accrual 1—3 years 7 hours per month 3—5 years 10 hours per month 5—10 years 12 hours per month 10+ years 15 hours per month (4)
Notice of leave. A request for annual leave shall be submitted to the employee's immediate supervisor. Annual leave may be taken only after approval by the appropriate department head so that, insofar as practicable, the department can function without the hiring of additional temporary help. Annual leave shall be authorized in units of days or hours only.
(5)
Maximum allowable accumulation. Unused annual leave not exceeding 240 hours may be carried into the next calendar year. It is the intent of these rules to have employees take their annual leave yearly. Therefore, no payment shall be made for non-use of annual leave except as provided in subsection (d)(6) of this section unless approved by the mayor and city council.
(6)
Payment for unused leave.
a.
When an employee is separated from the service, such employee shall be paid for all unused annual leave (up to 160 hours) unless he fails to give proper notice of resignation as provided in section 28-10.
b.
Employees may sell 40 hours of unused leave once each calendar year. No less than 40 hours may be sold.
(e)
Sick leave.
(1)
General. Sick leave shall be allowed to an eligible employee:
a.
In the case of actual sickness or disability of the employee or for medical, dental or eye examination or treatment for which arrangements cannot be made outside of working hours; and
b.
When the employee is required to care for a sick or injured spouse, child or member of immediate family domiciled in the employee's household. The employee shall report the illness prior to his scheduled work time if possible. If not, the employee shall see that the illness is reported within 30 minutes after the time he is scheduled to have reported for work.
(2)
Eligibility. Those employees entitled to earn annual leave shall also be eligible to earn sick leave. Permanent part-time employees shall be entitled to sick leave in proportion to the number of hours worked. Temporary employees shall not be eligible for sick leave. Probationary employees shall be eligible to take sick leave.
(3)
Rate of leave accrual. Eligible employees begin to accrue sick leave immediately upon employment at the rate of one day per month.
(4)
Certification by physician. A medical certificate signed by a licensed physician may be required by a department head to substantiate a request for sick leave. Such certificate shall be required for all absences, due to illness or disability, of three or more days. Failure to provide certificate, when required, shall result in disapproval of the sick leave request.
(5)
Maximum allowable accumulation. A maximum of 360 hours of sick leave may be accumulated.
(6)
No payment of unused sick leave. When an employee is separated from the service, no payment shall be made for any unused sick leave.
(7)
Donation of unused leave to other employees. This section is reserved for future use.
(f)
Other types of leave.
(1)
Military leave.
a.
Any regular employee who leaves the classified service to join the military forces of the United States during a time of war or other national emergency, or is inducted by Selective Service, may, upon written request, prior to induction into the military, be placed on military leave without pay, such leave to extend through a date, 90 days after which such service terminates. Such employee shall be entitled to be restored to the vacated position, or a comparable position, provided the employee makes application to the city administrator within 90 days of the date of discharge under honorable conditions, and is physically and mentally capable of performing the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
b.
The returning employee shall be entitled to any increases in salary (including cost-of-living increases) or any advancement in grade which would normally be accorded to the incumbent of the position, with the exception of any increases or advancement in grade which would normally be dependent on meritorious performance of the duties of the position.
c.
In the event a position vacated by a person entering the military service, as stated above, no longer exists at the time he qualifies to return to work, such person shall be entitled to be re-employed in another position of the same status, class and pay in the classified service, provided such re-employment does not necessitate the laying off of another employee.
d.
Any regular employee who is a member of the National Guard or an organized military reserve of the United States will be allowed leave of absence with pay not to exceed 18 calendar days, or in compliance with state law, during any calendar year to attend training camps upon presentation of orders concerning such training. Such leave shall not be charged to annual leave.
(2)
Funeral leave. Funeral leave of three working days annually will be granted with pay for employees absent from duty due to the event of death in the family. Family, in this instance, means spouse, child, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, or any relative who is domiciled in the employee's household.
(3)
Workers' compensation. An employee who is temporarily disabled because of an injury or illness sustained directly in the performance of his work may be covered by the provisions of O.C.G.A. title 34, art. 9 (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-1 et seq.), the State Workers' Compensation Act.
(4)
Temporary disabilities not covered by workers compensation. An employee who becomes temporarily disabled shall be allowed to exhaust his accrued sick and vacation leave. After all sick and vacation leave have been used, further extension of leave, either with or without pay, must be specifically authorized by the mayor and city council upon recommendation of the department head and approval of the city administrator.
(5)
Civil leave. An employee shall be given necessary time off, without loss of pay, when performing jury duty, or when required by proper authority to be a witness in legal proceedings, provided such call to duty is reported in advance to the employee's department head.
(6)
Maternity leave.
a.
Maternity leave is a period of approved absence for incapacitation related to pregnancy and confinement. Maternity leave may be charged to sick leave or any combination of sick leave, annual leave and leave without pay.
b.
The employee desiring maternity leave should report the pregnancy to the department head. Such notification shall include a written statement from the attending physician specifying the approximate date of birth.
c.
An employee will be permitted to continue work, with reasonable accommodation, so long as the conditions of the pregnancy do not adversely impair work performance or health.
d.
An employee may be granted leave without pay for maternity purposes in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act.
(7)
Leave of absence without pay. A department head, with the approval of the city administrator, may grant a regular employee a leave of absence without pay for a period not to exceed six months. Leave of absence without pay for a period of exceeding six months and not more than one year may be granted with the approval of the mayor and city council. All departments are required to adhere to the following regulations:
a.
Leave without pay shall be granted only when it will not adversely affect the interests of the city service.
b.
Failure of an employee to return to work at the expiration of approved leave shall be considered as absence without leave and grounds for disciplinary action.
c.
Any employee who has been granted leave of absence and who wishes to return before the leave period has expired shall be required to give his department head at least a one-week notice. Upon receipt of such written notice, the employee shall be permitted to return to work.
d.
No sick leave or annual leave will be earned by an employee for the time that such employee is on leave without pay.
e.
An employee may elect to have health insurance continue to be provided, with the employee paying the monthly premium in advance.
f.
An employee shall return from leave without pay to the same salary grade as at the time of commencement of leave.
g.
An employee who obtains either part time or full-time employment elsewhere while on an authorized leave of absence without pay is required to notify his department head in writing within three days of accepting such employment.
h.
An employee returning from a leave of absence without pay shall be entitled to employment in the same department in the same or equivalent class wherein employed when said leave commenced.
(8)
Family and medical leave. Family and medical leave shall be granted in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3).
(9)
Absence with leave. An absence of an employee from duty, including any absence for a single day or part of a day, that is not authorized by a specific grant of leave of absence under the provisions of these regulations shall be deemed to be an absence without leave. Any such absence shall be without pay and shall be cause for disciplinary action.
(10)
Administrative leave. An employee may be placed on administrative leave with pay at the discretion of the department head and approval of the city administrator when such action is deemed to be in the best interest of the city.
(11)
Notification to city administrator. When an employee has taken leave of any kind or is absent without leave, his department head shall notify the city administrator in writing within the same pay period in which the leave is taken or the absence without leave occurs. Such notification may be by notation on a time card or attendance sheet or by memo, giving specific information covering type of leave, dates, hours, and other pertinent data.
(Code 1985, § 3-916)