Rule 3358:5-5-07 | Leave policies for regular employees.
Efficient operation of the college requires employees to attend work regularly and to be on time daily. When this is impossible, the employee should inform his/her immediate supervisor as soon as possible so that plans can be made to cover his/her duties. During prolonged absence, periodic contact should be made with the employee's immediate supervisor. The college recognizes justifiable causes for absence and follows a policy of granting reasonable requests for time off from work as follows:
(A) Personal leave
(1) Three days personal leave with full pay is granted each fiscal year. The absence must be submitted to the immediate supervisor within five days prior to the leave but no later than three days after the leave (in those situations where prior approval is not possible). Up to one day of unused personal leave (up to eight hours) may be rolled over at the end of the fiscal year to the next fiscal year. (One personal leave day is determined by an employees FTE status). Personal leave balances are not paid out upon separation from the college.
(2) Personal leave must be taken in thirty-minute increments. Accurate and timely reporting of leave used is the responsibility of the employee and their immediate supervisor.
(3) Personal leave for employees hired after the beginning of the fiscal year shall be prorated as follows:
(a) Employees hired in July, August, or September shall receive three days.
(b) Employees hired in October, November, or December shall receive two days.
(c) Employees hired in January, February, or March shall receive one day.
(d) not receive a personal day for that fiscal year.
(B) Bereavement
(1) Accumulated sick leave may be used for an employee's absence due to a death in the employee's immediate family.
(2) Immediate family is defined as brother, sister, mother, father, wife, husband, son, daughter, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, stepchildren, stepparent, grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchildren, and step-grandchildren.
(3) Bereavement leave due to a death not in the employee's immediate family shall be taken as personal leave, or vacation leave, or unpaid leave.
(4) Employees shall document this leave to the immediate supervisor within five days prior to the leave but no later than three days after the leave.
(C) Jury duty
(1) In order to fulfill their civic responsibilities as jurors and/or court witnesses, leaves of absence for this purpose will be granted. Jury duty or duty as a court witness is that service and time spent away from the job as a result of an order or subpoena issued by the court.
(2) Payment for this leave will be regular pay less the amount received for jury or witness duty. This leave may be taken in addition to any vacation time earned (for those employees who are eligible for vacation leave).
(3) Requests for approval of this leave should be directed to the immediate supervisor within five days prior to the leave but no later than three days after the leave. Employee is required to provide a copy of his/her military orders for military training/active duty to human resources before the leave begins.
(D) Military training
(1) Members of the reserve branches of the armed forces' national or state guard or reserve units who are required to attend two weeks active duty training will be granted a military leave for such training.
(2) These military leaves of absence will be granted with pay based on the schedule used to compute the regular pay less any compensation received from the government for such training. This leave may be taken in addition to any vacation time earned (for those employees who are eligible for vacation leave).
(3) Requests for military leaves of absence should be directed to the immediate supervisor within five days prior to the leave but no later than three days after the leave.
(E) Professional leave
Professional leave to attend meetings or conferences may, at the discretion of the immediate supervisor, be granted whenever attendance would directly contribute to the professional development of the employee, or as otherwise considered to be in the best interest of the institution.
(F) Rest periods (applies to non-exempt employees only)
(1) The college does not designate a formal rest period for its employees. Rest periods depend on the department/division involved and whether or not the work of the department is of such a nature that it can be interrupted at some time during the day for employees to have a rest period.
(2) When rest periods are allowed, they are limited to two fifteen-minute breaks per day -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Rest periods are not cumulative and may not be taken at the beginning or end of the day.
(G) Unpaid leave of absence
(1) Requests for approval for an unpaid leave of absence (i.e., professional, personal, etc.) shall be sent to the immediate supervisor, executive council officer, and the human resources office no later than thirty days prior to the first day of the requested leave. Requests will be acted upon by the board of trustees or the college president. Employees whose positions are contracted and/or funded by outside sources are not eligible for unpaid leaves of absence. The college assumes no financial obligation for unpaid leaves of absence.
(2) For unpaid leaves that fall under the "Family Medical Leave Act" (FMLA), the employee shall be responsible for continuing to pay, on a bi-weekly basis, the employee share of insurance premiums under which they are covered as well as other debts owed to the college that would normally be satisfied through payroll deduction. For unpaid leaves not eligible for FMLA, the employee shall pay, on a bi-weekly basis, the full amount of insurance premiums under which they are covered as well as other debts owed to the college that would normally be satisfied through payroll deduction. While on an unpaid leave of absence, other than FMLA neither sick leave nor vacation leave shall be accrued.
(3) Unpaid leave requests shall be approved for a maximum of thirty days. If, after three consecutively approved unpaid leaves of absence (or the expiration of the twelve-week period under FMLA for those leaves which are FMLA eligible), the employee does not return to work, the college may choose to terminate employment and re-fill the employees position.
(H) Voting leave
Since employees can usually vote without inconvenience before or after their regular working hours, the college does not make provisions for time off taken to vote.
(I) Sick leave
Please refer to rule 3358:5-5-06 of the Administrative Code for the details of the sick leave policy.
(J) Family and medical leave
Please refer to rule 3358:5-5-20 of the Administrative Code for the details of the family and medical leave policy.
(K) Vacation leave
Please refer to rule 3358:5-5-09 of the Administrative Code for the details of the vacation leave policy.
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: 3358
Prior Effective Dates: 3/13/1978, 6/15/1982, 7/1/1994, 7/1/1998, 12/18/2000, 10/8/2001, 6/14/2002, 2/14/2003, 4/24/2006, 6/7/2006, 7/7/2008, 6/1/2011, 3/18/2015