Richmond Heights Memorial Library

Richmond Heights Memorial Library Employee Leave Allowance

Leave allowances include holidays, vacation, sick leave, special leave, leave of absence and injury leave.

Definitions:

In this section Full-time refers to an employee who regularly works 37 hours per week or more.
In this section Part-time refers to an employee who regularly works at least 20 hours, but no more than 36 hours per week.

1. Holidays

The Library will be closed for the following holidays.

All full-time employees are entitled to be paid for the hours they would normally have worked on these days had the Library been open. When a paid holiday falls on a day any full-time employee would normally be scheduled off (excluding Sundays), that employee is entitled to receive holiday pay for a day off to be scheduled at a later date. Earned holidays shall be used within one year of the date earned, must be requested in advance and may be taken only with the permission of the Director.

All part-time employees will receive pay for the number of hours they would normally have been scheduled to work on a given holiday. Part-time employees who would normally have been scheduled off on a closed holiday will have earned a half day compensation time (4 hrs). The earned time off shall be used within one year of the date it is earned, must be requested in advance, and may be taken only with the permission of the Director.

As stated above, the Library will be closed the Sunday before Memorial Day and the Sunday before Labor Day. No holiday compensation of time or wages will be owed for these days to any employees, except those employees hired with the understanding they will consistently work Sunday hours.

* Shelvers and employees who are regularly scheduled less than 20 hours will be paid for their regularly scheduled hours when the library is closed due to an emergency closing (snow day, loss of heat or power).

2. Vacation Benefit.

Employees other than the Director having been employed as full-time staff for a period of one year are entitled to vacation leave with pay as follows:

80 hours after the completion of one year of service.

120 hours after the completion of five years of service.

Part-time employees (>20hrs/wk) shall be eligible for an annual vacation at the completion of one year of service. The amount of vacation will equal twice the average number of hours worked in a week.

Absence on account of sickness, injury or disability in excess of that authorized for such purposes may, at the request of the employee and within the discretion of the Director, be charged against vacation leave allowance.

Vacation accrues on employee's anniversary date

The Director shall keep records of vacation leave allowance and its use. Vacation requests must be submitted to the Director far enough in advance for regular scheduling and normally shall be scheduled at least seven days in advance. Vacation requests will be approved with particular regard to

1. Operation of the facility
2. The request of the employee
3. Job level/ Seniority

Vacation time must be taken within one year of the date it was earned or the time will be forfeited.

When a regularly scheduled holiday occurs during the period of an employee's vacation, an additional day of vacation shall be granted.

When an employee is dismissed or resigns, he or she shall be entitled to compensation for vacation accrued to the date of separation.

3. Sick Leave Benefit

Full-time employees shall earn sick leave with full pay at the rate of eight hours for each calendar month of service. Part-time employees (>20hrs) shall earn sick leave with full pay at the rate of 4 hours for each calendar month.

Sick leave will accrue from the date of employment.

Any employee who has taken three (3) consecutive sick days may be asked to obtain a physician's release upon returning to work. Release should state nature of illness.

Full time employees may accumulate up to 480 hours of sick leave. Once the employee has reached their maximum accumulated sick days, each 3 days(96 hrs) in excess of 480 may be converted to one (1) additional vacation day, to a maximum of four (4) additional days per vacation year. (passed by board 3-19-90)

Part-time employees may accumulate up to (240) hours leave.

When an employee is dismissed, resigns, or retires, he or she shall not be entitled to compensation for sick leave accrued.

SPECIAL LEAVE

Special leave includes funeral leave, military leave, and jury duty leave.

1. Funeral Leave. All full-time employees shall be entitled to a maximum of forty (40) hours leave with pay for death in the immediate family. Immediate family is defined as a spouse, significant other, father, mother, step father, step mother, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, child, grandchild or stepchild, or other members of your household. All full-time employees shall be entitled to a maximum of sixteen (16) hours of leave with pay for death of a mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, aunt or uncle. Such leave shall be available on a per-occurrence basis, as reviewed and approved by the department director. Sick leave may be used with the director's approval in those cases where the times set out above are not adequate. Upon request, the employee shall provide the Library with proof of needs by presenting a death notice or other evidence deemed sufficient by the Library.

