Article 34 - 37

All leaves specified in this Article shall be without pay, except as provided herein, and without loss of seniority. The University may use temporary employees to fill in for the period of leaves of absence in accordance with Article 6 (D) .

1. Personal - Any employee who has completed one (1) year's continuous service with the University may apply for a leave of absence for personal reasons not to exceed six (6) months. Said leave shall be applied for in writing and may be granted whenever practicable. However, in no case shall leave be granted to any employee for the purpose of seeking or accepting other employment. Insurance coverage shall not be continued during the period of such leave.
2. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA} - Employees with one year of service with the University and who have 1,250 hours in active pay status in the previous 12 month period are eligible for up to twelve weeks of paid (existing sick leave and/or vacation) and/or unpaid leave for qualifying events, in a twelve month period (rolling year, see CFR Title 29, Part 825.200).
   1. Qualifying events are:
      1. Childbirth - within twelve months following the birth of the employee's child
      2. Adoption or foster care - within twelve months of the adoption or placement of a child for foster care.
      3. Serious personal illness
         1. A serious health condition that results in a period of incapacity for more than three days during which the employee is unable to work, or
         2. A chronic condition requiring a regimen of ongoing care by a health care provider that intermittently (less than three days) renders the employee unable to work while seeking treatment or while recovering from the condition.
      4. Serious illness of a member of the employee's immediate family - a serious health condition (as defined in "c" above) which requires the employee to provide care. Immediate family is: father, mother, spouse, partner, and child (under 18 or over 18 if incapable of self-care.)
      5. Qualifying "exigencies" due to the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on active duty or has been called to active duty.
      6. Serious injury or illness of a covered military service member if the employee is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of the service member.
         1. Eligible affected employees are entitled to 26 work weeks of leave during a 12 month period to care for the service member with a serious injury or illness.
            1. An eligible employee's total FMLA leave entitlement is limited to a combined total of 26 work weeks of FMLA for any qualifying reason/s.
            2. The FMLA leave must be designated by the University as leave for the covered service member.
            3. Spouses or domestic partners both working for the University are limited to a combined total of 26 weeks of FMLA.
   2. Employees will first use sick leave, where appropriate, prior to unpaid leave. Employees may choose to use vacation prior to unpaid leave after sick leave is exhausted, or for events where sick leave is inappropriate.
   3. Employees will give thirty days' notice when requesting FMLA leave or as much notice as is practicable if treatment is required in less than thirty days.
   4. In qualifying events relating to a serious health condition, employees will provide medical certification of the need for FMLA leave from a health care provider. The University may require an independent examination at no cost to the employee.
   5. Employees may request paid or unpaid leave under FMLA by using either the Sick Leave Form or Leave of Absence Form, as appropriate.
   6. Any use of FMLA leave will not be counted for attendance ratings in performance evaluations or be used in other employment decisions.
   7. Typically, FMLA leave will be taken on a continuous basis. For eligible events where an intermittent leave is medically necessary, a reduced work day or workweek may be considered. An intermittent schedule will be agreed upon before the start of the leave, whenever possible.
   8. FMLA leave shall run concurrently with other paid and unpaid leaves.
   9. Employees returning from FMLA leave will be returned to their former position.
3. Medical -Any employee who has completed the new hire probationary period and who has exhausted his/her accumulated sick leave may be granted a leave of absence for illness for a period not to exceed six (6) months, including any unpaid FMLA leave taken for serious personal illness, in a twelve (12) month period (rolling year). If requested, the employee shall furnish satisfactory medical proof of such illness. The University will continue the insurance coverage under Article 38 for the period of such leave. Employees returning from Medical Leave will be returned to their former position.

4. Disability - In the event that a disabling illness continues beyond the medical leave of absence, the employee will be placed on a disability leave. In such event, the certificate of the employee's physician shall satisfy medical proof requirement of said disability. A certificate of the employee's physician stating the disability no longer exists and that the employee is fit to return to the employee's former classification shall be required before the employee returns to work, concluding the disability leave. Insurance coverage shall be continued for employees who are on either medical or FMLA leave and/or subsequent disability leave for a period not to exceed six (6) months for the combined leaves of absence.

   Any employee on approved disability leave or who has been separated from employment without delinquency or misconduct on his/her part, may be reinstated to a same or similar position within five (S) years from the date of such separation. An application for reinstatement shall not be filed after the date an employee is eligible for service retirement.

