31-99 Ordinance RECORD OF ORDINANCES
Form No. 30043
Dayton Legal Blank Co.
31-99 ________19________
Ordinance No.-- - Passed - -
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A LEAVE
DONATION PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYEES WITHIN
THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, CAPITAL
CITY LODGE N0.9 BARGAINING UNITS AND ALL
OTHER NON-UNION PERSONNEL OF THE CITY OF
DUBLIN, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
"a PROMULGATE ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
GOVERNING THE OPERATION OF THE
PROGRAM, AND DECLARING AND EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, Council recognizes that, from time to time, employees of the City may
experience catastrophic illnesses or injuries, or have family members experiencing such
illnesses or injuries; and
WHEREAS, Council also recognizes that each employee's leave balances (i.e. Sick Leave,
Vacation Leave, Personal Leave, Compensatory Time) may not be sufficient to cover time off
due to such catastrophic illnesses or injuries; and
WHEREAS, Council believes, under such circumstances, there may be a need on the part of
some employees for additional leave as well as a desire from other employees to donate a
portion of their leave balances to assist such employees.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Dublin, State of
Ohio, ~ of the elected members concurring:
Section 1. That when an employee within the Fraternal Order of Police, Capital City Lodge
No. 9 bargaining units or other non-unionpersonnel of the City, or when such an employee's
immediate household family member experiences such an illness or injury requiring the
employee's personal care and attendance, and when such an employee has exhausted all sick
leave, vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory time, or other applicable paid leave
balance, other employees (within the F.O.P., No. 9 bargaining units and all non-union
employees) may voluntarily donate vacation leave, personal leave, compensatorytime, and/or
sick leave, to the affected employee in accordance with the administrative regulations
promulgated by the City Manager.
Section 2. That this Ordinance is hereby deemed to be an emergency measure, necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and welfare, and for
further reason that there is an immediate need to enact the program due to an employee's
pending catastrophic medical condition. Therefore, this Ordinance shall take effect and be
in force immediately upon passage.
Passed t ' day of ~ n~.L•J , 1999.
r -Presiding Officer
ATTEST:
1 hereby certify that copies of this Ordinance%Resolution Nere hosted i the
rty of Dublin in ottordante with Section 731.23 of the Ohio Revised C de.
Clerk of Council
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Division of Human Resources & Procurement
5200 Emerald Parkway • Dublin, Ohio 43017-1006
Phone: 614-761-6500 • Fax: 614-761-2965
CITY OF DUBLIN M e m o
To: Members of Dublin City Council
From: Timothy C. Hansley, City Manager
Date: March 10, 1999
Re: Leave Donation/Leave Sharing Program
By: David L. Harding, Director of Human Resources/Procurement
Attached for your consideration, please find the following items relative to the above referenced subject:
• Memorandum highlighting issues related to the
design/implementation of Leave Donation/Leave Sharing
Programs;
• Ordinance No. 31-99 proposing the adoption of a Leave
Donation Program for the City of Dublin;
• Administrative Order 2.55 promulgating the regulations
governing the operation/administration of the City's proposed
Leave Donation Program.
Although Staff did not initially intend on proposing a Leave Donation Program at the time Council
directed Staff to research the issues related to the implementationof such programs, Staff was presented
with a unique set of circumstances on March 6, 1999 that caused Staff to reconsider its initial inclination
to not recommend implementation of such a program.
On March 6, 1999, the Fraternal Order of Police, Capital City Lodge No. 9, offered a proposal at the
bargaining table on a Leave Donation Program. Due to the extreme nature of the circumstances involving
a particularbargainingunit member, the F.O.P. highlightedthis as an issue requiring immediate attention.
After considerablediscussionon the F.O.P.'s proposal, the F.O.P. agreed to allow Staff the sole discretion
to establish the program regulations. Staff, consequently, spent considerable time drafting the attached
legislation and corresponding program regulations, which are acceptable to the F.O.P., Capital City
Lodge No. 9.
Staff believes that the attached program effectively addresses most, if not all, of the issues outlined in the
attached memorandum highlighting the issues associated with the implementation of such programs.
