06.62 EMPLOYEE LEAVE

• Professional leave may be requested to attend professional development activities outside of the Great Plains Technology Center’s district by using the leave recording system.
• Professional leave requests should be made far enough in advance to allow the appropriate administrator or designee to approve or deny the request.
• Professional leave must be approved in advance, prior to use.

Sick leave available to Great Plains Technology Center employees will consist of:

• 80 hours per year for ten (10) month employees
• 96 hours per year for twelve (12) month employees

Employees will be paid at their regular rate of pay for sick leave that is requested and approved.

Sick leave will accrue on the first day of each fiscal year, carried over to the next fiscal year, and permitted to accumulate up to 1,120 hours.

Employees who are employed later than the first month of the fiscal year will accrue, on the first day of employment, prorated sick leave over the remainder of the fiscal year.

Sick leave accumulating beyond the 1,120-hour maximum will be transferred to the employee’s sick leave bank. Sick leave accumulating in the employee’s sick leave bank may be used to count toward years of service upon retirement.

Should an employee experience their own extraordinary circumstances resulting in the employee exhausting all available leave, the employee may submit a request to the board to transfer sick leave bank days to the employee’s active sick leave account.

Employees may request sick leave due to personal or family accidental injury, illness, or pregnancy. Requests to attend funerals may use any type of available leave. Sick leave requests exceeding five (5) consecutive working days must be certified in writing by a medical professional. Certification/release prior to or following sick leave may also be required at any time at the discretion of the Superintendent.

If, after exhausting all sick leave, an employee is absent due to personal or family accidental injury, illness, or pregnancy, the employee shall receive their regular salary, up to a maximum of twenty (20) days per fiscal year, less either:

• the amount actually paid his/her substitute instructor, if a certified/non-certified substitute instructor or substitute is hired; or 
• the amount normally paid for a certified/non-certified substitute instructor, if a certified/noncertified substitute instructor or substitute is not hired

Cumulative sick leave shall be transferable to another school district where the employee is employed the next succeeding school year; provided that the number of days transferred shall not exceed the maximum days permitted by the receiving district and that such transferred days shall be used first in the case of illness and, provided further that if the receiving district pays employees for unused sick leave upon retirement or termination of contract then said payments shall be for only those days accumulated in the receiving district.

The board of education of the sending district shall certify the exact number of days eligible for transfer.

Employees requesting planned sick leave should request sick leave by using the leave recording system as soon as practical.

Full-time classroom instructional employees of the technology center who have been employed by the center for at least one year and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the preceding 12-month period shall be entitled to six (6) weeks of paid maternity leave following the birth of the employee’s child. The six (6) weeks of paid maternity leave shall be used immediately following the birth of the employee’s child. The six (6) weeks of maternity leave shall be in addition to and not in place of sick leave due to pregnancy pursuant to 70 O.S. § 6-104. A technology center employee taking maternity leave pursuant to this policy, not be deprived of any compensation or other benefits to which the employee is otherwise entitled. Any paid leave taken pursuant to this policy will be designated as FMLA leave, of applicable, and will run concurrently with FMLA protected leave. Eligible employees using maternity leave under this policy may use up to six weeks of accrued sick leave to extend their maternity leave provided the eligible employee has sufficient sick leave to cover the extended duration. This additional maternity leave time shall not exceed six weeks unless a licensed medical professional provides written certification recommending additional leave for medical necessity related to the employee’s recovery from childbirth or care for a newborn. Eligible employees seeking to use sick leave to extend the duration of their maternity leave shall notify the district in accordance with FMLA.

The district shall file claims with the State Board of Education for reimbursement of expenses related to providing eligible employees with paid maternity leave.

With regard to any shared sick leave program which is currently offered or which may be offered in the future by the technology center, provided maternity leave must be used prior to any shared sick leave available under the center’s program.

Two weeks of paid paternity/maternity leave for all staff not already eligible for state mandated 6 weeks (classroom teachers).

