Agenda Item #
Columbus Consolidated Government
Council Meeting
________, 2009
Agenda Report #
TO: Mayor and Council
SUBJECT: Catastrophic Sick Leave Policy
INITIATED: Human Resources Department
_____________________________________________________________________________
Recommendation: Approve an ordinance amending ?16B-15-5 (Annual Leave),
?16B-15-6 (Sick Leave) of the Columbus Code and adding a new subsection (f) to
?16B-15-6 to create a new policy for Catastrophic Sick Leave.
Background:
Maximum Leave - The current annual leave policy allows a maximum accumulation
of 20 days for employees with less than 15 years service and 30 days for those
whose service exceeds 15 years; the employee forfeits any accumulation of
annual leave days beyond these limits. Current sick leave policy allows a
maximum accumulation of 90 days for all employees with any excess forfeited.
Unused Sick Leave Payment ? Current policy pays employees in December
of each year for 25% of their unused sick leave after they have accumulated 30
days in their base leave account. An employee with perfect attendance would be
paid for 3.25 days. No change is proposed for this program.
Vacation Donation Policy ? Employees are currently permitted to donate
some of their vacation to other employees that have serious illness or injury
and have exhausted their own leave. No change is proposed for this policy.
Leave of Absence ? Current policy allows employees to retain all sick
leave balances when they return from an unpaid leave of absence. No change is
proposed for this policy.
Separation from Employment ? Current policy does not permit payment for
unused sick leave upon separation from employment for any reason. No change is
proposed for this policy.
Reinstatement ? Current policy restores sick leave balances to
employees that are reinstated following a layoff. No change is proposed for
this policy.
Reemployment ? Current policy allows employees that are reemployed
within 90 days of their separation date to be credited for up to 30 days of
their sick leave that was unused at the time of their separation from
employment. No change is proposed for this policy.
Analysis: This ordinance provides an additional level of income security for
long-term employees that have not used or abused their sick leave at minimal
cost to the City. Due to the restrictions and approval process for obtaining
access to this leave there is little chance for abuse of the program. 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.
The maximum accrual for the Catastrophic Sick Leave bank is 120 days.
Legal: Amendment of the Columbus Code requires the approval of the Columbus
Council.
Financial Considerations: The Finance Department estimated annual expenditure
of $200,000 once the catastrophic bank reaches 120 days. This is based on an
average of 5 cases per year at an average pay of $50,000 (assuming a 2.5%
increase each year). It will take employees that are currently at their
maximum in their sick bank, at least 12 years to reach 120 days in their
catastrophic bank from forfeited sick leave. The time to reach the 120 days
could be less if an employee also had forfeited vacation to add to the
catastrophic bank.
Recommendation/Actions: City Manager and Human Resources recommend approval of
this ordinance.
Attachments
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