Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Sick Leave Policy PDF

TO: ALL PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE PERSONNEL FROM: REGINALD K. DUREN FIRE RESCUE ADMINISTRATOR PREPARED BY: FIRE RESCUE PPM COMMITTEE SUBJECT: USE OF SICK LEAVE PPM #:...

TO: ALL PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE PERSONNEL FROM: REGINALD K. DUREN FIRE RESCUE ADMINISTRATOR PREPARED BY: FIRE RESCUE PPM COMMITTEE SUBJECT: USE OF SICK LEAVE PPM #: FR-H-301 ISSUE DATE EFFECTIVE DATE July 16, 2019 July 30, 2019 PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to identify the process in which Fire Rescue Bargaining Unit personnel may call in for sick leave, go home sick on leave and return to work from sick leave. This policy also outlines the actions that shall be taken for inappropriate use of sick leave. UPDATES: Future updates to this PPM are the responsibility of the Wellness Coordinator, in conjunction with the PPM Committee, under the authority of the Fire Rescue Administrator. AUTHORITY:  Fire Rescue Administrator  Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) SCOPE: This policy applies to all Palm Beach County Fire Rescue bargaining unit personnel. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A: Sick Disincentive Notification Attachment B: Sick Disincentive Communication Center Personnel Form Attachment C: Sick Leave Transfer Request POLICY: It is the responsibility of all Fire Rescue personnel to be at work each scheduled work day. Good attendance is not only to be expected, it is a condition of employment. PROCEDURE: 1. Sick leave may be approved for an absence from work as a result of a bonafide illness or non- work related injury as identified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement or County Merit Rules. 2. Approved Sick Leave a. Employees may use sick leave on an hour for hour basis, in quarter hour increments, for the following reasons, provided that the condition is not job-related: i. Incapacitation due to illness or injury. FR-H-301/Page 1 of 4  ii. Attendance would jeopardize the health of co-workers due to contagious illness/disease. iii. Prescribed medical treatment that falls on work days. iv. Care of an immediate family member, residing with the employee for whom the employee is rendering medically related assistance, and there is no other person available to care for said individual. v. Hospitalization of a family member vi. Personnel assigned to a 40-hour workweek may also use sick leave for scheduled medical, dental, optical examination or treatment when such time cannot be scheduled off-duty and must be approved by the employee’s Supervisor. 3. Sick Leave Notification: a. Fire Rescue personnel shall report sick leave according to Reporting Absence from Duty (PPM FR-A-206). 4. Return to Work: a. Operations i. All Operation’s employees who are absent from work, due to sick leave use: 1. May return to work with the approval of the Fire Operations Officer. 2. May only return to work one time during a shift. 3. Shall notify the Fire Operations Officer prior to returning to work to receive their unit assignment. ii. For an employee returning from sick leave use of a partial shift, the Fire Operations Officer shall determine the unit assignment for the remainder of the shift (this provision does not apply to ARFF employees). iii. The Fire Operations Officer shall notify the Battalion Chief/Supervisor that an employee has been approved to report back to work from sick leave and where they shall be assigned for the remainder of the shift. b. Non-Operations i. All other employees who are absent from work, due to sick leave, may return to work with the approval of their Supervisor/Division/Section Head. 5. Use of sick leave while at work a. Any employee who comes to work and later needs to go home on sick leave shall notify the Battalion Chief/Supervisor for the appropriate approval. b. If, in the opinion of the immediate Battalion Chief/Supervisor, a bargaining unit employee is determined to be too ill or injured to work, the Battalion Chief/Supervisor shall have the authority to send the employee home and hours will be charged from the appropriate sick leave bank. If staffing needs are not met, the Battalion Chief shall notify the FOO. The District Chief shall be notified by either phone or email. 