Authorized leave is any absence, with or without pay, during
regularly scheduled work hours which has been approved by the town
manager, department director or other designated supervisor. Leave
is granted in accordance with work load requirements and must be approved
in writing in advance whenever possible, using the town leave request
form before the date of the leave. Approved leave request forms will
be submitted to the finance department/payroll administrator with
the time and attendance records each pay period. Employees and their
department director or other designated supervisor are mutually responsible
for planning and scheduling the use of employees’ personal leave
throughout the year. Employees should request leave in a timely manner,
and supervisors should provide timely responses to employees’
requests. The department director or designated supervisor shall approve
or deny the requested leave within three (3) days of receipt of the
request. Personal leave will not be unreasonably denied.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Unauthorized leave is any absence without the approval of the
town manager, department director or other designated supervisor.
Unauthorized leave is subject to loss of pay and/or disciplinary action,
up to and including termination. If an employee is absent without
authorized leave for a period of three (3) consecutive days, he or
she will be considered to have voluntarily resigned from town employment,
without appeal.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. Personal
leave benefit.
Personal leave is an employee authorized
leave benefit provided by the town government which provides time
off from regular duty, with pay, when an employee schedules time off
from work; is unable to work due to the employee’s illness;
or due to illness in the employee’s immediate family. Personal
leave may be taken from time to time in full workday increments or
in smaller increments depending on unused accrual and subject to approval
by the employee’s immediate supervisor.
B. Eligibility.
All full-time employees earn personal leave. Part-time and temporary
employees do not earn personal leave.
C. Personal
leave request and approval.
All personal leave requests
are subject to the approval of the department director, designated
supervisor and/or town manager.
1. Employees
must submit a leave request form (TOT 103) at least seven (7) days
in advance, except in cases of emergency or unanticipated illness.
Every effort will be made to accommodate the employee’s request,
but final approval will depend upon the town’s needs being fully
met. Leave requests not received and approved in advance of the leave
being taken and which are not of an emergency nature may result in
the employee being charged for the time as leave without pay.
2. In
the event a recognized holiday occurs during an employee’s personal
leave, the employee will be paid for the holiday and the time not
charged to personal leave.
3. In
case of an emergency or illness, notification must be made to the
employee’s department director and/or immediate supervisor of
the employee’s request to take personal leave within fifteen
(15) minutes of scheduled time to work or as soon as reasonable. A
doctor’s certificate attesting to an employee’s illness
and ability to resume regular duty may be required by the employee’s
department director/immediate supervisor.
D. Abuse
of personal leave.
Pattern of absence which may impact
town work load, performance and services provided, is defined as,
but not limited to, when an employee’s attendance record shows
a somewhat consistent sequence of absences, i.e., almost always Mondays,
Fridays, Mondays and Fridays before and/or after holidays, times of
overtimes, certain week(s) of the month, or paydays; abuse of personal
leave may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Failure to submit a doctor’s certificate when requested will
prohibit the employee from receiving sick leave within the pay period
in dispute and may result in disciplinary action, up to and including
termination.
E. Accrual
of personal leave.
1. Classified
employees.
Classified employees shall accumulate a total
of twenty-two (22) days (176 hours) of personal leave per year up
to and including five (5) years of service. After the completion of
five (5) years of service, the employee shall accumulate up to twenty-seven
(27) days (216 hours) of personal leave per year. Personal leave is
accrued on a biweekly basis at a rate consistent with the aforementioned
annual accrual.
2. Appointed
directors and department directors.
Appointed directors
and department directors shall accumulate twenty-two (22) days (176
hours) of personal leave per year up to and including two (2) years
of service. After two (2) years of service, the employee shall accumulate
up to twenty-seven (27) days (216 hours) of personal leave per year.
Personal leave is accrued on a biweekly basis at a rate consistent
with the aforementioned annual accrual.
F. Maximum
accrual of personal leave.
No more than five hundred
(500) hours of personal leave will be accrued for town employees.
Personal leave will cap at five hundred (500) hours and no additional
leave will accrue once an employee’s accrual reaches this cap.
G. Retirement
or separation from employment.
At retirement or separation
from employment, all unused, accrued personal leave shall be paid
out in one lump sum with the employee’s final paycheck unless
otherwise approved by the town manager.
H. Voluntary
personal leave transfer.
