Loading...
Resolution No. 6696 1 RBSOLU'.rJ:OB 110. 6696 2 3 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VERNON APPROVING AND ADOPTING A FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE POLICY AND AMENDING SECTION 15 OF RESOLUTION NO. 6651, BY DELETING SUBSECTION (f) ON PAGE 18 WHICH ESTABLISHED A MATERNITY LEAVE PROGRAM FOR FEMALE EMPLOYEES 4 5 6 7 WHEREAS, in 1993, both the United States Congress and the 8 California Legislature passed legislation dealing with the subject 9 of family and medical leave; and 10 WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Vernon desires to 11 adopt a Family and Medical Leave Policy which is consistent with the 12 requirements of this recent legislation and which grants jOb- 13 protected unpaid family and medical leave to eligible City 14 employees; and 15 WHEREAS, Resolution No. 6651 was adopted by the City of 16 Vernon on June 27, 1995, to be effective on June 27, 1995; and 17 WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Vernon desires to 18 include the City'S Maternity Leave Program in the Family and Medical 19 Leave Policy which will be adopted by the City; and 20 WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Vernon therefore 21 desires to amend Section 15 of Resolution No. 6651 by deleting 22 Subsection (f) on page 18, to eliminate the Maternity Leave Program 23 for female employees from that Resolution. 24 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE 25 CITY OF VERNON AS FOLLOWS: 26 SECTION 1: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby 27 finds and determines that the recitals contained hereinabove are 28 true and correct. . ' J 1 SECTION 2: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby 2 approves and adopts the City of Vernon Family and Medical Leave 3 POlicy, a copy of which has been presented to the City Council 4 concurrently with this resolution, and the City Council hereby 5 orders said policy to be received and filed by the City Clerk. 6 SECTION 3: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby 7 authorizes the City Clerk to inform City employees about the 8 provisions of said Policy. 9 SECTION 4: Effective October 17, 1995, section 15 of 10 Resolution No. 6651 is amended to delete Subsection (f) in its 11 entirety. 12 SECTION 5: In all other respects, Resolution No. 6651, 13 shall remain in full force and effect, and the provisions in 14 Resolution No. 6651 which are not consistent with or in conflict 15 with this resolution are hereby repealed. 16 SECTION 6: The City Clerk of the City of Vernon shall 17 certify to the passage of this resolution, and thereupon and 18 thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. 19 APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 17th day of October, 1995. 20 21 22 ~~' ATTEST: 23 /~ 24 BRUCE V. MALKENHORST, City Clerk 25 26 27 28 -2- - . ' 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ~ 1 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) ) ss COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) I, BRUCE V. MALKENHORST, ci ty Clerk of the ci ty of 2 3 4 Vernon, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution, being 5 Resolution No. was duly adopted by the City Council of the --' 6 City of Vernon at an adjourned regular meeting of the City Council 7 duly held on October 17, 1995, and thereafter was duly signed by the 8 Mayor/Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Vernon. 9 ~ BRUCE V. MALKENHORST, City Clerk (SEAL) -3- SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS , ~ "~ CITY OF VERNON FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE POLICY I. STATEMENT OF POLICY In accordance with the California Family Rights Act (Government Code section 12945.2) and the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Title 29 U.S. Code, Sections 2601 et seq.), the City of Vernon will grant job protected unpaid family and medical leave to eligible employees for up to 12 weeks per 12-month period for any one or more of the following reasons: A. The birth of a child and in order to care for such child or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care (leave for this reason must be taken within the 12-month period following the child's birth or placement with the employee); or B. In order to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) of the employee if such immediate family member has a serious health condition; or C. The employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his/her position. II. DEFINITIONS A. "12-Month period" - means a rolling 12-month period measured oackward from the date leave is taken and continuous with each additional leave day taken. B. "Spouse" - does not include unmarried domestic partners. If both spouses work for the City of Vernon their total leave in any 12-month period may be limited to an aggregate of 12 weeks if the leave is taken for either the birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child or to care for a sick parent. C. "Child" - means a child either under 18 years of age, or 18 years of age or older who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability. An employee's "child" is one for whom the employee has actual day-to-day-responsibility for care and includes a biological, adopted, foster or step-child. D. "Parent" - means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stands or stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child. E. "Maternity" - means the quality or state of being pregnant. F. "Serious Health Condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or a physical or mental condition that involves: 1 .. 