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Resolution 1443RESOLUTION NO. 1443 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, TO APPROVE CERTAIN REVISIONS TO THE SHARED LEAVE AND SICK LEAVE PROVISIONS OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS PERSONNEL POLICIES, AND THE ADDITION OF WASHINGTON STATE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE PROVISIONS. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Edmonds has adopted Personnel Policies, which include provisions related to the city's shared leave and sick leave programs; and WHEREAS, the Human Resources Department has recommended certain revisions to the shared leave and sick leave provisions of the Personnel Policies; and WHEREAS, the Washington State legislature has recently enacted laws providing for paid family and medical leave, which apply to city employees; and WHEREAS, the Human Resources Department has recommended the adoption of provisions in the Personnel Policies relating to paid family and medical leave; and WHEREAS, the City Council, after review and discussion, has determined that it is in the best interests of the city to approve the proposed revisions to the Personnel Policies' shared leave and sick leave provisions, as well as the proposed addition of the paid family and medical leave provisions; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, DO RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: 1. Recitals. The recitals set forth above are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth fully herein. 2. Approval of Revisions and Addition. The proposed revisions to the shared leave and sick leave provisions of the City of Edmonds Personnel Policies, and the addition of the paid family and medical leave provisions, all of which are set forth in Appendix A, attached hereto, are hereby approved as presented. 3. Severahili . If any one or more sections, subsections, or sentences of this Resolution are held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Resolution and the same shall remain in full force and effect. 4. Effective Date. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its passage. 1 RESOLVED this 1 Oth day of December, 2019, APPROVED: 11 M4 Lol N4AW5R, DA ID O. EARLING ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED: F- CLE, S[6 EY FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: December 6, 2019 PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: December 10, 2019 RESOLUTION NO. 1443 2 APPENDIX A 8.3 Paid Sick Leave Sick leave provides employees with a measure of financial protection by allowing time off with pay when a personal illness, accident, disability, or an illness of an immediate family member occurs. Effective January 1, 2018, the City of Edmonds implemented the Washington State paid sick leave law, which was an addition to the Minimum Wage Act (RCW 49.46.010 et seq,). While the City's sick leave accrual is more generous than that minimally required by law, the City has chosen to apply the new provisions of the law to all paid City sick leave. Accrued sick leave is available for use immediately upon hire. The provisions of this section shall apply as written unless otherwise noted in a City Council approved collective bargaining agreement. 8.3.1 Accrual All City employees, excepting Elected Officials, are eligible to accrue and use sick leave Regular full-time employees shall accrue sick leave benefits at the rate of one (1) workday of eight (8) hours per completed calendar month of continuous employment. Regular Part-time employees will accrue sick leave based on their percentage of full-time employment. Earned sick leave shall be credited at'/z of the month's accrual in each pay period. These rates of accrual shall be in effect until the employee reaches 1,000 hours of sick leave, at which time the accrual will revert to the state minimum accrual of one (1) hour of sick leave for every forty (40) hours worked. All other employees (including but not limited to: variable -hour, seasonal/hourly employees and paid interns) will accrue the state required minimum of one (1) hours of sick leave per every 40 hours worked (including overtime hours worked) unless an alternate agreement is approved in writing by the Mayor. In no event will an employee earn less than one hour of paid sick leave for every forty hours of work as defined under the FLSA. A temporary change of less than one month in the employee's regular weekly work schedule that results in a reduction of their FTE % shall not affect the employee's accumulation of sick leave benefits. Paid sick leave is accrued with the regular, semi-monthly payroll and balances can be viewed by employees on their pay stubs or by visiting the self-service website. Employees are notified of their accrual rate and their rights and responsibilities no later than their day of hire. 8.3.2 Carryover Employees may carryover from one calendar year to the next up to one thousand (1,000) hours of earned but unused sick leave. Accumulated amounts over the carryover max will be deducted from an employee's sick leave bank effective January 1st of each calendar year. 8.3.3 Authorized Uses of Sick Leave Sick leave may be taken for any of the following reasons: A. Absences resulting from an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; to accommodate the employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employees' need for preventative care; and B. To allow the employee to provide care for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care for a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care for a family member who needs preventative medical care; and C When the employee's place of business has been closed by order of a public official for any health -related reason, or when an employee's child's school or place of care has been closed for such a reason; and D. For absences which qualify for leave under the domestic violence leave act. For the purposes of sick leave usage under this policy, "family member" is defined as • A child, including biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, is a