With prior approval, and at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police, paid leaves of
absence may be granted to regular full-time employees due to personal illness up to six
(6) weeks. The paid leaves of absence are limited to an employee's total accruals of sick
and vacation time.
Full-time employees continue to accrue sick and vacation time while on paid leaves of
absence. A leave of absence shall be charged first against the employee's accumulated
sick leave and then against the employee's accumulated vacation time.
Unpaid Leaves of Absence:
1. With prior approval, and at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police,
unpaid leaves of absence may be granted to regular full-time employees
due to personal illness up to forty-five (45) continuous days. Full-time
employees do not accrue sick and vacation time while on unpaid leaves of
absence. During an unpaid leave of absence for personal illness, the City
will continue to pay its portion of applicable insurance premiums up to six
(6) months. An employee will continue to pay their portion(s) of
applicable insurance premiums during this six-month period. Thereafter,
the employee shall pay 100% of the cost if he wishes to continue
applicable insurance coverage.
2. To continue any applicable insurance benefits during an unpaid leave of
absence for other reasons than personal illness, it shall be the employee's
responsibilities to assume payment of the full premiums (100%) at the
time of leave. Payment of applicable insurance premiums during an
unpaid leave of absence must be arranged in advance with the Human
Resource Department and the Insurance Department.
3. At no time shall an unpaid leave of absence extend beyond 45 continuous
days unless authorized by the Chief of Police. If the member can meet the
eligibility requirements as set by the City’s Disability Income Plan, he may
apply for the Long Term Disability Benefit. (Cite Article 31.)
If the Department's operations are affected due to the length of the unpaid leave of
absence and a medical authority cannot determine when the employee is able to work, it
shall be the Chief of Police’s discretion to hire a temporary or regular replacement. If
the employee is able to recover from the disability during the limitation period of the
long-term disability benefit and the Commission is satisfied with the recovery, he will
have preference over applicants outside the City to apply for any position within the City
that he is qualified for. If the employee cannot recover during the limitation period as
described above, the employee shall be terminated.
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