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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR2003-027RESOLUTION NO. /~0.~-/9~ 7 ] A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS APPROVING REVISED CITY POLICY REGULATING ILLNESS AND OFF DUTY INJURIES OF CITY EIVlPLOYEES; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Denton, Texas has a illness and offduty injury policy for city employees to consistently handle the illness and off duty injuries of city employees; and WHEREAS, the Director of the Human Resources Department for the City of Denton has presented a revised policy regarding employee rules and regulations concerning the illness/off duty injury policy; and WHEREAS, the City Council, desires to adopt such policy as an official policy regarding employment with the City; NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS HEREBY RESOLVES: SECTION 1. That Policy numbered 107.05 "Illness/Off Duty Injury" of the Personnel Policies and Procedure Manual of the City of Denton attached hereto and incorporated by reference herein, is hereby approved as official policy of the City of Denton, Texas, and replaces former policy 107.05. SECTION 2. That the foregoing policy is attached hereto and made a part hereof and shall be filed in the official records with the City Secretary. SECTION 3. That this resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this the ~ day of ~ V/J)/P/¢q./~/L/, 2003 EULINE BROCK, MAYOR ATTEST: JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: HERBERT L. PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY Our Documents~Resolufions~03~Illness offduty injury Policy.dot2 CITY OF DENTON PAOE±oF ,1 POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE SECTION: HUMAN RESOURCES REFERENCE NUMBER: 107.05 SUBJECT: EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND SERVICES nXnTL~L EI~FECTIVE DATE: 11/01/94 TITLE: ILLNESS/OFF DUTY INJURY POLICY LAST REVISION DATE: 9/16/03 POLICY STATEMENT: The ability of the City to provide timely and adequate salmy confmuation and benefit programs to assist City employees absent from the job due to an injury or illness is dependent upon the City's ability to coordinate its handling of each individual case. This policy seeks to create a coord'mation and uniformity of the handling of all City employee disability or injury cases. It is expected that employees will assist and cooperate with the City in obtaining recommended medical treatments or therapy and rehabilitative services in order to return to work at the earliest possible date. This policy applies to all regular full-time and regular part-time employees who have completed the six month introductory period. On-the-job injury or illness is addressed in the "Occupational Injury Policy" (409.1) with the exception of"business necessity termination" (Section III of this policy). Civil Service employees will be governed by the provisions outlined in Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code unless Chapter 143 does not address the disability issue, in which event the provisions ofthis policy will apply. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES I. DEFINITIONS E~ential fi~netions - The major duties essential to a position (with or without reasonable accommodation). These are determined by the job description of each position. The following should be considered in determining if a job function is essential: 1. The position exists, in part, to perform the function. 2. There are a limited number of other employees available to perform the function or among whom the function can be distributed. 3. A function is highly specialized, and the person in the position is hired for special expertise or ability to perform it. Reaannahle Aeet~rnrnodat/nn - A modification of the work environment or work process that enables a person with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA") and associated regulations. The determination of what accommodations are reasonable shall be the determination of the City, but will be in .compliance with the provisions of the ADA. The determination of reasonable accommodation will also include consideration of whether an undue hardship will be posed on PAGE~_OF 11 POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued~ TITLE:OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NUMBER: 107.05 the operations of the department or division, or if a direct threat to the health or safety of the employee or others will be posed. Undue l-lard~hip - defmed by the ADA as an action that is excessively costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business. Direct Threat - a health or safety risk that, based on valid medical and/or other objective evidence, is determined to pose a significant risk of substantial harm, and which cannot be reduced to an acceptable level with reasonable accommodation. Disability - Under the ADA, an individual with a disability is a person who has: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impa'mnent. F. lllne~a: l~ury: nr Medical Cnndifion - A temporary physical or mental impakment that does not substantially limit one or mom ofthe major life activities of an individual. Bngine~g Necessity Termination - Occurs when a department's or division's productivity or ability to deliver services is adversely affected because an employee is unable to perform the essential functions of the position for which that employee is hired, and no reasonable accommodation can be made. H. Mmlif:md_I~ - Any