ARTICLE 36
VACATION

36.1          Vacations shall be taken by the last payroll period of the calendar year in which the vacation was credited.  Effective upon ratification of the labor agreement,  employees shall be allowed to carryover two hundred (200) hours of the previous year's credited vacation.  Any excess vacation over the two hundred (200) hours allowed carryover shall be forfeited after January 1st.  Employees who have been carried on full disability the entire previous year shall be paid for all excess vacation over two hundred (200) hours at the rate of pay the employee was earning at the time the employee was placed on full disability.  If an employee is unable to take a previously authorized vacation due to cancellation by his Department, any hours in excess of the two hundred (200) hours which would have been forfeited shall be paid for at the employee's January 1, hourly rate of pay.

36.2          Effective January 1, 1987, the maximum accrual of vacation shall be one hundred and sixty (160) hours, provided however, bargaining unit employees with ten (10) years of service but less than fifteen (15) years shall be allowed to accrue one hundred and eighty (180) hours and employees with fifteen (15) years of service or more as of January 1, 1987, shall be allowed to continue the accrual of vacation in accordance with  Civil Service Rules and Regulations (Ordinance No. 8977).  The crediting of vacation leave shall only be allowed upon the completion of the required years of actual continuous service.

36.3          An employee’s annual vacation accrual shall be reduced for leaves of absence without pay and suspensions.  The employee’s annual vacation accrual shall be reduced on a yearly basis in accordance with the following schedule:

Work Hours Lost Without Pay                                          Penalty

88        thru      176      Hours                     1       month annual vacation accrual

177      thru      349      Hours                     2      months annual vacation accrual

350      thru      522      Hours                     3      months annual vacation accrual

523      thru      695      Hours                     4      months annual vacation accrual

696      thru      868      Hours                     5      months annual vacation accrual

869      thru      1041    Hours                     6      months annual vacation accrual

1042    thru      1214    Hours                     7      months annual vacation accrual

1215    thru      1387    Hours                     8      months annual vacation accrual

1388    thru      1560    Hours                     9      months annual vacation accrual

1561    thru      1733    Hours                     10    months annual vacation accrual

1734    thru      1906    Hours                     11    months annual vacation accrual

1907    thru      2080    Hours                     12    months annual vacation accrual

36.4          Vacation leave must be requested twenty-four (24) hours in advance of use and shall be taken in increments of not less than one (1) hour.  Vacation leave may be granted by the Department Director or designee on an emergency basis.  Should such request be denied, the employee may only appeal such denial to the City Manager or the Labor Relations Officer. Upon an employee’s retirement or separation from City service, the employee will be paid for those vacation hours credited and earned through the employee’s separation date.

36.5          Effective January 2003, the vacation balances for bargaining unit employees shall be credited, on a one time basis, by fourteen (14) hours.

36.6          Effective January 2003, vacation accrual rates for employees hired prior to January 1, 1987 shall be increased by fourteen (14) hours.

36.7          Effective January 2003, employees hired on or after January 1, 1987 shall accrue vacation in accordance with the following schedule:

1      -        5 years       -         94 hours

6      -      10 years       -       114 hours

11     -      15 years       -       134 hours

16     -      20 years       -       174 hours

36.8          Vacation shall be calculated on actual service in the previous calendar year and shall only be taken after the completion of six (6) months of actual continuous service.