1. Inpatient care; or 2. Any period of incapacity requiring absence from work for more than three calendar days AND that involves continuing treatment by a health care provider; or 3. Continuing treatment by a health care provider for a chronic or long-term health condition that is incurable or which, if left untreated, would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three calendar days: or 4. Prenatal care by a health care provider. G. "continuinq Treatment" - means: 1. Two or more visits to a health care provider; or 2. Two or more treatments by a health care practitioner on referral from, or under the direction of, a health care provider; or 3. A single visit to a health care provider that results in a regimen of continuing treatment; or 4. In the case of a serious, long-term or chronic condition or disability that cannot be cured, being under the continuing supervision of, but not necessarily being actively treated by, a health care provider. III. COVERAGE AND ELIGIBILITY A. To be eligible for family/medical leave an employee must: 1. Have worked for the city of Vernon for at least 12 months, which need not be consecutive months; and 2. Have worked at least 1250 hours over the previous 12 month period. 3. Determination's of whether an employee meets the requirements of 1 & 2 above will be made as of the date leave commences. IV. INTERMITTENT OR REDUCED LEAVE A. An employee may take leave intermittently (a few days or a few hours at a time) or on a reduced leave schedule to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition or because of a serious health condition of the employee when "medically necessary." 2 i 1. "Medically necessary" means there must be a medical need for the leave and that the leave can best be accomplished through an intermittent or reduced leave schedule. 2. The employee may be required to transfer temporarily to a position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates recurring periods of leave when the leave is planned based on scheduled medical treatment. B. An employee may take leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child only with the department's consent. c. For part-time employees who are eligible and those employees who work variable hours and are eligible, the family and medical leave entitlement is calculated on a pro rata basis. A weekly average of the hours worked over the 12 weeks prior to the beginning of the leave should be used for calculating the employee's normal workweek. V. SUBSTITUTION OF PAID VACATION TIME Employees are required to use accrued paid vacation time and/or accrued compensatory time for any part of a family/medical leave taken for any reason. The accrued paid vacation and/or compensatory time runs concurrently with the family and medical leave. VI. EMPLOYEE NOTICE OF LEAVE Although the City of Vernon recognizes that emergencies arise which may require employees to request immediate leave, employees are required to give as much notice as possible of their need for leave. If leave is foreseeable, at least 30 days notice is required. In addition, if an employee knows that he/she will need leave in the future, but does not know the exact date(s) (e.g. for the birth of a child or to take care of a newborn), the employee shall inform his/her supervisor as soon as possible that such leave will be needed. If the City of Vernon determines that an employee's notice is inadequate or the employee knew about the requested leave in advance of the request, the City of Vernon may delay the granting of the leave until it can, in its discretion, adequately cover the position with a substitute. VII. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION Employees who request leave for their own serious health condition or to care for a child, parent or a spouse who has a serious health condition must provide written certification from the health care provider of the individual requiring care. If the leave is requested because of the employee's own serious health condition, the certification must include a statement that the employee is 3 -. unable to perform the essential functions of his/her position. If the City of Vernon has reason to doubt the validity of a certification, the City of Vernon may require a medical opinion of a second health care provider chosen by the City of Vernon. If the second opinion is different from the first, the City of Vernon may require the opinion of a third provider jointly approved by the ci ty of Vernon and the employee. The opinion of the third provider will be binding. If an employee requests leave intermittently (a few days or a few hours at a time) or on a reduced leave schedule to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, the employee must provide medical certification that such leave is medically necessary. "Medically necessary" means there must be a medical 'need for the leave and that the leave can best be accomplished through an intermittent or reduced leave schedule. VIII. EFFECT ON BENEFITS An employee granted a leave under this policy will continue to be covered under the City of Vernon group medical/dental insurance plan and life insurance plan under the same conditions as coverage would have been provided if they had been continuously employed during the leave period. If an employee fails to return from unpaid family/medical leave for reasons other than (1) the continuation of a serious health condition of the employee or a covered family member or (2) circumstances beyond the employee's control (certification required within 30 days of failure to return for either reason), the City of Vernon may seek reimbursement from the employee for the premiums paid by the City of Vernon on behalf of that employee during the leave. An employee does not accrue seniority and is not entitled to employment benefit accrual during