legal guardian, or is a de facto parent, regardless of age or dependency status; • A biological, adoptive, de facto, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or the employee's spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child; A spouse; ■ A registered domestic partner; A grandparent; • A grandchild; • A sibling. In the event an employee exhausts accrued sick leave, the employee may then use any accrued vacation, floating holiday or comp time. If the employee has exhausted all accrued paid leave, they may be approved for leave without pay. Employees should refer to the Industrial Accident Insurance (Worker's Compensation) policy for information on coordination of use of sick leave with worker's compensation payments. Coordination with Other Federal & State Protected Leave Laws An employee who is eligible to use sick leave under this policy may also be eligible for and/or required to receive protections under other federal and state protected leave laws. Employees should be aware that the definitions of "authorized usage" and "family member," as well as the notification and verification requirements of those laws may be more permissive or restrictive than those under Washington's paid sick leave law. 8.3.4 Payment for Sick Leave Non-exempt employees will be paid their "normal hourly compensation" for each hour of paid sick leave used. "Normal hourly compensation" is the hourly rate that an employee would have earned for the time during which the employee used paid sick leave. Exempt employees will be paid their regular salary rate. Sick leave taken is not considered "hours worked" when computing overtime, unless otherwise indicated by an applicable collective bargaining agreement. The City will pay employees paid sick leave no later than the payday for the pay period in which the paid sick leave is taken. If a verification letter is requested (according to sec. 8.3.7) the City may delay payment for paid sick leave until the pay period in which verification was provided. If payment is delayed, the employee will be notified at the time verification is requested. 8.3.5 Notification Requirements If the need for sick leave usage is foreseeable, employees are required to give ten (10) days' notice to their department by completing a Request for Leave of Absence form per their department notification procedures. If the employee cannot provide a ten (10) day notification, they must do so as early as practicable. If the need for sick leave usage is not foreseeable, the employee must provide notice to their department (per department notification procedures) as soon as possible before the required start of shift, unless it is not practicable to do so. If the employee's need for sick leave usage is due to a reason under the Domestic Violence Leave law, and emergency precludes advance notice, the employee must provide notice by the end of the first day leave starts. Employees are responsible for contacting their department themselves unless it is impracticable for the employee to do so. In which case another person may provide notification for the employee. It is the intent of the City of Edmonds that all required notification procedures will not interfere with an employee's lawful use of paid sick leave. 8.3.5 Verification If an employee is seeking to use or has used paid sick leave for a purpose authorized by this policy for more than three (3) consecutive work days, the employee may be required complete the "Employee Verification for Authorized Use of Accrued Paid Sick Leave" form which can be found on the Human Resources webpage and/or to provide verification that establishes or confirms that the use of paid sick leave is for an authorized purpose. Acceptable verification may include: ■ A provider's note or signed statement indicating that the employee is unable to work for the days of absence or is required to care for a family member. • A written or oral statement from the employee indicating that the use of paid sick leave is for an authorized reason under this policy. If the absence is for a reason covered by the Domestic Violence Leave law, the employee may choose any of the following documents, or any combination thereof, to satisfy the verification requirement: • A written statement that the employee or an employee's family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and that the leave is taken to address related issues. • A police report indicating that the employee or the employee's family member was a victim of domestic violence. • Evidence from a court or prosecuting attorney showing that the employee or the employee's family member appeared, or is scheduled to appear, in court in connection with an incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. • A court order of protection. ■ Documentation from any of the following persons from whom an employee or an employee's family member sought assistance in addressing the domestic violence situation indicating that the employee or the employee's family member is a victim: o An advocate for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; o An attorney; o A member of the clergy; or o A medical professional. When an employee is absent due to the closure of the employee's child's school or place of care by a public official due to a health -related reason, the employee should provide the notice of closure. If an employee is required to provide verification, it must be provided within ten (10) calendar days of the employee's first day of used paid sick leave to care for themselves or a family member. All information provided will be kept confidential to the extent allowable by law. Unreasonable Burden or Expense for Verification If the employee believes that obtaining verification for use of paid sick leave would result in an unreasonable burden or expense, they must contact Human Resources orally or in writing by completing the "Employee Verification for Authorized Use of Accrued Paid Sick Leave" form and submit the form to their department for processing. The employee should indicate that the absence is for an authorized purpose and explain why verification