A.             Request for Temporary Leave of Absence

1.             Any request for an excused, planned absence not otherwise covered by this Agreement shall be made in writing by the employee to the Superintendent through the building principal at least one (1) week prior the to requested time of absence.   The Superintendent shall determine whether or not such request for excused, planned absence shall be approved, and notify the employee in question of his/her decision as soon as practicable.   In the event permission is granted, the Superintendent also shall determine whether or not deduction from salary shall be made.   The Superintendent may, in his/her discretion, waive the time limits specified herein.

B .             Sick Leave

1.             Each member of the Unit shall be allowed sick leave without loss of salary for at least twelve (12) working days in any year due to personal sickness or physical disability, including maternity.   If the full amount of sick leave allowed is not used in any school year, the amount not used shall be accumulated from year to year.   Members of the Unit employed with effective dates subsequent to September 1 st shall be credited with sick leave in accordance with the following table during the first year of employment:

During the first year (12 consecutive calendar months) of employment, an employee must present a certified physician's explanation accounting for use of sick leave beyond five days.   Failure to provide such explanation shall result in a loss of pay equivalent to the time absent beyond five days.   The five days do not have to be consecutive.

At the beginning of each subsequent year of employment, twelve (12) sick days shall be credited to each Unit member's account.   There shall be no limitation on the total number of sick leave days which may be accumulated.

2.             Disability due to pregnancy shall be treated in the same manner as all other temporary disabilities.

3.             The employees who are absent from duty because of illness may be required, at the discretion of the Superintendent, or a designee, to file a medical report with the school medical director.   When such a report is requested, the Superintendent will make a determination whether sick leave payments shall be allowed.

4.             The employee shall notify the building principal/supervisor or his/her designee of the use of a sick day according to reasonable procedures established for call in.   If the employee anticipates that he/she will not be able to return on the next day, the employee will call the building principal/supervisor before the end of the work day whenever possible.    The employee shall be responsible to notify the principal/supervisor or his/her designee of any change in status which will affect the assignment of a substitute to the employee's position.   In those cases where a sick leave is over five (5) days, the employee shall forward medical documentation and anticipated return date to the Health Services Office.   The employee shall also call the building principal/supervisor to inform of the anticipated date of return whenever possible.

5.             In the event an employee in his/her first year if service in the District is dismissed, remaining sick leave available to that employee shall be prorated in such manner that the total number of sick leave days used by that employee up to and including the effective date of termination shall not exceed:

•  one (1) day for one (1) month's service

•  two (2) days for two (2) months' service

•  three (3) days for three (3) months' service

•  four (4) days for four (4) months' service

•  five (5) days for five (5) months' service

•  six (6) days for six (6) months' service

•  seven (7) days for seven (7) months' service

•  eight (8) days for eight (8) months' service

•  ten (10) days for nine (9) months' service

•  twelve (12) days for 10 (10) months' service

The District shall have the right to deduct any compensation for sick leave in excess of above.   Such deduction may be made from the employee's final paycheck.

6.             Employees regularly employed by the District in the summer shall be allowed to use one (1) day of sick leave during summer school employment.

7.             Effective 7/1/2003 Refugee Translators who are regularly scheduled to work over 10 hours per week will receive prorated sick leave.

C.             Personal Leave

In addition to vacation time, leaves of absence up to five (5) paid working days shall be granted to an employee to attend to:

1.             Serious illness in the immediate family (as identified in section D.2.).

2.             Personal matters which cannot be accomplished during other than normal working hours (for such proceedings as financial, real estate closing, Internal Revenue business, legal court appearance, estate settlement, legal consultations, reading of will, adoption, educational involving personal or family registration, graduation.)

An employee's request for the use of said personal days, except in emergency situations, shall be made five (5) days prior to the requested day, and may be denied if the Supervisor feels the intent of this paragraph is being violated.   Unused personal days shall be credited to the employee's sick leave account at the end of each school year.

D .             Sickness or Death in Immediate Family

1.             Each employee shall be granted up to six (6) days of leave with full pay for each death in the immediate family or the nearest relative.   Such leave shall not be curtailed because of use of family illness days and shall be on a non-cumulative basis.

