ARTICLE
VI: LEAVE RULES, REGULATIONS AND
PROCEDURES
SECTION A: Short
Term compensated and uncompensated LEAVES AND sabbaticals
All leaves granted under
these provisions will be in units of full days or half days. Provisions and procedures for requesting and
reporting use of different types of leave are:
1.
Sick Leave
a.
At the beginning
of each school year, each employee shall be credited with an advance sick leave
allowance equal to ten (10) days. Should the employee leave the SPS prior to
the end of the contract year, or become a part-time employee, the employee’s
sick leave will be prorated to reflect actual time worked.
b.
For employees
hired after the beginning of the school year, one (1) day of sick leave shall be deemed earned during the first
month of employment if work commences on or before the 15th day of the month.
c.
When an employee
is quarantined by a Health Officer of Competent Jurisdiction, the employee may
utilize his/her sick leave; provided however, that the quarantine is a result
of the fact that the employee is ill, the employee has a communicable disease,
or the employee is unable to be inoculated because he/she is allergic to the
respective vaccine. Employees who choose
not to be inoculated, for whatever reason, may choose 1) leave without pay or,
2) to use their personal leave.
d.
Employees may
accrue sick leave in accordance with State law. Employees may cash out sick
leave in accordance with State law.
e.
Sick Leave may
be used for absence caused by illness, injury, medical disability (including
that caused by childbearing), poor health of the employee, child care to the
extent required by law, or an emergency caused by family illness, where no
reasonable alternative is available to the employee. An employee’s position will be held for his/her
return to work for as long as the employee is off work on sick leave plus a
twenty-five (25) workday grace period after the exhaustion of his/her accrued
sick leave. If the employee qualifies for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
benefits, his/her position will be held for her/his return for the period of
time covered by the FMLA or the end of the 25 day grace period, whichever is
longer. Employees who are or will be out of their assignments on sick leave for
ten (10) consecutive days must submit a written application for Leave for
Health Condition.
f. For the
purposes of the FMLA, the twelve (12) weeks of eligibility period begins with
the first day of paid or unpaid sick leave used for a purpose allowed under
FMLA. SPS considers the submission of a
leave application to be notice that the employee may need FMLA benefits. SPS
may require an employee to provide medical verification before the leave is
approved.
g.
The supervisor may request a
conference with the employee if he/she is concerned about the employee’s sick
leave usage. If the employee’s absences
continue, the supervisor may require that the employee provide medical
certification for future sick leave absences.
2. Personal
Leave: Employees will receive two (2) days per year of Personal Leave for situations
which require absence during school hours for purposes of transacting or
attending to personal or legal business, or family matters. The leave shall be granted with full pay
during the work year. One or both of
these days can be used for religious observance. Unused personal leave will be converted and
added to the employee’s sick leave accrual at the end of the fiscal year.
3.
The procedures
for obtaining sick or personal leave are as follows:
a.
An employee who
anticipates the need for taking short term leave shall notify her/his
supervisor at least three (3) working days before taking the leave.
b. In cases of personal emergency or personal illness
when it is not possible to give three (3) days notice, the employee shall
notify her/his supervisor as soon as possible.
c. The employee must make proper arrangement for a
substitute, if he/she works in a position for which a pool of substitutes
exists.
d.
The employee
must keep the supervisor informed about the expected duration of her/his leave
and/or his/her expected return date.
e.
Fridays and
Mondays, particularly those associated with a holiday weekend, are generally
those days which have the highest demand for substitutes and often the
Substitute Office cannot fill all requests for substitutes. Employees are encouraged not to request
personal leave on Fridays or in conjunction with holiday weekends. In the case of an emergency, the SPS will
attempt to provide a substitute, but in the cases where no substitutes are
available, the buildings will not be reimbursed by the SPS for the lack of
substitutes.
f. Upon return from short term leave the employee is
responsible for entering the absence
into the District’s time and attendance system to ensure accurate time
accounting and payroll processing.
g.
Employees who
fail to notify their supervisor of their leave status and/or fail to return to
work after the expiration of any leave will be subject to progressive
discipline for failure to follow leave procedures and/or job abandonment unless
a written medical reason from a health care provider is submitted to the
District prior to the scheduled return date.
a.