periods of unpaid leave; this includes longevity, annual merit increase consideration and vacation. However, the employee will not lose any seniority or benefits which were accrued prior to the unpaid family/medical leave. IX. JOB PROTECTION If an employee returns to work within the time permitted by this policy following the commencement of family/medical leave, he/she will be reinstated to his/her former position or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, status and authority. Employee's restoration rights are the same as they would have been had the employee not been on leave. Thus, if an employee's position would have been eliminated or the employee would have been 4 terminated but for the leave, the employee would not have the right to be reinstated upon return from leave. If an employee fails to return within the time permitted by this policy following a family/medical leave the employee will be reinstated to his/her same or similar position, only if available. If the employee's same or similar position is not available, the employee may be terminated. X. PREGNANCY DISABILITY In accordance with Government Code section 12945 (b) (2) a female employee may take leave for disability associated with pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition leave not to exceed four months. Leave under this section is separate and distinct from family/medical care leave. XI. MATERNITY LEAVE PROGRAM A maternity leave program with pay is established at six (6) weeks for female employees who have completed five (5) years of continuous uninterrupted service. Leave under this section is not in addition to family/medical care leave. If an eligible employee takes any of the six (6) weeks of paid maternity leave provided in this section, the time taken shall be deducted from the available twelve (12) weeks of family/medical care leave. Any additional family/medical care leave taken by the eligible employee shall be without pay. All other employees and probationary employees shall not be entitled to maternity leave with pay. All other employees and probationary employees on maternity leave may use any compensatory or vacation time accrued, if any; the remainder of the time shall be treated as leave without pay. XII. REQUIRED FORMS 1. "Request For Family or Medical Leave Form" prepared by the City of Vernon to be eligible for leave; 2. Medical certification - either for the employee's own serious health condition or for the serious health condition of a child, parent or spouse; 3. Fitness for duty to return from leave form. 5 PHYSICIAN OR PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION FAMILY MEMBER - SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION 1. Employee's Name: 2. Patient's Name: 3. Does the employee's child, parent, or spouse have an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which constitutes a "serious health condition." A "serious health condition"is described on the attached sheet (attachment "An). Does the patient's condition qualify under any of the categories described? If so, please check the applicable category. (1)____(2)____(3)____(4)____(5)____(6)____, or None of the above____ 4. Date medical condition or need for treatment commenced: 5. Probable duration of medical condition or need for treatment: 6. Regimen of treatment to be prescribed (indicate number of visits, general nature and duration of treatment, including referral to other provider of health services. Include schedule of visits or treatment if it is medically necessary for the employee to be off work on an intermittent basis or to work less than the employee's normal schedule of hours per day or days per week) : A. By Physician or Practitioner: B. By other provider of health services, if referred by Physician or Practitioner: 6 Check Yes or No in the space below, as appropriate. 7. Yes No Is inpatient hospitalization of the family member (patient) required? Does (or will) the patient require assistance for basic medical, hygiene, nutritional needs, safety or transportation? 8. Yes No 9. Yes No After review of the employee's signed statement (see Item 11 below), is the employee's presence necessary or would it be beneficial for the care of the patient? (This may include psychological comfort and/or the arranging for third-party care for the family member.) 10. Estimate the period of time care that is needed or the employee's presence would be beneficial: ITEM 11 TO BE COMPLETED BY THE EMPLOYEE REQUESTING FAMILY LEAVE 11. When Family Leave is needed to care for a seriously ill family member, the employee shall state the care he or she will provide and an estimate of the time period during which this care will be provided, including a schedule if leave is to be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule: 7 Employee Signature: Date: 12. Signature of Physician or Practitioner: 13. Date: 14. Type of Practice (Field of specialization, if any): 8 PHYSICIAN OR PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION EMPLOYEE - SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION 1. Employee's Name: 2. Does the employee have an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which constitutes a nserious health condition." A "serious health condition" is described on the attached sheet (attachment "A"). Does the employee's condition qualify under any of the categories described? If so, please check the applicable category. (1)____(2)____(3)____(4____(5)____(6)____, None of the above____ 3. Date medical condition or date for treatment commenced: 4. Probable duration of medical condition or need for treatment: 5. Regimen of treatment to be prescribed (indicate number of visits, general nature and duration of treatment, including referral to other provider of health services. Include schedule of visits or treatment if it is medically necessary for the employee to be off work on an intermittent basis or to work less than the employee's normal schedule of hours per day or days per week) : A. By Physician or Practitioner: B. By other provider of health services, if referred by Physician or Practitioner: 9 :. Check Yes or No in the space below, as appropriate. 