Paid Time Off (PTO) Policy

Paid time off is provided for scheduled time off such as and unscheduled instances of illness and personal emergencies.

The PTO period runs from December 28 through December 27 of the following year. Employees will begin accruing time with their first paycheck.

 PTO shall accrue 5.3334 hours per pay period for a total of 128 hours a year for any employee with less than 5 years of service.  PTO shall accrue 7 hours per pay period for a total of 168 hours a year for any employee with greater than 5 years of service.

Eligibility to accrue PTO is contingent on the employee either working or utilizing accrued PTO for the entire bi-weekly pay period. PTO is not earned in pay periods during which unpaid leave, short or long term disability leave or workers' compensation leave are taken.

Requesting PTO time

Written PTO request shall be given to the Department by March 1st of each year for that calendar year, unless the PTO is used for legitimate unexpected illness or emergencies.

Employees, who submit request for PTO time after March 1st will be granted time off on a first come first served basis.

It is the Department Supervisor’s responsibility to monitor the PTO so that is agreeable to employees, and does not seriously compromise the functioning of the department.

Paid Time Off (PTO) Exceptions

 Employees who miss more than three consecutive unscheduled days, may be required to present a doctor's release to the Human Resources department that permits them to return to work.  PTO taken in excess of the PTO accrued can result in progressive disciplinary action up to and including termination. This time will be unpaid. The only possible exception to this policy must be granted by the Executive Director.  PTO accrued prior to the start of a requested and approved unpaid must be used to cover hours missed before the start of the unpaid leave.  Under the company's Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policy, all accrued PTO time is taken before the start of the unpaid FMLA time.  Unscheduled absences, due to illnesses of four hours or more, that result in consecutive days absent from work, are considered one absence incident in relationship to potential disciplinary action. Progressive disciplinary action relative to incidents of is administered on a rolling 12 month calendar as follows:

--One - three incidents: No disciplinary action - Supervisory --Fourth incident: Verbal warning with a documented coaching session --Fifth incident: Written warning in the employee's file --Sixth incident: Employment termination

An employee who receives a second written warning in a rolling 24 month time period will have his or her employment terminated.  An employee who has used all of his or her FMLA and Short Term Disability benefits, and is still unable to return to work, will have his or her employment terminated.  Any employee who misses two consecutive days of work without notice to their supervisor may be considered to have voluntarily quit their .

PTO Pay

PTO pay shall be paid at the employees regular hourly rate. Full time employees (those working 40 hours a week) are eligible for PTO pay. Unused PTO cannot be sold back. IF a Holiday falls within a person’s scheduled vacation time the time will be recorded as a Holiday vs. vacation time.

All employees are expected to take their PTO. However, employees will be allowed to carry over 80 hours of accrued PTO for employees with less than 5 years of service and 120 hours for employees with over 5 years of service. This is the maximum that will be allowed to carry over. Any amount exceeding this will be deleted from the employees account at the end of the PTO calendar year in which it occurs. The PTO calendar years ends December 27th.

For the purposes of computing , PTO time taken will not be considered as timed worked. An employee who is resigning and has given the required written notice of such, will be paid for any accrued vacation time owed to a maximum of 80 hours less than 5 years of service, 120 hours for greater than 5 years of service. Failure to give the required notice according to the position will result in forfeiture of accrued PTO time. Employees cannot use any PTO time to cover part of the required resignation notification period.

Employees are paid for the PTO they have accrued at employment end. If an employee has used PTO time not yet accrued, and employment terminates, the PTO taken is deducted from the final paycheck.

Responsibility for accurately recording vacation time falls on the Department Supervisor. The Supervisor will record the time used on the Time Trak system and keep a written copy of the accrual and time used. The employee will have a running total of time available on their pay voucher. Any question an employee may have should be addressed to the Supervisor.

Employees who are rehired will receive credit for former time worked and accumulate current PTO for the combined time.