Consequently, Staff is now in a position to recommend implementationof the program as drafted. Please
note that Ordinance No. 31-99 adopts the program but specifically authorizes the City Manager to
promulgate regulations governing the operation of the program. Administrative Order 2.55, also provided
for Council's reference, establishes such program regulations.
a
The program regulations contained in Administrative Order 2.55 are modeled after the program adopted
by the City of Upper Arlington. A few additional elements were taken from the other programs studied
by Staff during its research on this subject. Programs from the following organizations were given the
most consideration:
• State of Ohio
• City of Upper Arlington
• City of Westerville
• City of Harrisonburg, Virginia
i • Pasadena City College
• Columbus Public Schools
• Kansas Bureau of Investigation
Please also note that the attached legislation authorizes a program only for employees within the Fraternal
Order of Police, Capital City Lodge No. 9 bargaining units and all non-union personnel of the City. At
this juncture, the City is precluded from offering the program to other bargaining unit employees without
first bargaining with their Unions over the terms and conditions of the program.
Please also note that Ordinance No. 31-99 is also drafted as emergency legislation. Given the
circumstances involving a particular member of one of the F.O.P. Capital City Lodge No. 9 bargaining
units, Staff would respectfully request that Council adopt this legislation as an emergency measure.
Attachments
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Division of Human Resources & Procurement
5200 Emerald Parkway • Dublin, Ohio 43017-1006
Phone: 614-761-6500 • Fax: 614-761-2965
CITY OF DUBLIN M e m o
To: Members of Dublin City Council
From: Timothy C. Hansley, City Manager
Date: March 10, 1999
t Re: Issues Related to Implementation of Leave Donation/Leave Sharing Programs
By: David L. Harding, Director of Human Resources/Procurement
In response to Council's direction at the February 16, 1999 Council Meeting, Staff has been researching
a variety of issues related to the design/implementation of Leave Donation/Leave Sharing Programs.
As part of its research, Staff has also studied various feature of a number of programs which have been
implemented in other organizations. These program materials were obtained through direct contact with
certain organizations, the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA), and the Innovations
Group. As part of its research, Staff specifically analyzed the Leave Donation/Sharing Programs
implemented in the following organizations:
• State of Ohio
• City of Upper Arlington
• City of Westerville
• City of Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Pasadena City College
• Columbus Public Schools
• Kansas Bureau of Investigation
General informational material obtained from IPMA identified that 33% of its member agencies offer
some type of leave donation/leave sharing program (IPMA's 1997 Personnel Program Inventory). The
major common features associated with these programs include the contribution of vacation, personal
` leave, compensatory time, and/or sick leave to employees who have exhausted all such forms of paid
leave due to a serious or catastrophic illness/injury to the employee or a family member. IPMA's
research seems to indicate that the greatest advantage to the Employer in implementing such a program
is the positive employee relations impact. A considerable number of managers offering comments
through the IPMA survey indicated that such programs did strengthen team bonds in the workplace and
seemed to improve morale.
Although there may be considerable positive employee relations benefits to implementing a leave
donation/leave sharing program, numerous policy and logistical issues exist which each Employer must
weigh in deciding whether to implement such a program. These issues include the following:
? Eligibility to Participate (Donors and Recipients) in the Program
A determinationmust bemade regarding whether the program will be offered to employees
serving in j ust full-time permanent positions or whether to extend coverage under the program
to part-time permanent, seasonal, temporary, intermittent, or other casual employees. Some
CITY OF DUBLIN
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS
OF THE CITY MANAGER
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2.55
TO: All Fraternal Order of Police, Capital City Lodge No. 9 Bargaining Unit
Members and All Non-Union Personnel of the City
FROM: Timothy C. Hansley, City Manager
SUBJECT: Leave Donation Program
DATE: March 8, 1999
New Administrative Order.
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Administrative Order is to establish administrative regulations
governing the operation of a Leave Donation Program for City employees within the
Fraternal Order of Police, Capital City Lodge No. 9 bargaining units and for all non-
union City personnel. Questions regarding this Administrative Order should be directed
to the Office of the City Manager or the Division of Human ResourceslProcurement.