There are times when employees
may face conditions, which require an extended absence from duty and
subsequently result in the exhaustion of their personal leave. In
such cases, the town manager may permit a regular full-time employee
to receive personal leave donations or accrued administrative leave
from other qualifying employees under the following circumstances:
1. The employee has submitted a request for Family Medical Leave (FMLA), has provided all required documentation, and has been approved to be placed on FMLA by the HR director. The employee must abide by all personnel rules regarding FMLA in accordance to section
3.100.050 of this chapter.
2. The
employee must submit a separate written request for the donation of
supplemental personal and/or administrative leave to the HR director.
3. The
HR director has verified the circumstances of the request and has
recommended eligibility for supplemental personal and/or administrative
leave (on a case-by-case basis) to the town manager.
4. The
HR director has confirmed that the employee has depleted or will shortly
deplete his or her accrued personal leave balance.
5. The
HR director has confirmed that the employee has abided by all personnel
rules regarding personal leave use, in accordance to this section.
6. The
town manager, based on the recommendation of the HR director, shall
determine the amount of donated personal and/or administrative leave
transferred to the requesting employee, if any. The total amount of
donated personal and/or administrative leave which an employee may
receive under this section shall not exceed the equivalent of two
(2) full pay periods for that employee.
7. If
the employee exhausts his or her FMLA hours they are no longer eligible
to receive the personal leave transfers.
Requests for donated personal and/or administrative leave shall
be considered by the town in the order which they were received and
shall be based on the availability of donated hours.
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Such leave shall be donated in one-hour increments, with the
minimum donation being eight (8) hours per donor.
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If there are no donated hours available, the town manager may,
in his or her sole discretion, and with the recommendation of the
HR director, permit up to two (2) weeks of administratively granted
personal and/or administrative leave.
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Donations of personal and/or administrative leave shall only
be considered from employees who have accrued a personal leave balance
of at least one hundred sixty (160) hours. In no event may the employee
request a transfer of an amount of personal leave that would result
in his or her own personal leave going below one hundred sixty (160)
hours.
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Any amount of donated personal and/or administrative leave transferred
by employees for use under this section which remains unused after
satisfying the requests for which the leave is donated shall be banked
for use in future or additional requests by other employees determined
to be eligible under this subsection.
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The voluntary personal leave transfer program is a completely
voluntary and discretionary service coordinated by the town on behalf
of the employees who have expressed a desire to transfer time to assist
other fellow employees and in no way constitutes an entitlement or
offering of a negotiable employee or union benefit, right, or privilege,
nor legal obligation by the town. The voluntary personal leave transfer
program is not offered or to be considered an automatic employee benefit
under either the town personnel policy or the collective bargaining
agreement.
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(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. Leave
with pay for which the employee is not charged personal leave due
to the death of an immediate family member. An employee who wishes
to take time off due to the death of an immediate family member should
notify his or her department director or supervisor immediately. Employees
may be required to provide documentation that provides proof of familial
relationship. Failure to provide such proof shall result in the employee
being charged with unauthorized leave without pay. An employee may,
with his or her department director’s or supervisor’s
approval, use available personal leave for additional time off as
necessary. At the discretion of the town, up to a maximum of one hundred
twenty (120) hours (15 days) of bereavement leave may be taken by
an employee per calendar year.
Bereavement leave may be granted based on the following schedule:
1. Employees
are allowed up to forty (40) hours of bereavement leave from regularly
scheduled work duty with pay in the event of the death of the employee’s
mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, sibling, spouse, children
(adopted, biological, or stepchildren) or grandchildren and those
like-relatives of employee’s spouse or domestic partner.
2. Employees
are allowed up to eight (8) hours of bereavement leave in the event
of the death of an employee’s grandparents or great-grandparents
within the State of New Mexico. Employees are allowed up to sixteen
(16) hours of bereavement leave in the event of the death of grandparents
or great-grandparents outside of the State of New Mexico. The employee
must provide proof of travel and a copy of the obituary.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
The town will comply with all applicable requirements of the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA provides eligible employees
up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid, job protected leave within a 12-month
period for certain family and medical reasons. When an employee returns
to work after FMLA leave, they will be in the same or equivalent position
with equivalent pay, benefits and other employment terms and conditions.
