7.0 - 7.8 BENEFITS .docx

SECTION 7.0 BENEFITS ARTICLE 7.1 VACATIONS AND VACATION PAY A. Each employee shall be entitled to 120 hours of vacation annually with full pay. Upon the completion of two years of service in the aggregate, each employee shall be entitled to 128 hours vacation annually with full pay. Upon the compl...

SECTION 7.0 BENEFITS ARTICLE 7.1 VACATIONS AND VACATION PAY A. Each employee shall be entitled to 120 hours of vacation annually with full pay. Upon the completion of two years of service in the aggregate, each employee shall be entitled to 128 hours vacation annually with full pay. Upon the completion of ten years of service in the aggregate, each employee shall be entitled to 192 hours vacation annually with full pay. Upon completion of 30 years of service in the aggregate, each employee shall be entitled to 200 hours vacation annually with full pay. On January 1 of each year, vacation time accrued during the previous year shall be credited to each employee. B. Each employee shall be permitted to defer vacation, thereby accumulating unused vacation time to total not more than the equivalent of three years of vacation credit commensurate with their years of service. The employee may defer all or a portion of his or her vacation. The employee should consider the amount of vacation time the employee has accumulated and whether deferring all or part of the vacation could result in loss of vacation time which will automatically be deposited in the catastrophic illness or injury time bank. Employees on extended military leave should consider receiving a cash payment prior to the commencement of such leave (See Manual Section 3/732.60). C. For the purpose of computing the ten years of service in the aggregate under Section A above: 62 1. Any employee shall be deemed to have been in the service of the Police Department during any period of military service performed by such employee if said employee was entitled to reinstatement as an employee of the Police Department after such military service and was, in fact, so reinstated. 2. Service of an employee prior to service retirement shall be counted if such employee is reactivated pursuant to any Charter Section providing the return or recall to active service of a service-retired pensioner. 3. Service of an employee prior to resignation shall be counted if such employee is not eligible for pension under the provisions of any applicable Police Pension System in the Charter or Administrative Code and is reemployed by the Police Department. D. Any employee who, immediately prior to becoming an employee of the Police Department, was employed in any other department of the City and had earned any unused vacation credits for which the employee was not compensated either in cash or time off, shall be credited with such unused vacation time in addition to any vacation to which the employee is entitled. E. In the event any employee, after the completion of the employee’s initial year of service, becomes separated from the service of the Department by reason of resignation, discharge, retirement, death, or for any other reason, cash payment of a sum equal to all earned, but unused vacation, including vacation for the proportionate part of the year in which the separation takes place, shall be made at the salary rate current at the date of the separation to the employee, the estate, or any person legally entitled to such payment, except that an employee who resigns from the Police Department for the purpose of accepting employment in the Fire Department, and who is reemployed in the Fire Department within seven days from the effective date of the resignation shall not receive cash payment. F. The City Controller shall keep a record of vacation time balance based on Police Department records and shall advise employees on their paycheck of their balance biweekly. G. Employees with ten or more years of service in the aggregate may split their vacation time into two parts. Employees who choose to split their vacation period or periods may apply their seniority preference to any one portion. H. It is the policy of the Department to allow employees to take regularly scheduled vacations or remain on vacation during a mobilization unless the employee volunteers to work or there is an order by the Mayor or the Chief of Police to cancel vacations. 63 1. An employee who volunteers to work during a mobilization while on a regularly scheduled vacation may do so subject to the following: a. The Department must have a need for the employee to return to work. Assignments will be made at the discretion of the Department. b. Once the employee voluntarily returns to work, the employee may not resume his or her vacation (including regularly scheduled days off, accumulated overtime and days off in lieu of a holiday) without the approval of the Department. c. The employee may defer all or a portion of his or her vacation pursuant to this Article. d. Where an employee has elected to defer all or a portion of vacation, the employee shall be shown on regular duty status for each deferred vacation day and shall receive overtime compensation according to the provisions