Employees who
retire shall be entitled, upon written request to the SPS's Payroll Services,
to compensation for all unused Sick Leave up to the one hundred and eighty (180)
day maximum at the ratio of 4:1 at their per diem rate.
b. On or before January 31 or the last business day of
January, employees may elect to be compensated at the ratio of 4:1 at their per
diem rate for Sick Leave accumulated in excess of sixty (60) days which was
earned but unused during the previous calendar year.
c.
The continuation
of the Sick Leave Buy Back Program is contingent upon maintenance of the
authorization in RCW 28A.400.210.
5.
Leave Sharing:
The SPS agrees to maintain a leave sharing plan that conforms to law. Shared leave will be used only for the purpose
of maintaining salary and insurance benefits.
The length of time a position is held for the employee’s return will not
be extended by the use of shared leave.
Employees
who are on a leave of absence due to injuries or occupational illness which
resulted from the employee performing contracted professional duties shall be
provided by the SPS, as a self-insured employer for Worker's Compensation,
continuation of salary without loss of sick leave during the period of
disability caused by an injury on duty in compliance with the terms of the
Industrial Insurance Laws of the State of Washington. The injuries or occupational illness
occurring as a result of the employee performing contracted professional
services are subject to certification by a duly qualified physician. The employee
will be eligible for continuation of salary without loss of pay for sixty days exclusive
of using earned leaves to bring the total compensation to 100% of
pre-disability compensation. After 60 days the employee may use remaining
accumulated paid leaves to bring total compensation to 100% of pre-disability
until the paid leave runs out. After sixty (60) days or when earned leaves run
out, whichever occurs later, the employee will receive the statutory benefit.
a.
The employee
shall promptly complete a Self-Insurer Accident Report claim form with the
assistance of the supervisor of the work location where the injury occurred, in
accordance with SPS insurance procedures.
The employee shall file a claim for occupational illness on an
appropriate form, in accordance with SPS and State insurance procedures.
b.
The employee
shall conform to the requirements of the Industrial Insurance Laws of the State
of
c.
The employee
shall return to contracted professional duties when deemed fit by the
employee's attending physician in accordance with the Industrial Insurance
Laws, with the concurrence of the SPS's appointed medical officer. At the time of return to work, Time Loss
Compensation benefits for absence due to injury on duty or occupational illness
shall cease.
d.
The SEA and SPS
will do a joint study of this section to determine the usage, cost, and the
impacts of paying up to 100% of the disability cost for sixy (60) days.
Up
to three (3) days Bereavement Leave will be granted for each occurrence of
death in the employee's immediate family.
In cases where emergency factors or long distances are involved, the
employee may request up to two (2) additional days leave. The requests should be sent to the employee's
immediate supervisor.
a.
Bereavement
Leave shall be granted with full pay during the work year.
b.
For the purpose
of Bereavement Leave, immediate family is defined to include mother, father,
sister, brother, husband, wife, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandchild,
grandparent, aunt, uncle or anyone who is living with or considered part of the
family.
c.
Bereavement
Leave will be granted only for days immediately following the death and days
directly linked to a formal observance of the death (e.g., a funeral or
memorial service).
8. Attendance
at the Legislature:
Upon
specific request of a Washington State legislative committee and his/her
professional organization which is sent
to Human Resources and approved by the appropriate executive l level
administrator, an employee may be absent for one (1) day only to give
information at a committee meeting at the Legislature. In the event a hearing is postponed or
extended, upon request an additional day or days may be approved. When the leave is approved, the employee will
receive full pay and he/she or the organization he/she represents pay for the
substitute's salary.
Employees
may serve as jurors in accordance with State and federal laws.
a.
Arrangements for
the necessary temporary leave shall be made through the supervisor.
b.
Employees who
serve as jurors during the work year shall receive full pay, provided that
any/all jury or subpoena fees received for the service is remitted to the SPS
upon receipt.
c.
Any
transportation, meal or lodging expense reimbursement shall be retained by the
employee. The employee will provide the
SPS in writing an accounting breakdown of the daily jury/subpoena fee and the
transportation, meals, and lodging monies that will be reimbursed to the
employee in accordance with current SPS policy.
