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approve applications for leave of absence for the purpose of allowing or permitting
an employee to obtain and/or engage in employment with another employer or for
purposes of self-employment. Applications for leaves of absence will not be
granted when granting such leaves will negatively impact the Nashua Fire Rescue
operations. The Board of Fire Commissioners may consider the cost to the Nashua
Fire Rescue of granting such leave.

C. During an unpaid leave of absence, the Board shall continue to pay his
portion of health, dental and life insurance premiums for up to ninety (90) days per
granted request. Employees who are on such leave shall continue to pay their
portion of the premiums during that period and thereafter shall pay 100% of the
cost to continue coverage.

D. Leaves of absence shall not exceed ninety (90) days for any single
request. Employees may submit consecutive or non-consecutive requests for leaves
of absence not to exceed the ninety (90) day cap for any single request.

Article 25 - LONGEVITY BONUS PAY

A. Regular full-time employees who have been employed by the City for
seven or more years, on an uninterrupted basis except by reason of lay-off or
approved leave of absence, will receive a longevity payment during the last pay
period in November, for the current calendar year, based on their length of service
as of November 22nd, as follows:

7 to 9 years of service -------------------------------- $200.00
10 to 16 years of service ------------------ one week’s base pay
17+ years of service --------- one and one half week's base pay

B. _ Longevity bonus pay to regular part-time employees who work 25 or
more hours per week and who have seven or more years of service as in A above,
shall be determined by the average number of weekly hours worked during the
preceding year in proportion to the weekly hours of regular full-time employees.

C. An employee eligible to receive longevity pay, who voluntarily
terminates his/her employment or is dismissed for just cause prior to November 22
of any year, shall forfeit his/her right to entitlement to all or any portion of
longevity pay to which he/she would otherwise be entitled.

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D. Employees hired after July 1, 2005 shall not be eligible for Longevity
Bonus.

Article 26 - CLOTHING ALLOWANCE

A. The City will give an initial issue to each newemployee of three sets
of work clothing (pants, shirts and jackets).

B. _ For each year of this agreement, employees who have completed their
probationary period will be authorized the following amounts to be used to
purchase and maintain authorized work clothing or other authorized uniforms, as
set forth in this Article 26. The authorized work clothing and uniforms for the
purpose of this paragraph will include: NFPA compliant station wear, or work
clothing as set forth by the Board of Fire Commission. Class A uniform and
necessary accessories (hat, badges, necktie, black shoes as example shoes, boots
approved exercise apparel, and any other related approved items).

Each Fiscal Year: per member

Payment of the clothing allowance shall be paid to the eligible employees by
payroll check during the month of July of each year. If the employee prefers,
he/she may purchase the articles of clothing authorized pursuant to this agreement
at their own expense and present the receipts to the designee of the department
within thirty (30) days of the purchase for rembursement through the warrant
process. This selection must be made before the beginning of the fiscal year in
July. If the reimbursement method is selected and the employee does not use the
entire clothing allowance, the balance shall be paid through the payroll system at
the end of the fiscal year in question during the month of June. Employees are
solely responsible for complying with any and all requirements of any taxing
authority and bear all liability for any taxes, federal, state, or local, occasioned by
the manner of payment of the clothing allowance set forth in this Article.

C. Eachemployee will maintain in good condition his/her own uniforms
and must replaceany lost, worn or damaged uniforms at the employee's expense.
Uniforms will be worn by employees only during working hours. He or she shall
be additionally responsible for obtaining and possessing adequate quantities of
required uniforms as well as insuring that uniforms purchased and worn meet
Nashua Fire Department approved standards.

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D. The City will furnish each employee with approved protective
clothing and any special protective clothing and equipment as required in the
opinion of the Chief or his/her designee to safely perform thei duties. The exact
specifications for the equipment will be discussed with the safety committee and
must comply with limits set by the budget.

E. — Uponseparation from employment, all property issued by the City to
any employee who so separates, must be returned by the separated employeeto the
Chief or his designee(s) at the Fire Department's Admunistrative Offices.

F. The Department agrees to pay the cost of a cleaning contract for the
cleaning of the mechanics work clothing. The quantity of clothing to be cleaned
shall not exceed four sets per week for each of the three employees (12 sets). The
total cost of this cleaning contract shall not exceed $40 per week.