' II. ENABLING LEGISLATION
Ordinance No. 31-99 establishes a Leave Donation Program that allows employees as
defined above to voluntarily donate sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, or
compensatory time to another such employee when the employee experiences a
catastrophic illness/injury, or when such an employee's immediate household family
member experiences such an illness or injury requiring the employee's personal care and
attendance, and the employee has exhausted all of his/her sick leave, vacation leave,
personal leave, compensatory time, or other applicable paid leave balance. Ordinance
No. 31-99 further establishes that the operation of this Leave Donation Program shall be
governed by administrative regulations promulgated by the City Manager.
Employers limit participation to employees serving in full-time permanent positions, others
extend participation to casual employees. A deciding factor in many cases is whether
employees serving in less than full-time permanent positions are eligible to accrue leave.
(The City of Dublin only provides leave accrual or leave banks to employees serving in full-
time permanent positions.)
? Threshold for Coverage Under the Program
The issue here is whether the standard for accessing the program will be "catastrophic
illness/injury", "serious illness/injury", "disabling illness/injury" and the definition of
whatever standard is employed. Some programs studied by Staff used "catastrophic", some
used "serious". In most cases, it seems that "catastrophic" was the term of choice. This is
probably one of the most critical issues to be addressed in the design of such a program.
Although a clear defmition is critical, it must be recognized that, at times, the decision as to
what constitutes "catastrophic" or "serious" rests within the judgement of the individual or
committee making the decision.
? Eligibility to Receive Donated Leave
Here a determinationmust be made whether the receiving employee must first exhaust all sick
leave, vacation leave, compensatory time, and personal leave before becoming eligible to
receive donated leave. Most of the programs researched by Staff contained a requirement that
all such leave must first be exhausted. Another issue to be considered here is whether
eligibility will be extended to employees with a history of leave abuse. Although not
addressed in most of the programs studied by Staff, there were a couple of programs that
restricted eligibility if the employee had actually been disciplined for leave abused within the
recent past.
? Eligibility to Donate Leave
Here the issue is whether the donor must have a minimum number of hours of leave
themselves in order to donate. There was considerable divergence on this issue in the
programs studied by Staff. Some required a minimum combined leave balance of 40 hours,
some 80, some 120. The underlying concern on the part of some Employers in requiring a
donor to have a minimum balance, seemed to be that the donor should retain sufficient time
to cover their own needs for leave.
? Requirement to Submit Medical Certification
Staff's research indicates that this is a common element in most programs, although there are
differences with respect to level of detail which is sought. Again, it should be recognized that
some level of judgment must be exercised on the part of the individual or committee seeking
and evaluating this type of information.
? Use of Donated Leave for Family Members
Here a determination must be made whether donated leave maybe used to care for a family
member or whether use is restricted to the employee's own need. In most plans studied by
Staff, usage of donated leave was permitted to care for family members as defined by the
program. A critical issue here is the definition of family member. Staff also noted that most
programs applied the same standard to employees and family members with respect to
whether the illness/injury was "catastrophic", "serious", or disabling".
? Tvne and Amount of Leave to be Donated
The issue here is whether certain types of leave maybe donated and in what sequence and
amount. Some Employers preclude sick leave from being donated at all. Some only allow
employees to donate vacation, some allow personal and vacation leave. Some Employers
place no restrictionon the type, amount, or sequence of leave to be donated. Some Employers
closely regulate the sequence and amount in such a manner as to require that a set number of
vacation hours must first be donated, followed by a set number of vacation, personal, or
compensatory time. Then, and only then, can sick leave be donated with a cap on the amount
of sick leave which can be donated. Most programs reviewed by Staff did not closely regulate
the sequence in which leave could be donated. One local organization (the City of Upper
Arlington), however, does closely regulate the sequence, type, and amount of leave to be
donated.
? Status of Unused, Donated Leave
The question which must be answered here is whether an individual employee donating leave
has a right to later reclaim any portion of the donated leave if unused. In most cases, the
programs reviewed by Staff contained very clear disclaimers that donated leave was a gift and
the donating employee retained no rights whatsoever to later reclaim the leave.
? Lo~isticaUOperational Concerns
Decisions would need to be made regarding applicationprocedures and forms, the number of
approval levels the application must travel through for approval, how leave is actually
transferred from the donor's balance to the recipient's balance, and the increments of time in
which leave maybe donated. Most programs studied by Staff had specific leave donation
forms with approval at the Department Head Level. Most programs also permitted leave to
be donated in no less than 1 hour increments with the transfer of such donated leave being
done on anhour-for-hourbasis between the donor's balance and the recipient's balance. This
transfer is usually accomplished through the Department of Finance.