restriction placed on an employee by a treating physician that requires an employee to do less than his/her full job. Modified duty will not extend beyond 120 days. Fxtended 1 .cave of Ahgence - Leave of absence that has been approved by the City Manager or his/her designee after an employee has already had more than twelve (12) weeks of absences in a twelve (12) month period, not includ'mg leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave policy. An Extended Leave of Absence shall not exceed twenty-four (24) weeks. J. Notice - When the City of Denton is required to give notice under the following administrative procedures, notice shall be written and sent by United States first-class mail to the employee's last known home address as provided to the Human Resources department. Date of the notice is the same date the notice is placed and postmarked into the United States mail. H.PROCEDURES A. When an employee is unable to perform the essential functions of his/her position due to a disability, injmy, illness, or medical condition (and reasonable accommodation is not possible), HR/POLICY/107.05 PAGE._3_OF 11 POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued'~ HTITLE: OFF-DUTY INJURY OR lLLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NUMBER: 107.05 the City may separate the employee due to business necessity and fill the position except as is restricted by the Family and Medical Leave Act. (See Section III below.) Eligibility for benefits as defined in this procedure is dependent upon the complete compliance of the employee with the responsibilities outlined in this procedure and the requirements and procedures stated in the employee benefit booklets or appropriate benefit policies. An employee who experiences an off-the-job injury or illness that renders the employee incapable of performing his/her regularly assigned duties shall use his/her accrued sick, vacation and, if applicable, compensatory leave balances. The employee shall use his/her available leave balances until the earlier off The date the employee has exhausted all such leave balances (if exhausted, refer to Personal Leave Without Pay Policy" [ 111.08] or the "Family and Medical Leave Policy" 107.04]); 2. The date the employee is able to return to work and perform the essential functions of his/her position; or The date the employee has accumulated twelve (12) weeks of absences in a twelve (12) month period, not includ'mg FMLA leave, unless the employee applies for and is approved for a Extended Leave ofAbsence by the City Manager or his/her designee. An employee who is unable to perform the essential functions of his/her position due to a disability, injury, illness, or medical condition (and reasonable accommodation is not possible) is not guaranteed a remm to his/her position at the completion of his/her injury or illness leave except that in the case of Family and Medical Leave the employee will return to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment, in accordance with FMLA regulations. If after consultation with Human Resources and the Risk Manager (in the case of an on the job injury), a supervisor detemaines that a department's or division's productivity or ability to deliver services is adversely affected because an employee is unable to return to his/her position, the employee may be administratively removed from his/her position during his/her leave. When an employee who has been administratively removed from his/her position is able to remm to work with the appropriate medical releases, that employee will be considered for any open position in the City for which that employee is qualified. Employees who are not disabled as defined by the ADA will be required to compete for open positions. HR/POLICY/107.05 PAGE~_OF I I POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE ¢Continued} TITLE:OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NUMBER: 107.05 E. Benefits will be calculated as listed below: Employees who are absent from work due to an injury, illness or approved Extended Leave of Absence shall continue to accrue vacation and sick leave for as long as they are receiving paid leave (i.e. sick, vacation, or compensatory time). 2. Benefit accrual and usage would follow the provisions of the "Family and Medical Leave Policy" (107.04). An employee shall not be eligible to receive tuition reimbursement unless it is for an approved course which was already in progress at the time the employee became unable to perform his/herjob duties and the course has been successfully completed and documented as required by the "Tuition Reimbursement Policy" (107.09). The City will cont'mue to pay its portion of benefits for the employee as provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 and the Family and Medical Leave policy 107.04). The employee and eligible dependents will remain qualified for benefits coverage through the City's group plans as long as the premiums for the employee and dependent coverage under the City plans are paid on a timely basis by the employee (either through payroll deduction or personal payment). It is the responsibility of the employee to make arrangements for the payment of these premiums if they cannot be made by a payroll deduction. Regular full-time and regular part-tune employees who are not able to work for an extended period of time may be eligible to apply for long-term disability benefits. The employee is responsible for contacting the Risk Management office as soon as he/she