5. Union Business - The Union may request a paid leave of absence not to exceed forty-eight (48) aggregate days during any one calendar year. The Union shall request and the University may grant, at its discretion, said leave for employees to attend Union functions, and/or provide services to the Union, as the Union deems necessary. Such leave will be granted whenever practicable. The Union agrees to provide the University's Director of Labor Relations with each request for Union business time under Article 34 (E). Insurance coverage will continue during the period of such leave. The Union will reimburse the University for the cost of such leave. The reimbursement will include the cost of the employees' hourly rate and direct payroll contributions made by the University on behalf of the employee. The Union and Management agree to meet on an as needed basis to discuss additional paid leave of absence, should there be a request by the Union, beyond the forty-eight (48) aggregate days permitted under this section.

   An employee with one (1) year of service, who accepts a full time assignment with the International Union or the Council, by election, appointment, or hire, shall be granted a leave of absence not to exceed one (1) year for said assignment. Upon application in writing, said leave shall be extended for an equal period of time. Insurance coverage shall not be continued during the period of such leave.

6. Military- Employees are entitled to Military leave in accordance with applicable law. Nothing in this agreement is intended to conflict with, or supersede, established law and University policy regarding military leave.
7. Bereavement -An employee who has completed the new hire probationary period shall be eligible for use of paid bereavement leave, not to exceed three (3) days. Typically this leave is used to make arrangements for and attend the funeral of a member of the employee's immediate family. Immediate family shall be defined as the employee's: grandparents, great-grandparents, brother, sister, brother in-law, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, father, father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, spouse, domestic partner, partner's parents, partner's child, child, step-child, grandchild, legal guardian or other person who stands in place of a parent. In addition to the above, employees may use up to two (2) days of sick leave for bereavement leave. An employee's legitimate use of bereavement leave shall not be considered for purposes of enforcement of absenteeism standards and/or absenteeism work rules. Employees who are on a seasonal layoff in accordance with Article 12 are eligible for bereavement leave.

8. Jury Duty - Employees shall receive full pay for regular work hours lost for any court or jury duty by the United States or Ohio courts. Employees subpoenaed to testify in Court shall receive full pay for regular work hours lost due to the subpoenaed court appearance. Employees involved in civil or criminal actions of a personal nature may use vacation or compensatory time, or request an unpaid personal leave of absence.

   Employees called to serve on jury duty whose assignments require them to work beyond 11:00 p.m. may, at Management's discretion, be released from work with pay at 11:00 p.m. the evening before they are scheduled to appear in court, or, alternatively, the affected employee's shift may be flexed or the employee may be temporarily transferred to a dayshift during the period of jury duty.

   Employees called to serve on jury duty whose work schedule is completed prior to 11:00 p.m. will be released from work the day of their scheduled court appearance until the time they are released from their court services.

   If an employee is selected to serve and required to serve all day, the employee will not be required to report for work that day.

   If an employee is selected to serve and required to serve only part of the day on jury duty, the employee should check with their supervisor regarding returning to work.

   If an employee is required to report but not selected to serve, the employee is required to report to work and complete their assigned work schedule. 

   Employees must provide verification of their appearance in court as a witness or juror.

9. Parental Leave: If the University adopts a Parental Leave Policy the Bargaining Unit will be provided the same coverage as the other University employees as outlined in the policy and procedure and as may be amended in the future.

1. All employees will earn and accrue sick leave at the rate of four and six-tenths (4.6) hours for each eighty (80) hour bi-weekly pay period. Sick leave credit for less than eighty (80) hours of service in a biweekly pay period will be calculated on a prorated basis. The calculation of all sick leave credits will be based on hours in active pay status.
2. Requests for use of sick leave shall be signed by the employee and subject to the approval of the department head. Sick leave may be used for absence due to personal illness, pregnancy-related conditions, injury, exposure to a contagious disease which could be communicated to other employees, and for illness, injury, or death in the employee's immediate family. Immediate family shall be defined as the employee's: grandparents, great- grandparents, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in- law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, father, father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, spouse, domestic partner, partner's parents, partner's child, child, step-child (to include partner's child), grandchild, legal guardian or other person who stands in place of a parent.
3. Requests to use sick leave credits for a death in the employee's immediate family shall be in accordance with Article 34.
4. Time spent away from work for doctor or dentist visits will be considered for approved sick leave if accompanied by a physician's statement.
5. Falsification of either the signed sick leave request or physician's statement shall be grounds for disciplinary action including dismissal.
6. Unused sick leave shall be cumulative without limit.
7. Upon retirement with ten (10) or more years of service, the employee may elect to be compensated at his/her current rate of pay for fifty percent (50%) of accrued and unused sick leave not to exceed eighty (80) days. Upon the death of an employee with ten (10) or more years of service, fifty percent (50%) of accrued and unused sick leave not to exceed eighty (80) days will be paid to survivors based upon the rate of pay at the time of death.
8. In the event that an employee terminates or is laid off from the University, there will be no pay for accrued and unused sick leave.
9. The University may use temporary employees to fill in for the period of the sick leave in accordance with Article 6(D) .
10. Bargaining Unit Employees will be eligible for the benefits under Ohio University policy #40.028 as it exists as of the execution of this Contract. The policy, for purposes of this Contract, is modified in regard to employee requests for Personal Days. Personal Day requests that are made to the employee's immediate supervisor 24 hours in advance from the beginning of the requested shift shall be granted unless extraordinary operational needs exist. Requests for a Personal Day made less than 24 hours in advance of the shift will be subject to approval by the affected employee's immediate supervisor. Approval will be based on the operational needs of the affected department. 