Great Plains Technology Center employees may request personal leave to attend to personal business matters without loss of pay and without using annual leave.

Personal leave available to Great Plains Technology Center employees will consist of:

• 24 hours per school year for ten (10) month employees
• 28 hours per school year for twelve (12) month employees

Personal leave accrues on the first day of employment for the year and may be prorated based on the date of employment. Unused personal leave will be forfeited at the end of the year.

Employees will be paid at their regular rate of pay for approved personal leave.

Personal leave requests should be reserved for instances of pressing personal matters that must be attended to during working hours and cannot be attended to after working hours or non- working days.

Requesting Planned Personal Leave

All personal leave must be requested by using the leave recording system. Personal leave should be requested at least 24 hours in advance, unless extenuating circumstances prevent such a request.

Annual leave available to Great Plains Technology Center twelve (12) month employees will consist of:

• 6 hours and 40 minutes accrued per month

Annual leave can be accrued and carried over into the next fiscal year. Annual leave over 200 hours on July 1 must be used by December 31 or will be forfeited.

If an employee terminates their employment with Great Plains Technology Center, the maximum amount of annual leave that may be paid to the employee as cash will be 120 unused hours.

Annual leave must be requested by using the leave recording system. Annual leave should be requested at least 24 hours in advance, unless extenuating circumstances prevent such a request. Annual leave may be denied if it is in the best interest of the school.

In the event that an employee needs to be absent from work for sick, personal or annual leave without prior notice, the employee must notify the appropriate administrator, designee or receptionist at least 30 minutes before their scheduled report time on the day of absence.

When notifying the appropriate administrator, designee or school receptionist to request unplanned leave, the employee must provide necessary directions for a substitute, including the location of lesson plans, assignments, roll book, keys, etc., if applicable.

If an employee must be absent for more than one day on unplanned leave, the employee must notify the administrator, designee or receptionist before 3:00 PM of unavailability for the next day in order to retain a substitute, if applicable.

If the employee returns without notifying the school and the substitute has been retained an additional day, the employee will be charged leave.

It is the responsibility of each employee and their administrator or designee to keep track of their leave.

If an employee’s approved leave plans change, it is the employee’s responsibility to notify the appropriate administrator or designee so that leave records may be adjusted accordingly.

To receive pay for any absence, employees must submit a leave request and the appropriate administrator or designee must approve leave through the leave recording system. Full day, approved leave is charged in accordance with the number of hours normally worked on a regular day of employment. Otherwise, leave will be charged in 15-minute increments in the leave recording system.

On early release days, employees already on leave for the day may record the corresponding number hours of leave applicable for early release rather than a full day of hours normally worked.

Any employee absent from their duties without receiving e-mail verification of annual leave, personal leave, professional leave, leave without pay, or without notifying the school in a timely manner of the need to use sick leave, may be subject to disciplinary actions up to and including the loss of pay and/or termination.

Any employee that knowingly uses sick leave or professional leave in a fraudulent manner may be subject to disciplinary actions up to and including loss of pay and/or termination.

To encourage employees not to use sick or personal leave unnecessarily, the board has authorized the payment of a cash incentive for unused sick and personal leave accrued in the current fiscal year.

Incentive pay will be provided to each employee at a rate of $40.00 per day for each full day of sick and personal leave not used during each year, provided funds are available as determined by the superintendent or designee.

Incentive pay will be paid to the employee at the completion of the fiscal year. An employee who terminates their employment, or who is terminated prior to the end of the current fiscal year will not be eligible for incentive pay.

Great Plains Technology Center employees may be absent from their duties at the school for jury service without loss of pay and without using annual or personal leave. When notified to report for jury service, the employee should immediately notify the superintendent, designee or Human Resources.

Great Plains Technology Center will deduct any compensation received for serving as a juror from the employee's salary during such service. A record of days served and compensation received should be reported by the employee to the business office as soon as possible after the employee returns to work.