10.
Mandatory Court
or Subpoenaed Appearances:
To
the extent possible, all leaves under this Article VI,A,6 shall be scheduled
outside of the school year. Upon request
to the building principal/program manager or supervisor, leave may be granted
for an employee to appear pursuant to a lawful subpoena or summons or as a
party plaintiff or defendant, according to the following:
a. When the
employee's appearance is essential to or on behalf of SPS interests, leave shall be with full pay.
b. For appearances
in which the employee's appearance is adversarial to SPS interests, leave shall be without pay.
c. For
appearances unrelated to SPS interests but in which the employee is a party,
leave shall be with full pay,
provided that the employee shall pay to the SPS the full cost of his/her substitute.
d. For
appearances unrelated to the SPS and in which the employee is a disinterested witness or participant, leave shall be with
full pay, provided that any witness fees paid to the employee shall be returned to the SPS.
Adoption
Leave shall be granted with pay on a temporary basis upon application to Human
Resources to either or both parents in order to complete the adoption process,
providing the leave does not exceed an aggregate of seven (7) days in any given
year. The temporary leave may be used
for court and legal procedures, home study and evaluation, and required home
visitation by the adoption agency.
12.
Attendance at
Meetings and Conferences:
a. Categories
of leaves which are permitted without salary deductions under this section are
as follows:
1) Substitute educator
and necessary expenses paid by the SPS.
This category applies to employees authorized by the Board to represent
the SPS at important educational conferences.
2) Substitute educators
paid by the SPS; necessary expenses paid by the employee or outside agency.
This category applies to employees authorized by the Board to represent the SPS
at important educational conferences.
3) The SEA
will be provided a pool of three hundred and twenty (320) substitute days
during each school year paid for by the SPS, provided that no expenses shall be
paid for by the SPS. The pool of days
shall be shared by the three (3) bargaining units represented by the SEA (i.e.,
SEA, SAEOP and Paraprofessional Staff).
This category applies to officers or members of the SEA who are engaged
in activities necessary for the organization to fulfill its legal
responsibility of bargaining representative for employees. The SPS recognizes
this release of the officers is of direct benefit to the SPS and is enacted in
full accordance with the law.
4) Substitute educators
paid by the employee or his/her sponsor; no expenses paid by the SPS.
This category applies to employees or members of the organization sponsoring
the conference or meeting and who have been authorized to represent their local
organization. Reimbursement to the SPS
for the cost of the substitute is required.
b. Categories of leaves which are permitted with salary deductions
under this section are as follows:
1) Up to two
(2) weeks leave (10 working days) for other causes (without pay) may be granted
upon application to the building principal/program manger and approval by the appropriate
executive level administrator/department director for reasons which are compelling
and of substantial value to the employee and cause no serious disruption to the
educational program.
2) Leaves beyond
ten (10) working days will be submitted to the appropriate executive level
administrator for regular SPS processing.
a.
Any leave
requested for days which are normally contracted but fall on days that school
is not open due to inclement weather shall not be charged to the employee.
b.
The SPS shall
distribute a copy of its inclement weather/school closure policy to all
employees on an annual basis.
c.
After a decision
has been made to close a building for the remainder of the day, the
principal/program manager or his/her designee shall inform the employees.
d.
Principals/program
managers shall use a reasonable standard to release employees after students
are dismissed.
e.
Principals/program
managers will initially request volunteers to meet the operational needs of the
building before requesting employees to remain.
f.
When schools are
opened late, employees will report to work at least thirty (30) minutes prior
to students.
a.
The purpose of
the Sabbatical Leave program in the Seattle Schools is to encourage employees
to engage in programs of professional improvement by offering them help to meet
a part of the financial outlay involved in advanced study. Programs that will
provide the employee with endorsements or enhancements in hard to fill
assignments will receive preference. SEA
and SPS annually will determine hard to fill assignments.
b.
The Sabbatical
Leave program shall be available to all employees represented by SEA. The SPS shall not discriminate against
Sabbatical Leave applicants due to position on the salary schedule or class of
employee.
c.