11. In addition to the benefits provided in Ohio University Policy 40.028, Bargaining Unit Employees who are covered by this Agreement and maintain a sick leave "bank" of four hundred and eighty (480) hours may convert up to ten (10) hours of sick leave for an annual cash payout. Employees who are covered by this Agreement and maintain a sick leave "bank" of six hundred forty (640) hours may convert up to twenty (20) hours of sick leave for an annual cash payout. Employees who are covered by this Agreement and maintain a sick leave "bank" of nine hundred sixty (960) hours may convert up to thirty (30) hours sick leave for an annual cash payout. Employees who are covered by this Agreement and maintain a sick leave "bank" of One Thousand Two Hundred and Eighty (1,280) hours may convert up to forty (40) hours sick leave for an annual cash payout.

    Departments will only accept and process requests for sick leave cash payout one time during each calendar year. All requests for the one-time payout must be received in writing on or before November 15th of each calendar year. Payment shall be made in the final pay period of November.

1. Employees with less than one (1) year of service with the University may use accumulated vacation after their initial probationary period.
2. Each full-time employee, after one (1) year of service with the University, shall have earned and will be due upon the attainment of the first year of employment, and annually thereafter, eighty (80) hours of vacation leave with full pay. One (1) year of service shall be computed on the basis of twenty-six (26) biweekly pay periods.
3. A full-time employee with five (5) or more years of service with the University (or State) shall have earned and is entitled to one hundred twenty (120) hours of vacation leave with full pay.
4. A full-time employee with ten (10) or more years of service with the University (or State) shall have earned and is entitled to one hundred sixty (160) hours of vacation leave with full pay.
5. A full-time employee with twenty (20) or more years of service with the. University (or State) shall have earned and is entitled to two hundred (200) hours of vacation leave with full pay.
6. Vacation leave shall accrue to the employee at the rate of three and one-tenth (3.1) hours each biweekly period for those entitled to eighty (80) hours per year; four and six-tenths (4.6) hours each biweekly period for those entitled to one hundred twenty (120) hours per year; six and two-tenths (6.2) hours each biweekly period for those entitled to one hundred sixty (160) hours per year; and seven and seven-tenths (7. 7) hours each biweekly period for those entitled to two hundred (200) hours per year.
7. An employee must be in an active pay status (i.e., working or on approved paid leave) to earn vacation
   leave credits.
8. All use of vacation leave credits is subject to approval by the immediate supervisor. Employees must submit their request directly to their immediate supervisor by hand delivery or e-mail. Vacation leave must be approved in advance and is subject to the operating needs of a given department. Approval or denial of vacation requests will be communicated to the employee within five (5) calendar days of receipt for vacation requests made more than five (5) calendar days in advance of the requested dates. If an employee requests vacation less than (5) calendar days in advance, the supervisor will approve or deny the request within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt.
9. Vacation pay .shall be paid in advance to those employees taking a vacation of one (1) week or more, and who request such pay at least three (3) weeks in advance of the vacation.
10. Employees shall forfeit their right to take or be paid for any vacation leave to their credit which is in excess of the accrual for three (3) years. Such excess leave shall be eliminated from the employee's leave balance.
11. Upon separation from the University, an employee shall be entitled to compensation at his/her current rate of pay for all accrued and unused vacation leave to his/her credit at the time of separation. In the case of death of an employee, such accrued and unused vacation leave shall be paid to the employee's beneficiary or estate.
12. Emergency vacation shall be granted upon the employee's request due to unforeseen events. The request must be made to the immediate supervisor within one-half an hour of the beginning of a shift (unless impossible to do so). Up to four occurrences of emergency vacation will be approved each fiscal year. Requests for Emergency Vacation days of which an employee was previously denied will not be accepted.
13. Vacation benefits shall also be applicable to permanent part-time Bargaining Unit Employees on a prorated basis as follows:
    1. The vacation entitlement based upon service years will be as stated in Article 36(A) (B) (C) and (0).
    2. The vacation accrual rate per each bi-weekly pay period based upon the vacation entitlement shall be as stated in Article 36(F).