2. Military Leave

a. A regular, full time employee who has successfully completed his/her Initial Service Period is eligible to receive military leave with pay if he/she is ordered to serve a Reserve or National Guard two (2) week annual training program.

b. The employee should immediately notify the director and present a statement from the Commanding Officer describing the length of training and the amount of money received for the period of training.

c. Leave for such annual training generally shall not exceed ten (10) working days, unless otherwise required by law. Payment, on only an annual basis, will equal the difference between the training pay and the employee's weekly wages and will be given upon return to work. In cases where the government pay exceeds the staff person's weekly wages, there will be no additional pay.

d. Employees who are entering military service or who have Reserve or National Guard obligations and who are not eligible for leave as provided by any other section of the City's leave policy, shall be granted military leave without pay with re-employment rights as provided by Federal Law. Eligibility for reinstatement after duty or training will be determined in accordance with applicable law.

Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

This policy has been developed by the City of Richmond Heights and adopted by the Richmond Heights Memorial Library to comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. It is not the intent of this policy to reduce or restrict rights of employees to obtain paid or unpaid leaves of absence under the Library's other leave policies; however, as a condition to obtaining leave under this policy, employees may be required to first exhaust any other leave allowance as part of the leave provided under this policy. Also, any leave taken under the Library's disability plans will be designated as FMLA leave and both shall run concurrently for purposes of both the benefit plan and the FMLA leave entitlement. If the requirements to qualify for payments pursuant to the City's temporary disability plan are more stringent than those of the FMLA, an employee must meet the more stringent requirements of the disability plan, or the employee may choose not to meet the requirements of the plan and instead receive no payments from the plan and use FMLA leave. Holidays that fall within this leave will not be paid. Any questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Library director or the Human Resources Coordinator.

Guidelines For FMLA

1. Those employees who have been employed for at least twelve (12) months and who have worked at least 1,250 hours during the twelve (12) month period prior to the start of leave may be entitled to up to twelve (12) work weeks' leave, ordinarily unpaid, during a rolling twelve (12) month period, measured backward from the date an employee uses any FMLA leave, provided certain requirements are met.
2. An FMLA leave of absence will be granted to eligible employees for the following reasons:

(a) For the birth and care of a child, or placement of a child through adoption or foster care, provided, however, the leave is taken within twelve (12) months following birth or placement.
(b) To care for the employee's spouse, son or daughter, or parent suffering from a serious health condition, where the employee is needed to care for such person.
(c) For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his/her job.

3. All leave granted under this policy, including intermittent and/or reduced leave, will be applied against the twelve (12) week maximum.
Eligible employees are required to provide at least thirty (30) days' advance notice of the need for leave when foreseeable under 2.a. above, or for planned medical treatment pursuant to 2.b. or 2.c. above. When unforeseen events occur that require leave under this policy, notice must be given as soon as practicable, ordinarily not later than one (1) or two (2) working days of learning of the need for leave. An employee who fails to give appropriate advance notice as outlined above may have his or her leave delayed or be subject to disciplinary action.
An employee who requires leave paragraphs under 2.b. or 2.c. above must, within fifteen (15) calendar days after providing notice of the need for leave, submit the prescribed written certification form, signed by the appropriate health care provider, verifying, among other things, the data on the prescribed form. Failure of the employee to submit the prescribed form within fifteen (15) days after providing notice of the need for leave will result in delay of leave until certification is submitted, and if the certification is not provided, the leave is not FMLA-qualifying. An employee may be required to obtain a second medical opinion, in the Library/City's discretion and at the Library/City's cost. If the two (2) opinions differ, the Library/City and employee will select another health care provider for a third opinion, at the Library/City's expense, and that opinion shall be final and binding. Subsequent recertification may be required in accord with law.
6. Intermittent leave requests or requests for a reduced leave schedule under paragraphs 2.b. and 2.c. above are subject to the same rules as stated in paragraphs 4 and 5 above and hence a health care provider's certification of medical necessity and the expected duration and schedule of the leave must be submitted on the prescribed form. The employee must, however, make a reasonable effort to schedule medical treatment so as not to unduly disrupt business operations. Further, if the need for leave is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the Library reserves its right to transfer the affected employee temporarily to an alternate position with equivalent pay and benefits for which the employee is qualified, if the transfer better accommodates the requested leave.
7. Eligible employees who are husband and wife are limited to only a combined total of twelve (12) weeks of leave during any twelve (12) month period, if the leave is taken (1) for birth and care of a child; (2) for placement and care of a child; or (3) to care for a parent (but not a "parent-in-law") with a serious health condition. Where the husband and wife both have used a portion of the twelve (12) week entitlement for one (1) of the above purposes, each is entitled to the difference between the amount he or she has taken individually and twelve (12) weeks to care for a child with a serious health condition or to care for their own serious health condition.
8. Employees are required to substitute and exhaust accrued vacation pay and/or the personal leave pay for leave requested under paragraphs 2.a. or 2.b. Employees are required to substitute and exhaust accrued vacation pay, the personal leave pay and/or paid sick leave for leave requested under paragraphs 2.b. or 2.c. Such substituted paid time will be applied against the twelve (12) week maximum.
9. During the twelve (12) week maximum leave period, coverage under the group health insurance plan, if any, will be maintained at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided had leave not been taken. Employees will be required to continue to pay their portion of premiums as if they had not taken leave. Said premiums will be paid in two (2) possible ways: (a) if a portion of the leave is paid pursuant to 8. above, then the ordinary payroll deduction system will be used, to the extent possible; and/or (b) to the extent that payroll deduction does not cover the entire premium cost for which the employee is responsible, the employee must deliver to the Library the full monthly cost of said premium on or before the last day of the month prior to the month for which coverage is desired; one (1) written reminder will be provided, and if the full portion of the premium has not been received by the date specified in the written reminder, the coverage will lapse as of the last day of the month for which the full coverage premium was paid. If an employee fails to return to work for at least thirty (30) days after expiration of the leave, the Library reserves its right to recover premiums paid, if any, to maintain employee coverage during the leave period under circumstances provided by law.
10. As a condition of returning to work from a leave granted pursuant to 2.c. above, the employee must timely present a certification from his/her health care provider that the employee is able to resume work. Restoration will be denied until the certification is presented. An employee returning from leave under this policy, who has complied with its terms, generally will be restored to the same (or equivalent) position the employee held prior to leave. A returning employee does not, however, have a greater right to restoration or other benefits than if the employee had been continuously employed during the leave period. Employees are to notify the Library director/HR department of their intent to return to work at least two (2) weeks prior to the anticipated date of return.
11. An employee who, within the calendar year, has exhausted his/her twelve (12) week maximum and fails to return to work, shall be considered to have resigned with notice and his/her employment will be terminated unless he/she applies for, and has been granted, leave under some other policy of the Employer.