would result in an undue burden or expense. If the Employee chooses to provide this information in writing rather than orally, the employee may complete the "Employee Verification of Authorized Use of Paid Sick Leave Form" found on the Human Resources webpage or provided by the employee's supervisor, or the employee may send an email to Human Resources which provides the same information. Within ten (10) calendar days of receiving the employee's request, Human Resources will work with the employee to identify an alternative for the employee to meet the verification requirement in a way that does not result in an unreasonable burden or expense. The City has the option to withhold sick leave payment for days taken in excess of three (3) consecutive days until verification is provided. The employee has the right to contact the Mayor if the employee believes the proposed final alternative still results in an unreasonable burden or expense. If an employee is not satisfied with the City's final alternatives, they may consult with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. 8.3.6 No Retaliation It is the intent of the City of Edmonds to not interfere with or discourage employees' lawful use of paid sick leave. Use of paid sick leave shall not be used as a basis for an employment action against an employee. Employment actions include but are not limited to: • Reduced evaluation scoring • Denial of promotion • Demotion • Discipline • Change in work schedule If an employee feels they are being discriminated or retaliated against for the exercise of their Minimum Wage Act rights, the employee is encouraged to first contact their supervisor. If the employee feels it is inappropriate to contact their supervisor, they should contact Human Resources. If an employee is not satisfied with the City of Edmonds' response, the employee may contact the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. • Online: www.Lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights • Call: 1-866-219-7321, toll -free • Visit: www.Lni.wa.gov/Offices • Email: ESgeneraIgLni.wa.aov 8.3.7 Use of other leave for sick leave purposes WASHINGTON FAMILY CARE ACT Consistent with the Washington Family Care Act, employees may use their choice of any accrued paid leave that they have available for their own use in order to care for covered family members as defined below. This policy reflects requirements for all employees under state law, and therefore applies to represented and non -represented employees alike. An employee may use available paid leaves to care for his/her child where the child (including biological, adopted, foster, step child, legal ward or a child of a person standing in for a parent) for the following reasons: • To care for a child with a health condition that requires treatment or supervision. ■ To care for a child 18 years and older who is incapable of self -care due to a mental or physical disability. The disability does not need to be chronic to qualify. • To obtain necessary preventative care for the covered child. An employee may use their choice of available paid leaves when a spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, parent -in-law, or grandparent has a "serious or emergency health condition" demanding immediate action and meets at least one of the following criteria: • Requiring an overnight stay in a hospital or other medical -care facility; • Resulting in a period of incapacity or treatment or recovery following inpatient care; Involving continuing treatment under the care of a health care services provider that includes any period of incapacity to work or attend to regular daily activities. Where the need for family care leave is unexpected, the City understands that advance approval of the use of leave (as is required for certain kinds of leave) may not be possible. Employees are required, however, to notify their supervisor of the need to take time off to care for a family member as soon as the need for leave becomes known. The Washington Family Care Act is subject to the City's sick leave policy requirement for providing verification as outlined in the verification section of the sick leave policy. Employees who exhaust all accrued sick leave, other available leaves (such as vacation, comp time, etc.) and who do not qualify for or have also exhausted other protected leaves and require additional time off work due to illness or injury may, with their department head's prior approval, request a leave of absence without pay. (See Leave Without Pay Policy) 8.3.8 Annual Sick Leave Payout Plan Employees may annually convert sick leave accrued in excess of eight -hundred (800) hours to a cash payment. Conversion will be made at the rate of three hours of sick leave to one hour of compensation. Each hour will be paid at the employee's then current rate of pay, up to a maximum of $1000 per year. 8.3.9 Exempt Employees Sick Leave Conversion Plan Employees who are exempt from the Washington State Minimum Wage Act are not subject to the restrictions of the Washington paid sick leave law, which prohibits programs which disincentivize employees' use of sick leave in any one calendar year. Due to this, the following conversion plan applies only to employees classified as "Exempt". Exempt employees, who maintain a good attendance record, shall be eligible for the following Sick Leave Conversion Plan. Sick Leave Hours Used during the Calendar Year Hours of Vacation Leave Earned 0 24 8 16 16 8 24+ 0 Incentive leave will be added to the employee's maximum vacation accrual, however earned leave must be used in the year following the year in which the sick leave was earned. Sick leave used due to Workers Compensation illness or injury, FMLA, or other protected leaves will not be counted. The hours earned and used will be pro -rated to the nearest full hour. Employees must be employed for a full calendar year to be eligible for this benefit. 