Section 601—Combined Time Off (CTO)
Combined Time Off is a benefit provided for the purposes of scheduled time off, unscheduled illnesses and holiday time. It is the employee’s responsibility to maintain a balance of CTO time to cover time off for these purposes.
Eligibility
This benefit is extended to all Regular Full-time and Regular Part-time staff (16 hours per week or more). CTO benefits for regular staff are allocated as proportional to the scheduled hours worked.
Accrual
CTO begins accruing from date of hire, and may be used as accrued. Accruals are credited with each pay period. No CTO shall accrue during any disability leave. CTO will accrue in the manner described below:
| Years Service | Days/Year (based on 7.5 hours per day) | CAP |
| 0–3 | 36 | 300 |
| 4 | 39 | 350 |
| 5–10 | 42 | 400 |
| 11+ | 45 | 450 |
Accrual of CTO for Rehired Employees
Employees who are rehired within five years of their re-hire date into the same job (title) will be entitled to resume accruing CTO at the level they were accruing upon their termination of employment.
Maximum CTO Accrual
Employees may not accrue time in excess of the cap in the chart above. On 1/1 of each year, employees will be able to convert CTO time to the Extended Sick Bank at its full value.
Extended Sick Bank
The Extended Sick Bank can be accessed after three consecutive days of CTO have been used for an illness of the employee or for the care of an ill family member. Extended Sick Bank time cannot be transferred back to CTO, nor is it paid out upon termination.
Requesting CTO
The agency shall not require employees to use their CTO except as indicated in Section 602.
CTO must be approved in advance by the employee’s immediate supervisor. Employees are encouraged to request CTO in increments of five days. Employees who request the use of CTO in writing shall receive a response from their supervisor no later than seven days from the supervisor’s receipt of the written request and will not be unreasonably denied, provided the employee has a sufficient CTO balance to cover the time-off request.
Where there is no prior approval for absences such as those described below, employees requesting time off are required to notify the appropriate supervisor as soon as possible:
1. the employee’s personal illness or injury;
2. absence due to serious illness of the employee’s spouse, child or relatives; or
3. medical and dental appointments where advanced scheduling is not possible.
A Covered Employee may be required to provide a physician’s certificate in order to be allowed to take unscheduled CTO for absence beyond three days, and upon return to work following an absence of three days.
CTO Upon Termination
Unused CTO, up to the accrual caps specified above, is paid out in full at termination.
Section 602—Holidays
A. The Agency observes the following eleven (11) holidays:
| New Year’s Day | January 1 |
| Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day | January (3rd Monday) |
| President’s Day | February (3rd Monday) |
| Memorial Day | May (last Monday) |
| Independence Day | July 4 |
| Labor Day | September (1st Monday) |
| Veteran’s Day | November 11th |
| Thanksgiving | Fourth Thursday of November |
| Day after Thanksgiving | |
| Christmas Day | December 25 |
| Holiday Season Floater | Designated by the Director of Human Resources |
B. When the Agency observes a holiday, Regular Full-time and Regular Part-time employees who are not scheduled to work on the holiday are expected to use CTO time. Part-time employees working sixteen (16) hours or more should use CTO benefits in proportion to the number of hours worked.
C. The scheduling of holidays off will be done by the Director of Human Resources or their designee.
D. Employees who are required to work on a holiday will be scheduled in such a way as to distribute the major holidays across the workforce on a fair and equitable basis. Employees may not work on a holiday without being authorized or scheduled by their supervisor.
E. For staff required to work on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day After Thanksgiving, or Christmas Day, in addition to being entitled to an alternative day off pursuant to sub-section C will be entitled to compensation as follows:
E. 1. Non-exempt employees will be paid time and one half for each hour worked; and
E. 2. Exempt employees will be paid a $100.00 stipend in addition to their regular compensation for the day. The stipend will be pro-rated to adjust for more or less hours worked (i.e. $50.00 for 4 hours, $150 for 12 hours).
Section 603—Family Medical Leave
A. A leave of no longer than 15 weeks duration may be taken pursuant to the Federal and State Family Medical Leave Acts. For other details related to Family Medical Leave employees should reference the Federal and State Family Medical Leave Acts.