    3. However, for purposes of earning vacation for entitlement, the applicable accrual rate for each part-time employee will be applied proportionately to the employee's total compensable hours reported and paid each bi- weekly pay period.

       The following is an example of the part-time employee pro-rated vacation accrual and vacation earned calculation: 

       Years of Service	Accrual Rate Per 80hrs. Worked	Hours Reported	Vacation Hours Earned
       Less than 1 year	3.1	N/A	N/A
       After 1 year service	3.1	40.0	1.6
       After 5 year service	4.6	34.0	2.0
       After 10 year service	6.2	28.0	2.2
       After 20 year service	7.7	50	4.8

    4.  It is also understood that vacation leave for part- time employees cannot exceed nor be in addition to their scheduled work hours.
    5. The provisions of Article 36(F) (G) (H) (I) and (J) are also applicable to part-time employees.

1. The following holidays will be observed for all employees in the Bargaining Unit:

   Observed Holiday	Date
   New Year's Day	January 1
   Labor Day	First Monday in Sept
   Martin Luther King Day	Third Monday in January
   *Columbus Day	Second Monday in Oct
   * Presidents' Day	Third Monday in February
   Veteran's Day	November 11
   Memorial Day	Last Monday in May
   Thanksgiving	Fourth Thursday in Nov
   Independence Day	July 4
   Christmas	December 25
   Juneteenth	June 19

   *Designated as "floating" holidays and observed on different dates as approved by the University's Board of Trustees. 

   In addition, employees will have their birthday as a floating holiday. This holiday is to be observed on a day the employee is normally scheduled to work (except for employees who choose to use their day during a seasonal lay off). Employees will receive straight time pay for the hours of their regularly scheduled shift on this day. This floating day is scheduled based on the employee's giving advance notice and is subject to approval of their supervisor based on the operational needs of the department. The floating holiday must be taken all at one time and cannot be taken in increments less than one shift. This day is to be taken during the calendar year and cannot be carried forward year to year.

2. Should any of the recognized holidays fall on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as the holiday. Should any of the recognized holidays fall on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as the holiday. Eligibility for holiday pay shall be based on the date specifically observed as the holiday.
3. A full-time employee shall be eligible for eight (8) hours of holiday pay regardless of work shift and work schedule. A part-time employee shall be eligible for holiday pay for any holiday (or portion thereof) on which the employee is normally scheduled to work.
4. Part-time employees, who are not regularly scheduled, will receive holiday pay if they actually work three (3) days of the week in which the holiday falls. Such employees will not be required to be in active pay status on the work day prior to and following the holiday.
5. In order to receive holiday pay, an employee must be in active pay status on the last regularly scheduled work day prior to the holiday, and the first regularly scheduled work day following the holiday. The University may require proof of any illness occurring the day before and after any holiday where there is a claim for paid time off. Employees on leave of absence without pay or in layoff status on the day observed as a holiday are not entitled to holiday pay. Full-time employees, who are subject to a seasonal layoff for any period between November 1 and January 1 of each academic year, shall receive eight (8) hours of pay for each holiday falling within the above stated period. If a holiday occurs during a period of paid sick leave or vacation leave, the employee will draw holiday pay and will not be charged for sick leave or vacation.
6. All employees shall be scheduled off on all days observed as a holiday except those scheduled for vital service work as determined by the University. At least fourteen (14) calendar days advance notice shall be given by the department head to employees who are required to work on a holiday to maintain the vital services of the University.
7. All full-time employees who work on a day observed as a holiday shall receive eight (8) hours holiday pay. In addition, pay for time worked on a holiday shall be consistent with Article 10 .
8. In addition to the above holidays, the University shall observe any holiday appointed and recommended by the Governor of this State or the President of the United States.

9. If the University implements a Winter Holiday Break Closure between the Christmas Holiday and New Year's Day, the Bargaining Unit will be given an additional two (2) days off with pay to be designated as "Winter Break Closure" days. Bargaining Unit Employees will use their Birthday holiday, vacation, compensatory time, or personal leave for the third non-holiday day the University is closed during Winter Break Closure.

   If employees are required to work during their regularly scheduled shift on any or all of the Winter Break Closure day(s), the employee will have the opportunity to take that time off at a later date during the new calendar year. If an employee is required to work outside of their regularly scheduled shift on any or all of the Winter Break Closure day(s), they will be entitled to overtime compensation for those specific hours worked outside of their regularly scheduled shift.