ELIGIBILITY
After the first sixty days of employment employees who are contracted to work 2.5 or more days per week will become eligible for employee benefits, subject to any specific additional enrollment period or requirements of the particular benefit plan. Members of the staff who work only during the extended school year (ESY) are not eligible for benefits. Employees who return from an authorized leave of absence from employment at The Gramon Family of Schools retain eligibility for benefits without waiting periods.
PERSONAL TIME OFF
Paid sick and personal leave times are combined into a single benefit category called “Personal Time Off” (PTO). PTO days can be used when employees must be absent from work for any reason -- illness, family emergencies, or personal business that cannot be accomplished outside of regular school hours. Employees can determine how to use PTO days: because of illness; to attend to personal business; or to trade in for cash through the buy-back program. PTO days may only be used in increments of either a full day (7.5 hours) or half day (3.75 hours) as approved by the school administrator. PTO days are not meant to serve as vacation days and therefore may not be used to extend a school holiday or vacation period, a long weekend such as the Martin Luther King or Memorial Day weekend, or on the first or last days of the school year. Exceptions to these requirements may be granted by the Executive Directors for extraordinary circumstances. Requests for PTO days must be made in advance and approved by the school administrator. PTO days taken without such approval may result in disciplinary action, including no pay for unapproved time off. Requests for more than two PTO days must be made in advance and approved by the school administrator. Requests of up to five PTO days will only be considered for extraordinary circumstances, such as a wedding or funeral of a close family member requiring extensive travel. The approval or denial of such requests will depend on School staffing needs, the ability or inability to avoid the consecutive days off, and the staff member’s over-all attendance record. Any requests in excess of five days, whether as PTO days or as days without pay, must be approved by the Board of Directors. After the probationary period, no more than three PTO days may be used in advance of earning them for approved time off. This policy is not intended to encourage employees to take more time off from work than is absolutely necessary, nor is it intended to change any of the procedures already in place for taking personal days. Employees who must be absent for personal reasons are expected to clear their absences in advance with the school administrator so that suitable adjustments can be made in the staffing pattern. If an employee is feeling too ill to come in to work, he or she is still expected to call in early enough for last-minute adjustments to be made to the staffing pattern. Attendance will remain a part of each employee’s annual evaluation. If an employee is absent for more than three days due to illness or injury, the employee must submit a doctor’s note verifying the reason for their absence. 30 Employees who are away from work on disability, medical, or family leave may use only those PTO hours that have already been earned. Requests for such use of PTO hours do not require Board of Directors approval. Additional PTO hours are not earned during such leave periods.
ACCRUAL OF PTO DAYS
Full Time employees will accumulate 3.75 PTO hours (one-half day) for each pay period completed, beginning with the fifth pay period of employment. Part Time employees working 22.5 hours or more per week will accrue pro-rated PTO hours based upon their normal workweek. Members of the staff whose work schedule is for fewer than 20 hours/2.5 days per week are not eligible for Personal Time Off. Extended School Year (ESY) staff members who are hired only for the summer are not eligible for Personal Time Off. Probationary Employees will not accumulate any PTO hours. Employees will not accrue PTO hours for periods during which they are not actively working, including any periods of any sabbatical, leave of absence, medical leave, workers compensation or disability leave, military leave, disciplinary suspension and the like, regardless of whether the employee is being paid during this period of absence from work.
CARRY-OVER OF PTO HOURS
Full Time employees may carry over any unused PTO hours from the preceding year(s), up to a maximum of 180 hours (24 days). Accumulated PTO hours exceeding maximum permitted carryover will be "bought back” (see the Attendance Incentive Program in the staff handbook for further details). When individuals leave the School’s employment no compensation is provided for unused PTO hours.
