Exhibit “A”
NOVA Voluntary Leave of Absence Program Guidelines
The City of Sunnyvale and the Employee Bargaining Units, Sunnyvale Employees Association (SEA) and Service Employees International Union, Local 715 (SEIU), have agreed to a voluntary leave of absence program related to the NOVA (Department of Employment Development) Fiscal Year 2003-2004 Funding Gap.
The program’s purpose is to bridge a projected fiscal year funding gap of approximately $185,000. If this funding gap is not bridged, it could result in the layoff of an estimated twenty-six (26) employees in the Department of Employment Development for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2003-2004. The program will be effective for the period of May 17 through June 30, 2004.
This program in no way limits the actions of the City in the event that additional fiscal reductions are required.
Funding Goal
The funding goal is the equivalent hours needed to reach the projected shortfall, which averages out to an estimated (6) days of leave of absence per employee.
Leave of Absence
Employees may schedule, with supervisor approval, either paid (accrued vacation, paid time off (PTO), or paid leave) or unpaid leaves of absence.
Under this program, employees are not required to exhaust all accrued leaves before being allowed to take an unpaid leave of absence.
During the pay period in which an unpaid leave of absence is taken:
-
full service credit (pay period of service) will be credited and will not be pro-rated;
-
full vacation/paid time off (PTO)/paid leave accrual will be credited and will not be pro-rated;
-
employee is eligible for paid holiday leave on May 31, 2004 if the employee is on unpaid leave of absence the day before and/or after the holiday;
-
the employee’s current health benefits will be maintained; however any required employee contribution must be made by the employee either through paycheck deduction or by direct payment to the City in the event the employee’s pay in a given pay period does not cover the cost of the employee’s contribution; and
-
the amount of earnings reported to PERS will be based on the actual PERSable wages paid.
-
In addition, in order to track the use of unpaid leave of absence for this purpose and to apply appropriate service credit and leave accrual, a designated charge code/pay code must be used for timecard completion.
It is important to note that, under the City’s Administrative Policy, pay periods of service are pro-rated when an unpaid leave of absence is taken, and that the Program described herein provides an exception to this policy. Pay periods of service are the basis for merit increases, benefit eligibility, and for seniority for order of layoff.
Acknowledgement
This program has been developed through a joint effort between City representatives and Bargaining Unit representatives, and it is agreed that the City shall not have authority to add to or delete from this program without first meeting and discussing any proposed changes with the Bargaining Units. The City Manager shall, however, have administrative authority in implementing the program.