Policy 3.03.05:  Leave Practices

I.   General

The city provides various types of paid and unpaid leave for a full-time employee’s absence from work for personal or professional reason.  Documentation supporting a request may be required at any time (e.g. military orders; obituary for bereavement leave). Leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), workers’ compensation, or short and long term disability are covered under separate policies.

a.  The city may require employees who utilize leave to furnish appropriate documentation supporting the need for the absence. 

b.  When leave requests are for non-emergency medical procedures, treatments or other services, supervisors may deny the initial request and require that the leave occur at a time when the employee’s absence will not negatively impact the employee’s work unit.

c.  Employees may not exhaust their leave accounts and be absent without pay, unless such absence is FMLA leave, military leave, or leave otherwise required by law or approved by the department director. Other instances may result in disciplinary action.

d.  An employee separating from employment may not exhaust more than 80 hours of any combination of accrued vacation, personal leave, or banked (holiday or vacation) leave prior to their last day of employment. Employees shall be paid at their base hourly rate for any unused accrued vacation leave time following termination of employment, including retirement.

II. Paid Administrative Leave

a.  Employees may be placed on paid administrative leave due to an investigation, discipline, or for organizational needs.

i. Employees should be placed on paid administrative leave for no longer than is necessary.

ii.     The supervisor placing the employee on paid administrative leave for an investigation, discipline, or for organizational needs must provide documented employee status updates on day one and every 30 days thereafter, until the matter is resolved, to the employee, to their department director, human resources director, and the mayor’s chief of staff.

III. Parental Leave

a.  Full time employees who become parents through birth, adoption or foster care may take up to 6 weeks of paid leave to care for and bond with the child.

b.  Parental leave will start on the date of the child’s birth or, in the case of adoption or foster care, the date the child is placed in the employee’s home.

c.  Parental leave may be taken during a probationary period.

d.  The probationary period will be extended by an amount of time equivalent to the parental leave taken to complete the probation period.

e.  Parental leave will run concurrently (during the same period of time) with FMLA and SDI (if applicable).

Parental leave is limited to 6 weeks per 12 rolling month period. Refer to FMLA policy for options for additional leave. FMLA requires 30 days advance notice for foreseeable events. 

f.  

g.  For employees approved for SDI, parental leave will make up the difference between 100% pay and 66 2/3% pay (if applicable) for up to 6 weeks.

h.  Department directors may choose to recognize employees covering the work of those on parental leave by utilizing options through other city policies such as the Incentive Awards or Bonus Plans.

i.   Employees seeking parental leave must:

i. Complete parental leave request form and provide applicable documentation.

ii.     Complete FMLA paperwork as per the FMLA policy (if applicable).

iii.    File an SDI claim (if applicable).

IV. Bereavement Leave

a.  Time off with pay will be granted to an employee who suffers the loss of a current spouse, domestic partner, or adult designee; child, mother, father, brother, sister; current father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law; grandparent; current step-grandfather, step-grandmother; grandchild, or current step grandchild, stepchild, stepmother, stepfather, stepbrother or stepsister, grandfather-in-law, grandmother-in-law; or, domestic partner’s or adult designee’s relative as if the domestic partner or adult designee were the employee’s spouse. In the event of death in any of these instances, the city will provide an employee with up to five working days of paid leave for bereavement, including attendance at a funeral, memorial service, or related event(s). The employee will be permitted one additional day of bereavement leave if the employee attends a funeral, memorial service or equivalent event that is held more than 150 miles distance from Salt Lake City and the day following the memorial service or equivalent event is a regular working shift.

b.  In the event of death of a first-line extended relative of an employee, or of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, or adult designee’s relative, not covered in paragraph a above (such as an uncle, aunt or cousin), the city will pay an employee for time off for one work shift to attend memorial services. The employee will be permitted one additional day of bereavement leave if the employee attends a funeral, memorial service or equivalent event that is held more than 150 miles distance from Salt Lake City and the day following the memorial service or equivalent event is a regular working shift.

c.  In the event of death of friends, an employee may be allowed to use vacation or personal leave for time off to attend the funeral or memorial service, as approved by an immediate supervisor.

d.  In the event of death of any covered family member while an employee is on vacation leave, an employee’s absence may be extended and authorized as bereavement leave.