6. Yes No Is inpatient hospitalization of the employee required? 7. Yes No Is employee able to perform work of any kind? (If "No", skip to Item 9.) 8. Yes No Is employee able to perform the functions of employee's position? (Answer after reviewing job description from employer describing essential functions of employee's position, or, if none provided, after discussing with employee. ) 9. Signature of Physician or Practitioner: 10. Date: 11. Type of Practice (Field of Specialization, if any): 12 Signature of Employee: Date: 13. Diagnosis (OPTIONAL- AN EMPLOYEE IS NOT OBLIGATED TO RELEASE HIS/HER DIAGNOSIS) 10 '. REQUEST FOR FAMILY/MEDICAL LEAVE Employee Name: Date of Request: Department: position Title: Hire Date: I request a Family/Medical Leave for the following reason (check one) : A. The birth of a child and/or in order to care for such child. B. The placement of a child for adoption or foster care. C. In order to care for an immediate family member because such family member has a serious health condition. circle one: CHILD - SPOUSE -PARENT (Must submit "Physician certification" within 15 days) METHOD OF LEAVE REQUESTED A. Consecutive Leave B. Intermittent or Reduced Leave Schedule (Specify Schedule Below) : Date leave is to begin: Expected duration of leave: If the duration of my family/medical leave (total of paid and unpaid time) does not exceed 12 weeks, I will be returned to my same, equivalent or comparable position. I understand that if my family/medical leave should exceed 12 weeks I will be returned to my same, equivalent or comparable position, only if available. 11 . . If my same, equivalent or comparable position is not available, I understand that I may be terminated. Date: Employee: Signature: 12 .- FITNESS FOR DUTY TO RETURN FROM EMPLOYEE'S MEDICAL LEAVE CERTIFICATION On date employee cOl1l1lenced leave for serious health condition, employee's name, began a period of medical care leave from name of agency employer for diagnosis Based on my examination of on employee'S name I certify medically/psychologically fit to return to date of medical examination of employee that he/she is with the following limitations: employee'S job - list limitations if applicable Date: Signature of Physician or Practitioner Type of Practice (Field or Specialization, if any): 13 SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION A "Serious Health Conditi6n~ means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves one of the following: 1. Hospital Care Inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity or subsequent treatment in connection with or consequent to such inpatient care. 2. Absence Plus Treatment (a) A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days (including any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition), that also involves: (1) Treatment1 two or more times by a health care provider, by a nurse or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider, or by a provider of health care services (e.g., physical therapist) under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider; or (2) Treatment by a health care provider on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment2 under the supervision of the health care provider. 3. Preqnancv Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care. 1Treatment includes examination to determine if a serious condition exists and evaluations of the condition. Treatment does not include routine physical examinations, eye examinations, or dental examinations. 2A regimen of continuing treatment includes, for example, a course of prescription medication (e.g. an antibiotic) or therapy requiring special equipment to resolve or alleviate the health condition. A regimen of treatment does not include the taking of over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, antihistamines, or salves; or bed-rest, drinking fluids, exercise, and other similar activities that can be initiated without a visit to a health care provider. 14 4. Chronic Conditions Requirinq Treatments A chronic condition which: (1) Requires periodic visits for treatment by a health care provider, or by a nurse,physician's assistant under direct supervision of a health care provider; (2) Continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of a single underlying condition); and (3) May cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc). 5. Permanent/Lonq term Conditions Requirinq supervision A period of incapacity which is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The employee or family member must be under the continuing supervision of, but need not be receiving active treatment by, a health care provider. Examples include Alzheimer's, a severe stroke, or terminal stages of a disease. 6. Multiple Treatments (Non-Chronic Conditions) Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery therefrom) by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services under orders, of, or any referral by, a health care provider, either for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury, of for a condition that would likely result in a period o.f incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment, such as cancer (chemotherapy, radiation, etc), severe arthritis (physical therapy), kidney disease (dialysis). 15