Worker's Compensation Benefits
In order to provide payment of employee's expenses and for partial salary continuation in the event of a work-related accident or illness, the Library provides workers' compensation insurance for all Library employees. The amount of benefits available and the duration of payment depend on the nature of the employee's injury or illness. In general, however, all medical expenses incurred in connection with an injury or illness are paid in full, and partial salary payments are provided beginning with the fourth (4th) day of your absence from work. If you are injured or become ill on the job, you must immediately report such injury or illness to your supervisor, Library director or Human Resources Coordinator, regardless of whether you believe medical treatment is required. This ensures that the Library can assist you in obtaining appropriate medical treatment. Your failure to follow this procedure may result in the appropriate workers' compensation report not being filed in accordance with State law, which may consequently jeopardize your right to benefits in connection with the injury or illness.

a. An injured employee shall be required to submit a City of Richmond Heights Report of Injury form to the Library/Human Resources Coordinator. NOTE: the Non-Medical Injury Report form may be used if no medical treatment was required. b. An employee who is temporarily disabled in line of duty shall receive pay equal to the difference between the amount received from Worker's Compensation benefits and normal net pay for the period of disability without charge against vacation or sick leave, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The disability resulted from an injury or illness sustained directly in the performance of the employee's work, as provided in the State Workers' Compensation Act. (2) Limited duty, if allowed by the Worker's Compensation physician and if available, will be offered so an employee may return to work quickly. This duty is available only with the consent of the Library director. If no limited duty is available, the employee must remain off the job until unconditionally released by the Worker's Compensation doctor for full duty. Unwillingness to accept such light duty assignment(s) as directed by the department director will make the employee ineligible for the City's portion of the Worker's Compensation payment during the remainder of the injury leave. The director has a right to designate the number of limited duty positions available within the Library at any one time and the maximum length of time for such assignments up to a six month maximum. The Library director shall reserve the right to review and approve or disapprove individual requests based on the circumstances.

c. A physician selected or approved by the Library/City shall determine the physical ability of the employee to continue working or to return to work.
d. Injury leave benefit shall not exceed six (6) months for any one injury.
c. A physician selected or approved by the Library/City shall determine the physical ability of the employee to continue working or to return to work.
d. Injury leave benefit shall not exceed six (6) months for any one injury.
e. An employee's injury leave benefit may be discontinued under any of the following conditions:

