ARTICLE 8

LEAVES OF ABSENCE, SICK PAY,

JURY DUTY, FUNERAL LEAVE.

Section 1.

A leave of absence may be granted to any employee with a minimum ninety (90) days active service for any reason deemed satisfactory to the Company or as required by law.  Where practical, a request for a leave of absence must be made in writing to the Senior Site Manager or one's supervisor five (5) working days prior to the beginning of the leave.

Section 2.

Leaves of Absences will be granted in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Section 3.

Seniority shall accumulate during an approved leave of absence not in excess of four (4) weeks.

Section 4.

An employee accepting other employment or engaged in business for himself/herself while on leave of absence shall be discharged by the Company unless the Union and the Company have jointly, prior to the commencement of such leave of absence, agreed in writing that it could be done.  In the case of leaves for physical disability, an exception can be made by joint agreement between the Company and the Union before the commencement of such work.

Section 5.

An employee who is a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, who is absent due to required active annual training duty or temporary special services duty, shall be paid his/her normal straight time earnings, including shift differential and Cost of Living Adjustment where applicable, up to a maximum of ten (10) workdays each calendar year. An employee who, because of schedule adjustments by the reserve component, receives orders to report for two (2) training periods in one calendar year may receive time off with pay in excess of the ten (10)-day annual maximum provided that the total time off with pay does not exceed twenty (20) workdays in a two (2) consecutive year period (either current and previous calendar years or current and following calendar years) and the employee was a member of the reserve component during both of the applicable consecutive years. Employees with military orders to serve additional days of duty will be excused on unpaid authorized leave of absence. The amount due the employee under this Section shall be reduced by the amount received from the government body identified with such training duty or services, for the period of such duty (up to the maximum period mentioned above). Such items as subsistence, uniform and travel allowance shall not be included in determining pay received from state or federal government.

Section 6.

An employee, on his/her one (1) year anniversary and each year thereafter, will be granted, forty (40) hours of sick leave.  Sick leave shall be allowed to accumulate for a two (2)-year period. Upon reaching their anniversary date, unused hours in excess of eighty (80) hours will be paid out to the employee within thirty (30) days. Sick leave pay shall be calculated and paid at the employee’s Base Rate including shift differential and alternate work week premium pay, if applicable. 

Section 7.

Up to four (4) days of bereavement leave with pay will be granted to an employee on the active payroll for a minimum of ninety (90) days who, because of death in his/her immediate family, takes time off from work during his/her normal work schedule.  Such pay shall be for the hours of his/her normal work day at his/her straight time Base Rate, including shift differential, alternate work week premium pay and Lead Pay, where applicable, for each such day off; however, such pay will not be applicable if the employee receives pay for such days off under any other provisions of this Agreement.  Bereavement leave must be taken on consecutive workdays as selected by the employee within twenty (20) calendar days following the death (or evidence of belated notification of death).  For purposes of this Section the “immediate family” is defined as follows:  spouse, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, children, brother, sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, great-grandparents, grandparents, grandchildren, stepmother, stepfather, stepchildren, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, and spouse’s grandparents.  In addition, an employee will be granted bereavement leave for a stillborn child if the employee provides a certificate of fetal death which has been certified by the attending physician.

Section 8.

A.          When an employee is required to and actually does serve on jury duty on his/her regularly scheduled working day, he/she shall receive eight (8) hours pay at his/her Base Rate (plus shift differential and alternate work week premium pay, if applicable). Employees shall receive holiday pay if a holiday occurs while on jury duty. Such payments shall be limited to twenty (20) days in any one calendar year except for grand jury duty when such payment shall be limited to thirty (30) days in any one calendar year. Proof of such service satisfactory to the Company must be given before this Section shall apply.

B.          When an employee is subpoenaed as a witness in a Federal court, or state court of law in the state in which he/she is working or residing, he/she shall receive eight (8) hours pay at his/her Base Rate (plus shift differential and alternate work week premium pay, if applicable). Such payment shall be limited to twenty (20) days in any calendar year. Proof of such service satisfactory to the Company must be given before this Section applies. However, an employee will not receive wages under the above provision if he/she:

- Is called as a witness against the Company or its interests or

- Is called as a witness on his/her own behalf in an action in which he/she is a party or

- Voluntarily seeks to testify as a witness or

- Is a witness in a case arising from or limited to his/her outside employment or outside business activities.

C.          Time spent on jury/witness duty is not to be counted as absenteeism for purposes of disciplinary action or adjusting vacation or sick leave anniversary dates.