The employee’s
Sabbatical Leave activity is identified as a leave for study purposes involving
enrollment in a recognized university or college program.
d. Application for
Sabbatical Leave shall be secured from and returned to Human Resources. The SPS Leave Committee, which shall include
three (3) persons appointed by the SEA, will present their recommendations
relative to Sabbatical Leaves to Human Resources for final processing. Detailed information regarding the
application process and deadlines is included in the application forms which
are available in Human Resources, and shall be consistent with the Agreement.
e.
The deadline
date to apply for Sabbatical Leave is the first regularly scheduled business
day in March. Decisions regarding whether an employee receives a sabbatical
will be conveyed to applicants on or about April 1. The deadline for
notification may be extended by SEA/SPS in unusual budget situations.
f.
Eligibility for
Sabbatical Leave shall be determined by the following criteria:
1) At least seven (7) years of full-time contract or
contract equivalent service, four of which are consecutive immediately prior to
the leave, in the SPS as an employee. A
leave of absence (without pay) of less than one (1) semester will not
invalidate the application. When
requesting sabbaticals to acquire an endorsement in a hard to fill position,
the seven (7) year service requirement will be reduced to five (5) years.
2) The total value of Sabbatical Leaves that may be
granted in one (1) year shall not exceed a total cost of $327,454. Up to one half
(1/2) of the budgeted allocation for Sabbatical Leaves may be utilized to support
the program to assist SEA-represented classified employees in acquiring a teaching
or ESA certificate. If budgeted funds
have not all been allocated to traditional sabbaticals, the remaining funds may
be used to initiate the certification program early. The program, found in
Article II Section C, will be administered in accordance with the procedures
and policies established by the SEA/SPS.
3) The process for recommending Sabbatical Leave
applicants for Board approval shall include evaluating the applicant’s proposed
plan according to the following criteria; this criteria and process will be
reviewed by the Professional Development Steering Committee which will
recommend amendment(s), if any to the SEA/SPS:
a)
The value of the applicant’s plan to the SPS as evaluated by his/her
division head;
b)
The clarity of the plan in the applicant’s written proposal;
c)
The plan in relation to the applicant’s present or near future
assignments;
d)
The consideration of fellowship or scholarship grants already awarded to
the applicant at the time of submission of
his/her sabbatical proposal.
g.
The terms of the
Sabbatical Leave shall be as follows:
1) The stipend for employees granted Sabbatical Leave
shall be fifty percent (50%) of the employee’s contract salary for the period
during which the Sabbatical Leave is taken.
2) The amount received from supplementary scholarship
grants shall not affect the amount of the SPS sabbatical stipend.
3) An employee on Sabbatical Leave may engage in
employment other than that associated with his/her pursuance of an advanced
degree of additional college work, i.e., teaching fellowships, teaching
assistantships, etc., without a reduction in sabbatical stipend, provided that
the Executive Director of Human Resources or designee approves the employment
plans.
4) The employee agrees that the plan as approved shall
be followed unless changes are approved in advance by the Executive Director of
Human Resources.
5) Study plans require a minimum of eight (8) hours per
quarter of study in an institution of higher education, including those
registered for thesis or dissertation.
Credits must be earned during the period of the leave itself, not during
summer terms.
6) The employee agrees to make a written report to the
Professional Development Office on return from Sabbatical Leave.
7) The employee agrees to return for two (2) years of
employment following Sabbatical Leave.
Failure to return for the full first year will be cause for return of
the entire amount of the stipend to the SPS.
Termination at any time during the second year of the employment
obligation period will be cause for one-half (1/2) of the stipend to be
returned. Employees on Sabbatical Leave
who are terminated or non-renewed and are not rehired because of insufficient
funding shall not be required to return any portion of their Sabbatical Leave
stipend.
8) Employees returning from Sabbatical Leave shall
normally be returned to the same positions.
If a change of position is requested by the employee, if the position
has become non-existent, or if it is necessary to fill the positions with a
more senior employee, an employee returning from Sabbatical Leave shall return
to a comparable position.
9) The SPS agrees to maintain the seniority and salary
rights of the employee during the period of leave.