8.3.10 Sick Leave Cash -Out At Separation Upon honorable termination, unused sick leave shall be paid to non -represented employees at their then current regular rate of pay, not to exceed a total of four hundred (400) hours. In the event of the death of an employee, any payout of sick leave which the employee would have received per policy, will be paid to the surviving spouse or to the estate of the decedent if there is no surviving spouse. Honorable termination means resignation with at least two (2) weeks' notice, or lay-off due to lack of work that is anticipated to last longer than one (1) year, and shall not include discharge from service for cause. In the event that further conflicting terms are established by the provisions of collective bargaining agreements, such provisions shall control such payments to represented employees in accordance with their respective bargaining agreements. 8.3.11 Reinstatement of Sick Leave Employees who are re -hired within twelve (12) months of their separation date will have their previous sick leave balance reinstated up to the maximum carryover limit. Any sick leave that was paid out at termination under City Ordinance and/or according to any applicable collective bargaining agreement, is not eligible for reinstatement so long as the value of the paid sick leave was paid at a rate that was at least equal to the employee's normal hourly compensation or salary as defined by WAC 296-128-690. Upon rehire, employees will be notified of their available balance of accrued, unused sick leave. Appendix E Washington State Paid Family & Medical Leave Overview Paid Family and Medical Leave is a mandatory statewide insurance program that will provide almost every Washington employee with paid time off to give or receive care. If you qualify, this program will allow you to take up to 12 weeks, as needed, if you: Welcome a child into your family (through birth, adoption or foster placement) • Experience a serious illness or injury • Need to care for a seriously ill or injured relative Need time to prepare for a family member's pre- and post -deployment activities, as well as time for childcare issues related to a family member's military deployment. For specifics on military -connected paid leave, visit www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28mc.pdf If you face multiple events in a year, you might be eligible to receive up to 16 weeks, and up to 18 weeks if you experience a serious health condition during pregnancy that results in incapacity. Payment of Premiums This program is funded by premiums paid by both the employee and employer. It is administered by the state Employment Security Department. Premium amounts for both the medical and family coverage are set by the state. Premium costs may be shared between employer and employee but employers must pay a minimum of 33% of the total premium for both family and medical coverage. Premium sharing for represented employees will be as agreed to in their respective collective bargaining agreements. Premium cost sharing for non -represented employees will be recommended by the Mayor as part of the annual budget process. Any employee portion of the premiums will be deducted from the employee's paycheck on each pay cycle. Applying for benefits Starting January 1, 2020, employees who have worked 820 hours in the qualifying period (equal to 16 hours a week for a year) will be able to apply to take paid medical leave or paid family leave. The 820 hours are cumulative, regardless of the number of employers or jobs someone has during a year. All paid work over the course of the year counts toward the 820 hours, including part-time, seasonal and temporary work. While on leave, you are entitled to partial wage replacement. That means you will receive a portion of your average weekly pay. The benefit is generally up to 90 percent of your weekly wage, with a minimum of $100 per week and a maximum of $1,000 per week. You will be paid by and must apply for benefits through the Employment Security Department rather than by the City. For information on applying for benefits please go to paid leave.wa.gov. Supplementing Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave with other accrued leave The City allows the supplementing of paid leave with an employee's available accrued leave. Employees who choose to supplement their paid family or medical leave payments must first use sick leave and then may use other accrued leave once sick leave is exhausted. Employees must follow normal payroll procedures in order to use accrued leave as supplemental leave while on Paid Family & Medical Leave. Coordination with Shared Leave Employees who wish to receive shared leave must also apply for paid family & medical leave benefits through Employment Security. If approved for shared leave, the amount of leave awarded will be based on the approved payments from employment security so that the employee will not receive greater than 100% of their regular compensation. Leave Protections Employees who return from leave under this law will be restored to a same or equivalent job if they meet the following requirements: • have worked for the City for at least 12 months, and • have worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months before taking leave (about 24 hours per week, on average). You may remain on your City provided health insurance while on leave. If you contribute to the cost of your health insurance you will continue to be responsible for that portion. The City will pay the full premium for your health coverage while on you are on leave and you will be required to make arrangements to repay this when you return to work. Should you fail to return to work, any amount paid for your health care premiums on your behalf by the City will be deducted from your final paycheck. No Discrimination or Retaliation The City of Edmonds is prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against you for requesting or taking paid leave under this law. 8.14 Shared Leave The purpose of shared leave is to permit City employees, at no additional annual budgetary cost to the City, other than the administrative cost of administering the program, to come to the aid of a fellow employee who is suffering from or has an immediate family member suffering from