V.  Career Incentive Leave (Plan “A ”Employees)

a.  Employees who have been in continuous full-time employment with the city for more than 20 years, and who have a balance of 1500 or more sick leave hours, may make a one-time election to convert up to 160 hours of sick leave into 80 hours of paid career incentive leave. Career incentive leave must be taken before retirement. Sick leave hours converted to career incentive leave will not be eligible for a cash payout upon termination or retirement even though the employee has unused career incentive leave hours available. This leave can be used for any reason. Requests for career incentive leave must be submitted in writing to the appropriate department director and be approved subject to the department’s business needs (e.g. work schedules and workloads).

VI. Career Enhancement Leave (Plan “B” Employees) 

a.  Employees covered under plan “B” are eligible after 15 years of full time service with the city to be selected to receive up to two weeks of career enhancement leave. This one-time leave benefit could be used for formal training, informal course of study, job-related travel, internship, mentoring or other activity that could be of benefit to the city and the employee’s career development.  Selected employees shall receive their full regular salary during the leave. Request for this leave must be submitted in writing to the appropriate department director, stating the purpose of the request and how the leave is intended to benefit the city. The request must be approved by the department director and by the human resources director, who will review the request for compliance with the guidelines outlined here.

VII.    Dependent Leave

a.  Employees covered under plan “A”  may request dependent leave for the following reasons:

i. Becoming a parent through birth or adoption of a child.

ii. Placement of a foster child in the employee’s home.

iii. Due to the care of the employee’s child, spouse, spouse’s child, adult designee, adult designee’s unmarried child under age 26, or parent with a serious health condition. (Refer to Policy 3.03.06 Family and Medical Leave Act).

b.  Employees under plan “A” may also request dependent leave to care for their child, spouse, spouse’s child, adult designee, and adult designee’s unmarried child under age 26, or a parent who is ill or injured but who does not have a serious health condition.

c.  The following provisions apply to the use of dependent leave by an employee:

i.   Dependent leave may be granted with pay on a straight time basis.

ii.  If an employee has available unused sick leave, sick leave may be used as dependent leave.

iii. An employee is required to give notice of the need to take dependent leave, including the expected duration of leave, to his or her supervisor as soon as possible.

iv. Upon request of a supervisor, an employee will be required to provide a copy of a birth certificate or evidence of child placement for adoption, or a letter from the attending physician in the event of hospitalization, injury or illness of a child, spouse, spouse’s child, adult designee, adult designee’s child, or parent within five calendar days following a return from leave.

v.  An employee’s sick leave shall be reduced by the number of hours taken by an employee as dependent leave.

VIII.   Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

Employees may be eligible for job protection under Policy 3.03.06 Family and Medical Leave Act.

IX. Holidays

a.  The following days shall be recognized and observed as holidays for covered employees. Eligible employees will receive pay for non-worked holidays equal to their regular rate of pay times the total number of hours which make a regularly scheduled shift.

i.   New Year's Day, the first day of January.

ii.  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the third Monday of January.

iii. President's Day, the third Monday in February.

iv. Memorial Day, the last Monday of May.

v.  Independence Day, the fourth day of July.

vi. Pioneer Day, the twenty-fourth day of July.

vii. Labor Day, the first Monday in September.

viii.     Columbus Day, the second Monday of October (only for eligible employees assigned to the Justice Court Division)

ix. Veteran's Day, the eleventh day of November.

x.  Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.

xi. The Friday after Thanksgiving Day

xii. Christmas Day, the twenty-fifth day of December.

xiii.     One personal holiday per calendar year, taken upon request of an employee and as approved by a supervisor.

b.  When any holiday listed above falls on a Sunday, the following business day shall be considered a holiday. When any holiday listed above falls on a Saturday, the preceding business day shall be considered a holiday. In addition to the above, any day may be designated as a holiday by proclamation of the mayor and/or the city council.

c.  All holiday hours, including personal holidays, shall be used in no less than regular full day or shift increments.

