Office of Collective Bargaining > Labor Agreements > OCSEA > OCSEA Contract Table of Contents >
ARTICLE 27 - PERSONAL LEAVE
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This
is a labor agreement with annotations by the Office of Collective
Bargaining.
PLEASE NOTE:Language that is in bold typeface and underlined was added with this Agreement. Language that is Language in Italics are annotations added by the Office of Collective Bargaining. |
The language in this Article continues unchanged from the previous Contract.
27.01 - Eligibility for Personal Leave
Each employee shall be eligible for personal leave at his/her base rate of pay.
27.02 - Personal Leave Accrual
Employees shall be entitled to four (4) personal leave days each year. Eight hours of personal leave shall be credited to each employee at the end of the pay period which includes the first day of January, April, July and October of each year. Full-time employees who are hired after the start of a calendar quarter shall be credited with personal leave on a prorated basis. Part-time employees shall accrue personal leave on a prorated basis. Proration shall be based upon a formula of .015 hours per hour of non-overtime work.
This method of accrual shall take effect April 1, 1992. Prior to that time, employees will continue to accrue personal leave pursuant to the provisions of the 1989 agreement. Employees that are on approved paid leave of absence, union leave or receiving Workers' Compensation benefits shall be credited with those personal leave hours which they normally would have accrued upon their approved return to work.
27.03 - Charge of Personal Leave
Personal leave which is used by an employee shall be charged in minimum units of one/tenth (1/10) hour.
27.04 - Notification and Approval of Use of Personal Leave
Personal leave shall be granted if an employee makes the request with a forty-eight (48) hour notice. In an emergency the request shall be made as soon as possible and the supervisor will respond promptly. The leave shall not be unreasonably denied.
When any bargaining unit, not covered by this Agreement, has filed a Notice of intent to strike or engages in a wildcat strike, the Employer reserves the right to cancel or deny all personal leave requests.
Personal leave shall not be taken on a holiday.
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Arbitration Awards: |
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OCB #1350 OCSEA #696 |
Arbitrator Harry Graham; Grievant Jerry Burlingame, et. al.; DAS, 03/05/99. When Local 1199 filed its notice of intent to strike in August of 1997, the State received information that other Unions would participate in the strike by using personal leave. The State directed agencies to deny all discretionary leave. Arbitrator Graham held the [previous] language of §27.04 was mandatory and that the Employer had no discretion to deny personal leave. However, if other Unions had engaged in a bona fide wildcat strike, the Employer would have been justified in denying all personal leave requests. |
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Explanation: |
The language addresses the problem as described in the above arbitration award. The Factfinder reasoned that the State has an obligation to provide services to people who are institutionalized. These services shall not be interrupted by employees who might engage in a “sympathy strike.” The language of this section also clarifies that personal leave may not be taken when an employee is scheduled to work on a holiday. |
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Attention: |
Staff Representatives, Union Officials; Agency Directors; Agency Labor Relations, Personnel, and Human Resources Officers and Agency Supervisors; Department of Administrative Services, Office of Collective Bargaining. |
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Instructions: |
The Employer may deny or cancel personal leave requests when a bargaining unit files a notice of intent to strike. The Office of Collective Bargaining will notify all Agencies in the event that a strike occurs. All Agencies should have their strike plans on file with the Office of Collective Bargaining. Employees may NOT take personal leave on a holiday. |
Personal leave may not be used to extend an employee's date of resignation or date of retirement.
27.06 - Conversion or Carry Forward of Personal Leave Credit at Year's End
Personal leave not used may be carried forward or paid at the employee's option. Payment to be made in the first pay received in December. Maximum accrual of personal leave shall be forty (40) hours.
27.07 - Conversion of Personal Leave Credit Upon Separation from Service
An employee who is separated from state service shall be entitled to convert the unused earned amount of personal leave. This payoff shall be at the employee's regular rate of pay. Upon the death of a permanent employee, unused earned personal leave shall be converted to cash and credited to his/her estate.
27.08 - Transfer of Personal Leave Credit
An employee who transfers from one bargaining unit to another shall be credited with the unused balance of his/her personal leave credit up to the maximum personal leave accumulation permitted in the bargaining unit to which the employee transfers.
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Arbitration Awards: |
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OCB #828 OCSEA #475 |
Arbitrator Bowers: Grievant Bruce Raines; DR&C, 9/15/92. The State has received adverse decisions with regard to the "shall" in personal leave for the language in both the 1986 and 1989 contracts. The award referenced is the decision on the 1989 language. This decision sets forth a narrow set of circumstances in which the Employer can deny personal leave which has been requested in accordance with the notice requirement set forth in Section 27.04. |
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Attention: |
Agency Directors; Agency Labor Relations, Personnel, and Human Resources Officers and Agency Supervisors; Staff Representatives, Union Officials. |
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Explanation: |
Agencies should continue to grant or deny the request based on only SOUND operational needs. When citing staffing needs and work load, please be cautious. If staffing and work load reasons are related to a continuous staff shortage it will be nearly impossible to defend the denial. Staffing levels should be identified PRIOR to the receipt of a request which is subsequently denied. It may be possible to grant the request by shifting personnel, or depending upon the situation, by using overtime. It is imperative that overtime utilization and temporary staff reassignments be employed prior to the denial of personal leave. Please see clarification letter NO. 99-03-06 for detailed information on this topic. |