? Cessation of Eligibility to Receive/iJse Donated Leave
Most programs reviewed by Staff contained provisions regarding when a recipient's eligibility
to use leave would cease. Under most programs, eligibility to receive and use donated leave
would cease when the recipient received a certificationthat he/she was once again capable of
performing regular job duties orhis/her family member had recovered from the illness/injury
and no longer needed the employee to render care, or the employee or family member has
passed away.
Although leave donation/leave sharing programs seem to be increasing in popularity, the research
material available to Staff cautions Employers to carefully consider the aforementioned type of issues
prior to proceeding with implementationof such programs. In conclusion, Staff believes that the above
referenced concerns can all be effectively addressed and a successful program developed.
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III. DEFINITIONS
Catastrophic Illness/Injury - a devastating illness or injury that is expected to
incapacitate the employee or a member of the employee's immediate household family
for an extended period of time, provided that taking extended time off from work creates
a financial hardship for the employee because he/she has exhausted all leave balances.
Catastrophic illnesses or injuries would commonly include, but are not necessarily
limited to, the following: cancer, AIDS, heart attack, heart surgery, stroke, or permanent
paralysis.
Donation -the act of voluntarily, unconditionally, and irrevocably surrendering a portion
of one's sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, and/or compensatory time to a
qualified employee.
Immediate Family Member -Mother, father, spouse, son, daughter, step-son, step-
daughter, legal guardian, or someone who legally stands in place of a parent.
IV. ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
A. Eligibility
Eligibility to donate leave or to receive donated leave under this program shall be
limited to Fraternal Order of Police, Capital City Lodge No. 9 members and all Non-
Unionpersonnel of the City serving in full-time permanent positions. Eligibility to
receive donated leave under this program shall also be limited to those employees
who have a total of 120 hours or less in all forms of paid leave in the aggregate (i.e.
sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory time) at the time of their
written request to receive donated leave, and who have not been disciplined for leave
abuse the two (2) years prior to the date of their request to receive donated leave.
(Employees within the Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council and United
Steelworkers bargaining units are not eligible to participate within this program
because it would be illegal for the City to include such employees in this program
without first bargaining with these Unions regarding the terms and conditions this
program.)
B. Request for Leave
When an employee has less than a total of 120 hours in all forms of paid leave (as
specified above) in the aggregate, the employee or the employee's Division Head
(with the employee's consent) may initiate a request for assistance. The request shall
be forwarded to the affected employee's Department Head for review and
consideration of the facts and circumstances specific to the employee's need. Such
review shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, an assessment of a written
certification from the employee's physician regarding the employee's or family
member's medical condition, an analysis of the employee's sick leave usage and
overall work history with the City of Dublin, and consideration of input provided by
the Department's supervisory/managerial staff. Following this review by the affected
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employee's Department Head, the Department Head may recommend approval for
receipt of donated leave to the City Manager. The City Manager shall make the final
decision regarding approval of the employee's request. The final decision to approve
or disapprove the request rests within the sole discretion of the City Manager.
C. Donation Process, Procedures & Rectuirements
Should the employee's request to receive donated leave be approved by the City
Manager, employees (herein called donors) who desire to contribute leave time shall
complete a "Leave Donation Form", a copy of which is attached. Such forms shall be
made available by the Division of Human Resources/Procurement and by each
Department/Division. The donor shall designate on the form the name of the
employee who is to be the recipient of the donated leave and the amount of such
donated leave.
Leave shall be donated in the following sequence and amounts for each approved
recipient:
1) The first eight (8) hours of any donation shall be vacation leave. If the donor does
not have vacation time available, this requirement may be waived or reduced by
the Department Head.
2) The second eight (8) hours of any donation shall be personal leave, compensatory
time, or vacation leave. If the donor does not have eight (8) hours of such leave
available, this requirement maybe waived or reduced by the Department Head.
3) After sixteen (16) hours of vacation leave, personal leave, or compensatory time
have been donate, or waived as specified above, sick leave may then be donated.