(1) The employee submits a fraudulent report.
(2) Unexplained delay in reporting any injury to his/her immediate supervisor or department director.
(3) The accident involves gross negligence by the employee including, but not limited to, incidents involving the use of drugs and/or alcohol in violation of the Substance Abuse Policy or direct violations of the City's Safety Manual.
(4) The employee fails to seek or take prescribed medication/treatments by the City's appointed Worker's Compensation physician(s).
(5) The employee fails to attend all scheduled treatment and follow-up visits unless other arrangements have been made and approved by the Library Director/Human Resource Coordinator.
(6) It is the employee's duty to report, in a timely manner, the status of future medical appointments and return to work information to either the Human Resource Coordinator or Library Director. Failure to do so can become grounds for disciplinary action.
(7) The employee continues to perform duties for an outside employer.
(8) The employee has a prognosis that he/she cannot ever return to work.

f. The initial three (3) shift days of temporary disability are not compensable by workers' compensation unless the length of temporary disability time exceeds fourteen (14) shift days. After the fourteen (14) shift day limit, the employee will be reimbursed the initial three (3) shift days of temporary disability benefit. The initial three (3) days will be covered under the City's Injury Leave benefit.

(1) An injured employee shall be required to submit a workers' compensation injury report and claim. The effect of receiving injury leave shall be that an employee shall receive that portion of his/her regular salary which will, together with workers' compensation benefits, equal his/her total salary for the period of disability up to the limit prescribed. In no case shall the employee receive compensation and sick leave benefits in excess of normal pay; provided, however, that any award of permanent partial disability benefits shall be excluded from such limitation.

g. If an employee is not on injury leave but is scheduled for Worker's Compensation medical treatment during his/her regular working hours, he/she will be compensated with their regular hourly wage for a reasonable length of time to travel to and from the facility for treatment and the time actually spent at the facility.

h. Employees may be requested to sign a release for medical information in order for the municipality and its agents to obtain pertinent medical information from private care providers or hospitals. This information is vital to the continuation and/or payment of benefits to which the employee may be entitled.

>i. Disability leave may be extended by the City Manager to a maximum length of one (1) year after consultation with the City-appointed physician and upon reasonable assurance that said injured employee will be capable of fully performing his/her duties at the end of said extension.

Accidents In The Workplace-For more information and examples of all reporting forms, please refer to the City of Richmond Heights' Safety Manual.

(1) Medical care to cure the injury, not just the doctors' bills but also medicines, hospital costs, fees for lab tests, x-rays, crutches and so forth. There is no deductible and all costs are paid directly by the employer's insurance company, so you should never see a bill.

(2) Rehabilitation services necessary to return to work. Sometimes this is just an extension of medical treatment - for example, physical therapy to strengthen muscles. However, if the injury keeps you from returning to your usual job, you may also qualify for vocational rehabilitation and retraining.

(3) Cash benefits for lost wages - The most usual kind are benefits for "temporary disability", which will be made so long as the doctor says you are unable to work. Additional cash benefits may be made after you are able to work if there is a permanent disability -- for example, the amputation of a finger or loss of sight. If the injury results in death, payments will be paid to surviving dependents. The benefits provided for temporary total disability are calculated at sixty-six and two-thirds (66-2/3) of the injured worker's average week wage - not to exceed 75 percent of the state average weekly wage. Workers' Compensation payments are tax-free. There are no deductions for state or federal taxes, Social Security, or union, etc. Compensation is paid at least every two weeks.

What is not covered by Workers' Compensation

a. No compensation is paid for the first three (3) shift days of disability unless the disability lasts longer than fourteen (14) shift days. The City shall compensate the employee for the first three (3) days under the Injury Leave Benefit.

b. Although the Workers' Compensation law provides that an employer cannot discharge or discriminate against an employee for exercising his rights under the Workers' Compensation law, there is no specific requirement that an employer keep a job open while the employee is off, or to rehire him.

c. The employer and insurer are not required to pay for treatment the employee seeks without authorization.

Additional Coverage by the City/Library

The effect of receiving injury leave shall be that an employee shall receive that portion of his/her regular salary which will, together with workers' compensation benefits, equal his/her total salary for the period of disability up to the limit prescribed. In no case shall the employee receive compensation and sick leave benefits in excess of normal pay; provided, however, that any award of permanent partial disability benefits shall be excluded from such limitation.

Adopted by the Richmond Heights Memorial Library
Board of Trustees
May 17, 2010
Revised and adopted April, 2012

Richmond Heights Memorial Library

Jeanette Piquet, Director
8001 Dale Avenue
Richmond Heights, Missouri 63117
Voice: 314.645.6202 Fax: 314.781.3434

The Richmond Heights Memorial Library is a member of the



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