45.01 Requesting Leave of Absence Without Pay

The Director/designee may grant a leave of absence without pay to a member of the bargaining unit. A member must request in writing all leaves of absence without pay. The request shall state the reasons for taking leave of absence and the dates for which such leave is being requested.

45.02 Length of Leave

Upon written request, leave may be granted for any personal reason for a maximum duration of six (6) months. Leave of absence without pay may be granted for a maximum period of two (2) years for purposes of education or training which would be of benefit to the Agency. Renewal or extension beyond the two (2) year period shall not be allowed.

45.03 Abuse of Leave

If it is found that a leave is not actually being used for the purpose for which it was granted, the Director/designee may cancel the leave and direct the employee to report for work by giving written notice to the employee.

45.04 Failure to Return

An employee who fails to return to duty within three (3) working days of the completion or a valid cancellation of a leave of absence without pay without explanation to the Director/designee, may be removed from the service. An employee who fails to return to service from a leave of absence without pay and is subsequently removed from the service is deemed to have a termination date corresponding to the starting date of the leave of absence without pay.

45.05 Return to Service

Upon completion of a leave of absence, the employee is to be returned to the classification formerly occupied, or to a similar classification if the employee's former classification no longer exists. The Employer has the right to fill the position formerly occupied when the Employer feels it necessary. An employee may be returned to active pay status prior to the originally scheduled expiration of the leave if such earlier return is agreed to by both the employee and the Director/designee.

45.06 Service Credit

Time spent on authorized leaves of absence without pay will count towards seniority, including service credit for annual step increases, layoff purposes, and for computing the amount of vacation leave, provided the employee is properly returned to service and is not serving a probationary period. Employees that do not return to service from a personal leave of absence shall not receive service credit for the time spent on such leave.

45.07 Family Leave

Any employee may be granted a leave of absence without pay for purposes of family care pursuant to Section 45.02 of this Article. This six (6) month period is not in addition to the twelve (12) weeks provided by the FMLA. All requests for leave of absence without pay for purposes of family care shall be considered on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to the sex of the employee, and shall not be unreasonably denied. An adoptive parent's request for leave of absence for purposes of child care shall be considered on the same basis as that of a biological parent under similar circumstances.

All employees who work thirty (30) or more hours per week are eligible for paid Adoption Childbirth leave upon the birth or adoption of a child for care, bonding and/or acclimation of the child. Leave under this Section shall be limited to six (6) weeks, the first two (2) of which shall be the unpaid waiting period, and the remaining four (4) weeks shall be paid at seventy (70%) percent of the employee’s regular rate of pay. No minimum service time is necessary to establish eligibility for this leave. Eligibility for leave is established on the day of the birth of a child or the day upon which custody of a child is taken for adoption placement by the prospective parents. The employee must be the biological parent. In case of adoption the employee must be the legal guardian of and reside in the same household with the newly adopted child to be eligible. Employees may elect to take two-thousand ($2,000) dollars for adoption expenses in lieu of taking time off for Adoption under Adoption/Childbirth Leave. Payment may be requested when the court has awarded permanent custody of a child to the prospective parents. In the event the child is already residing in the home payment may be requested at the time the adoption is approved. In the event an infant child dies while an employee is using Adoption/Childbirth leave for that infant, Adoption/Childbirth leave terminates on the date of the death. Requested bereavement leave may begin on the day following the death of the child, and may be supplemented by other leaves as specified in Section 30.03.

B. Waiting Period

To qualify for paid Adoption/Childbirth leave under this Section, an employee must complete a fourteen (14) day waiting period, which commences on the date eligibility is established. An employee may work at the discretion of the employee’s appointing authority and/or may take unpaid leave or may use any form of paid leave for which he/she is qualified, or any combination thereof, during the fourteen (14) day waiting period. The fourteen (14) day waiting period under this Section shall satisfy any waiting period for disability leave benefits for employees who qualify for additional leave due to disability, provided the employee does not work during the two (2) week waiting period. The remaining four (4) weeks shall be paid at seventy (70%) percent of the employee’s regular rate of pay.

C. Leave Benefit

An employee may utilize any other form of paid leave to supplement Adoption/ Childbirth leave, up to a maximum of one hundred (100%)percent of the employee's regular biweekly rate of pay. Employees using Adoption/Childbirth leave who meet the eligibility requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (i.e., twelve (12) months of state service, and one thousand two-hundred fifty (1,250) hours in state service active pay status during the twelve (12) months immediately before the birth or adoption) shall have the entire non-working period of Adoption/Childbirth leave counted toward the employee’s twelve (12) week FMLA entitlement. Adoption/ Childbirth leave shall not affect an employee's right to leave under other provisions of this Agreement.

D. Part-Time Employees

The average regular hours worked (including holidays and paid leave) over the preceding three month period shall be used to determine eligibility and benefits under this Section for part-time employees, provided that such benefits shall not exceed forty (40) hours per week. If the employee has not worked a three (3) month period, the number of hours for which the employee has been scheduled per week will be used to determine eligibility and benefits.

E. Coordination with Disability Leave

Employees who are receiving disability leave prior to becoming eligible for Adoption/Childbirth leave shall continue to receive disability leave for the duration of the disabling condition or as otherwise provided under the disability leave program. In the event that the employee's disability leave benefits terminate prior to the expiration of any benefits the employee would have been entitled to under Adoption/Childbirth Leave, the employee will receive Adoption/Childbirth Leave for such additional time without being required to serve an additional waiting period. In the event an infant child dies while the birth mother is using Adoption/Childbirth leave in lieu of disability leave benefits for that infant the leave shall continue for a period consistent with the appropriate recovery period for disability leave benefits for child birth.

F. Holidays

Employees shall not be eligible to receive Holiday Pay while on Adoption/Childbirth leave. Holidays shall be counted as one day of Adoption/Childbirth leave and shall be paid as Adoption/Childbirth leave, except that during the waiting period if an employee worked the day before a holiday the employee will be eligible to receive Holiday Pay as normal. Employees who work during a holiday shall be entitled to pay as provided in Article 38.

G. Working During Adoption/Childbirth Leave Period

Appointing authorities may allow employees to work reduced schedule during any portion of the six (6) week period, subject to the needs of the agency. Employees who are permitted to work a reduced schedule during such period shall establish a schedule that is acceptable to the Appointing Authority. Only the time spent in non-work status during the period of Adoption/Childbirth leave may be applied as FMLA leave.

H. Credit for Hours Worked or Supplemented

Employees who work or supplement their pay during the latter four (4) weeks of leave, as described above, shall have their pay for hours worked or supplemented so calculated that working or supplementing thirty (30%) percent of their normally scheduled work hours during the pay period shall result in a bi-weekly pay amount equal to their regular bi-weekly pay. Employees who work more than thirty (30%) percent of their regularly scheduled hours shall forfeit paid Adoption/Childbirth leave on an hour for hour basis for all excess hours.

I. Duration

Under no circumstances shall Adoption/Childbirth leave be taken beyond six (6) weeks from the date of birth or placement of a child for adoption. Adoption/Childbirth leave shall not be used to extend the layoff date of employees or to extend a period of employment for Established Term regular or irregular employees.

J. Coordination with Bereavement Leave

In the event an infant child dies while an employee is using Adoption/Childbirth leave for that infant, Adoption/Childbirth leave terminates on the date of the death. Requested bereavement leave may begin on the day following the death of the child. Bereavement leave will be granted in the case of a stillborn conditioned upon the tendering of a death certificate.