A Great Plains Technology Center employee who is a member of the Reserve Corps or any component of armed forces called to active duty while under contract to Great Plains Technology Center shall receive full pay during the first 30 days of absence or leave, or such longer period as might be required by law. The employee should immediately notify the superintendent, designee or Human Resources if called to active duty.

When all available leave is exhausted and additional leave is needed, leave of absence without pay may be approved.

Leave of absence from work for a period exceeding 30 calendar days without pay, including designated closures, holidays, etc. will be considered on an individual basis by the board of education for any employee requesting such leave in writing.

Continuation of benefits during an approved leave of absence without pay will be at the discretion of the Board of Education depending on the circumstances surrounding the request.

Great Plains Technology Center employees are encouraged to maintain certification requirements and to advance themselves professionally. It is the policy of Great Plains Technology Center to assist employees in this effort by providing limited release time to attend college classes/seminars.

Employees working on certification requirements or professional improvement may leave school prior to their normal release time or report later than their normal reporting time with the prior written approval of the superintendent or designee.

Employees utilizing the Cameron University tuition waiver may take up to one (1), three (3) credit hour course during scheduled work hours with the supervisor’s approval. If a class is taken during an employee’s scheduled work hours, time must either be made up at a time specified by the superintendent or designee in the Revised Work Schedule section of the tuition waiver form or taken as annual leave. The determination will be at the discretion of the superintendent or designee.

If an employee is approved for release time to attend college classes, which are necessary to gain or maintain certifications required by the school, the employee will not be required to make up the release time granted to the individual. Employees will be required to submit a release time to attend college time off request.

All other employees approved for release time to attend college outside of Cameron University will be required to modify their work schedule to provide the same number of work hours per week as would be required of the employee under normal circumstances or take annual leave. The superintendent or designee must approve the modified work schedule in writing prior to granting release time.

Employees who are full-time employees of the District, as determined by the standard period of labor which is customarily understood to constitute full-time employment for the type of services performed by the employee, and who are also employed a minimum of one hundred seventy- two (172) days, shall be entitled to pay for any time lost when school is closed on account of epidemics or otherwise when an order for such closing has been issued by a health officer authorized by law to issue the order.

A support employee may request a leave of absence to hold office as an officer, director, trustee, or agent of a national, statewide, or technology center employee association. The support employee requesting employee association leave must provide the technology center superintendent, or their designee, with proof of election and proof of the term of office for the national, statewide, or technology center employee association. Proof of election must include certification by the employee association of the date of the election and the results of the election.

The board of education may, in its sole discretion, grant a request for leave of absence under this section, but such leave will be without pay and without benefits granted by the technology center, regardless of whether the benefit is paid by the employee on leave or the association for which the employee is serving as an officer, director, trustee, or agent. If the request for employee association leave is granted, the board of education will provide definitive beginning and end dates for the approved leave of absence.

During the employee association leave period, the employee’s position with the technology center will be maintained without advancement on the minimum salary schedule and without accrual of sick leave, personal business leave, or personal leave. Furthermore, the employee on leave will not accumulate service credit within the Teacher’s Retirement System of Oklahoma. Following the conclusion of a leave of absence approved by the board of education under this section, the employee may return to their former position or a comparable position.

During the leave of absence, the employee granted leave will be prohibited from accessing technology center office space.

All full-time employees are allowed up to four(4) days of bereavement leave each year. An employee may use this leave upon death of an immediate family member.  (Definition of Immediate Family for bereavement leave includes spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, an corresponding relationships by marriage.) Upon approval of the superintendent, bereavement leave may be granted for situations not out-lined above.  Bereavement will only be granted for a death occurring during the duration of the contract.  Bereavement leave shall not accumulate beyond the fiscal year, and the employee will not be entitled to compensation for bereavement leave upon the cessation of employment with GPTC.  Appropriate documentation may be required (funeral program, obituary, etc.).

OKLA. STAT. tit. 70, §6-104; OKLA. STAT. tit. 70, § 6-101.40;