Employees are required to use any personal leave towards FMLA leave
before unpaid leave is granted. Employees will be placed on FMLA leave
when out on workers’ compensation or short-term disability.
A. Eligibility.
Employees who have worked for the town for at least twelve (12)
months (which need not be consecutive) and have worked at least one
thousand two hundred fifty (1,250) hours or more during the 12-month
period immediately preceding the start of FMLA leave.
B. Reason
for leave.
Eligible employees may receive FMLA leave
for the birth and care of a newborn child, for the placement of a
child with the employee for adoption or foster care, to care for an
immediate family member (parent, spouse, or child) with a serious
health condition, when an employee is unable to work because of a
serious health condition, or when the employee’s own serious
health condition makes them unable to perform an essential function
of his or her job.
1. Covered
service member.
An eligible employee who is the spouse,
son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member
who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the
line of duty on active duty is entitled to up to twenty-six (26) weeks
of unpaid FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service
member. This military caregiver leave is available during a single
12-month period during which an eligible employee is entitled to a
combined total of twenty-six (26) weeks of all types of FMLA leave.
The 12-month period is calculated forward from the date an employee’s
first FMLA leave begins.
C. Serious
health condition.
A serious health condition is an illness,
injury, or physical/mental condition that involves:
1. Any
period of incapacity or treatment that requires inpatient care in
a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or
2. Any
period of incapacity requiring continuing treatment by a healthcare
provider. Continuing treatment by a healthcare provider is two (2)
or more visits, or one visit that results in continuing treatment
under the healthcare provider’s supervision; or
3. Pregnancy
or pre-natal care, bonding; or
4. A
permanent or long-term condition for which treatment may not be effective.
Serious health conditions do not include short-term conditions
such as illnesses that last a few days or out-patient surgeries that
typically require only a brief recovery period. Employees may use
personal leave to cover time off for these conditions.
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D. Notice
and verification.
Employees who want to take FMLA leave
ordinarily must provide the town with at least thirty (30) days’
notice of the need for leave, if the need for leave is foreseeable.
If the need is not foreseeable, the employee should give as much notice
as is practicable. Request for FMLA leave forms are available from
the human resources department. Employees must submit a medical certification
form with their request for FMLA leave for medical reasons. The medical
certification for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced schedule
for planned medical treatment must include the dates on which the
treatment is expected and the duration of treatment.
E. Calculation
of leave.
Eligible employees can use up to twelve (12)
weeks of leave during any twelve (12) month period. The town will
use a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee
uses any FMLA leave. Each time an employee uses leave, the town computes
the amount of leave the employee has taken under the FMLA, subtracts
it from the twelve (12) weeks and the balance remaining is the amount
the employee is entitled to take at that time.
F. Maintenance
of benefits.
An employee shall be entitled to maintain
all town insurance benefits for the employee on the same basis as
if the employee had continued to work for the town. To maintain uninterrupted
coverage for spouse, partners, and other dependents, the employee
will have to continue to pay their share of the cost.
G. Temporary
work assignments.
Where medical necessity dictates the
need to use scheduled intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule,
the town may require the employee to transfer temporarily to an alternative
position that better accommodates recurring periods of leave than
the employee’s regular position. In addition, the town may transfer
an employee to a part-time job with the same hourly rate of pay and
benefits as long as the employee is not required to take more leave
than is medically necessary.
H. Return
to work.
Employees returning to work from an FMLA leave
due to their own serious medical condition must submit a doctor’s
statement certifying that they can return to work and perform the
essential functions of their job with or without a reasonable accommodation.
If an employee does not return to work within three (3) days after
approved FMLA leave has expired and has not contacted the human resources
department to get an approved extension, they will be considered to
have abandoned their job and will be separated from employment.
I. Holidays
and personal leave.
Employees on FMLA leave without pay
are not eligible for holiday pay and shall not accrue personal leave
while on unpaid FMLA leave.
J. Confidentiality
of medical records.
The human resources department will
keep medical records and documents pertaining to an employee or an
employee’s family separate from the employee’s personnel
file and will treat them as confidential medical records. Department
directors may be informed regarding necessary restrictions on work
and accommodations.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Administrative leave with pay may be authorized, subject to
the approval of the town manager, when it is in the best interest
of the town to do so, such as for an employee to attend training or
official meetings as it pertains to the employee’s current or
potential future work-related duties, to conduct town associated business
at a location other than the employee’s normal work station,
to compensate an employee for volunteering or performing additional
duties or hours for which they would not otherwise be compensated,
for safety or health reasons, or such other circumstances as the town
manager sees fit for the mutual benefit of the town and employee.
