(a) Annual leave is combined vacation and sick leave.

(b) Accrual Rate.

(c) Annual leave is charged on an hour-for-hour basis; i.e., normal work day of eight (8) hours would be charged at eight (8) hours’ annual leave; twelve (12) hour work day, twelve (12) hours’ annual leave; ten (10) hour work day, ten (10) hours’ annual leave; twenty-four (24) hour work day, twenty-four (24) hours’ annual leave.

(d) Leave continues to accrue during the period of time an employee is on paid leave except during periods of terminal leave (leave time after which the employee does not intend to return to work). Leave does not accrue during periods of leave without pay.

(e) Accrued and unused leave may be carried over from one (1) year to the next for the purpose of accumulating an annual leave account or reserve. The maximum leave hours that may be accrued are six hundred forty (640) hours for classified, unclassified, and department head service employees, and eight hundred ninety-six (896) hours for Fire Department employees working a 7(k) work period.

(f) Annual leave may be used for any purpose desired by the employee. Incidental absences for sickness as unplanned are not controllable. However, planned absences must be coordinated with and approved by the appropriate department head.

(g) It is required that each employee use a minimum of eighty (80) hours of leave per calendar year for employees working forty (40) hours per week, and one hundred twelve (112) hours for employees working a 7(k) work period, and effect appropriate coordination with the department head. If actual hours used are less than the minimum requirement, then the difference will be deducted from available leave hours without any compensation to the employee. Employees are not required to meet mandatory leave requirements their first year of service.

(h) Excess leave above the amount authorized for accrual (subsections (a) through (e) of this section) existing on December 31st will automatically be paid at the then-existing rate for the individual employee.

(i) Department heads will schedule vacations for their respective employees with due consideration for the desires of the employees and the work requirements facing the department. Vacation schedules may be amended to allow the department to meet emergency situations.

(j) In the event of significant illness or injury not covered by workers’ compensation, or absence due to training or education, an employee on exhausting annual leave may, with the approval of the City Manager or designee, borrow up to a six (6) month entitlement (i.e., thirteen (13) x 7.3846 hours) to avoid a no-pay status. Accrued annual leave will be charged to repay borrowed leave and must be repaid before annual leave may be used. In the event the person’s employment with the City ends prior to the borrowed leave being repaid, the employee must reimburse the City for the value of any leave not repaid. The City may deduct the value of any leave not repaid from the employee’s final paycheck.

(k) Part-time employees working fifteen (15) hours a week or more will accrue at the same rate as a full-time employee except on a proportional basis as to hours.

(l) Employees considered to be exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act are charged annual leave on a full-day basis. A full day is considered to be the normal hours worked in a day for a position as established by the City Manager. If any such employee works during any portion of a normal work day, that employee is not charged annual leave for that day. If any such employee does not work within a normal day, that employee will be charged a full day of annual leave for that day, unless the City Manager or designee has approved a substitute work day.