d.  No employee shall receive in excess of the equivalent of one work day or a regular scheduled shift as holiday pay for a single holiday. Employees must work or be on authorized paid leave their last scheduled working day before and the next working day following the holiday to qualify for holiday pay.

e.  Holiday exception: Employees may observe the following holidays up to 50 days before the actual holiday, with prior management approval: 1) the Friday after Thanksgiving Day (for all eligible employees except for those assigned to the Justice Court Division); or, 2) Columbus Day (only for eligible employees assigned to the Justice Court Division).

f.   Police sergeant holiday hours worked: When a day designated as a holiday falls on a scheduled work day, a police sergeant may elect to take the day off work, subject to the approval of their supervisor, or receive their regular wages for such days worked and designate an alternate day off work to celebrate the holiday. For those whose assignment requires staffing on either the graveyard shift prior to, or the day and afternoon shift on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day, all hours worked shall be compensated at a rate of one-and-one-half (1 ½) times the employee’s regular base wage rate.

g.  Police sergeants, lieutenants, captains and deputy chiefs who retire or separate from city employment for any reason shall be compensated for any holiday time accrued and unused during the preceding 12 months. Employees shall not be compensated for any unused holiday time accrued before the 12 months preceding the employee’s retirement or separation.

i. Any Police sergeant, lieutenant, or captain who is transferred or promoted to a higher level position within the department, including Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief, or Police Chief, or to a position in another city department will be paid out at their current base pay rate for any holiday time accrued and unused during the preceding 12 months.

X.  Hospitalization Leave

a.  Hospitalization leave shall be provided for full-time employees under plan “A,” in addition to sick leave authorized hereunder, as insurance against loss of income when employees are unable to perform assigned duties because of scheduled surgical procedures, urgent medical treatment, or hospital inpatient admission.

b.  Employees shall be entitled to 30 days of hospitalization leave each calendar year. Hospitalization leave shall not accumulate from year to year. Employees may not convert hospitalization leave to vacation or any other leave, nor may they convert hospitalization leave to any additional benefit at time of retirement.

c.  Employees who are unable to perform their duties during a shift due to preparations (such as fasting, rest, or ingestion of medicine) for a scheduled surgical procedure, may report the absence from the affected shift as hospitalization leave, with the prior approval of their division head or supervisor.

d.  An employee who must receive urgent medical treatment at a hospital, emergency room, or acute care facility, and who is regularly scheduled for work or unable to perform their duties during a shift (or work day) due to urgent medical treatment, may report the absence from the affected shift as hospitalization leave. Similarly, an employee who is absent from work while on approved leave is also allowed to claim hospitalization leave

i.  An employee who wishes to claim hospitalization leave is responsible to report the receipt of urgent medical treatment to the employee’s division head or supervisor as soon as practical.

ii. For purposes of use of hospitalization leave, urgent medical treatment includes at-home care directed by a physician immediately after urgent medical treatment and within the affected shift.

e.  Employees who, because they are are admitted as an inpatient to a hospital for medical treatment, are unable to perform their duties, may report the absence from duty while in the hospital as hospitalization leave.

f.   Medical treatment consisting exclusively or primarily of post-injury rehabilitation or therapy treatment, whether conducted in a hospital or other medical facility, shall not be counted as hospitalization leave.

g.  An employee requesting hospitalization leave under this section may be required to provide verification of treatment or care from a competent medical practitioner.

XI. Injury Leave (Sworn Police, Airport Police and Firefighter employees only)

Note: The city has established rules governing the administration of an injury leave program for sworn police officers, airport police and firefighters, under the following qualifications and restrictions:

a.   The disability must have resulted from an injury arising out of the discharge of official duties and/or while exercising some form of necessary job related activity as determined by the city;

b.   The employee must be unable to return to work due to the injury as verified by a medical provider acceptable to the city;

c.    The leave benefit shall not exceed the value of the employee's net salary during the period of absence due to the injury, less all amounts paid or credited to the employee as workers’ compensation, Social Security, long-term disability or retirement benefits, or any form of governmental relief whatsoever;

d.   The value of benefits provided to employees under this injury leave program shall not exceed the total of $5,000 per employee per injury, unless approved in writing by the employee’s department head after receiving an acceptable treatment plan and consulting with the city’s risk manager;

e.   The city's risk manager is principally responsible for the review of injury leave claims, exceptthat appeals from the decision of the city’s risk manager may be reviewed by the human resources director, who may make recommendations to the mayor for final decisions;

f.    If an employee is eligible for workers’ compensation as provided by law, and is not receiving injury leave pursuant to this provision, an employee may elect to use either accumulated sick leave or hours from the RL account, if applicable, and authorized vacation time to supplement workers’ compensation. The total value of leave hours or hours from an RL account combined with a workers’ compensation benefit may not exceed an employee's regular net salary.

