LifeWays Operating Procedure

Transcription

1 PAID TIME AWAY FROM WORK I. PURPOSE A. LifeWays believes its employees should have the opportunity to enjoy time away from work. LifeWays recognizes that employees have diverse needs for time off from work. The time off procedure has been established to meet those needs. B. The benefit of the procedure is that it promotes a flexible approach to time off. Employees are accountable and responsible for managing their own time off to allow for adequate reserves if there is a need to cover vacation, illness (sick time), appointments, emergencies or other needs that require time off from work. II. PAID TIME OFF (PTO) A. Employees are expected to complete their work and make provisions for work coverage prior to requesting time off. Requests for time off shall not interfere with the ability of the team to complete work requirements necessary for efficient and effective function of LifeWays essential business operations. Prior approval and knowledge of time off is required by the manager/supervisor before an employee may use the time, whenever possible. PTO Time off is designated for any leave time including sick, vacation, or personal. III. ACCRUAL-BASED TIME OFF A. Employees accrue hours each pay period according to the accrual schedule. Date of hire or rehire date is used to determine Years of Service for the bi-weekly PTO accrual rate. The maximum PTO accrual is 400 hours. If an employee meets the maximum amount of 400 hours, the employee will no longer accrue PTO until they fall below this amount. B. Time may not be used prior to it being accrued unless approved by the Human Resources Department on a case-by-case basis. New hires begin accruing time per their first pay. During the first 90 days of employment the new employee cannot use PTO unless approved by Human Resources and the employee s supervisor. Use of PTO during this time is discouraged but may be approved on a case-by-case basis. C. In instances where absences for personal reasons prior to hire have been approved, the employee will go unpaid. D. Employees will be required to use accrued PTO for the absences, however, if PTO is not available the employee will go unpaid in accordance with the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) guidelines. Page 1 of 9

2 1. Disciplinary actions may result for those employees who do not have available PTO to cover absences, as dictated by the Attendance Procedure IV. PTO PAY OUT A. Annual Cash Out 1. Upon Completion of one year of service, employees are eligible to request a PTO payout, of up to 40 hours of PTO for full-time employees, and up to 20 hours of PTO for part-time employees. Employees are eligible to request a payout once per calendar year, as it aligns to their anniversary date. Those receiving a payout, who voluntarily resign within ninety days of receiving a PTO payout will not be eligible to receive the payout as defined under Voluntary Resignation. 1. Employees must fill out a PTO Payout Request form with the Human Resources Department for the payout of PTO which is allowable; this must be submitted within the next pay period after the anniversary date. Late requests may not be honored. B. Voluntary Resignation 1. In the event of a voluntary resignation, a written two-week notice to Human Resources is required of an employee s resignation in order to be paid PTO. a. Employees are discouraged from using PTO once they have submitted their resignation to Human Resources. b. All requests for time off must be approved in advance of use by the manager/supervisor, and any unapproved time off during the resignation period will be paid PTO or go unpaid. c. If the resigning employee completes their two-week notice period and does not take any unapproved time off during the notice period, LifeWays will cash out available time up to 50% with a max of 80 hours of PTO according to timeframe outlined above to be paid as part of the employee s final check on the pay period following termination. 2. A two-week notice is defined as fourteen calendar days from the date of the resignation with the last date of employment being the fourteenth day. (Example: Resign on Friday day count starts on Saturday for fourteen days last day of employment will be the second Friday in the period.) a. There is no special consideration for an employee s schedule. If an employee s termination date is on a LifeWays observed Holiday, the employee will not receive a PTO payout. An employee must work the day before and the day after a Holiday to receive a PTO payout upon termination. 3. An employee terminating employment with less than one year of service will not be allowed to use PTO time for any time off during the resignation period. Any time off Page 2 of 9

3 used during the resignation period will be unpaid and the employee will forfeit all accrued PTO with no payout of PTO hours. C. Death, Layoff, or Retirement 1. In the event of an employee s death, layoff or retirement; any unused PTO immediately preceding such termination, but not taken as of the date of the termination, will be paid as part of the employee s final check on the pay period following termination. The maximum amount that LifeWays will payout is 400 hours of PTO. D. Involuntary Termination 1. An employee involuntary terminated will not receive payout of their remaining PTO balance. V. PTO ACCRUAL SCHEDULE AND PAY-OUT AMOUNTS A. Employees accrue PTO per pay period; there are 26 pay periods in a 12-month calendar year. Accrual balance cannot exceed 400 hours. B. An employee who has exhausted their paid time off will go unpaid for any absences in accordance to the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). C. Time may not be used prior to it being accrued unless approved by the Human Resources Department and will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Employees may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Attendance Procedure D. Full-Time PTO Accrual Schedule 1. Non-Exempt / Exempt Employees working at least 40 hours per week. *Completed Years of Service example: Employee hired July 18, 2017 to July 18, 2018 is in year 0 of Completed of Service. Year 1 begins on July 19, 2018 and year 3 ends July 18, Completed Years of Service Hours per Anniversary Year Hours Accrued per Pay 0-1 years: 96 hours per year 3.69 hours per pay 1-3 years 160 hours per year 6.15 hours per pay 4-9 years: 208 hours per year 8.00 hours per pay years: 256 hours per year 9.85 hours per pay 20+ years 304 hours per year hours per pay E. Part Time PTO Accrual Schedule 1. Employees working at least 20 hours a week on a regular basis will accrue PTO time off. Employees working less than 20 hours per week, on a temporary basis, seasonal, or internships are not eligible for time off. Page 3 of 9

