2007-2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement

Sick Leave

11.1. Entitlement: Full-time employees in the bargaining unit will be entitled to accrue sick leave in accordance with the formula given below. The purpose of sick leave is to afford employees protection against lost income from absences due to illness or injury and, in particular long-term disability due to catastrophic illness or injury. Sick leave is not intended to supplement other leave provisions of this Agreement and is intended to be used only for the purpose set forth herein. Sick leave shall be computed at the end of each completed month of service. Employees rendering seasonal or temporary service in excess of six (6) months, shall be entitled to accrue sick leave at the same rate for time actually worked. Sick leave shall be cumulative for not more than the prescribed days and shall not lapse.

For employees working a 37 1/2 hour week, 1 1/4 days equals 9 hours, 23 minutes.

For all other employees, 1 1/4 days equals 10 hours.

11.1.1. Bonus Leave: Unit employees shall be entitled to bonus leave accrual based upon the number of sick leave hours used per fiscal year in accordance with the following formula:

Bonus leave accrued under this provision shall be earned for completed fiscal years only. Proration of bonus leave will occur for any retirement or reduction in force. Bonus leave is accrued in addition to any other maximums provided in this Agreement and shall be administered according to the provisions of 10.3.

Effective July 1, 1995, earned bonus leave must be used during the fiscal year following the fiscal year for which it was earned or it shall lapse.

Any employee who retires from State service under the provisions of RSA 100-A or who is laid off from State service and who has unused bonus leave to his/her credit from the preceding fiscal year shall be paid for such unused bonus leave at the time of separation.

11.1.2 Accounting: For purpose of utilization, sick leave shall be converted to hours.

11.1.3. Payment: Upon retirement under the provision of RSA 100-A:5 and RSA 100-A:6 only, or upon eligibility under RSA 100-A:5 but electing to receive a lump sum payment in lieu of an annuity, an employee shall receive payment in a sum equal to 50% of the number of sick leave days remaining to the employees credit. However, the total number of days eligible for payment shall not exceed sixty (60) days.

11.1.4. Payment: Upon retirement under RSA 100-A:5 or 6 or termination as a result of a reduction in force, an employee shall receive payment in a sum equal to 50% the number of sick leave days remaining to the employees credit. However, the number of days eligible for payment shall not exceed sixty (60) days.

11.2. Allowable Uses: An employee may utilize his/her sick leave allowance for absences due to illness, injury, or exposure to contagious diseases endangering the health of other employees when requested by the attending physician, medical and dental appointments with prior approval, or death in the employee's family and shall be deducted from his/her allowance on the basis of work days and not calendar days.

An employee may utilize up to five (5) days of sick leave per fiscal year for the purpose of providing care to an ill or injured family member who is “incapable of self-care” within the meaning of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), or to accompany such person(s) to healthcare provider visits.

In addition to the five (5) days authorized above, an employee may utilize up to fifteen (15) days of sick leave per fiscal year for the purpose of providing care to an ill or injured family member who has an FMLA-qualified illness or injury and is “incapable of self-care” within the meaning of the FMLA. This leave shall be counted as part of the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.

11.2.1. Bereavement Leave: An employee may utilize up to five (5) days sick leave for a death in the employee's family provided that use of such leave shall not be counted against time accumulation as provided in 11.1.1.

11.2.2. Family: For the purpose of administering Articles 11.2 and 11.2.1, family shall be defined as: wife, husband, same sex domestic partner, children, the minor or dependent children of the same sex domestic partner, mother-in-law, father-in-law, parents, step-parents, step-children, step-brother, step-sister, foster child, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, legal guardian, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law. This definition may be expanded to include other persons at the discretion of a requesting employee’s supervisor on a case by case basis. If the supervisor agrees to expand the definition at the request of a subordinate employee, the number of days granted, up to five (5) days, shall also be at the discretion of the supervisor.

11.2.3. Employees may utilize up to twelve weeks of non-intermittent sick leave for the birth of their baby or adoption of their child. The leave, if taken, shall be taken immediately following the birth or adoption and shall be counted as part of employee’s Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitlement.

11.2.4. Workers Compensation: An employee who is absent due to a compensable work injury shall continue to have health and dental benefits paid, and shall not have seniority, increment, longevity or leave accrual dates changed. Actual leave accrual will resume on the employee’s return to work.

11.3. Application for Use: To utilize his/her sick leave allowance, the employee must file a written application with the Employer specifying the basis of the request is:

"illness",
"injury",
"serious health condition as defined by the FMLA",
"dependent care",
"medical/dental appointment"
"bereavement", or
"donated to name of employee"

Employees shall be notified as to the approval or denial of their leave requests within a reasonable period of time.

11.4. Certification: An employee may be required by the Employer to furnish the Employer with a certificate from the attending physician or other licensed health care practitioner when, for reasonable cause, the Employer believes that the employee's use of sick leave does not conform to the reasons and requirements for sick leave use set forth in this Agreement. Such certificate shall contain a statement that in the practitioner's professional judgment sick leave is necessary. In addition, the Employer may, at state expense, have an independent physician examine one of his/her employees who, in the opinion of the Employer, may not be entitled to sick leave. The time related to such examination shall not be charged to the employee's leave.

11.5. Payment - Termination; Death: Upon the resignation or dismissal of any employee in the bargaining unit the number of days of sick leave remaining to his/her credit shall lapse. In the event of death of any employee while in the state classified service, a sum equal to the number of days sick leave remaining shall be paid to his/her estate.

11.6. In-State Transfer: Any employee who changes from the service of one appointing authority to another, without a break in service, shall at the time of said change have transferred all accumulated leave to his/her credit.

11.7. Payment - RIF: Whenever a former employee, who has been separated from the bargaining unit by a reduction in force formula, or for reasons without prejudice but for the convenience of the state, is reinstated within three years, the previously accumulated and unused balance of his/her sick leave allowance shall be revived and placed to his/her credit.

11.8. Reporting: All accumulated sick leave time earned by an employee shall be calculated and reported to each employee twice per year in January and July of each year, provided further that an employee may request at reasonable times an update of his/her sick leave accumulation status.

11.9 The Employer is authorized to provide additional sick leave to an employee under the following conditions:

1. A request for additional sick leave shall be forwarded to the Bureau of Employee Relations by the employee or the Employer stating the reason(s) for the request and the amount of additional sick leave requested.
2. The Bureau of Employee Relations shall request a recommendation from the Employer of the requesting employee/agency. The recommendation shall be made known only to those who will act upon the request.
3. The request and recommendation shall be forwarded to the Labor Management Committee established by Article IV, Section 4.2, who shall approve or deny the request in whole or in part.
4. The response to the request shall be transmitted to the requester by the Bureau of Employee Relations.
5. If the request is approved, the Manager of Employee Relations shall direct the Employer to solicit donations from employees within the requesting employee's agency who wish to contribute unused sick leave up to the amount of the authorization. Contributed sick leave shall not be counted against time accumulations as provided in Article 11.1. If the request is not approved, no further action shall be taken by the parties or by the requesting employee or Employer on that request.
6. No request shall be approved for more than ninety (90) days, although nothing shall prohibit additional requests.

11.10. A unit employee who has had a break in service shall be credited with prior periods of full-time state employment for leave accrual purposes if that employee's current period of full-time state employment has been three (3) or more continuous years in duration. Only prior periods of full-time state employment of two (2) or more consecutive years in duration shall be eligible for crediting.