10) An employee shall not be eligible to apply for
another Sabbatical Leave until seven (7) years of contract service have elapsed
after the former leave, unless the leave was for less than a full academic
year, in which case he/she shall be eligible for leave equal to the unused
portion of the academic year.
SECTION B: Long
Term Uncompensated Leaves
1.
Leave for Health
Condition: Health leave without pay and
paid sick leave (with the exception of child bearing leave) are used
concurrently for the purpose of determining eligibility and the rights afforded
under the Family Medical Leave Act.
a.
An employee who
is unable to perform his/her duties because of medical disability shall be
eligible for, upon his/her request and physician's verification, a leave
without pay for the duration of disability up to one (1) year.
b.
Employees who
are out of their assignments for health reasons or who use 10 consecutive days
of sick leave must submit a written leave application to Human Resources at
that time. Approval will be granted if
the employee has provided medical certification that he/she is unable to
perform the essential functions of his/her job, and has signed a medical
release that allows SPS to communicate with his/her medical provider regarding
information relevant to the leave request approval process. When SPS considers it necessary to verify the
need for health leave, the employee may be required to be examined by a SPS
appointed medical officer. Any visit to
a SPS appointed medical officer shall be at SPS expense, including documented
mileage and parking.
c.
Leaves for
Health Condition will be granted, without pay, for up to one (1) year. An employee may apply for an additional year upon
written request and with medical verification to Human Resources. An employee who has been granted Leave for
Health Condition for two years or less will be returned to service, when
cleared by their physician, by applying for vacancies and being selected
through the site-based hiring process.
If there is no assignment available through the site-based process, the
employee may substitute at substitute pay.
If no assignment is available, the employee will be placed in the
displacement pool for the upcoming school year. The employee's return to
service must be approved by Human Resources, the employee's personal physician,
and when deemed appropriate, a SPS appointed medical officer.
d.
Except in
extraordinary circumstances, Leaves for Health Conditions for more than two
years will not be approved by Human Resources.
In the event an employee has been on leave for more than two years she/he
may request a return to service at a time other than the start of a school year
by applying for vacancies and being selected through the site-based hiring
process. If there is no assignment
available through the site-based process, the employee’s right to return is
based on the availability of a position for which he/she is qualified and for
which there is no qualified employee in the displacement pool. Employees who have been on leave for more
than two (2) years will also go through new employee orientation, when
available, and be assigned a mentor, when available, to assist in the
transition back to employment.
e.
Seniority is
retained but not accumulated, while on Unpaid Leave for Health Condition. No increment is allowed for the year(s) when
an employee is on Leave for Health Condition.
f.
An employee
whose performance has been evaluated unsatisfactory, placed on a plan of
improvement or placed on probation prior to Leave for Health Condition will be
returned with the same status and same supervisor and same position, if
possible, if the position exists upon completion of the leave.
g.
Employees using unpaid
leave may continue insurance coverage for twelve (12) months by self-paying the
entire premium, if allowed by the insurance carrier.
h.
An employee who
has been released by his/her medical provider to return from health leave on a
part-time basis may apply for a partial leave of absence subject to the
approval of her/his supervisor and Human Resources. Partial leaves for health reasons will only
be approved for a total of two (2) years, including the time the employee was
on full-time leave. For purposes of
eligibility for leave renewal, each year of partial leave will be counted the
same as if it were a full-time leave.
2.
Child Care Leave:
a.
Child Care Leave,
without pay, will be granted after the birth of a child for the remainder of a
school year or until the end of the next school year and shall be exclusive of
rights under FMLA or the period of physical disability (childbearing leave). Other arrangements for returning from leave
during a school year may be agreed to by the supervisor, Human Resources and
the employee.
b.
An employee
requesting to return from Child Care Leave must submit a written request to Human
Resources:
1) An employee requesting to return to duty at the
beginning of the next school year will be placed in the displaced pool and
staffed accordingly.
2) The employee who requests to return to duty during
the school year may apply for vacancies through the site-based hiring
process. If there is no assignment
available through the site-based process, the employee may substitute at
substitute pay.
c.
Male and female
employees are eligible to receive Child Care Leave without pay.
d.