of other Articles of this MOU. e. The Department may approve an employee’s use of any remaining vacation once the situation deescalates and it is determined there is adequate deployment at all levels of rank. f. The Department is under no obligation to reschedule the vacation during the current calendar year but may do so if it does not impact the ability to maintain adequate deployment at all levels of rank. 2. When the Mayor or Chief of Police orders employees on regularly scheduled vacation to return to work during a mobilization, such return is subject to the following: The employee may elect to defer all or part of the remaining vacation subject to the provisions of Paragraphs H.1.c-f of this Article. ARTICLE 7.1.1 SELECTION OF VACATION PERIODS Assignment of employees to vacation periods shall be made so as to maintain adequate deployment at all levels of rank. If circumstances require, certain ranks and/or positions may be grouped together to ensure that no more than a minimum number of employees assigned to similar duties are on vacation at a given time. Employees shall submit requests for the selection of vacation periods in writing by September 30 of each year for the following calendar year. Groupings shall be determined by employee assignments as of September 30. Vacation schedules shall be posted by November 1 of each year for the following calendar year. 64 Seniority Seniority for the purpose of selection of vacation periods is defined as time as a sworn employee of the Unit. If employees have the same hire date, seniority shall be determined by the employee’s serial number, with the lower serial number having seniority. In selecting vacation periods, if an employee is entitled to both a long and short vacation, the employee shall identify if their seniority shall be applied to the long or short vacation. If an employee does not identify to which vacation their seniority is to be applied, it shall be applied to the long vacation. After vacations are assigned based on seniority from highest to lowest, other vacation periods will then be assigned in reverse seniority order. Groupings Employees shall generally be grouped into one of the below-listed categories prior to selecting vacation periods. 1. Geographical Area Patrol Assignments: Lieutenants and Sergeants II; Sergeants I; Police Officers. 2. Geographical Area Detective Assignments: Lieutenants; Sergeants; Detectives III and II; Detectives I and Police Officers. 3. Geographical Area Administrative Assignments and Specialized Units: Lieutenants and Sergeants; Detectives III and II; Detectives I and Police Officers within each unit (Narcotics, GIT, Training, etc.). 4. Non-Geographical Offices, Bureaus, Groups and Divisions: Lieutenants; Sergeants; Detectives III and II; Detectives I and Police Officers within each section and/or unit. Transfers Management is sensitive to the needs of employees to plan vacations with other family members. Therefore, when employees are transferred after vacation scheduling has been completed, it is the intent of management to allow employees to retain originally designated vacation dates, if possible. When an employee is transferred, the commanding officer of the organizational unit into which the employee is transferred shall make every good faith effort to honor the originally scheduled vacation dates unless: 1. Granting the vacation, as scheduled, will impact the unit’s ability to adequately deploy personnel required to accomplish its mission; or 2. The employee requests a change in vacation dates, and such a change can be made without impacting the deployment needs of the unit. If any provisions of this Article are in conflict with Section 3.726 of the Department Manual, the provisions of this Article take precedent. ARTICLE 7.2 SEPARATION FROM SERVICE Whenever an employee separates from the Los Angeles Police Department, the employee can use no more than 30 calendar days of paid or unpaid time off immediately prior to the separation effective date. Any employee who is eligible and wishes to buy back service time towards pension credits must have completed this transaction at least three months prior to submitting a request for a pension. ARTICLE 7.3 HOLIDAYS AND HOLIDAY PREMIUMS A. Employees appointed during the calendar year shall be entitled to the number of remaining holiday hours off in lieu of holidays as designated on the Deployment Schedule for that calendar year. All other sworn employees shall receive holiday hours during each calendar year as specified in Article 4.1. B. Notwithstanding the paragraph above, employees who work on the following holidays shall receive holiday premium compensation as described in paragraph C. of this Article. C. Holiday premium compensation shall be submitted as straight time equal to one half of the actual hours worked for a maximum of six hours straight time. For example, officers assigned to an 8-hour shift will receive premium compensation of 4 hours; officers assigned to a 9-hour shift will receive premium compensation of 4.5 hours; officers assigned to a 10-hour shift will receive premium compensation of 5 hours; and officers assigned to a 12-hour shift will receive premium compensation of 6 hours. Premium compensation shall not apply to overtime hours worked in excess of the normal tour of duty. To be eligible for the holiday premium pay, employees must start their watch anytime during the 24 hours of the holiday. 