Search

Effective 1/1/2000:

After eighteen (18) years of service----------- One duty shift per year up to a
total of four additional duty
shifts.

Effective January 15, 2017:

After eighteen (18) years of service----------- One duty shift per year up to a
total of four additional duty
shifts. Additional duty shifts
will be added in as “1 shift” on
January 15" preceding the
employee’s anniversary date.

No member shall have more than two (2) times their yearly accrual on their
anniversary date.

B. Vacation periods will be set up on a work cycle or daily basis.
Employees shall have the option of:

1. Splitting their first two weeks of vacation, choosing the first
week with their first selection opportunity and their second week with their
second selection opportunity, as per Paragraph C, below. The total number
of hours absent under this option shall not exceed 96 hours.

2. Selecting their first two weeks together additional weeks shall
be chosen one at a time, as per Paragraph C, below.

3. Selecting vacation on a daily basis.

C. Platoon seniority shall be the ruling factor in the choice of vacation
dates, and the following shall apply as of April 1, annually:

1. No more than 11 (eleven) Fire Privates from each platoon may
be on vacation at any one time.

2. No more than 4 (four) Fire Officers from each platoon may be
on vacation at any one time.

35

3. These limitations include employees taking day-at-a-time
vacation. However day-at-a-time vacation is to be allowed on a “first come
first serve" basis.

D. Chosen vacation dates will not be changed unless agreed to by the
employee involved. Employees transferred to different shift or division shall
declare their vacation schedule with valid dates to the new schedule.

E. Vacation payment will not be made to any employee whose
resignation or discharge from the Department is effective prior to his/her scheduled
vacation accrual date (the day after his anniversary date after one year of service).

F, In the event of an employee's death while in service, his/her
accumulated vacation pay pro-rated to the date of death shall be paid to the
surviving spouse. If no spouse survives the employee, this payment shall be paid to
the surviving children through the legal administrator of the estate of the deceased.
If no spouse or children survive, the vacation pay will be paid to the surviving
children through the legal administration of the estate of the deceased.

G. An employee may be permitted to borrow leave against upcoming
accrual within the same calendar year for purposes of being able to take scheduled
weekly vacations only. The maximum amount that may be borrowed is not to
exceed the maximum annual accrual as set forth above. The employee's leave
balance shall be charged at time of accrual, or at any other time that a positive
balance is present, until the borrowed leave is repaid. In the event of the
employee's resignation, discharge, retirement or death, any funds owed to the
employees or to be paid on his account, shall be decreased by the value of
borrowed vacation leave that is yet to be repaid.

H. Employees who earn leave may utilize such leave on a "day at a time"
basis, subject to the following requirements:

l. Employees assigned to Specialist Divisions, Dispatchers, and
employees assigned to the Training/Safety Division request the use of a "day
at a time” leave from the Deputy Chief or Division Supervisor at least one
hour before the start of his/her scheduled work shift. Fire Line employees,
shall request the use of “day at a time” leave from the Deputy Chief by 0700
hrs on the date they wish to use the leave. The Deputy Chief or Division
Supervisor shall grant such day-at-a-time leave requests up to the maximum
number of employees permitted to be on vacation as set forth in subsection

36

C, above. This cap may be exceeded with the approval of the Chief or
Assistant Chief in their sole discretion, and without obligation to consent.
The City may require the use of slips or other devices in order to facilitate
administration of "day at a time" leave and employees shall cooperate in the
use thereof.

2. "Day at a time" leave shall not be taken on the following shifts:

July 4 — day or night;
December 24 — day or night;
December 25 ~ day or night;
Thanksgiving — day or night;
December 31 — night.

3. "Day at a time" leave requests will be considered on a first
come, first serve basis, providing that any employee who requests a "day at a
time" leave at least fourteen (14) days in advance of the time to be taken,
may not have that leave day superseded by any other grant of leave within
that fourteen (14) day period. Prior to such fourteen (14) day period, a "day
at a time" leave request may be superseded by a request for a vacation by the
week. Any provision in this Agreement pertinent to seniority, time and
service preferences or rank shall not pertain to otherwise eligible "day at a
time" leave requests.

I. No vacation may be taken or scheduled, either "day at a time” or
regular, on December 24 or 25.

J. In the Specialists division, the following shall apply:

L. At no time in any division shall the division supervisor and the
senior assistant to the division supervisor take the same vacation period
without the permission of the Chief of the Department.

