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COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS APPROVED: July 21, 2009 AMENDED: December 18, 2012 June 17, 2014 May 19, 2015 March 20, 2018 September 21, 2021 February 15, 2022 TOPIC: Personal Time Off Policy Number 237.1 POLICY SECTION: Human Resources Page 1 of 4 I. PURPOSE To establish a Personal Time Off policy and the terms of accrual and usage thereof for eligible Regular Full-time Employees and Regular Part-time Employees. II. POLICY It is the policy to grant Personal Time Off with pay to Regular Full-time Employees and Regular Part-time Employees in accordance with policy guidelines. Probationary, temporary and seasonal workers are not eligible for Personal Time Off. III. GUIDELINES Eligibility Regular Full-time Employees and Regular Part-time Employees are eligible for Personal Time Off. Accrual January through December is the Personal Time Off accrual period. Eligible Employees accrue Personal Time Off each month based on the total years of previous and current creditable service. Employees begin accruing Personal Time Off from the date of hire. Accruals are posted on or near the first day of each following month. Temporary and seasonal workers are not entitled to Personal Time Off leave accruals. Contract Employees will receive Personal Time Off in accordance with the terms of his/her contract, if applicable. Eligible Employees accrue Personal Time Off as follows: Years Svc Accrual Per Month Days Per Year @ 8 Hours Hire Date-1 8 hours/month 12 days/year 1-5 12 hours/month 18 days/year 5-10 14 hours/month 21 days/year 10-15 16 hours/month 24 days/year 15-20 18 hours/month 27 days/year 20+ 20 hours/month 30 days/year ---PAGE BREAK--- COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS APPROVED: July 21, 2009 AMENDED: December 18, 2012 June 17, 2014 May 19, 2015 March 20, 2018 September 21, 2021 February 15, 2022 TOPIC: Personal Time Off Policy Number 237.1 POLICY SECTION: Human Resources Page 2 of 4 Employees of the Fire Services Division, who are assigned to Fire Suppression and who work the 24/48 schedule, will accrue PTO at 150% of the normal rate based on years of service. Eligible Employees will accrue Personal Time Off as follows: Years Svc Accrual Per Month Days Per Year @ 24 Hours Hire Date-1 12 hours/month 6 days/year 1-5 18 hours/month 9 days/year 5-10 21 hours/month 10.5 days/year 10-15 24 hours/month 12 days/year 15-20 27 hours/month 13.5 days/year 20+ 30 hours/month 15 days/year Leave Carryover A Regular Full-time Employee may carryover a maximum of 320 hours of unused PTO into the next calendar year; Regular Part-time Employees may carryover a prorated portion of the maximum hours for a Full-time Employee. Accumulated PTO hours exceeding 320 at the end of the calendar year shall be considered excess. Excess Personal Time Off Annual Contributions 1) Employees must use a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) hours Personal Time Off during the calendar year when the time was earned to be eligible for rollover. 2) If one hundred twenty (120) hours PTO were used, the employee will be eligible to roll the balance of excess PTO leave to his/her personal Catastrophic Leave balance at the beginning of the succeeding calendar year; part-time employees must use and earn the pro-rated equivalent. Employees may earn up to 1,056 hours of catastrophic leave. Hours in excess of 1,056 will be forfeited. 3) Employees who cannot place excess unused Personal Time Off in his/her personal Catastrophic Leave account each year, will forfeit all excess Personal Time Off leave at the beginning of the succeeding calendar year. ---PAGE BREAK--- COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS APPROVED: July 21, 2009 AMENDED: December 18, 2012 June 17, 2014 May 19, 2015 March 20, 2018 September 21, 2021 February 15, 2022 TOPIC: Personal Time Off Policy Number 237.1 POLICY SECTION: Human Resources Page 3 of 4 Personal Time Off Scheduling and Usage Any Regular Full-time Employee or Regular Part-time Employee must request approval of Personal Time Off leave from his/her Department Manager or designated Supervisor in advance of the date to be used. Failure to receive approval for the Personal Time Off for unexpected emergencies within thirty (30) minutes after the beginning of the workday may result in denial of compensation for the absence and/or disciplinary action. Terminated Employee Personal Time Off Compensation A Regular Full-time or a Regular Part-time Employee, who resigns or terminates employment without cause, will be compensated for his/her unused Personal Time Off on his/her final pay period if notification of the separation is received by Human Resources prior to the end of the terminated employee last pay period. Employees, who are terminated for cause, or for failure to return County owned equipment or property, or for other policy violations considered unacceptable by the County, will not be eligible to be compensated for unused Personal Time Off. Exceptions must be approved by the Department Head, Human Resources Director or County Manager. Non-eligible Employee Temporary and seasonal employees are not considered to be a Regular Full-time Employee or Regular Part-time Employee and are not entitled to any payment for Personal Time Off because such person accrues no Personal Time Off. Transfers If an Employee transfers from one County department to another, the accumulated Personal Time Off shall also transfer. Exceptions Probationary employees may be allowed to use Personal Time Off accruals prior to completion of his/her probationary period. Approval of exceptions to the policy are at the discretion of the Department Head, however, the Human Resources Director must be advised of the exception or terms of the special arrangement. ---PAGE BREAK--- COLUMBIA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS APPROVED: July 21, 2009 AMENDED: December 18, 2012 June 17, 2014 May 19, 2015 March 20, 2018 September 21, 2021 February 15, 2022 TOPIC: Personal Time Off Policy Number 237.1 POLICY SECTION: Human Resources Page 4 of 4 General Information Personal Time Off earned by a Regular Full-time Employee or a Regular Part-time Employee is recommended to not be transferred among Employees. Exceptions to the policy may be made under the provisions and guidelines of the Medical Leave Sharing Policy, Policy 238.1. Personal Time Off will not accrue while a Regular Full-time Employee or Regular Part-time Employee is on leave of absence without pay. Accrued and unused Personal Time Off may be used, subject to Department Head and Human Resources Director approvals, to supplement Catastrophic Leave if the Regular Full-time Employee or Regular Part-time Employee has exhausted his/her Catastrophic Leave. Paid holidays that occur during periods of Personal Time Off are not charged to the employee Personal Time Off balance. III. ADMINISTRATION 1) Department Managers are responsible for managing the Personal Time Off schedules in their departments and for administering the provisions of this policy. 2) The County Manager shall approve all Personal Time Off schedules for Division Directors and other direct administrative support staff. 3) Division Directors will approve all Personal Time Off requests for direct Department Managers and other administrative support staff. 4) Department Managers will approve all Personal Time Off requests for department staff and direct reports. 5) It is recommended that a Division Director and the next ranking Department Manager not take Personal Time Off at the same time.