illness, injury, impairment, physical or mental condition which is of an extraordinary or severe nature which has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to take leave without pay or to terminate his or her employment. "Immediate family" is defined in the City's Sick Leave Policy. The City may, but has no obligation to, approve recognition of other, significant relationships similar in nature to that of the immediate family, if the needs of the City permit. In addition to these purposes, the shared leave program may be used by employees who have been involuntarily called to military service. B. An employee may receive shared leave under this section if: 1. The employee suffers, or has an immediate family member suffering from an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition, which has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to go on leave without pay or to terminate his or her employment with the City. 2. The employee's place of business has been closed by order of a public official for any health - related reason, or when an employee's child's school or place of care has been closed for such a reason. 3. The employee will be absent for reasons covered under the Domestic Violence Leave Act. 4. In addition, the shared leave program may be utilized by an employee who has been involuntarily called to active duty in the Washington National Guard, or in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine Corps of the United States. An employee seeking to utilize the shared leave program due to an involuntary call to military service may not be required to establish compliance with subsections (B)(5) through (9) of this section. 5. The employee has depleted or will shortly deplete his or her total of accrued vacation, sick leave, compensatory time, holiday time, and/or other paid leave. 6. Prior to a request to use shared leave, the employee has abided by the sick leave policy, and all other policies related to leave from work. 7. The employee has diligently pursued and is found to be ineligible for state industrial insurance benefits or such benefits have been exhausted. 8. The employee has diligently pursued and been either approved for or denied benefits through Washington State's Paid Family & Medical Leave program. Or those benefits have been exhausted. 9. Use of shared leave will not significantly increase the City's costs except for those costs which would otherwise be incurred in the administration of this program and which would otherwise be incurred by the employee's department. C. The employee must submit their request for shared leave to their Department Director who shall determine the amount of shared leave, if any, the employee may receive under this policy. If approved by the Department Director, the shared leave request will be forwarded by the department to Human Resources for processing. The Mayor shall have final approval of all shared leave requests. The employee shall be required to provide appropriate medical justification and documentation both of the necessity for the leave and the time which the employee can reasonably be expected to be absent due to the condition. Such requests for medical information shall be in compliance with the City Sick Leave policy and Washington State's sick leave laws. D. Shared leave shall be limited to no more than a maximum of six (6) calendar months in any five-year rolling backward period from the first day of usage. D. Shared leave shall be funded through voluntary transfers of accrued vacation and/or sick leave from other City employees to the employee approved for a shared leave. Both vacation and sick leave can be donated for a shared leave request. Co-workers who donate leave must retain a minimum of eighty (80) hours each of accrued vacation and accrued sick leave to protect them from a wage loss due to illness or injury and to enjoy a reasonable vacation period. The applicable Department Director shall determine that no significant increase in City costs will occur as a result of the transfer of leave. F. While an employee is on shared leave, he or she will continue to be classified as a City employee and shall receive the same treatment, in respect to salary and benefits, as the employee would otherwise receive if using vacation leave. 1. All salary and benefit payments made to the employee on a shared leave shall be made by the department employing the person using the shared leave. 2. The employee's salary rate shall not change as a result of being on shared leave nor, under any circumstances, shall the total of the employee's salary and other benefits, including but not limited to state industrial insurance or any other benefit received as a result of payments by the City to an insurer, health care provider, or pension system, exceed the total of salary and benefits which the employee would have received had he or she been in a regular pay status. G. Leave shall be transferred on a dollar -for -dollar basis. The value of the leave shall be determined at the current hourly wage of the transferor and the leave available to the receiving employee shall be calculated at the receiving employee's wage. H. The Human Resources Department shall be responsible for computing values of donated leave and shared leave. The Finance Department shall be responsible for adjusting the accrued leave balances to show the transferred leave. Records of all leave time transferred shall be maintained by Human Resources. I. Leave donations will be transferred from the donating employee to the receiving employee as needed when payroll is processed each pay period. Shared leave donations are transferred in the order in which they are received, excepting vacation donations which will be used prior to any sick leave donations. The Human Resources Department shall determine when shared leave is no longer needed. J. The Human Resources Department shall monitor the use of shared leave to ensure equivalent treatment for all employees of the City. Inappropriate use or treatment of the shared leave provision may result in cancellation of the donated leave or use of shared leave.