G. Employees of the Fire Marshall's office and Fire Alarm personnel (40
hour employees) shall wear approved short and long sleeve dress shirts and need
not wear flame retardant clothing except at the fireground (coveralls). These
employees may wear civilian dress clothing in appropriate circumstances. (Le.,
court appearances).

Article 27 — LODGING

The City will install in each fire station one washing machine and one clothes
dryer for use by the Department employees to wash bedding, and the uniforms and
other clothing worn by the individual employee.

Article 28 - MILITARY DUTY PAY

Anemployee called to serve not more than a seventeen (17) day annual training
tour of duty with the National Guard or Armed Forces Reserves will be paid the
difference between his pay for such government service and the amount of straight
time earnings lost by him by reason of such service, based on the employee's
regular straight time rateand schedule. Such payments are to be made following
the showing of satisfactory evidence of the amount of pay received for such
service.

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Article 29 - JURY DUTY PAY

A. Anemployeecalledasa juror will be paid the difference between the
fee he receives for such service and the amount of straight time earnings lost by
him by reason of such service. Satisfactory evidence must be submitted to the
employee's immediate supervisor. Payment for meals and/or mileage shall not be
considered as part of the fee for purposes of this agreement.

B. If anoff-duty employee is subpoenaed to testify in court on behalf of
the Department, shall be paid as hours worked at the rate per Article 15, Section C
or Section D. The employee will be paid mileage in accordance with Article 33.
Witness fees and mileage paid to the employee in furtherance of the subpoena shall
be paid over to the City. The employee will accept the court witness fee which
shall be turned over to the Department in order to receive Department pay.

Article 30 - PENSION AND RETIREMENT

Employees shall be covered by the "New Hampshire Permanent Fireman's
Retirement System" or the New Hampshire Retirement System and any
amendments thereto, and the City shall make such contributory payments as may
be required to provide such coverage for each employee.

Article 31 - EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

A. In order to encourage and develop the highest level of job
performance among the employees of the bargaining unit, the City agrees to
provide each station with the following IFSTA manuals: forcible entry, ground
ladder practices, hose, salvage and overhaul, fire streams, apparatus, ventilation,
rescue and protective breathing practices, first aid, inspection, training programs,
water supplies, aircraft, fire department officer, and facilities.

B. The City also agrees to purchase and make available the textbooks
used in firefighting courses, which textbooks shall be retained by the department
after use by individual employees.

C. The City will remburse employees for one hundred percent (100%) of

the total tuition and laboratory fees paid by employees from their own funds, for
the successful completion of job-related courses, as well as courses leading to the

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granting of degrees in Fire Science, within the budget allowed. Successful
completion is defined asa grade of "C" or above for undergraduate studies and a
grade of "B" or above for graduate studies. The City shall budget-$48-690 $20,750
for fiscal year2042 2020-and thereafter shall increase the budgeted amount by
$590,000 each year beginning in fiscal year 20432021 if the budget line for this
benefit has a balance of $5991,000 or less at the end of the4ast each full fiscal
year.

Courses not directly related to present job function but are functions
performed by other personnel in the department, the City will reimburse up to 50%
of the total tuition and laboratory fees paid by the employees from their own funds
upon successful completion.

D. Anemployee whodesires to participate in this benefit must secure the
approval of the Chief or his/her designee, the Human Resources Department, and
the Comptroller, on the form provided by the Human Resources Department, with
due consideration of the budgetary limitations in Paragraph C, above.

E. Satisfactory completion of all educational courses shall be
documented in the personnel records of each employee.

F. For purposes of determining participation in specialty educational
courses/classes, the administration shallmake available such courses/classes and
proportion attendance between officers and firefights ata 1:5 ratio (officers to fire
fighters) provided nothing shall prohibit the administration from varying this ratio
if there are insufficient numbers from either group to meet the ratio.

Article 32 - INSURANCE

A.1. Subjectto the provisions of this Article, the City, upon the request of
an eligible member, shall provide to an employee the amount of the premium
specified below for individual, two-person or family plan, of one of the following:

Point of Service (“POS”) Plan;

Health Maintenance Organization (“HMO’) Plan; or

High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (“HDHP w/HSA”): or
The City may make additional plans available to members with benefit levels and
premium cost sharing determined by the City in its sole discretion.

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The option of the health care plan is at the sole discretion of the City. It is agreed
by all parties that the City reserves and shall have the right to change insurance
carriers provided the benefits to participants are comparable and the City elects the
least expensive plan available to provide such benefits.

