SERIES NUMBER 304
TITLE: Paid Time Off and Extended Illness Benefit
Ford County provides paid time off (PTO) benefits to all eligible regular full-time employees and regular part time employees to add flexibility for County employees in taking time off away from employment, and at the same time maintaining effective staffing. The Ford County Board of Commissioners find that it is in the best interest of the employees to be responsible for determining how their time away from work will best suit their individual needs and preferences and that employees should be given flexibility in their paid time from work.
PTO will begin to accrue from date of hire or date of reclassification from temporary status to regular status. New employees will not be allowed to request use of PTO until the first day of the month following 30 days of employment, unless the need for leave was disclosed and approved at time of hire. Leave may be used in one quarter (15 minute) increments and will be used to maintain the minimum number of work week hours for that particular employee classification.
PTO will accrue while utilizing paid leave and will run concurrently with all applicable leave status. See FMLA Series 601
PTO method of accrual will be based on employee classification, regular hours worked and length of service as follows:
Years of Accrual Based on Max. Service Hours Worked Hours Regular Part Time
0-4 .0423 30
5-9 .0481 45
10-14 .0519 70
15+ .0616 85 Regular Full Time 35 hour work week
0-4 .0846 169
5-9 .0962 193
10-14 0.1038 208
15+ 0.1231 246 Years of Accrual Based on Max. Service Hours Worked Hours
Regular Full Time 40 hour work week
0-4 .0846 194
5-9 .0962 220
10-14 .1038 237
15+ .1231 282
Regular Full Time 12 hour shift
0-4 .0846 203
5-9 .0962 231
10-14 .1038 249
15+ .1231 296
Regular Full Time 24 hour shift 0-4 .0846 261
5-9 .0962 297
10-14 .1038 321
15+ .1231 380
Upon reaching the maximum number of hours accrued, the leave accrual will change to extended leave and be deposited into the full time employees Extended Illness Bank (EIB) until the maximum 720 hours are attained. Part time employees will stop accruing PTO when they reach the maximum number of hours allowed.
Extended leave is intended to reduce the hardship of a serious illness or longer absence from work due to the need to care for a family member. Leave requested from your EIB must be used for a FMLA qualifying event and medical certification may be required. If extended leave is for the employee’s own illness or injury, a fitness for duty or full medical release will be required before that employee is allowed to return to duty. As an additional condition of eligibility for EIB leave benefits, an employee on an extended absence must apply for any other available compensation and benefits, such as workers' compensation, or FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act).
Requests for leave must follow department practice regarding advance notice and may be denied by the direct supervisor or Department Head if undue hardship would be created by allowing the time off. All reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate leave requests that follow department procedures.
Employees who are unable to report to work due to illness or injury should notify their direct supervisor before the scheduled start of their workday, if possible. The direct supervisor must also be contacted on each additional day of absence. If an employee is absent for three or more consecutive days due to illness or injury, or the day before or after a holiday or vacation, a physician's statement may be required verifying the disability and it's beginning and expected ending dates. Such verification may be requested for other leave absences as well and may be required as a condition to receiving leave benefits. Before returning to work from a absence due to personal illness lasting longer than three days and after any hospitalization, the employee is required to provide a physician's verification that he or she may safely return to work.
Leave benefits will be calculated based on the employee's base pay rate at the time of absence and will not include any special forms of compensation, such as shift differentials. Unused Extended illness leave benefits will be allowed to accumulate until the employee has accrued a total of 720 hours.
Employees may elect to sell back or ‘cash out’ unused PTO time up to twice a year at .50 on the dollar. The only restrictions are that the ‘cash out’ must be a minimum of 20 hours and must be requested in writing two weeks before expected pay date. A minimum of 48 hours must remain in PTO after the cash out for full time employees and a minimum of 20 hours for part time employees. Any employee taking an unpaid leave of absence except military leave will forfeit this option for 12 months from the date of the most recent absence.
Upon a voluntary separation from employment, an employee with 10 or more years of continuous service with Ford County shall be paid 25% of unused extended illness leave; an employee with 20 or more years of continuous service shall be paid 75% of unused extended illness leave; and an employee with 30 or more years of continuous years of service shall be paid 100% of unused extended illness leave. An employee, who voluntarily leaves Ford County's employment and is eligible for this incentive, will receive the payment with their final paycheck. The payment shall be calculated based upon the employee's rate of pay at the time of separation.
Employees shall be paid the balance of PTO upon termination of employment in good standing. The payment shall be calculated based upon the employee's rate of pay at the time of separation.
Conversion to PTO: The balance of vacation and sick leave will be added together and the total leave applied to PTO up to the maximum amount allowed. The remaining hours will be deposited into the employee’s EIB. If the balance of the EIB exceeds 720 hours the employee will be paid excess hours at 50% of their base pay rate on the date of the conversion. Vacation benefits not yet credited to the employee will be prorated to the date of conversion and added to the PTO bank.
Date of Adoption: August 18, 2014
Review Date(s):
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