2. In the Mechanical, Training Divisions, and Fire Alarm only one
employee shall be eligible for each vacation period.

3. In the Fire Marshall's Office, only two employees shail be
eligible for each vacation period.

4, In the Dispatchers Division only two (2) dispatchers in any
vacation period.

kK. Upon the retirement or death of an employee he/she shall be paid all
accumulated vacation leave including a pro-rata accrual on a monthly basis for
time worked past his/her anniversary date. The employee must work until at least
the 15"" of the month in question to be included in the pro-rata calculation.

Article 22 - PAID SICK AND INJURY LEAVE

A. Sick leave will be accrued at the rate of ten (10) hours per month up to
a maximum accrual of seven hundred twenty (720) hours allowed. Sick leave does
not accrue during disciplinary suspension. Sick leave taken shall be charged
against hours accumulated on the basis of the actual number of hours the employee
is absent during scheduled duty hours. Effective upon signing of this Agreement,
sick leave will no longer have a maximum accrual of seven hundred twenty (720)
hours. However, payment of sick leave upon retirement or death as described in
Article 22, I and J will never exceed seven hundred twenty (720) hours; any
remaining sick leave hours over that amount upon retirement or death will go into
the sick leave bank described in Article 22, K.

B. In the event of a prolonged absence because of illness in excess of
thirty (30) calendar days, sick leave accumulation will be allowed only for the first
thirty (30) days of such an absence. There will be no accumulation of sick leave
during absences covered by the Sick Bank.

C. Sick leave will be used only for the personal injury or illness of the
employees, not contracted in the line of duty, provided such sickness or injury is
not incurred as the result of day-off work in which case no sick leave will be paid.
In the case of sickness or injury incurred as the result of working for another
employer, the employee shall receive no sick leave with pay.

C.1. An employee may use a maximum of 80.64 hours per year for the care
of the illness of a family member who resides in the immediate household. The
usage of sick leave in this instance may not necessarily be covered by the Family
Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Employees utilizing sick leave under this paragraph
who are unable to perform their duties for more than two (2) consecutive duty
shifts shall furnish to the Chief of the Department a certificate from a physician

stating that the nature of the family member’s illness required the employee’s
absence from work.

At the discretion of the Chief or designee, an employee who meets the
criteria set forth in the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 may use all of his/her
accrued sick leave while on FMLA.

D. Any employee not able to report to work because of illness must
notify the Deputy Chief on duty at least one (1) hour before scheduled to report for
work. Any member of the Department classified as a Fire Private, Fire Lieutenant
or Fire Captain, who is unable to perform his/her duties because of illness for more
than two (2) duty shifts, and members of the Department classified as Dispatchers,
Assistant Superintendents, Superintendents, Fire Marshall, Inspector/ Investigator,
Inspector/Public Education Officer and third ranking specialists who are unable to
perform their duties because of illness for more than two (2) duty shifts shall
furnish to the Chief of the Department a certificate from a physician stating the
nature, cause and extent of the illness and a clearance to return to work. No less
than twelve (12) hours prior to the return to duty of the members of any grade from
leaves of absence because of illness shall report such return to the Deputy Chief on
duty, by telephone or otherwise, who shall report to the Chief of the Department.

E. If an employee incurs injury on the job, he/she will be sent at once to
a hospital if in the judgment of his/her immediate supervisor such action is
required to determine the extent of the injury. The injured employee who is sent to
a hospital, as provided above, will obtain a certificate from the doctor indicating
the extent of the injury and the date by which the employee can be expected to be
able to return to work. This certificate is to be provided to the Deputy Chief or
Superintendent, depending on work group.

F. Any member of the Nashua Fire Rescue who is temporarily unable to
perform his/her duties as the result of personal injury or illness contracted in the
discharge of his/her duties shall so inform the Nashua Fire Rescue on the day of
the injury on the required forms or as soon as the employee is aware of the injury
or illness, and shall also comply with the State's Worker's Compensation Law.
Upon qualification for worker's compensation benefits, the injured or ill employee
shall be entitled to full pay during such disability under this Paragraph F up to a
maximum of twenty-six (26) weeks, commencing with the date of injury or illness
for which worker's compensation benefits are paid. For this purpose, ful! pay shall
be computed as follows: the weekly compensation allowance as determined by the
worker's compensation law plus a weekly allowance paid by the City by means of