2.             Time off for serious illness in the immediate family shall be charged against personal leave as identified in section C of this Article.   Immediate family, for purposes of sections D.1. and D.2.,consists of:               

3.             Each employee shall be allowed one (1) additional full-time day to attend the funeral of any of the following family members:

Summer school employees who are regularly employed by the District shall be allowed to use one (1) day of previously accumulated sick leave during each summer of summer school employment.

* Permitted per affidavit to be filed with the Personnel Office

**Upon request, the Superintendent is authorized to grant leave pursuant to Section D.1.

4.             The Superintendent is authorized to grant additional paid emergency or funeral leave under unusual circumstances, which, in his/her judgment, justify such an exception.

E .             Compensation Cases

1.             Employees who become ill or injured due to circumstances arising out of and in the course of employment shall file a report of such illness or injury with the District and with the Workers' Compensation Board. Such report shall be filed within the time, and in the manner, required by the New York State Workers' Compensation Law. In those instances where an illness or injury is determined by the District or other forum of competent jurisdiction to be compensable as arising out of and in the course of employment, the District will compensate said employee during the period of such illness or injury up to the amount of his/her full salary.

a.             The District shall charge to the employee's accumulated sick leave any time taken because of such illness or injury for which the employee receives his or her regular salary. Such charge to, and deduction from, accumulated sick leave shall be proportionate to, and based upon, the percentage relationship between the employee's per diem rate and the daily compensation amount. No such pro rata deduction from accumulated sick leave shall be made in the event the compensable absence is the result of bodily o personal injury resulting from an assault upon the employee or because of gross negligence on the part of the District, except when there is contributory negligence on the part of the employee.

b.             In the event the number of compensation days exhausts the employee's accumulated sick days in any school year, the employee shall continue to receive full salary. Sick days which may be credited to the employee at the beginning of the next school year shall not be charged against any compensation days taken during the prior year.

c.             The District will also pay, in any compensable line of duty injury, all costs of medical expenses incurred as a result of said injury not covered by insurance provided by the terms of this Agreement. In case of an award, or third party settlement, loss of wages and/or medical or other expenses paid to the employee by the District and included in such settlement or award shall be reimbursed to the District. Any lump sum settlement or award, or damages other than such loss of wages and/or medical or other expenses, shall not be transferred to the District.

2.             Employees who are absent from duty with pay, pursuant to this paragraph, may be required, at the discretion of the Superintendent, to file a medical report with the School Medical Director. When such a report is requested, the Superintendent will make a determination on the basis of said report and the recommendation of the School Medical Director whether pay shall be continued. In no instance, shall payments to an employee for service-connected disability exceed those provided under Compensation Law, unless the Superintendent, in his/her sole and exclusive discretion, shall authorize such payments, notwithstanding any determination by any compensation board which is at variance with the determination of the Superintendent.

3.             Absences due to communicable disease or intentional tort which have been ruled by the New York State Workers' Compensation Board to be compensable shall not be charged against the employee's accumulated sick leave days, provided that a Workers' Compensation claim has been filed, proposed, and accepted by the District. In compensation cases resulting from such illness, the weekly allowance paid the employee under Workers' Compensation will be transferred to the District.

F.             Jury Duty

Each employee shall be granted leave with pay as may be necessary in order to perform jury duty. Such absence shall not be deducted from any other leave allowance. When an employee receives notice of call to jury duty, the individual shall notify the Building Principal, or designee, to that effect, on the first school day following receipt of such notice, providing to the Principal a copy thereof.

G.             Any employee shall be granted a leave of absence, with pay, by the Superintendent of Schools for any reason required by law.

H.             For purposes of longevity, leaves of absence without pay of less than six (6) months shall be disregarded. In case of leaves of absence between six (6) months and one (1) year, the entire year will be deducted in determining the accumulated time. In leaves of absence greater than one (1) year, each succeeding year will be treated as an additional year.