is able in order to discuss eligibility qualifications. Some benefits may not be available if the employee fails to apply for the benefits within the time mandated by the benefit provider. F. Employees who qualify for FMLA leave must comply with all provisions of the Family and Medical Leave policy (107.04). llI. BUSINESS NECESSITYTERMINATION DUE TO UNIFORM ABSENCE CONTROL An employee may be terminated as a business necessity due to uniform absence control when the employee has been unable to perform the essential functions of his/her job with or without reasonable accommodation for a period of twelve (12) weeks within a twelve month period, not including the use of any FMLA leave. This time need not be consecutive. This section applies to both on-the-job and off-the-job injuries or illnesses for employees who have completed their PAGF~5_0F 11 POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued) TITLE: OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE107.05NUMBER: introductory period. The City will use a "rolling" 12-month period measured backward from the first date an employee uses any leave for either on-the job or off-the-job injuries or illnesses in order to calculate the twelve weeks. Supervisors shall obta'm approval from the Director of Human Resources or his/her designee prior to initiating a termination due to uniform absence control. The Risk Manager shall also be consulted if any absence is due to an injury that occurred on the job. In the case of an employee with a disability as determined by the ADA, termination would not be considered unless no reasonable accommodation (which would not cause undue hardship on the organization or pose a direct threat to the health or safety of the employee or others) exists that would enable the employee to perform the essential functions of his/her position, and no job reassignment is available (see Section VII of this policy entitled "Job Reassignment"). If after reviewing these factors, the supervisor with the guidance of the Human Resources Director or his/her designee and, in cases of on the job injuries, the Risk Manager determines that the employee cannot remm to perform the essential functions of his/her job, then the employee will be notified in wrifmg of the proposed termination at least two weeks before the termination will take effect. An employee who receives notice of intent to terminate under this section shall be afforded the right to seek an Extended Leave of Absence, as more fully discussed below in section IH. D. Business necessity tennination due to uniform absence control is not a discipl'mary action and does not operate to deny an employee the use of accrued benefits as outlined in appropriate policies. An employee who has received notice of the City's intent to terminate the employee for absences in excess of twelve (12) weeks in a twelve month period or for absences due to an off- duty injury or illness may apply for an Extended Leave of Absence for up to twenty-four (24) weeks of additional leave to the City Manager or his/her designee. In order to apply for the Extended Leave of Absence, the employee must present a written request to his/her supervisor and the Director of Human Resources stating the length of additional leave requested and identifying masons in support of the request for additional leave. The Director of Human Resources or his/her designee and, in the case of on-the-job injuries, the Risk Manager will review the employee's request and make a recommendation to the City Manager or his/her designee. The decision on whether to approve the employee's request for additional leave is lefi to the sole discretion of the City Manager or his/her designee. The following shall be taken into consideration when reviewing the employee's request for Extended Leave ofAbsence: 1. A doctor's prognosis indicating whether or not the employee will be able to perform his/her regular duties or modified duties if available. In the case of an employee with a disability as defined by the ADA, termination would not be considered unless no reasonable accommodation (which would not cause undue hardship on the organization or pose a dimct threat to the health or safety of the employee or others) exists that would enable the PAGE~_OF ll POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued~ TITLE: OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NUMBER: 107.05 employee to perform the essential functions of his/her position, and no job reassignment is available (see Section VII ofthis policy entitled "Job Reassignment"). 2. A doctor's prognosis indicat'mg when the employee may be able to tatum to work. 3. The length of tune it would take to replace the employee in his/her position. 4. Whether the employee is willing to accept placement in a different, available position for which the employee is qualified. 5. Whether the employee has been willing to accept a modified duty assignment after expiration of any available FMLA leave for an on-the-job inju~. whether the employee is able to present satisfactory evidence of Ms/her inability to remm to work, either in a limited duty capacity if such work is available, or to regular duty according to the timetable established in this procedure or upon request by the City. 7. Whether the employee has made any falsifications or misrepresentations concerning his/her physical condition or capacity. 