Child Care Leave
without pay is available to parents or guardians of natural or adopted
children.
e.
Employees using
leave for a year may continue insurance coverage by self-paying the entire
premium, if allowed by the insurance carrier.
3.
Other Long-term
Leaves Without Pay:
a.
Human Resources
may grant other long term leaves without pay to those employees who have a
continuing contract and who have completed two (2) full years with SPS
immediately prior to the leave. Human
Resources will not approve more than one (1) year of these types of leave
without pay, regardless of whether the leave is less than the employee’s
contracted FTE. Exceptions to the one year limitation may be granted for leaves
to serve in the Peace Corps, childcare or other programs with specific terms.
These leaves may be granted for professional growth or education, employment
opportunities (other than teaching in another school district, state or foreign
country), serving in a public office, study or travel, professional experience
or other purposes approved by Human Resources.
b.
Employees using
leave for a year may continue insurance coverage by self-paying the entire
premium, if allowed by the insurance carrier.
c.
The employee
granted the leave must intend to return to the SPS.
d.
In times of
financial difficulty, Human Resources shall extend leaves to those employees
requesting them on a case by case basis.
e.
Deadline for
Notification of Intent to take a leave: Any employee desiring a leave of
absence has the responsibility to inform Human Resources in writing as early as
possible but no later than the first business day in March prior to the year
the leave is desired. Approval or
rejection of the request will be provided within 20 work days of receipt of a
completed application by Human Resources.
f.
Deadline for Notification
of Intent to Return: On or before the first business day in March of the year
the leave of absence occurs, Human Resources must receive written confirmation
of an employee’s intent to return. An employee’s failure to confirm his/her
return will be considered a resignation from employment from the SPS.
g.
Long term leave
without pay will not be granted to any employee who is on a performance
improvement plan, probation, or currently subject to disciplinary action.
4.
Placement Upon
Return from Leave:
a.
An employee who
has been on leave for two (2) years or less may request a return to service at
a time other than the start of a school year by applying for vacancies and
being selected through the site-based hiring process. If there is no assignment available through
the site-based process, the employee may substitute at substitute pay. If no assignment is available and the
employee has made the request to return to service before March 1, the employee
will be placed in the displacement pool for the upcoming school year. An employee on leave or returning from leave
is subject to Reduction In Force provisions.
b.
In the event an
employee has been on leave for more than two (2) years, he/she may request a
return to service at a time other than the start of a school year by applying
for vacancies and being selected through the site-based hiring process. If there is no assignment available through
the site-based process, the employee’s right to return is based on the
availability of a position for which she/he is qualified and for which there is
no qualified employee in the displacement pool.
Employees who have been on leave for more than two (2) years will also
go through new employee orientation and be assigned a mentor, when available,
to assist in the transition back to employment.
c.
On returning
from leave, the employee will receive experience credit and earned clock hours
or credits for those leaves and classes that are accepted for experience or
salary schedule credit by OSPI. Accumulated sick leave will be restored upon
return from leave.
d.
An employee
seeking election to public office shall take a leave of absence without pay for
the time his/her campaign duties interfere with the orderly performance of
his/her SPS duties and responsibilities.
In no event shall the leave of absence begin later than the opening of
school in September for a candidate for an office, the election for which will
be held either in the primary or general election. Excluded from this requirement are elections
for offices that do not create a conflict of interest or positions which do not
interfere with the performance of the employee's position. When an employee is
elected to or appointed to a salaried public office or position that precludes
rendering normal contractual service to the SPS, he/she shall resign from the District
or apply for a temporary leave of absence without pay from the SPS.
5.
Military Leave
and Service Credit:
Military
Leave of Absence and Service Credit is provided to the extent required by and
consistent with law. Employees called to
active duty will be provided all rights in accordance with the Uniformed
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Leave
for military training duty of up to fifteen (15) calendar days leave per year, or
the amount required by law, will be granted with pay for reservists ordered to
active training duty, provided, that any
reservist shall present evidence to the SPS that he/she made all
reasonable efforts to arrange for the active training duty during the summer
months or other school vacation period.
The request for training must be submitted to Human Resources for
processing.