            1.   A leave of absence without pay does not rescind or reduce the accumulated sick leave credits of an employee, except when the leave of absence is granted because of illness and benefits are accepted.

            2.   Benefits, other than continuous service as defined by Paragraph F above to which the employee normally would become entitled during the regular course of employment under sick leave plans, are not granted, and do not accumulate during unpaid leaves of absence.

            3.   Benefits to which an employee would become entitled during the regular course of employment under vacation and holiday privileges are not granted during unpaid leaves of absence.

I.             Any employee being granted leave of absence because of ill health or incapacity may be required, at the discretion of the Superintendent of Schools or a designated representative, to present certification of health status from the employee's own physician, or submit to a physical examination by a legally qualified physician, designated by the Superintendent, at no expense to the employee. Such an examination or certificate of health status may also be required of the employee, at the discretion of the Superintendent of Schools or a designated representative, upon return from a leave of absence, prior to reinstatement.

J.            Leaves Without Pay - There shall be a District Committee, consisting of one (1) Unit 8 member to be appointed by the Association, one (1) Administrator to be appointed by the District, and one (1) individual to be selected by the other two (2), to review requests from employees for short term unpaid leaves of absence, of up to five (5) school days, which are in compliance with Administrative Bulletin No. 7. Said leaves shall be granted only to accommodate unusual or extraordinary circumstances and limited to the extent there shall be no more than a total of thirty (30) days available for leaves of this kind during any school year. A written request for such leaves must be submitted to the Committee at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the leave unless circumstances make it impossible to do so.

K.             Temporary Military Service

            1.             Employees shall be paid all salary and other benefits for any and all periods of absence while engaged in the performance of ordered temporary military duty and while going to and returning from such duty, as required by New York State Military Law. If possible, notice will be given the Building Principal or Supervisor at least two (2) weeks in advance and shall be transmitted, at the same time, in writing, to the Superintendent. Every effort shall be made by such employee affected by this Paragraph to serve temporary active duty    obligations during periods of time when school is not in session and at the request of the Superintendent or his/her designee, such employee shall be required to provide evidence of such effort in the form of a written request to the appropriate military authority to serve at a time when school is not in session. The Board agrees to intervene with higher military authorities in an effort to assist the employee who is attempting to comply with this stipulation. It is the intention of the parties that employees shall not serve temporary voluntary military duty during the periods that school is in session.

            2.             Military leave of absence for employees shall be granted pursuant to the New York State Military Law and any other state or federal statutes which may apply. Such military leave of absence shall be granted to any employee while engaged in the performance of ordered military duty, and while going to and returning from such duty, as provided by law, except the term "ordered" shall not include those instances where the leave is as a result of employee contrivance, whether by planned acquiescence or other means direct or indirect, to arrange for such duty to be taken at a time when it is not actually required by the military and/or inconvenient to the needs of the District. Absence of an employee, pursuant to this Paragraph during time of national emergency, shall not constitute an interruption of continuous employment. An employee returning from military leave of absence shall be entitled to the full military service credit then allowed for salary purposes to new applicants for positions in the District. All provisions of this sub-Paragraph shall be amended in accordance with any changes in federal or state legislation which delimit any of the above provisions.

L.             Each employee shall receive full pay for absence due to abnormally severe weather or other emergency conditions when so certified by the Principal or Supervisor and approved by the Superintendent.

            1.             The official closing of schools by the Superintendent shall not result in loss of pay by any employee unless such closure is the result of unauthorized absence from duty by members of the Unit or unless an employee has been granted excusal from duty, without pay, for the day or days of such closing.

            2.             Any employee who is on sick leave with pay on days when schools are closed due to weather conditions or other emergencies will receive full pay for such days and will not have said days deducted from his/her accumulated sick leave allowance.

            3.             In the event that schools are officially closed by the Superintendent for a period of time sufficient to require an alteration in the official School Calendar for the remainder of the year to make up the time lost, no additional compensation shall be paid to any employee for the days thereby added to the School Calendar.

            4.             On such emergency closing days, hourly employees will be paid the full amount for the number of hours scheduled for work on the day of closing.