[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Commission of the City of Royal Oak as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Civil service merit system — See Ch. 33.
Retirement — See Ch. 146.
[Adopted 2-20-1995 by Ord. No. 95-2]
As used in this article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
CHILD
A biological, adopted or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is under 18 years of age; or who is 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
CITY COMMISSION
The Royal Oak City Commission.
EMPLOYEE
Any employee who has worked a minimum of 1,250 hours during the past 12 months and who has been employed for at least 12 months.
EMPLOYER
Includes the City of Royal Oak.
FAMILY LEAVE
Leave by reason of a serious health condition of a family member.
FAMILY MEMBER
A parent, spouse, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, or the employee himself or herself.
PARENT
A biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a child.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Leave by reason of:
A. 
The birth of a child of an employee and in order to care for such child; or
B. 
The placement of a child with an employee for adoption or foster care.
SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION
A disabling physical or mental illness, injury, impairment or condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, a nursing home, or a hospice; or outpatient care requiring continuing treatment or supervision by a health care provider.
A. 
Every employee, as defined above, shall be entitled, upon advance notice to his or her employer, to 12 consecutive work weeks of parental leave or family leave in any twelve-month period. The employee shall give at least 30 days' notice of the intended date upon which parental leave or family leave shall commence and terminate, unless prevented by medical emergency from giving the form and content of the employee's notice to the employer.
B. 
Intermittent leave may be taken by employees when medically necessary to care for themselves or sick children, spouses, or parents. If an employee requests intermittent leave that is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employee may be temporarily transferred to an equivalent position with equal pay and benefits that better accommodates absences, unless precluded by union contract.
C. 
Parental leave or family leave granted pursuant to this article may consist of unpaid leave. If the employer provides paid parental leave or family leave for fewer than 12 weeks, the additional weeks of leave added to attain the total of 12 weeks required by Subsection A of this section may be unpaid.
D. 
The employer may request that the employee shall provide the employer with written certification from a physician caring for the person who is the reason for the employee's leave, which certification shall specify the probable duration of the employee's leave.
A. 
Every employee who exercises his or her right to parental leave under this article shall, upon the expiration of such leave, be entitled to be restored by the employer to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced, or to a position with equivalent seniority, status, employment benefits, pay and other terms and considerations of employment, including fringe and service credits that employee had been entitled to at the commencement of leave.
B. 
During any parental leave or family leave taken pursuant to this article, the employer shall maintain any existing health benefits of the employee in force for the duration of such leave as if the employee had continued in employment continuously from the date he or she commenced such leave until the date he or she returns to employment pursuant to Subsection A of this section.
C. 
Prior to taking such leave, the employee shall sign an agreement that he will be responsible for repayment of all premiums paid by the employer during the leave if the employee does not return to work after the leave for at least 90 days. If the employee does not return to work after such leave for at least 90 days, the City shall have the right to deduct the cost of the premiums from any monies due the employee.
A. 
The taking of parental leave or family leave pursuant to this article shall not result in the loss of any benefit accrued before the date on which the leave commenced.
B. 
Except as provided in § 128-3B, nothing in this article shall be construed to entitle any employee who takes parental leave or family leave pursuant to this article to any benefit other than benefits to which the employee would have been entitled had he or she not taken leave.
C. 
Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect an employer's obligation to comply with any collective bargaining agreement or employment benefit plan that provides greater parental leave or family leave rights to employees than the rights provided under this article.
D. 
The parental leave and family leave rights mandated by this article shall not be diminished by any collective bargaining agreement or by any employment benefit plan.
E. 
Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect or diminish the contract rights or seniority status of any other employee of the employer covered by this article.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for the employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right provided by this article.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for the employer to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, discipline, or in any other manner discriminate against any employee for exercising any right provided by this article.
C. 
It shall be unlawful for the employer to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, discipline, or in any other manner discriminate against any employee for opposing any practice made unlawful by this article.
A civil action may be brought in Circuit Court by an employee to enforce the provisions of this article or of any resolution issued by the City Commission pursuant to § 128-7. The court may enjoin any act or practice that violates or may violate any provision of this article, and may order such other equitable relief as is necessary and appropriate to redress such violation or to enforce any provision of this article.
If, after giving written notice and an opportunity to be heard, the City Commission finds that the employer has failed to comply with any provision of this article, the City Commission may issue such resolutions as it deems necessary to protect the rights of any employee. The City Commission shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this section.
The employer shall post and keep posted in conspicuous places upon its premises where notices to employees and applicants for employment are customarily posted a notice, to be approved by the City Commission, setting forth excerpts from, or summaries of, the provisions of this article and information pertaining to the filing of a complaint.