the Department payroll -- the City's share to be an amount representing the
difference between a member's regular full weekly salary and the amount paid
under worker's compensation. With medical certification of continuing total
disability which is not in conflict with the rulings of the worker's compensation
specialist, differential pay to the amount of 3/4 of the regular full salary computed
as specified above shall be continued for up to a maximum of an additional twenty-
six (26) weeks (with a minimum total payment of approved worker's compensation
payments combined with City differential pay accounting to 3/4 of the maximum
of such regular full salary applicable to Senior Privates/Senior Dispatchers). Such
occupational sickness or disability shall not be charged to the accrued sick leave of
the employee. The payment of the benefits under this Paragraph F shall be so
administered as to allow the benefited employee(s) the maximum tax relief
permitted under the United States Internal Revenue Code.

G. The City shall pay under Workers Compensation coverage, the
hospital, medical and surgical expenses incurred by any employee who is injured
in the performance of his/her duties.

H. No accumulated sick leave shall be paid to any employee who resigns
or is discharged from the Department.

L. In the event of an employee's death while in service, his/her
accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of seven hundred twenty (720) hours
shall be paid to the surviving spouse. If no spouse survives the employee, this
payment shall be paid to the surviving children through the legal administrator of
the estate of the deceased. If no spouse or children survive, the sick leave is
cancelled and no payment shall be made.

J. Whenever an employee retires, he/she shall receive his/her accrued
sick leave pay up to a maximum of seven hundred twenty (720) hours in a lump
sum at the rate of pay in effect at the date of retirement.

K. Any member of the bargaining unit may contribute eight (8) hours of
his/her sick leave to a sick leave bank by July 31 of each contract year.
Contributing members may apply for withdrawal from the sick leave bank upon
depletion of accumulated sick leave for reasons of prolonged or continuing illness
or incapacitating accident. The total amount of accumulations in the bank as of
July 1, 1983, is agreed to be 7910 hours. Henceforth, the total number of
accumulated hours in the bank shall not exceed 58 hours times the number of
eligible members in the bargaining unit. Withdrawals from the bank shall be

40

charged against the total number of hours in the bank on the basis of the number of
actual hours the employee is absent during scheduled duty hours. The operation of
the bank and withdrawals therefrom shall! be carried out by a committee of two (2)
members of the bargaining unit, and one (1) administrator selected by the Chief.
The committee shall establish its rules and regulations and shall require
documentation from a physician supporting the request for sick leave bank
withdrawals. The committee shall furnish written records of deposits, withdrawals
and documentation to the Chief and to the City Human Resource Department.
Records of deposits shall be furnished no later than August 30th of each year. In all
cases, the decisions rendered by the committee shall be final and binding,
provided, however, that specific provisions of this Paragraph K cannot be
superseded by any rules or regulations of the sick leave bank committee. All
decisions of the committee shall be in accordance with its rules and regulations.
The provisions of this Article shall govern all sick leave bank entitlements.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Paragraph K to the contrary, after using up
all his own sick leave accrual and vacation (according to Sick Leave Bank Rules),
accrual no employee shall be able to withdraw more than eighteen months of sick
leave from the sick leave bank for any one sickness or injury without the prior
approval of the Fire Commissioners, to whom the employee may appeal.
Additional contributions of eight (8) hours of a member’s sick leave may be made
by members in the event that the total accumulated hours in the sick leave bank fall
below four hundred twenty (420) hours

L. A program of light duty work shall be made available within the Fire
Department for Fire Department personnel who have sustained a work related
disabling injury. Light duty assignments shall conform to New Hampshire law.
Any variation to the work schedule set forth in Article 14 for such light duty work
shall be mutually agreed upon by the Union and the Chief of the Department,
consistent with the physician’s work restrictions. An injured employee who is
judged to have a light work capacity by his/her treating physician may be given a
light duty assignment consistent with Fire Department functions, the employee’s
physical capabilities and any limitations imposed by the treating physician. The
Department may promulgate policies and procedures from time to time in order to
update and improve this program. Light duty assignments shall be temporary, and
will be calculated to facilitate the employee’s recovery and resumption of his/her
normal duties. Participants shall receive the difference between their Worker’s
Compensation benefits and any wages received, and their regular full pay while
serving in this light duty capacity.

