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exceed one year per event unless required by law. Unless required by law, an employee on leave
without pay shall not accrue benefits. Additionally, an employee on any amount of leave without
pay will not receive service credit in the retirement system for that time period or any portion of
that time period, even if combined with paid leave. Under such circumstances, the employee’s
vesting rights, eligibility for retirement and benefits in the retirement system will be affected.

With the exception of unpaid leave covered under FMLA and military leave, an employee,
in order to be eligible for leave without pay, must first exhaust all accrued paid leave, available
and eligible for the situation for which leave without pay is being requested. Once the unpaid
leave covered under FMLA and the laws regarding military leave has been exhausted, the
employee must exhaust all remaining accrued, available and eligible paid leave for the situation
before requesting additional leave without pay.

Except as otherwise provided, an employee on leave without pay for more than thirty (30)
days shall be required to pay full cost (employee’s and employer’s share) of all insurance benefits
including health, dental and life insurance until the employee returns to work in a position that is
eligible for benefits. The employee may elect to continue his/her insurance benefits under the
Public Health Services Act. Employees on a leave of absence covered by FMLA or due to an on-
the-job injury are required to pay the employee’s normal share of the costs of employee health,
dental, and life insurance benefits through payroll deduction or directly. Once the leave of absence
granted under FMLA or the Workers’ Compensation Act has expired, the aforementioned thirty
(30) day period will commence to run and the aforementioned provisions shall apply.

Time spent on leave without pay will not apply toward creditable service for
retirement. Employee paid leaves will not accrue during leave without pay absences.

Performance Evaluation for Employees on A Leave Of Absence Or Light Duty

Refer to Section II-E “Performance Management – Performance Evaluation Eligibility”.

L. Shared Leave

The Shared Leave Program is an employee-to-employee benefit that is administered
through the City’s Human Resources Department. The Shared Leave Committee is responsible
for facilitating Shared Leave Bank and Direct Leave donations among employees in the case of
either a catastrophic or serious medical condition.

This program is intended to provide alternatives to extend paid sick leave options for
employees with serious or catastrophic medical conditions, as defined by the policy. This
program is not intended to extend employment for an employee who is unlikely to return to work
or who intends to resign or retire in the foreseeable future.

Purpose

The purpose of the Shared Leave Policy is to outline the conditions under which City
employees may donate leave to the Shared Leave Bank, receive donations from the Shared

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