4 *Completed Years of Service example: Employee hired July 18, 2017 to July 18, 2018 is in year 0 of Completed of Service. Year 1 begins on July 19, 2018 and year 3 ends July 18, Completed Years of Service Hours per Anniversary Year Hours Accrued per Pay 0-1 years: 48 hours per year 1.85 hours per pay 1-3 years 80 hours per year 3.08 hours per pay 4-9 years: 104 hours per year 4.00 hours per pay years: 128 hours per year 4.92 hours per pay 20+ years 152 hours per year 5.85 hours per pay F. PTO Accrual During Protected Leave 1. Employees on a worker s compensation leave or an FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) leave will receive a PTO accrual credit after they return to work for 30 days. G. PTO Accrual During Unprotected Leave 1. Paid Time Off is not accrued while an employee is on a leave for reasons other than worker compensation and FMLA. VI. BONUS TIME OFF A. From time to time LifeWays will grant employees additional time off for special circumstances. Bonus Time Off must be approved by an employee s supervisor/manager in advance of usage and may have limitations surrounding its usage. 1. BTO time will have time restrictions and must be used by the dates indicated and in increments indicated. 2. There is no pay out for unused Bonus Time and no carry over or transferring to PTO. 3. If an employee terminates or retires Bonus Time is not paid out. 4. Bonus Time is to be recorded accurately in the time management system. 5. Bonus Time is not time worked, therefore these hours are not taken into account when calculating overtime. VII. PERSONAL TIME OFF A. LifeWays will grant eight (8) hours of additional time off to full-time employees and four (4) hours of additional time off to part-time employees (working 20 or more hours). 1. Employees will be granted the Personal Time Off on January 1 and will have the entire year to use this time. 2. Personal Time Off must be approved by an employee s supervisor/manager in advance of usage. Personal time is encouraged to be used in the full increments of time (8 hours Page 4 of 9

5 VIII. for full-time and 4 hours for part-time) but may not be used in less than one hour increments. 3. There is no payout or carryover of unused Personal Time Off. 4. Personal Time Off is not time worked, therefore these hours are not taken into account when calculating overtime. PTO USE AND REQUESTS FOR TIME OFF A. PTO is meant for employees to utilize to take care of pre-arranged personal commitments, vacations, as well as illness, and is not meant to be used to supplement time missed due to tardiness. 1. Non-exempt employees will use time off amounts in tenth of an hour (.10) Increments. a. PTO is not intended to be used to supplement time missed due to tardiness. 2. Exempt employees request time off of work in one-hour increments of time, in order to meet the 40-hour weekly requirement. B. PTO should be requested by the employee and must be approved by the supervisor. C. Non-exempt and exempt employees may arrange for flexible hours during a work week, Saturday through Friday, if approved by their manager/ supervisor prior to flexing the time. D. Whenever possible, time off should be scheduled in advance of use. E. When requesting time off, the employee must address the completion of specific tasks which may be due prior to the time off and how their job functions will be carried out in their absence. It is the employee s responsibility to ensure that appropriate resources are trained and available during his/her absence. F. The manager/supervisor has the final authority to approve or deny time off based on the needs of the team. G. An employee will be counseled when the frequency of unscheduled absences adversely affects the operations of the team. Employees who abuse the time off procedure will be subject to verbal counseling or written discipline, up to and including termination. IX. UNPLANNED ABSENCE A. When an employee is unexpectedly absent from work, the manager/supervisor shall be notified in accordance with the Attendance Procedure. The employee should communicate the reason for the absence and a return-to-work date. B. It is the employee s responsibility to notify the manager/supervisor of all job responsibilities requiring coverage during the absence. In the event of an absence, the method of communication (direct voice contact, voice mail, , text) must be mutually Page 5 of 9