Employees may be placed on administrative leave with pay should
any action of the employee require investigation, or should it be
determined by the town manager to be in the best interests of the
town, employee or other employees while the investigation is conducted.
The town manager may authorize administrative leave with pay
should the town close its offices and send employees home, whether
due to inclement weather, a town sponsored holiday or employee event,
safety considerations, in conjunction with community or town special
events or other unusual circumstances.
Should town offices be closed for any reason and administrative
leave be granted to town employees as a result, all public safety,
public works, facilities, management and other essential personnel
required to report to work regardless of the delay or closure as part
of their essential duties (as may be designated by the town manager,
department director or outline in their job description) will be compensated
for their actual time worked, any overtime or holiday pay that may
apply, as prescribed by the personnel policy or CBA, and will additionally
be credited with the full amount of approved administrative leave
granted to all other employees.
Employees that cannot make it to work due to inclement weather
will be credited with the administrative leave authorized for any
delayed opening or early closing and shall be charged with personal
leave or, if no such leave has been accrued, leave without pay for
all other normal work hours missed on that work day.
The town manager may in their discretion grant up to two (2)
weeks paid administrative leave in lieu of required notice by the
employee upon separation. The town manager may also, at his or her
discretion, additionally authorize up to an additional two (2) weeks
for service credit at separation from town employment for full-time
employees not on probation, if deemed to be in the best interest of
the town.
Administrative leave accrued by an employee may be contributed
to another employee in accordance to subsection 3.100.030.H, “Voluntary
personal leave transfer”, of this chapter.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Employees will be granted leave with pay when subpoenaed to
appear in a court of competent jurisdiction as a witness on behalf
of the town or called to serve as a juror by a court of competent
jurisdiction. Fees received by an employee for compensation as a witness
or as a juror, excluding reimbursement for mileage, shall be paid
over to the town finance department. Upon being subpoenaed or called
for jury duty, an employee shall immediately notify his/her department
director and/or supervisor. The employee must also provide a copy
of the jury summons, which will be forwarded to the human resources
department. If possible, the employee shall state the estimated time
he/she will be absent from work in order that necessary staffing adjustments
can be made. In addition, if the employee serves on a jury or appears
in court, they will need to obtain written documentation from the
courts about the actual time/days spent in court proceedings to submit
with their payroll records to the finance department/payroll administrator.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Employees are allowed up to two (2) hours with pay to vote on
Election Day. Time taken off for voting shall not be used for any
other purpose. Voting time off, with pay of up to two (2) hours, will
not be granted to any employee whose normal work days begin more than
two (2) hours after the opening of the polls or end more than two
(2) hours prior to the closing of the polls. Employees may be required
to show they are registered eligible voters to qualify for voting
leave.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. Military
leave with pay.
All employees of the town who are members
of the armed forces of the United States or members of organized reserve
units or the National Guard shall be entitled to a maximum of fifteen
(15) calendar days of military leave with pay per federal fiscal year
(the federal fiscal year is the accounting period for the federal
government which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30) when
called or placed on active duty or required to attend organized courses
of instruction or training periods thereof. A copy of the employee’s
official military orders is required to be provided to the human resources
department prior to the commencement of such leave; leave [sic] to
be kept in the respective employee’s personnel file. In the
event an employee is called to military duty for a period beyond the
fifteen (15) days allowed for military leave, the period in excess
of fifteen (15) days may be charged to an employee’s personal
leave or leave without pay, at the employee’s discretion. Employees
on military leave with pay shall accrue personal leave.
B. The
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
1. USERRA
protects the job rights of individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily
leave employment positions to undertake military service. USERRA prohibits
employers from discriminating against past and present members of
the uniformed services, and applicants to the uniformed services,
with regard to initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment,
promotion, or any benefit of employment.
2. Employees
who leave town service to undertake military service and who meet
the reemployment eligibility rights under USERRA, will be restored
to the job and benefits they would have attained if they had not been
absent due to military service or, in some cases, a comparable job.