XII.    Jury Leave and Court Appearances

a.  An employee shall be released from duty with full pay when, in obedience to a subpoena or direction by proper authority, the employee is required to either serve on a jury or appear as a witness for the United States, the state of Utah, or other political subdivision.

b.  Employees are entitled to retain statutory fees paid for service in a federal, state, or city/county justice court.

c.  On any day that an employee is required to report for service and is thereafter excused from such service during his or her regular working hours from the city, he or she shall forthwith return to and carry on his or her regular city employment. Employees who fail to return to work after being excused from service for the day shall be subject to discipline.

d.  Court appearances. A police sergeant is eligible to receive compensation as a witness subpoenaed by the city, the state of Utah, or the United States for a court or administrative proceeding appearance as follows: 

i.   Appearances in court or administrative proceeding made while on-duty will be compensated as normal hours worked.

ii.  In the event an appearance extends beyond the end of an employee's regularly scheduled shift, time will be counted as normal work time for the purpose of computing an employee's overtime compensation.

iii. Appearances made while off-duty will be compensated as follows:

(a) The city will pay employees for two (2) hours of preparation time plus actual time spent in court or in an administrative hearing at one and one-half times their regular hourly rate. Lunch periods granted are not considered compensable time. Compensation for additional preparation time for any subsequent appearance during the same day is allowed only when there are at least two hours between the employee’s release time from a prior court or administrative proceeding and the start of the other.

(b) If time spent in court or administrative proceeding extends into the beginning of the employee's regularly scheduled work shift, time spent in court or in administrative proceeding will be deemed ended at the time such shift is scheduled to begin.

iv. An employee is required to provide a copy of the subpoena, including the beginning time and time released from the court or administrative hearing with initials of the prosecuting or another court representative within seven working days following the appearance.

v.  Any employee failing to appear in compliance with the terms of a formal notice or subpoena may be subject to disciplinary action.

XIII.   Additional Leave of Absence (excluding FMLA, Military Leave, Workers’ Compensation)

a.  Employees may request a leave of absence from their department director. Such leave is limited to a maximum of 3 months within a 12-month period.

b. 

c.  Employees on an approved unpaid leave of absence will not accrue leave time.

d.  Employees may continue their medical and/or dental insurance for anyone enrolled in their plan as of the effective date of the unpaid leave by enrolling in COBRA within 60 days from the date of the COBRA notice. 

e.  If employee elects to continue medical and/or dental coverage, they will be billed monthly for 102% of the total monthly premium. 

XIV.   Military Leave

a.  Leave of absence for employees who enter uniformed service.  An employee who enters the service of a uniformed service of the United States, including the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Coast Guard, or the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, shall be entitled to be absent from his or her duties and service from the city, without pay, as required by state and federal law. Leave shall be granted for no more than five cumulative years, consistent with the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

b.  Leave while on duty with the armed forces or Utah National Guard.  An employee who is or who becomes a member of the reserves of the federal armed forces, including United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, and the United States Coast Guard, or any unit of the Utah National Guard, shall be allowed military leave for up to 11 working days per calendar year for time spent on active or reserve duty. Military leave may be in addition to vacation leave and need not be consecutive days of service. To be covered, an employee must provide documentation to the city demonstrating a duty requirement.

