[Adopted 6-17-1975 by Ord. No. 1011]
Each full-time employee of the Borough of Ridgefield
may be allotted one day sick leave with pay per month, not exceeding
10 working days in the aggregate during each calendar year, on account
of sickness or related cause of absence. It may be considered by the
governing body as a sufficient and legitimate excuse for the employee's
failure to be present and in attendance upon his duties, provided
that the reason for the absence and the good faith of the employee
in making the application for such leave shall be shown to the governing
body by such reasonable evidence as may be required.
Sick leave may be accumulated up to a maximum
of 150 days.
Present Borough employees shall be given sick
leave credited on the aforesaid basis of 10 days per year of service
up to a maximum of 150 days, less any days of sick leave used.
Severance of employment prior to the use of
all or any part of such sick leave terminates all rights for compensation
hereunder.
Vacation and sick leave periods may be combined,
but only in the event that the long-continued sickness of the employee
warrants such cause.
Sick leave may also include:
A.
Exposure to a contagious disease which would endanger
the health of co-workers.
B.
Illness in the immediate family of the employee which
requires the employee's personal care.
C.
Dental, optical or medical examinations or treatments
when such professional services are not readily available outside
of working hours.
A.
In all cases of sick leave, the employee shall inform
the department head of the reason for said leave.
B.
When an absence on account of sickness does not exceed
five days, normally the employee's statement of the cause will be
accepted without a supporting statement by his attending physician,
although the Borough or department head may have any employee examined
by a licensed physician at any time it or he elects to do so. The
Borough also reserves the right to waive this requirement and to require
the employee to be examined by a physician designated by the Borough
and to have the employee certified as fit for duty before the employee
returns to work.
C.
An employee who shall be absent on sick leave for
five or more consecutive working days shall be required to submit
acceptable medical evidence substantiating the sickness.
D.
An employee who has been absent on sick leave for
periods totaling 10 days in one calendar year consisting of periods
of less than five days shall submit acceptable medical evidence for
any additional sick leave in that year, unless such illness is of
a chronic or recurring nature requiring recurring absences of one
day or less, in which case only one certificate shall be necessary
for a period of six months.
E.
The governing body or department head may require
proof of illness of any employee on sick leave whenever such requirement
appears reasonable.
Abuse of sick leave shall be cause for disciplinary
action.
During protracted periods of illness, the municipality
may require interim reports on the condition of the employee, on weekly
or biweekly periods, from the attending physician. A certificate of
a reputable physician in attendance shall be required as sufficient
proof of need of leave of absence of the employee or the need of the
employee's attendance upon a member of the immediate family. In case
of leave of absence due to a contagious disease, a certificate from
the Borough Department of Health shall be required. In the case of
recurring or chronic illness, a doctor's certificate may be required
once every six months when an employee is absent one day or less.
Request for sick leave in a form approved by
the municipality shall be used to record all sick leave. The department
head will maintain sick leave records on cards for each employee,
upon which he will record the total sick leave for each employee.
All absences will be maintained upon these cards and all sick leave
earned and consumed or used for each completed continuous service
year will be recorded on the record. Employees having exhausted all
their sick leave will not receive any further sick leave until same
has been accumulated and earned by the employee's subsequent service.
Upon receipt of a request for sick leave and
approval thereof by the department head or governing body, said request
shall be immediately forwarded to the payroll office.
Where an employee has left the Borough's employ
and subsequently is reemployed, the date of reemployment is to be
used as the employee's service date with the Borough for purpose of
crediting sick leave.
This section shall apply to all full-time Borough
employees who are not covered under a collective bargaining agreement.
Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall, in regards
to payment for accumulated unused sick leave, be subject to the provisions
of the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Full-time employees
not subject to a collective bargaining agreement who are hired after
October 9, 2017, shall not be permitted to cash out accumulated unused
sick leave at the time they separate employment from the Borough.
As to full-time employees not covered under a collective bargaining
agreement who were hired on or before October 9, 2017, those employees
shall be entitled to be paid for unused accumulated sick leave when
they separate employment from the Borough on the basis of one day’s
pay for every such four days of accumulated but unused sick leave.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided
that credit will be given for unused accumulated six leave since 1975
and that this section shall be retroactive to January 1, 1985, so
that any employee retiring thereafter shall have the benefit of the
provisions hereof.
This policy shall not be applicable to injuries
arising out of or in the course of employment.