Sick leave donations shall be limited to forty (40) hours. After forty (40) hours of
sick leave donation has been reached, the entire donation sequence may begin
again starting with item # 1 above.
D. Minimum Donation Increments
The minimum amount of leave time which can be donated shall be one (1) hour.
Donors may contribute any amount of time at or above one (1) hour in whole amounts
(no fractions of an hour can be transferred). However, the donor shall not be allowed
to donate an amount of leave which would reduce the donor's leave balance or
combination of balances below one hundred and twenty (120) hours of available leave
time.
E. Donation Credited
The completed Leave Donation Form will be forwarded to the Department of Finance
via the Department Head of the donor. The Department of Finance will credit all
donated leave time to the employee's sick leave balance. Furthermore, Finance shall
forward a copy of the donation form to the Department Head of the employee
receiving the donation. The Department Head of the receiving employee may also
Page 4
keep records of the donations provided to their employee.
F. Conditions on Receipt of Leave
Before an employee may receive the donated leave, he/she must have exhausted all of
his/her sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory time, or other
applicable leave balances available to him/her (excluding the exception listed below).
Exception: One leave balance designated by the employee (other than sick leave)
may contain no more than twenty-four (24) hours of leave time. Such leave time will
be held in reserve to allow the employee the opportunity to take some time off
following the end of the catastrophic situation, should such time off be needed to
attend to family needs.
G. Prohibition on Continued Accrual of Leave
While using donated leave, the employee shall not accrue or receive any leave time in
excess of the twenty-four (24) hours identified in item F above.
H. Prohibition on Conversion to Cash
All donated leave time, regardless of the type, shall be considered to be sick leave and
shall only be used under the conditions of sick leave as set forth in the Collective
Bargaining Agreement or the City Personnel Code (whichever is applicable). No
cash payments shall be provided to the employee or the surviving spouse of the
employee under this program.
I. Continuation of Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance And Other Benefits
Employees using donated leave shall be considered to be in paid status solely for the
purpose of receiving all medical, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits, step
increases, merit increases, longevity payments, and seniority credit to which they
would have otherwise been entitled. However, original or promotional probationary
employees using such leave shall have their probationary periods extended by the
same length of time for which the employee has used the donated leave.
J. Eligibility Ceases
Eligibility to receive donated leave under this program shall cease upon certification
from the employee's physician that he/she is capable of engaging in sustained regular
employment, certification from the employee's family member's physician
documenting the family member's recovery from the catastrophic illness/injury, an
employee's application for disability retirement is approved by the appropriate
retirement system (Police & Firemen's Disability and Pension Fund or Public
Employees' Retirement System of Ohio), or death of the employee or employee's
family member, whichever should first occur.
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CITY OF DUBLIN
LEAVE DONATION FORM
I, ,voluntarily agree to donate a portion of
(Donor's Name)
my earned leave time as outlined below. I do this solely to assist a fellow employee of the City of Dublin
and I have not been coerced, intimidated, or financially induced into donating this leave. I do so freely
and without reservation. I further understand that the person to whom I am donating this leave time is
under no obligation to repay this gift. Furthermore, I understand that all donated leave time will remain
the property of the receiving employee and that I will not acquire back any time which is unused because
the need of the recipient has concluded.
I have reviewed my leave balances and understand that this donation will leave me with no less than one
hundred and twenty (120) hours of time in one or in a combination of one or more of my leave balances.
Information on the emplovee to receive this donation:
Print Recipient's Last Name Print Recipient's First Name Print Recipient's Department
My leave time should be donated from the following balances:
Number of Type of Conditions for the
Hours Donated Leave Donated Donation of Time
VACATION Vacation may be used for all time donated, but must be used for
first eight (8) hours.
Vacation donation waived or reduced.
Dept. Heal Initials
PERSONAL Personal Leave or Compensatory Time may be used for all time
after the first eight (8) hours of vacation time has been donated.
COMP. TIME Personal Leave/Comp Time donation waived or reduced.
Dept. Head Initials
SICK LEAVE Sick leave may be used after sixteen (16) hours of other time has
been donated.
(Limited to forty (40) hours of sick leave then another Leave Donation
Form must be completed.)
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS DONATED ON THIS FORM
Print Name of Donating Employee Signature of Donating Employee Date
Department Head's Approval Date