6.
Failure to
Return from Long-Term Leave
Failure
to return at the expiration of any leave will terminate the employee’s
employment contract with SPS unless a written medical certification is
submitted to SPS prior to the scheduled return date.
SECTION
C: Leave for SEA Officers
1.
The SPS shall
make appropriate leave provisions for officers of the SEA to carry out
activities necessary for the organization to fulfill its legal responsibility
of bargaining representative of employees.
The SPS and the SEA recognize that these leave provisions for SEA
officers are provided to meet the organization's representation
responsibilities. Financial arrangements
for this leave shall be consistent with the provisions of Chapter 41.59
RCW. The SEA shall provide legal defense
including attorneys and agrees to indemnify and to defend the SPS and its
representatives and hold each and all of them harmless from any and all claims,
liabilities or costs which arise out of entering into or enforcement of this
Section. The SPS agrees not to bring
suit to invalidate this Section.
2.
Leave Provisions
for Officers:
a.
The president
and executive vice-president of the SEA shall be provided leave for the school
years for which he/she is elected, without loss of salary, stipend, or fringe
benefits, subject to full monthly reimbursement to the SPS.
b.
At a mutually
agreed upon date following election to office, the incoming president-elect for
the ensuing school year shall be provided leave for the remainder of the school
year, without loss of salary, stipend, or fringe benefits, subject to full
monthly reimbursement to the SPS.
c.
Bargaining Unit
employees who were or are elected to serve as officers of the SEA in a full
time or regular part time position, shall be granted a leave of absence for the
duration of their term of office. The
SEA shall notify the SPS in writing and request the leave of absence on behalf
of the employee(s). The SPS shall
acknowledge the request in writing. The
SPS shall make retirement contributions on the employee’s behalf in accordance
with applicable laws and regulations contingent upon being fully reimbursed by
the SEA.
d.
Officers who are
granted a leave of absence in accordance with this Section C shall retain their
seniority rights and shall be entitled to a salary increment if they would have
otherwise been eligible for the advancement on the salary schedule and any
other contractual considerations granted to other employees covered by the
Collective Bargaining Agreement. [This
is retroactive to (1992-93) for Teachers' Retirement System Plan I, (TRS-II,
TRS-III).]
3.
Conditions for
Released Time:
The
officers of the SEA who have been provided leave pursuant to Chapter 41.59 RCW
shall resume duties with the SPS at the conclusion of the term of office,
unless re-elected to the same or another office. Upon return to duty, the officers who have
been released shall be entitled to a position comparable to his/her previous
position with the SPS. The officers shall retain the same position on the
salary schedule and receive an increment if eligible and not already at the
maximum in the salary lane. The SPS agrees to maintain accumulated sick leave,
retirement, and seniority rights for the officers during the period of the
leave.
4.
Special Requests
for Released Time:
a.
Requests by the
SEA for SPS staff members to be released for a period not to exceed five (5)
consecutive days as special consultants to participate directly in a collective
bargaining session on a specific proposal or issue, when the consultant's
particular expertise would contribute to the development of a full
consideration of the matter being discussed, shall be in writing to the SPS. Copies of written requests for released time
shall be presented to the Executive Director of Human Resources or his/her
designee, Labor Relations, and administrative supervisor as soon as possible,
but not less than three (3) working days prior to the date of release. The requests will be reviewed by the SPS, and
when released time is provided it shall be subject to reimbursement to the SPS
for the cost of any necessary substitute.
b.
Requests by the
SEA for alternate or additional individual SPS staff members to be released
during the school year for a sustained time to participate directly in
collective bargaining sessions shall be in writing to the SPS. Written requests for released time shall be
presented to the Executive Director of Human Resources or his/her designee, Labor
Relations, and administrative supervisor as soon as possible, but not less than
three (3) working days prior to the date of release. The request will be reviewed by the SPS, and
when approved the SPS shall provide leave, subject to reimbursement to the SPS
for the full cost of the substitute, when necessary.
c.
The cost of
daily rate substitutes for SPS staff members released for short terms to serve
as consultants to or representatives for the SEA shall be reimbursed to the SPS
by the SEA.