Employees must:
a. Ensure that the town is given advance written or verbal notice of
your service;
b. Have five (5) years or less of cumulative service in the uniformed
services while working with the town;
c. Return to work or apply for reemployment in a timely manner after
conclusion of military service; and
d. Have not been separated from service with a disqualifying discharge
or under other than honorable conditions.
3. Employees
who leave their job to perform military service have the right to
elect to continue their existing employer-based health plan coverage
(personal and dependent coverage) for up to twenty-four (24) months
while in the military. If an employee does not elect to continue coverage
during their military service, they have the right to be reinstated
in the town’s health plan when reemployed, generally without
any waiting periods or exclusions except for service connected illnesses
or injuries.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Educational leave is subject to recommendation of the department
director and the approval of the town manager and must be related
to employee career advancement related to present or future job skills
that may benefit both the employee and the town. Employees may be
granted leave without pay or a flexible schedule to attend courses
at a high school, vocational school, college or other educational
institution of higher learning, or other specialized training. Full-time
or part-time employees required or recommended by the town to attend
classes will be paid their normal wages for all hours in attendance.
Any employee attending any courses or classes as a requirement of
maintaining a professional license or certificate or other specialized
training required by the town will receive regular pay if approved
by the town manager.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A department director, upon recommendation and with the approval
of the town manager, or the town manager, may grant classified employees
leave without pay for a period not to exceed six (6) months, when
the department director or town manager deems that such leave without
pay is in the best interest of the town.
A. Re-employment
upon return.
If an employee returns to work within six
(6) months, the employee will be returned to the same position, if
possible, or a position of like classification and pay.
B. Vacancies
may be filled by temporary employees.
Temporary employees
may be hired to fill vacancies created by an employee who is on leave
without pay.
C. Benefits
at employee’s expense.
An employee on leave without
pay does not accrue leave, nor does the employee receive town benefits.
An employee wishing to continue receiving insurance benefits may do
so at the employee’s expense by submitting the employee’s
and the town’s share of the premium to the finance department
on the regular payday.
D. Failure
to report to work.
Employees who fail to report to work
upon expiration of approved leave without pay shall be considered
to have voluntarily resigned from their job.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Any employee who suffers an on-the-job injury or illness is
required, unless incapacitated, to immediately prepare and submit
a notice of accident form to their supervisor/department director.
If the employee is unable to do so, the supervisor or department director
will fill out the notice of accident. An employee who suffers an on
the job injury or illness that requires immediate emergency treatment
and returns to work on the same workday will not be charged personal
leave. The supervisor/department director shall submit the notice
of accident form and the required supervisor’s investigation
report form to the human resources department within seventy-two (72)
hours. The injured or ill employee must sign a worker’s authorization
for disclosure of protected health information for workers’
compensation purposes form, doctor selection notice and submit to
the human resources department. The human resources department will
send the forms, the notice of accident, and a New Mexico Workers’
Compensation Administration - Employer’s First Report of Injury
or Illness to the New Mexico self-insurers’ fund for evaluation.
Workers’ compensation benefits will be awarded as provided by
law. Post-accident drug testing may be required as defined in the
town personnel policy.
A. Workers’
compensation process.
1. Employees
injured on the job may choose any physician for their initial evaluation
and treatment.
2. Employee
and supervisor must complete all necessary forms and submit to the
human resources department as soon as possible.
3. If
the employee is not able to work, the first seven (7) days after filing
a workers’ compensation claim are considered a waiting period
during which no workers’ compensation benefits are paid. The
injured or ill employee will have to use personal leave or leave without
pay, if necessary, during this period. After seven (7) days out of
work, an injured or ill employee that has been approved for workers’
compensation benefits may elect to be paid sixty-six and two-thirds
percent (66-2/3%) of their average gross pay for the preceding twenty-six
(26) weeks (pursuant to subsection 3.100.110.C, “Benefits at
employee’s expense”, of this chapter) or continue using
personal leave. The employee’s decision to receive workers’
compensation benefits or to use personal leave while out of work must
be designated on an election of benefits form forwarded to the human
resources department.
4. Employees
out on workers’ compensation will also be placed on family and
medical leave which will run concurrently with their workers’
compensation absence.
5. After
sixty (60) days, the NM self-insurers’ fund can require an injured
employee to be seen by another designated physician for reevaluation
and treatment.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)