§ 44-4. Sick leave.

(a)

Sick leave may be granted to any employee of the town who is unable to attend his job functions because of an illness or injury resulting from a cause other than a job-connected injury or disability.

(b)

Every employee of the town shall be entitled to receive eight hours' sick leave for each month worked, which sick leave shall be accumulated in a sick leave bank.

(c)

Sick leave time accumulated in the employee's sick leave bank shall be convertible to vacation time up to a maximum 40 hours, provided that before such conversion will be permitted the employee has accumulated a minimum of 120 hours' sick leave time in his sick leave bank. No employee shall be entitled to convert accumulated sick leave time to vacation time if in doing so the employee's sick leave bank will be left with less than 80 hours' accumulated time. If an employee has in excess of 120 hours' sick leave time in his sick leave bank he shall have the option to convert such excess hours into cash and receive payment for such excess hours at his rate of pay prevailing on the date of conversion, but no such cash conversion will be permitted which will reduce the balance in the employee's sick leave bank to less than 80 hours. Further, such cash conversions will only be permitted in 40-hour blocks and no fractional hours will be permitted to be converted.

(d)

Any employee having at least 120 hours in his sick leave bank shall be permitted to transfer a portion of such accumulated sick leave time to his compensatory leave bank as long as in doing so the employee's sick leave bank will not be left with less than 80 hours' accumulated sick leave time. Further, such transfers will only be permitted in 40-hour blocks and no fractional hours will be permitted to be converted.

(e)

Any employee wishing to exercise such right of cash conversion shall be required to give at least two weeks' written notice of such request to the office of the Town Clerk except when such request is made at the end of the town's fiscal year or at the end of the town's calendar year, during which periods four weeks' written notice shall be required.

(f)

Sick leave requested by an employee shall at all times be verifiable as such. After four consecutive days of absence due to illness, the department head shall be required to request the employee utilizing sick leave to present a written doctor's statement authorizing the necessity for the use of such sick leave. Further, during the employee's absence under the provisions of this section due to illness or injury the department head shall require continued authentication of the necessity for the use of such sick leave. The failure of any employee to present a requested doctor's written statement authenticating the necessity for the use of sick leave within five working days from the request thereof shall result in the suspension of such employee's sick leave benefits until the requested authentication has been presented.

(Ord. No. C-229, § 5, 1-3-89)