66 MOU24-22 D. Employees called out, recalled, or working a pre-scheduled overtime detail, when the hours worked start anytime during the 24 hours of the holiday premiums defined in this article, are entitled to premium compensation in accordance with Paragraph (B) and (C) above, in addition to the overtime compensation. For example, an employee recalled anytime during the 24 hours of Thanksgiving Day, who works 7 hours of overtime would receive time-and-one-half overtime compensation for the 7 hours plus premium compensation of 3.5 hours at straight time. The maximum premium compensation remains at 6 hours straight time regardless of how many overtime hours are worked. E. Employees who work (normal start of watch, call out, recall, pre-scheduled overtime detail, etc.) starting the day before a premium pay holiday but ending during the premium pay holiday are not entitled to premium compensation for any of the hours worked. F. Notwithstanding the first and second Paragraphs of this Article, whenever a special holiday is declared by proclamation of the Mayor with concurrence of the Council, the Chief of Police is hereby authorized to grant to each employee a day off with full pay. Such day off shall be in addition to any other day off authorized and granted each employee under the provisions of this MOU and may be allowed either on the same day that is declared a special holiday by the Mayor and the Council or on any subsequent day at the discretion of the Chief of Police. ARTICLE 7.4 SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL Every employee shall be entitled to accrue sick leave as indicated below. During the calendar year in which the employee is appointed and during each subsequent calendar year, the employee shall accrue sick leave as follows: • 96 hours of sick leave at 100% pay (up to a maximum of 800 hours), • 40 hours of sick leave at 75% pay (up to a maximum of 800 hours), • 40 hours of sick leave at 50% pay (up to a maximum of 800 hours). As used in this Article, the term "calendar year" shall mean the period commencing on the first day of the payroll period during which January 1st occurs and ending on the day immediately preceding the first day of the payroll period during which the next succeeding January 1st occurs. 2. The allowance of sick leave provided for in this Article shall accrue in the manner specified herein while the employee is absent on military leave. ARTICLE 7.5 SICK LEAVE USAGE A. 1. In all cases where an employee is compelled to be absent from duty on account of illness, injury, or pregnancy (to the extent allowed by law), the 67 MOU24-22 employee shall report the same as soon as practicable to the Department. The Department may require such employee to be examined by the Occupational Health and Safety Division of the Personnel Department, which shall only report to the Department that the employee is or is not capable of performing the essential duties of his/her position. Any employee who has used less than 48 hours of sick time shall not be subject to such mandatory examination. 2. The Department may also require, to the extent the law and Paragraph A.1. of this Article permit, that the employee provide proof from a health care provider which shall include the necessity for the absence and an anticipated return-to-duty date. The request for proof by the Department must be based on articulable facts. Failure to provide the required proof may result in the termination of the employee's sick benefits for the incident in question. 3. In all cases where an employee is absent for eight or more consecutive days due to illness or injury, the employee shall provide proof from a health care provider which shall include the necessity for the absence, anticipated return-to-duty date, and duty restrictions, if any. B. An employee shall be allowed to utilize sick leave benefits not to exceed an aggregate of 96 hours in any one calendar year for the purpose of securing preventive medical, dental, optical or other like treatment or examination for the employee and for the members of the employee’s immediate family. C. Every female employee shall be entitled to use sick leave accrued pursuant to this Article if unable to work on account of her pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. D. No sick leave at partial pay shall be used by any employee unless and until all sick leave with full pay to which the employee is entitled has been used. ARTICLE 7.6 ACCUMULATED SICK LEAVE A. Any unused balance of an employee’s 100% sick leave bank remaining at the end of each calendar year of this MOU shall be carried over to the following calendar year. That bank may accumulate to a maximum of 800 hours. Any 100% sick leave remaining unused at the end of each calendar year, which, if added to an employee’s accumulated 100% sick leave will exceed 800 hours, shall, as soon as practicable, be paid in cash at the rate of 50%. Effective January 2021, any 100% sick leave remaining unused at the end of each calendar year, which, if added to an employee’s accumulated 100% sick leave will exceed 800 hours, shall, as soon as practicable, be paid in cash at the rate of 100%. 