B. During the Family Medical Leave, an employee shall continue to accrue Agency seniority and may continue to participate in the Agency’s insurance benefits while paying the employee share of the benefit pursuant to the Federal and State Family Medical Leave Acts.
C. Any entitlement to Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave shall run concurrently with any other paid or unpaid leave an employee may take. Employees shall be so notified in connection with any qualifying leave. The annual period for these purposes shall be a rolling year counting back from the date of the start of the leave.
D. An employee taking a leave pursuant to this section shall be entitled to reinstatement to their job or to an equivalent position at the end of the leave.
E. Employees intending to take a leave pursuant to this section shall give their supervisor as much notice as possible of their intention to take the leave, specifying a date of return
F. Employees shall be entitled to being paid for three (3) days of these Family Medical Leave days provided that advance notice to the Director of Human Resources is given.
Section 604—Unpaid Leave
A non-probationary employee shall have the right to apply to the Director of Human Resources for an unpaid leave. The decision on whether to grant such a request shall be at the sole discretion of the Agency.
Section 605—Bereavement Leave
An employee shall be entitled to up to three (3) days with pay upon the death of the employee’s spouse, spousal equivalent, child, parent, grandparent, in-law, sibling, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, foster child, or foster parent. Notice of the death and the number of days to be taken shall be promptly given to the employee’s immediate supervisor. Such leave shall be available for equivalent relatives of domestic partners. Bereavement leave is to be taken within two weeks of the death of the employee’s relative. However, bereavement leave may instead be taken at a later date in order to attend the relative’s memorial service or burial if given permission by the employee’s supervisor which shall not be unreasonably delayed or denied.
Section 606—Civic Leave
A. Absence from work because of required jury duty will be considered an excused absence. The Agency will pay the balance of an employee’s normal day’s pay which is not covered by jury duty payment. To receive the balance of payment, it will be necessary for the employee to present evidence of jury duty payment to the Director of Human Resources. The notice to report for jury duty should be shown to the immediate supervisor, and the leave of absence will be documented. An employee is required to return to work if excused from jury service during normal work hours;
B. A leave of absence without pay may be granted an employee to act as Plaintiff, Defendant, or witness in a judicial proceeding;
C. If a registered voter employee does not have sufficient time outside the regular working hours within which to vote, they may take off such working time as will, when added to their voting time outside working hours, enable them to vote. Such time shall be at the beginning or end of a work shift unless otherwise approved by the immediate supervisor. A maximum of two (2) hours may be taken with pay.
Section 607—Military Leave
Employees may take military leave for two (2) weeks per calendar year. During such absence, the Agency will pay the balance of an employee’s normal pay which is not covered by military payment. To receive this balance of payment, the employee must present evidence of military payment to the Director of Human Resources or their designee. Military leave may be requested for more than two (2) weeks. The grant of such request shall be in the sole discretion of the Agency, and, if granted, the additional leave shall be without pay.
Section 608—Howard Emergency Leave Pool (HELP)
The Howard Emergency Leave Pool (HELP) is available for all non-probationary regular full time and part time employees in need of extended paid time off for illness. The requested time off must be for the care of the employee or a family member at home or outside the employee’s home. A maximum of 75 hours annually may be granted to full time employees and the equivalent pro-rated for part time employees. An employee may make a request to the Director of Human Resources stating how the time will be used and why it is essential. Employees cannot use HELP concurrently with disability or instead of disability. In order for the request to be granted, the employee must have depleted all sick time or Extended Sick Bank (ESB), and have no more than 5 days of CTO (vacation) remaining. All requests shall be subject to availability of hours in the HELP pool.
Section 609—Child Care Stipend
A child care stipend is available to all full time and part time employees who have children under age six in paid care and to full time and part time employees who have a child with a disability (physical/emotional/developmental) that makes it necessary for the child to have supervision when the child reaches age 12, or earlier if the child is excluded from after school child care. All other eligibility guidelines must be met in order to qualify for a stipend. See Appendix B for further details. Applications are available through the Human Resource Department.
AFSCME Local #1674 