6 understood between the employee and manager/supervisor and approved by the manager/supervisor. C. If the absence is a possible FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) event the employee must communicate this to their manager, and/or Human Resources. If communicated to the employee s manager/supervisor, Human Resources must be notified as soon as possible; Human Resources will provide the employee with the appropriate FMLA paperwork that must be completed and returned to be designated as FMLA. X. ABSENCE DUE TO ILLNESS A. If an employee is absent due to the same illness or episode of disability for more than three days and/or has a serious health condition defined under the Family Medical Leave Act, to have the leave designation as such, he/she will be required to complete FMLA paperwork in accordance with FMLA law and LifeWays procedure. XI. PROOF OF ILLNESS A. Where abuse of time off is suspected, a licensed physician s excuse may be requested by the supervisor or Human Resources Department. Those circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following examples: 1. an employee requests time off which is denied (the employee then calls in sick for the time which was denied); 2. an employee calls in when there is reason to believe the employee is avoiding a specific work assignment; 3. an employee demonstrates a sick day pattern such as frequent Monday/Friday sick day call offs; 4. the nature or extent of illness is not clear or requires a second opinion from the Agency s medical provider. B. The employee may be requested to see the Agency medical provider or another physician specialist when further verification or a second opinion is necessary. All required second opinion physical examinations shall be paid for by LifeWays. XII. DISABILITY LEAVE A. If a full-time employee has been off work for two consecutive weeks and short-term disability is approved, disability benefits will be initiated. Employees will be required to use available paid time off before going unpaid. If paid time off is not available, the employee will go unpaid until short term disability is approved. Page 6 of 9

7 B. The employee must complete and return the provided application for short-term disability to the Human Resource Department. Family Medical Leave Act paperwork or Personal Leave of Absence paperwork will also need to be completed. C. Approved short-term disability benefits begin on the fifteenth calendar day of absence and continues up to six months. D. At the end of six months of disability, if the employee continues to be disabled, he/she is responsible to contact the Human Resource Department to obtain the paperwork necessary to apply for long-term disability benefits (the paperwork may be mailed to the employee upon request). Approved long-term disability benefits begin at the end of six months. Regulations under the Family Medical Leave Act will be followed. XIII. PERSONAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE (Non-FMLA and Non-Military) A. LifeWays recognizes there may be a need for employees to have a leave of absence for situations out of their control in which they may not qualify for FMLA leave, military leave, or do not have paid time off available for the required leave. All employees, regardless of length of service, may be eligible for unpaid leaves which are approved on a case by case basis. Employees shall be required to use all Paid Time Off (PTO) before going on an unpaid leave of absence. B. The leave of absence is supplemental to any leave that may be required under applicable laws such as the Family Medical Leave Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). C. A request for a leave of absence must be made in writing, must be for a specified period of time, and directed to the Human Resources Department. Advance notification should be given when available and documentation provided for the request, supporting the necessity for the leave. When advance notice is not available, verification must be provided within a reasonable time period following the request. D. Leave of Absences may be taken in a continuous block of time or intermittently as dictated by the period specified in the documented leave request. A leave of absence request will not be approved for a time frame longer than 30 calendar days; however, employees may submit subsequent documented leave requests for continuation of leave when necessary. 1. In most cases, Personal Leaves of Absence are capped at a total of 60 calendar days. E. LifeWays reserves the right to restrict leaves or the duration of a leave if the leave will cause an undue hardship on the organization or departmental operations. The leave of absence will be approved by the Human Resources Supervisor along with the employee s department manager/supervisor. Page 7 of 9

8 XIV. PAYMENT FOR BENEFITS WHILE ON LEAVE A. If paid by the employee medical, dental, vision insurance, and all other voluntary elected benefits may be continued during a leave of absence. B. Employees should make arrangements for any premiums due with Human Resources. 1. In cases of a pre-planned leave the employee may contact HR to pre-pay for benefit costs associated with the leave. C. Employees may be required to elect COBRA coverage in order to maintain eligibility, as defined by the individual plans. XV. DEVIATION AND FALSIFICATION A. Absent extenuating circumstances, employees who do not follow the leave of absence guidelines or knowingly submit false information may have their leave request denied and face disciplinary action up to and including termination. XVI. RETURN TO WORK A. In order for the employee to return to work after a leave designated as short-term disability, long term disability or Family Medical Leave Act (involving a medical condition of the employee); the employee may be required to provide either a Fitness for Duty, or a return to work certificate from a physician which addresses the following: 1. The employee is able to return to work with or without restrictions; and 2. The employee is able to perform the essential functions of his/her job (as detailed in the employee s Job Description). 3. If there are restrictions regarding the employee s return; an end date or an evaluation date to the restrictions must be included. ATTACHMENT PTO Payout Request Form LW # A REFERENCES Legal Authority United States Department of Labor State of Michigan - Labor and Economic Growth Division Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) HISTORY Page 8 of 9

9 Effective 10/01/1997 Reviewed/Revised: 4/99, 7/00, 10/01, 6/03, 9/04, 7/07, 1/08, 2/10, 4/10, 1/11, 5/11, 7/11, 9/11, 12/11, 7/13, 4/14, 9/15, 12/16, 4/18 Page 9 of 9