XV.     Personal Leave (Plan B)

a.  Employees hired on or after November 16, 1997 shall receive personal leave benefits under plan B. Employees who were hired before November 16, 1997, shall participate in plan B if they so elected during any city- established election period occurring after 1998.

b.  The benefit plan year of plan “B” begins in each calendar year on the first day of the pay-period that includes November 15. Under this plan “B,” paid personal leave shall be provided for employees as insurance against loss of income when an employee needs to be absent from work because of illness or injury, to care for a dependent, or for any other emergency or personal reason. Where the leave is not related to the employee’s own illness or disability—or an event that qualifies under the FMLA—a personal leave request is subject to supervisory approval based on the operational requirements of the city and any policies regarding the use of such leave adopted by the department in which the employee works.

c.  Each full-time employee under plan “B” shall be awarded personal leave hours based on the following schedule:

d.  Employees hired during the plan year are provided personal leave on a prorated basis.

e.  Not later than October 31 of each calendar year, employees covered by plan “B” may elect, by notifying their personnel/payroll administrator in writing, to:

i.   Convert any unused personal leave hours available at the end of the first pay period of November to a lump sum payment equal to the following: For each converted hour, the employee will be paid 50 percent of the employee’s regular hourly base wage rate (not including acting pay) in effect on date of conversion. In no event will total pay hereunder exceed 40 hours of pay (80 hours at 50%); or.

ii.  Carryover to the next calendar year up to 80 unused personal leave hours; or,

iii. Convert a portion of unused personal leave hours to a lump sum payment as provided in subparagraph e(i) above, and carry over a portion as provided in subparagraph e(ii)), above.

f.   Maximum Accrual. A maximum of 80 hours of personal leave may be carried over to the next plan year. Any personal leave hours unused at the end of the plan year in excess of 80 will be converted to a lump sum payment as provided in subparagraph e(i) above.

g.  Conditions on Use of Personal Leave include:

i.   Personal Leave hours may be used starting on the first day of the pay period following the pay period in which hours are granted.

ii.  Minimum use of personal leave, with supervisory approval, must be in no less than quarter-hour increments.

iii. Except in unforeseen circumstances, such as emergencies or the employee’s inability to work due to their illness or accident, or an unforeseen FMLA-qualifying event, an employee must provide their supervisor with prior notice to allow time for the supervisors to make arrangements necessary to cover the employee’s work.

iv. For leave due to unforeseen circumstances, the employee must give their supervisors as much prior notice as possible.

h.  Termination Benefits. An employee separating from employment may not exhaust more than 80 hours of any combination of accrued vacation, personal leave, or banked (holiday or vacation) leave prior to their last day of employment. At termination of employment for any reason, accumulated unused personal leave hours, minus any adjustment necessary after calculating the “prorated amount,” shall be paid to the employee at 50 percent of the regular hourly base wage rate (not including acting pay) on the date of termination for each unused hour. For purposes of this paragraph, “prorated amount” shall mean the amount of personal leave credited at the beginning of the plan year, multiplied by the ratio of the number of pay periods worked in the plan year (rounded to the end of the pay period which includes the separation date) to 26 pay periods. If the employee, at the time of separation, has used personal leave in excess of the prorated amount, the value of the excess amount shall be reimbursed to the city and may be deducted from the employee’s paycheck.

XVI.   Sick Leave (Plan A)

a.  Sick leave is provided for employees covered under plan “A” as insurance against loss of income when an employee is unable to perform assigned duties because of illness or injury. The mayor may establish rules governing the interfacing of sick leave and workers’ compensation benefits and avoiding, to the extent allowable by law, duplicative payments.

b.  Sick leave hours may be used on the first day of the pay period following the period in which the hours are accrued.

c.  Each full-time employee accrues sick leave at a rate of 4.62 hours per pay period. For any plan year in which there are 27 pay periods, no sick leave hours will be awarded on the 27th pay period. Authorized and unused sick leave may be accumulated from year to year, subject to the limitations of this plan.

i.     Sick Leave Accrual for Fire Battalion Chiefs – Each covered employee shall be entitled to 15 days of sick leave each calendar year, except for members of the Combat Division who shall be entitled to 7.5 shifts of sick leave each calendar year. The City shall credit a covered employee’s sick leave account in a lump sum (either 15 days or7.5 shifts) during the first month of each calendar year. Authorized and unused sick leave may be accumulated from year to year subject to the limitations of this plan.