6. Documentation a. Upon returning to work, all operational and communications center employees must ensure their sick leave was noted in Telestaff. Non-operational employees must ensure Kronos appropriately reflected sick leave. If the deadline to submit the leave into Telestaff and Kronos has passed an Employee Leave Request form would need to be completed and sent to their immediate supervisor. FR-H-301/Page 2 of 4 7. Bargaining Unit Employees – Sick Leave Allotment and Transfer a. After the cutoff date each year, which shall be November 1, all permanent twenty- four (24) hour shift employees shall be allotted one hundred and twenty (120) hours of sick leave for the next twelve (12) months. b. Employees who are not on a twenty-four (24) hour shift shall receive an allotment of sick leave, which shall be proportionate to the total number of hours worked annually. c. Employees can place up to one hundred twenty (120) hours from their unused sick leave allotment, in their reserve vacation bank. The balance of an employee’s reserve vacation bank shall not exceed one hundred twenty (120) hours. d. Employee’s whom elect to transfer unused sick leave allotment to their reserved vacation bank shall complete Sick Leave Transfer Request (FR-H-301 Attachment C) prior to October 1st of that year, which shall be submitted to PBC Fire Rescue Payroll Section at [email protected]. 8. Division and Deputy Chiefs – Sick Leave Allotment a. Division and Deputy Chiefs shall be allotted 104 hours of sick leave on November 1st of each year. 9. Bargaining Unit Employees - Sick Leave Occurrence a. An occurrence of sick leave is defined as the bargaining unit employee actually working less than one-half (½) of their normal shift/work day, or any combination of occasions of sick leave utilization which, when combined, total one-half (½) of the employee’s normal shift/work day, with or without an excuse (i.e., for a twenty-four (24) hour employee, four (4) occasions of three (3) hours each shall equal one(1) occurrence). b. The number of occurrences for any bargaining unit employee shall be based on a continuous 12-month period without regard to fiscal or calendar year. 10. Bargaining Unit Employees – Disincentives a. See Article 45 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). b. It is the responsibility of the Battalion Chief/Supervisor to notify the employee, in writing or by email, when the employee has reached each level of disincentives. The Battalion Chief shall also notify the District Chief of each employee who has reached disincentives status. It is the responsibility of the District Chief to notify the Wellness Coordinator, in writing or by email, when any employee reaches the level for Employee Assistance Program (EAP) referral. 11. Bargaining Unit Employees - Disciplinary Action a. Any employee requesting sick leave which is not consistent with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and this policy (i.e., accepts outside employment during the period of illness without the Fire Rescue’s knowledge) shall be denied sick leave and shall be subject to disciplinary action as described in the Disciplinary Guidelines (PPM FR-A-101). FR-H-301/Page 3 of 4  12. Clearance to Return to Work (non-work related): a. An employee must receive clearance from the Occupational Health Clinic (OHC) prior to returning to work if they have any of the following: i. Been out of work on sick leave for 3 consecutive shifts ii. Been out of work on sick leave for 5 consecutive 8-hour days iii. Received “outpatient” surgery or hospitalization (the OHC shall require a doctor’s release) b. It is the employee’s responsibility to notify their Battalion Chief/Supervisor that they have been cleared from the OHC before they return to work. c. If the employee comes to work without clearance from the OHC, the employee shall be placed on sick leave until such time as the employee can receive the appropriate clearance. d. If the employee is unable to obtain clearance to return to work from the OHC due to a holiday or weekend, the Battalion Chief/Supervisor may allow the employee to return to work if the employee is no longer ill (or contagious) and without limitations. The employee must still receive clearance from the OHC before their NEXT work day. e. The OHC shall fax or email the clearance to return to work to the Wellness Coordinator. The Wellness Coordinator shall forward the clearance to return to work, via email, to the employee’s District Chief and Battalion Chief/Supervisor. 13. Sick Leave Board a. The Wellness Steering Committee shall serve as the Sick Leave Board for Fire Rescue. The Sick Leave Board is responsible for monitoring sick leave use and identifying Fire Rescue-wide trends and patterns. 14. Extended Leave a. Employees who wish to request extended leave may do so in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Extended Leave Family Medical Leave Act (PPM FR-H-303). ______________________________ REGINALD K. DUREN FIRE RESCUE ADMINISTRATOR Supersession History 1. PPM#FR I-18F, issued 05/01/1986 2. PPM#FR I-18F, issued 02/12/2014 3. PPM#FR H-301, clerical 03/01/2018 4. PPM#FR H-301, issued 06/04/2019 5. PPM#FR H-301,issued 07/16/2019 FR-H-301/Page 4 of 4