8. whether the employee fails or refuses to return to regular duty on the day specified by the treating physician. Whether the employee mainta'med contact with his/her immediate supervisor on a regular basis (as directed by his/her supervisor) and notified him/her of his/her condition and expected return-to-work date. If the employee was unable to make contact personally, he/she should have someone contact his/her supervisor on his/her behalf. 10. Whether the employee provided requested progress reports from the treating physician. SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DISABILITY, INJURY, ILLNESS, OR MEDICAL CONDITION: Within seven (7) days ofthe date the employee's disability, injury, illness, or medical condition begins, the supervisor must notify the employee in writing of his/her obligation to contact the supervisor on a regular basis. (The recommended reporting time is once a week, but the supervisor can elect to change this reporting rune to more frequently or less frequently after consulfmg with the Human Resources Department). Each supervisor shall establish procedures for this reporting requ'trement, inform the disabled, injured, or ill employee of the procedures, and notify the employee that failure to follow these procedures could result in disciplinary action. HR/POLICY/107.05 PAGE~_OF I 1 POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued) TITLE:OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NUMBER: 107.05 Each supervisor, with the consultation of the Human Resources depa~hnent and the Risk Manager in the case of an on the job injury, shall notify the disabled, ill or injured employee in writing of his/her obligation to provide a monthly progress report, if applicable, from his/her attending physician regarding his/her medical condition and rehabilitation options as they relate to his/her ability to return to full duty. This report shall include: 1. Whether the employee will be able to retum to full duty with no restrictions. If so, when? 2. Whether rehabilitation is an option? Ifnot, why not? 3. Are any accommodations necessary for the employee to remm to full duty? If so, describe. C. Upon exhaustion of paid sick and/or vacation time, the supervisor shall submit an "Employee Status Form" to notify Human Resources to stop leave accrual. EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DISABILITY, INJURY, ILLNESS, OR MEDICAL CONDITION: A. Employees who are disabled, ill, injured, or have a medical condition are required to notify their immediate or designated supervisor immediately ifthey are going to be absent from work. B. The employee will periodically provide a progress report from his/her treating physician as indicated in Section IV.B. of this policy. The employee must contact his/her supervisor as established in Section 1V.A. of this policy until he/she returns to work or the end of the twelve (12) week period, not including leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave policy (107.04), in which the employee is unable to perform the essential functions of his/her position. If the employee is unable to make contact personally, he/she shall have someone contact his/her supervisor on his/her behalf. The City must be aware of the employee's status in order to plan and assign work duties and responsibilities in an efficient manner. An employee who fails to contact his/her supervisor or provide prognosis report(s) in accordance with this policy shall be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Disciplinary Action Policy" (109.01). VI. RETURN TO WORK FOR FULL DUTY A. The following reporting requirements apply when an employee returns to work from an off-the- job disability, illness, injury, or medical condition: 1. An employee returning to duty at the expiration of his/her Family and Medical Leave or HPdPOLICY/107.05 PAGE~_OF-LI. POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued) TITLE:OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NDMBER: 107.05 aRer being unable to work for ten (10) or more working days due to a disability, illness, injury, or medical condition which is not covered by the FMLA must provide a written release to the supervisor from the attending physician indicating the employee's fitness to retum to full duty. The supervisor must then forward the release to the Director of Human Resources or his/her designee. In the case of an employee who mmms to work fi:om a disability, illness, injury, or medical condition in less than ten (10) working days, the employee is not automatically requ'tred to fumish a doctor's release to his/her supervisor, unless the employee's leave was pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave policy (107.04) in which case the employee must always furnish a doctor's release if the leave was taken for the serious health condition of the employee. The supervisor, at his/her discretion, may require the employee to furnish a release from the attending physician if he/she feels the employee's disability, injury, illness, or medical condition may not permit the employee to safely perform the job. When the supervisor requires such a release from the attending physician, the employee must take his/her release to the supervisor who must then forward it to the Director of Human Resources. The City reserves the fight to require an independent physical or mental assessment, at the City's expense, upon the retum to work of an employee from a disability, illness, injury, or medical condition to determine whether the employee is able to perform the essential functions of the job. If the independent physical or mental