68 MOU24-22 B. If any employee becomes separated from the service of the Department by reasons of retirement or death, any balance of accumulated sick leave at full pay remaining unused at the time of separation shall be compensated to the employee, or in the event of separation due to the death of the employee, to the employee's estate, by cash payment of 50% of the employee's salary rate current at such date of separation. Effective January 2021, if any employee becomes separated from the service of the Department by reasons of retirement or death, any balance of accumulated sick leave at full pay remaining unused at the time of separation shall be compensated to the employee, or in the event of separation due to the death of the employee, to the employee's estate, by cash payment of 100% of the employee's salary rate current at such date of separation. In no instance will an employee or an employee's estate be compensated more than once for accumulated full pay sick leave upon retirement or upon the death of the employee. The City Council may, by resolution, authorize cash payment to the legal beneficiaries of an employee, who, on or after January 1, 1990, suffered or suffers a duty-related death, for the balance of the employee’s accumulated full-pay sick leave at 100% of the employee’s salary rate on the date of his or her death. In no instance shall an employee or his or her beneficiaries be compensated more than once for accumulated sick leave upon retirement, death, or death in the performance of duties of the employee. C. If an employee becomes separated from the service of the Police Department by reason of resignation and is thereafter employed by the Department within seven days after the effective date of said resignation, the unused balance of all sick leave, accrued and accumulated in the Police Department, as of the effective date of such resignation, shall be restored. D. If an employee of the Police Department was, within seven days prior to becoming an employee, an employee of any department of the City, including an employee of the Police Department, the unused balance of all sick leave accrued and compensated in the department from which the employee resigned, as of the effective date of such resignation, shall be restored. E. Any unused balance of sick leave at 75% of full pay at the end of any calendar year and any unused balance of sick leave at 50% of full pay at the end of any calendar year shall be carried over and accumulated from one calendar year to the next to a maximum of 800 hours at 75% pay and 800 hours at 50% pay. All accrued sick leave at partial pay in excess of such maximum amounts shall be deemed waived and lost. ARTICLE 7.7 FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE Provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are specified in Appendix L. 69 MOU24-22 ARTICLE 7.8 FAMILY ILLNESS Each employee covered by this MOU shall be entitled to the following family illness leave provisions: A. Each employee who is absent from work by reason of the illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family, and who has accrued unused 100%, 75% or 50% sick leave, shall be allowed a leave of absence with pay at the appropriate pay rate (100%, 75% or 50%) not to exceed in the aggregate 96 hours in any one calendar year. As used in this Article the term “calendar year” shall mean the period commencing on the first day of the payroll period during which January 1st occurs and ending on the day immediately preceding the first day of the payroll period during which the next January 1st occurs. B. After the first 48 hours of sick leave usage in a calendar year, each employee shall furnish, if required by the Chief of Police, satisfactory proof from a health care provider which shall include the necessity for the absence and an expected date of return to duty. The request for proof by the Department shall not be arbitrary or capricious, and must be based on articulable facts. C. “Immediate family” shall include the father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother, sister, spouse, child, grandparent, stepparent, stepchild, foster child, grandchild, or other minor dependent or any household member (any person residing in the immediate household of the employee at the time of illness or injury). The definition of “immediate family” shall also include the domestic partner of an employee and the following relatives of an employee’s domestic partner: child, grandchild, mother, father. Any employee claiming a domestic partner for purposes of this Article shall complete a confidential affidavit to be filed in the Employee Benefits Office, Personnel Department, which shall be signed by the City employee and the domestic partner, declaring the existence of a domestic partnership. No affidavit is required to secure family illness benefits arising from the illness or injury of a household member.