Should the City determine that it is in the best interests of the City to offer a
“comparable” plan to either option “a “a” orb” , it shall provide at least one
hundred twenty (120) days prior written notice to the Union and documentation of
the cost to members and the benefits that will provided under the comparable plan.
Should the Union determine that the proposed plan is not comparable, the
grievance shall not be subject to the grievance procedure and shall be submitted
directly for arbitration no later than thirty (30) days after the Union 1s notified of
the proposed change to the comparable plan. The grievance shall be heard in an
expedited manner. The decision of the arbitrator shall be binding on both parties.

Comparable Plan Definition: for the purposes of this Article, a comparable plan
means one that offers the same type of benefits, but benefits do not have to be
exactly the same. In addition, the plan must provide reasonable access to health
services and physicians, including specialists and hospitals.

Spouse Rule: Employees who are married to another employee of the city who
also subscribes to a plan will be subject to this rule. This rule requires that an
eligible member whose spouse is covered by another City health care plan elect the
policy under which the eligible member and spouse shall receive health care
benefits. An eligible memberand spouse shall not be entitled to receive benefits
under separate City health care plans.

A.2. CITY CONTRIBUTIONS:

For eligible members
, the City shall contribute 70% of the premium of option (a) and 80% of the
premium of option (b) option (a)
and option (b) plans offered by the City shall include the following minimum co-

pays:
(a) Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per medical visit;

(b) One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per emergency room hospital visit;

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(c) Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) Per Person, Five Hundred
Dollars ($500.00) Per 2-Person/Family Inpatient/ Outpatient Facility
Deductible; and

(d) Three Tier Pharmacy Benefit of $5/$15/$35 ($5/$30/$70 Mail Order).

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High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (HDHPs,,-( Formatted: Font: Bad

w/HSA) (option (c)):

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The deductibles in the High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings
Account (HDHP w/ HSA) are $2,000 individual / $4,000 2-person or family. The
City’s contribution to Health Savings Accounts is $1,500 individual / $3,000 2-
person or family.

‘The City HSA contribution will be distributed in 2 installments, one on or
about July 1_andonone orabout October 1, provided however that if an employee
is required to pay more towards his / her deductible than the initial 50%
contribution, upon presentation of suitable documentation, the City will contribute
the remaining 50% before October 1.

Employees who join the HDHP w/HSA atany time other than July 1 will
receive a pro-rated City contribution of $125 monthly for a single plan and $250
monthly for 2-person or family plan for each full month rema ming in that fiscal
year.

If 70% of the employees covered by this Agreement have the HDHP w/HSA
as thei health insurance on June 30, 2021, a 0.5% increase in wages will be added
to the payroll grade and step grids, effective July 1, 2021. Ifthis threshold is met,
the City and Union will prepare the necessary updated payroll grade and step grids
and make the necessary substitutions to the payroll gradeand step grids attached to
this Agreement.

If 75% of the employees covered by this Agreement have the HDHP w/HSA
as thei health insurance on June 30, 2022, a 0.5% increase in wages will be added
to the payroll grade and step grids, effective July 1, 2022. Ifthis threshold is met,
the City and Union will prepare the necessary updated payroll grade and step grids
and make the necessary substitutions to the payroll gradeand step grids attached to

this Agreement.

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oo
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For employees hired after July 1, 2002 the City shall, upon request of an
eligible employee, provide an individual, two person or family plan for
or a City plan offered under option . Such employees shall,
during the enrollment period next following their first anniversary and annually
thereafter during the open enrollment period, have the right to transfer to the point
of service plan at the contribution rate set forth above or to a City plan
offered under option . The contribution rate for all
employees shall be the same as provided for above.

A.3. For the duration of this Agreement, either party to the Agreement may
request that a Jomt Labor/Management Committee be convened to consider the
performance of the aforementioned plans, any changes thereto.

A.4. Any eligible member of the bargaining unit requesting initial
membership in a plan may enter during a specified enrollment period. Any eligible
member desiring to selecta different plan may make sucha change only during the
annual enrollment period and subject to the conditions set forth in Section A.2.
Eligible members moving into or out of the HMO or point of service are may
change plans withina specified period after such move to the extent permitted by
the plans and in accordance with any other conditions set forth above in A.2.