d.  Under this plan “A,” full-time employees who have accumulated 240 hours of sick leave may choose to convert up to 64 hours of the sick leave earned and unused during any given year to vacation. Any sick leave used during the calendar year reduces the allowable conversion by an equal amount.

i.     Sick Leave Conversion for Fire Battalion Chiefs –  Fire Battalion Chiefs who have accumulated 15 shifts (for combat employees), or 240 hours (for non-combat employees) may choose to convert a portion of the year sick leave grant from any given year to vacation, as follows—

e.  Conversion at the maximum allowable hours will be made unless the employee elects otherwise. Any election by an employee for no conversion, or to convert less than the maximum allowable sick leave hours to vacation time, must be made by notifying the employee’s personnel/payroll administrator, in writing, not later than the second pay period of the new calendar year (or the November vacation draw for Fire Battalion Chiefs). Otherwise, the opportunity to waive conversion or elect conversion other than the maximum allowable amount shall be deemed waived for that calendar year. In no event shall sick leave days be converted from other than the current year's sick leave allocation.

f.   Any sick leave hours, properly converted to vacation benefits as above described, must be taken before any other vacation hours to which the employee is entitled, however, in no event is an employee, upon the employee’s separation from employment, entitled to any pay or compensation for any sick leave converted to vacation. An employee forfeits any sick leave converted to vacation remaining unused at the date of separation from employment.

XVII.  Vacation Leave

     The city will pay eligible employees their regular salaries during vacation periods earned and taken in   
     accordance with the following provisions. Except as provided for expressly in city policy or elsewhere,
     vacation leave hours are ineligible to be cashed out or used to exceed the total number of hours for which
     an employee is regularly compensated during a work week or a pay period. Except for appointed
     employees, no employee shall be entitled to use any vacation unless the employee has successfully
      completed their initial probationary period.

a.  Full-time employees and appointed employees (except for those noted in paragraphs B and C of this subsection) shall accrue vacation leave based upon years of city service as follows:

b.  Department directors, the mayor’s chief of staff, up to two additional senior positions in the mayor’s office as specified by the mayor, the executive director of the city council, justice court judges, and the chief operating officer of the redevelopment agency will accrue 7.69 hours each bi-weekly pay period.

c.  Fire battalion chiefs in the operations division of the fire department shall accrue vacation leave according to the following schedule:

              d.   For any plan year in which there are 27 pay periods, no vacation leave hours will be awarded
                            on the 27th pay period.
                   e.   Years of city service shall be based on the most recent date the person became a full-time
                           salaried employee.
                    f.    Full-time employees re-hired by Salt Lake City are eligible to receive up to three years of prior
                           service credit for purposes of vacation and personal leave accrual only. Prior service credit does not                           apply to any other benefits including longevity pay or short term disability. See employment practices                              policy.
                     g.    Full-time and appointed employees (except those listed in paragraph b of this subsection) may
                              accumulate vacation, according to the length of their full-time years of city service up to the
                            following maximum limits:             

                         For purposes of this subsection, "days" means "8-hour" days and “shifts” means “24 hour”
                         combat shifts.

h.    Department directors and those included in paragraph b of this subsection may accumulate up to
        320 hours of vacation without regard to their years of employment with the city.

 i.    Any vacation accrued beyond the allowable maximums will be deemed forfeited unless utilized
        prior to the end of each calendar year in which the hours are accrued.  However, in the case of an
        employee’s return from an unpaid military leave of absence, leave hours may be restored
        according to requirements under federal law and city ordinance.

j.     An employee separating from employment may not exhaust more than 80 hours of any combination of vacation, personal leave or banked (holiday or vacation) leave prior to their last day of employment. Employees shall be paid at their base hourly rate for any unused accrued vacation leave time following termination of employment, including retirement.       

k.  Vacation hours may be used on the first day of the pay period following the period in which the hours are accrued.

XVIII. Vacation Allowance

a.  As a recruiting incentive, the mayor or the city council may provide a one-time allowance of up to 120 hours of vacation leave.    

Current References:

Parental Leave Request Form

Policy 3.03.06 Family and Medical Leave Act

Policy 3.01.04 Employment Practices Policy