assessment differs from the opinion of the employee's attending physician and the employee disputes the City's independent assessment, a third physical or mental assessment by an independent physician, to be agreed upon by the employee and the City, may be made at the City's expense and the third opinion will be the determinative assessment. Upon return from leave within a twelve (12) week period, excluding any applicable Family and Medical Leave, aRer the beginning date of a disability, illness, injury, or medical condition, an employee who exercises any right provided under this section, if able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation, shall: 1. retum to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced; or be placed in an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment, if the employee is on Family and Medical Leave and timely returns to work in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave policy (107.04); or 3. be placed in a vacant position which he/she is qualified to perform. VII. JOB REASSIGNMENT HP~POLICY/107.05 PAGE_9_OF 11 POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued) TITLE: OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NLrMBER: 107.05 A. Job reassignment will be provided as follows when an employee is unable to return to his/her current position due to a disability, illness, injury, or medical condition: If a position for which the employee is qualified and physically able to do is vacant, the employee may be considered for transfer to a job reassignment. Job reassignment will only be considered within the twelve (12) week period, excluding any applicable Family and Medical Leave, from the date of disability, illness, injury, or medical condition. It will be the employee's responsibility to contact the Human Resources Director or his/her designee to identify positions for which he/she may be qualified and physically able to perform, and to request such job reassignment. Should an employee be unable to remm to work in his/her current position due to a disability, the City may provide job reassignment as a reasonable accommodation in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. Job reassignments are not guaranteed. Such requests will be discussed with the Director of Human Resources and the Department Director of the hh'ing department before such a decision will be made. Interviews with the hiring supervisor will be conducted. Rate of pay will be determined by the Compensation/Classification Guidelines for the position to which the employee is being reassigned. VIII. MODIFIED DUTY Modified duty assignments may be considered based on the following when an employee is unable to perform the duties of his/her current position due to a disability, illness, injury, or medical condition: If a modified duty position in the department is available which the employee is physically able to do. Modified duty status will only be considered during the twelve (12) week period from the date of disability, illness, injury, or medical condition in addition to any Family and Medical Leave used. It will be the employee's responsibility to contact his/her supervisor and the Human Resources Director to determine if a modified duty position for which he/she may be qualified and is physically able to perform, is available. Modified duty assignments are considered temporary and will last no longer than 120 workdays. Type and length of modified duty assignments will be contingent upon availability and a doctor's statement indicating any restrictions in performing modified duty assignments. HR/POLICY/107.05 PAGE I0 OF 11 POLICY/ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE/ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE (Continued~ TITLE: OFF-DUTY INJURY OR ILLNESS POLICY REFERENCE NUMBER: 107.05 C. Modified duty assignments are not guaranteed. Such requests will be discussed with the Department Director and Human Resources Director prior to assignment. IX. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION A. Reasonable accommodation will be provided to any otherwise qualified employee with a known disability as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. B. Reasonable accommodation will be provided only when it enables the employee to perform the essential functions of the job and it does not prove to be an undue hardship, as determined by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, to the organization. Requests for reasonable accommodation must be submitted by the individual to the Director of Human Resources or his/her designee. The requests for reasonable accommodation will be reviewed in accordance with the City's "American's With Disabilities Act Policy" (100.02). X. SEPARATION OF EMPLOYMENT This procedure does not preclude an employee from being terminated under policy 109.01, or under an official reduction-in-fome due to budget reductions. XI. RESPONSE HEARING PROCEDURES The City Manager or his/her designee shall consider any response to a decision made pursuant to this policy or any decision made by the ADA Committee. All response hearing requests must be submitted in writing to the Director of Human Resources within ten (10) working days of the action or decision (as outlined in "Disciplinary Appeals Policy" [109.03]). XII. MEDICAL RECORDS All medical records obtained pursuant to this procedure will be kept in confidential medical files as required by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. HR/POLICY/107.05