AN ORDINANCE
NO.
An ordinance amending annual and sick leave policy and creating a new
catastrophic sick leave policy.
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THE COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1.
Section 16B-15-5(a)(4) of the Columbus Code is hereby repealed and
replaced with a new paragraph (4) that reads as follows:
(4) Vacation leave may be accumulated to a maximum of twenty (20) working days
for employees with less than fifteen (15) years of service, and thirty (30)
working days for employees with fifteen (15) or more years of service. At the
end of each leave year all vacation leave days above the maximum allowable
accumulation will be added to the catastrophic sick leave bank until such bank
reaches it maximum accrual.
SECTION 2.
Section 16B-15-6(a)(2) of the Columbus Code is hereby repealed and replaced
with a new paragraph (2) that reads as follows:
(2) Accumulation above thirty (30) days shall be handled in the following
manner:
When a city official or an employee shall have accumulated thirty (30) days of
sick leave by the end of the last pay period in November, he may be paid in
cash each year by December 25 for one-fourth (1/4) of the accumulated sick
leave beyond the base thirty (30) days, and the other three-fourths (3/4) above
the thirty (30) days shall be added to his sick leave reserve accumulation
until a maximum of sixty (60) days shall be attained in the reserve
accumulation. At the end of each leave year all sick leave days above the
maximum allowable reserve accumulation will be added to the catastrophic sick
leave bank until a maximum of one hundred and twenty (120) days shall be
attained.
No charge shall be made against the above sick leave reserve accumulation until
the base accumulation of thirty (30) days has been exhausted, and until a valid
medical certificate has been presented as to the nature of the employee's
illness.
SECTION 3.
Section 16B-15-6 of the Columbus Code is hereby amended by adding a new
subsection (f) that reads as follows:
Catastrophic Sick Leave. When an employee with a major illness or injury
exhausts all available leave, to include sick, vacation and compensatory time,
and remains unable to return to work as certified by a licensed physician, such
employee may be paid from any accrued leave time in their catastrophic sick
leave bank.
To receive benefits from their catastrophic sick leave bank employees must
present medical certification to the Human Resources Director that they are
unable to return to work due to their own illness or injury.
A catastrophic illness or injury is usually life threatening and may leave
significant residual disability or involve lengthy recovery and/or
rehabilitation periods, and is expected to incapacitate the employee for an
extended period of time or required the employee to receive care from a hospice
or similar palliative care provider. Examples of illness or injury that
qualifies for Catastrophic Sick Leave include heart attacks, heart conditions
requiring heart bypass or valve operations, congestive heart failure, most
cancers, back conditions requiring extensive therapy or surgical procedures,
strokes, severe respiratory conditions, spinal injuries, emphysema, severe
arthritis, severe nervous disorders, and injuries caused by serious accidents.
If the Human Resources Director determines that the injury or illness does not
qualify for catastrophic sick leave benefits the employee may appeal that
determination through the Human Resources Director to the City Manager. The
Human Resources director will provide the employee leave request and all
supporting documentation to the City Manager for review. The decision of the
City Manager will be communicated to the employee by the Human Resources
Director and is final.
When employees are paid from their catastrophic sick leave bank their
department is relieved of the payroll charge and may hire a temporary
replacement for the employee on catastrophic leave.
Balances held in the catastrophic sick leave bank shall be treated the same as
sick leave for incidents involving leave of absence, separation, reinstatement
and reemployment.
SECTION 4.
All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance
are hereby repealed.
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Introduced at a regular meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia held on the
12th day of May, 2009, introduced a second time at a regular meeting of said
Council held on the ______ day of ________, 2009, and adopted at said meeting
by the affirmative vote of ________ members of said Council.
Councilor Allen voting _________________.
Councilor Anthony voting _________________.
Councilor Baker voting _________________.
Councilor Barnes voting _________________.
Councilor Davis voting _________________.
Councilor Henderson voting _________________.
Councilor Hunter voting _________________.
Councilor McDaniel voting _________________.
Councilor Pugh voting _________________.
Councilor Woodson voting _________________.
______________________________ ______________________________
TINY B. WASHINGTON JIM WETHERINGTON
CLERK MAYOR
Attachments
No attachments for this document.