A.5. ANNUAL AUDIT - The City of Nashua hereby agrees to conduct a
yearly loss ratio analysis of all Health Insurance plans offered to employees and
return all employee overpayments in the form of a Health Insurance Premium
Holiday at the completion of the analysis.

B. LIFE INSURANCE - The City agrees to participate in a double
indemnity life insurance program by paying 100% of the premiums for employees
only. The amount of coverage shall be one times the employee's base salary,
rounded to the nearest thousand. Each employee may at his/her option elect to
purchase an amount of life insurance coverage equal to the base amount by paying
100% of the premiums.

C. DENTAL INSURANCE - The City agrees to pay 100% of the
premiums for dental insurance coverage under the plan in effect for members as of
January 1, 2008. Coverage is to be provided by the current carrier used by the City
atthe time of the signing of this Agreement (Northeast Delta Dental). The City
reserves the option to change insurance carriers, upon negotiation with the Union,
and on the condition that the coverage provided has overall comparability to that
which 1s currently provided.

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Members may also elect, as an option, to enroll in the dental plan offered to
merit employees, but shall be responsible for paying the difference between the
cost of a two-person plan and family plan if electing coverage under a family plan.

D. = After January 1,2003 the City will not be responsible for paying the
difference between the fees of non-participating dentists and the fees agreed to by
participating dentists and the current insurance carrier. Until January 1, 1990 the
current policy of the City paying the difference shall continue.

E. LONG-TERM DISABILITY

Part-Time Employees: Part-Time employees are not eligible for Long
Term Disability Coverage.

Full-Time Employees: Full-Time employees covered by this A greement are
eligible for coverage under the City's Long-Term Disability Plan. This benefit is
subject to federal income tax and covers only non-job-related illnesses/injuries.
There shall be no cost to the employee for this benefit. All applicable definitions,
rules for employee participation and benefit conditions and payments shall be
governed by the City of Nashua’s “Non-contributory Disability Income Plan For
Qualified Employees” and any amendments as may be amended by the City from
time to time.

Article 33 — MILEAGE

Effective with the date of execution of this Agreement, all employees shall be paid
at Internal Revenue Service current rate per mile when they are specifically
required to use ther personal automobiles on department business. This shall
include out-of-town travel to educational and training programs required to
maintain employment, except those requiredas a condition of initial employment.
It shall also include use of the employee's vehicle in changing stations, when the
employee arrived at the first station as originally scheduled. No payment for
mileage will be made whenan employee uses a personal vehicle in gomg from the
employee's home to a station to pick up clothing and equipment, and then to a
multiple alarm fire. Claims for mileage payments willbe made ona form provided
by the Department, shall be kept on a weekly basis, and will be paid monthly by
the City provided the weekly forms are submitted on or before the 20th day of each
month.

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Article 34 - WORKING OUT OF CLASSIFICATION

A. Any person covered by this Agreement who is required to accept and
perform the duties and responsibilities of a position or rank higher than that which
he or she normally holds, shall be paid at the probationary rate for that position or
rank while so acting, provided he or she so acts for at least four hours.

B. — Any person covered by this Agreement who is askedto perform work
at a task not covered by the job description of the position or rank which that
person normally holds, or by the job description of a position or rank higher than
that which the person normally holds, shall be paid ata rate 5% above the person's
normal pay rate for the time actually worked, provided he or she works for at least
four hours.

C. The third ranking specialist shall not be paid for working out of
classification if he/she is working alone, unless this situation exists for more than
five consecutive days.

D. When a Captain, Captain Training/Safety, Superintendent
is absent for an entire regularly scheduled work week (4 — 10 hr
days, 2 days/2 nights) for any reason, the next senior employee will be paid “acting
pay” consistent with paragraph A above. This paragraph D will not limit the
requirement to pay individuals as the needarises ona day to day basis throughout
all ranks as provided in paragraph A above.

Article 35 - BULLETIN BOARDS

The City agrees to provide space for suitable bulletin boards in convenient places
in each station and work area, to be used by the Union. The Union shall limit its
posting of notices and bulletins to each bulletin board. The Union agrees to
maintain such bulletin boards in a neat and orderly condition to the satisfaction of
the Captain in charge of the station.

Article 36 - ASSIGNMENTS

A. The Chief or his/her designee has the right to transfer, for just cause,
employees assigned under this clause.

B. Regional Haz Mat Team

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