M. An incentive shall be paid for the non-use and accumulation of sick
leave. It shall be administered as follows:

41

1. Any individual employed for an entire calendar year who uses
no sick time during that calendar year shall receive sixty percent (60%) of
one week's pay. Any such employee who uses less than twenty-four (24)
hours of sick leave shall receive thirty percent (30%) of one week's pay. Any
such employee who uses less than forty-two (42) hours of sick leave shall
receive $100.00. Payments to be made hereunder shall be made in the
January next succeeding the calendar year in question.

2. The first payment for this plan shall be made in January, 1995,
based on sick leave accruals for the calendar year 1994.

3. All computations referred to in this Paragraph M shall be
performed by the Fire Department based upon its records.

4, This benefit shall cease for any calendar year in the event that
total department sick leave use exceeds eleven thousand five hundred
(11,500) hours in that year. In the event that total department sick leave use
is less than eight thousand (8,000) hours in any year, the benefit described in
Paragraph M.1 above shall increase as follows:

No sick time used in the calendar year - seventy-five percent
(75%) of one week's pay;

Fifteen (15) hours or less of sick leave used in the calendar year
- sixty percent (60%) of one week's pay;

Thirty hours or less of sick leave used in the calendar year -
fifty percent (50%) of one week's pay;

Forty-eight (48) hours or less of sick leave used in the calendar
year - forty percent (40%) of one week's pay.

In computing total departmental sick time use for purposes of determining whether
the enhanced benefits in this subparagraph will be paid in the calendar year in
question, all departmental sick time used will be included, except that the
consecutive hours used by an individual employee on account of a single injury or
illness which exceed 420 consecutive hours for that injury or illness will not be
included. The 420 hour maximum shall be included in the computation.

N _ Bargaining Unit employees shall be granted a maximum of two (2)
shifts for personal leave per year, provided that on January 1 of each year the
employee has a balance of six hundred (600) or more hours of accrued sick leave.
Bargaining Unit employees shall be granted a maximum of one (1) shift for
personal leave per year, provided that on January 1 of each year the employee has
a balance of three hundred (300) or more hours of accrued sick leave. Personal
leave shall be deducted from the employee’s sick leave. Personal leave shall not
carry forward from year to year. Members wishing to use personal leave in this
section must notify the deputy chief or Division Supervisor by 7 a.m. on the day
the leave is to be used. This leave cannot be scheduled on days excluded under
Article 21 H.2.

O. Bargaining Unit employees shall be granted two (2) shifts for Training
Leave per year, provided that on January 1 of each year the employee has a balance
of six hundred (600) or more hours of accrued sick leave. Bargaining Unit
employees shall be granted one (1) shift for Training Leave per year, provided that
on January 1 of each year the employee has a balance of three hundred (300) or
more hours of accrued sick leave. Training Leave shall be deducted from the
employee’s sick leave. Training Leave shall not carry forward from year to year
and must be used to attend fire Service related training approved by the Chief or
designee. Members wishing to use training Leave in this section must notify the
Deputy Chief or division supervisor seven (7) days in advance of the requested
leave date. This leave cannot be scheduled on days excluded under Article 21 H.2.

Article 23 - BEREAVEMENT LEAVE

A. — Four (4) duty shifts (not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours) paid leave at
the employee's regular straight time rate will be granted for absence from
scheduled work necessitated by death in the immediate family. For purposes of this
section, immediate family shall mean employee's spouse, children, step-children,
brother, sister, and parents and step-parents of employee or spouse. By definition,
child includes the loss of the fetus, after the second trimester of the pregnancy.

B. Two (2) duty shifts (not to exceed twenty-four (24) hours) paid leave
at employee's regular straight time rate will be granted for absence from scheduled
work necessitated by death in the extended family. For purposes of this section,
extended family shall mean employee's grandparents, daughter-in-law, son- in-law,
brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepbrother, stepsisters, niece, nephew, spouses’
grandparents, and employee’s or employee’s spouse’s blood related uncle or aunt.

43

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

City of Nashua v. Pan Am Railways, Inc.
Docket # 2016-07

AGREEMENT FOR ORDER

The parties, City of Nashua and Pan Am Railways, Inc., hereby agree and request that the
Commissioner enter the accompanying proposed order.

Petitioner:

City of Nashua

Steven A. Bolton

Corporation Counsel

City of Nashua

229 Main Street, PO Box 2019
Nashua, NH 03060

Date Steven A. Bolton NH Bar #67

Respondent:

Pan Am Railways, Inc.
Robert B. Burns
Corporate Counsel
Pan Am Railways, Inc.
1700 Iron Horse Park
N. Billerica MA 01862

Date Robert B. Burns