ARTICLE VI - MILITARY LEAVE, FUNERAL LEAVE AND

Chief Engineers, Assistant Chief Engineers, Engineers, Refrigeration Engineers, Firemen, Firemen Helpers, Welders, Pump Room Attendants,

but excluding:

Managerial Executives, Non-Craft Employees, Policemen, Professional Employees, Clerical Employees and Supervisors as defined in Chapter 303, Public Laws of 1968 of New Jersey, and all others.

2.1 The Employer agrees to deduct monthly Union membership dues from the pay of those Employees who individually request in writing that such deductions be made. The amounts to be deducted shall be certified to the County by the Treasurer of the Union, and the aggregate deductions of all Employees shall be remitted together with an itemized statement to the Treasurer by the 15th of the current month, after such deductions are made.

2.2 Any written designation to terminate authorization for check-off must be received in writing by the Employer and Union, and filing of notice of withdrawal shall be effective to halt deductions as of the January 1st or July 1st next succeeding the date on which notice of withdrawal is filed.

2.3 The County shall deduct Union initiation fees from the pay of Employees in the same manner, and subject to the same authorization requirements, as are monthly membership dues.

2.4 The Union agrees to indemnify and hold the County harmless against any liability, cause of action or claims of loss whatsoever arising as a result of the deductions provided for in this Article.

3.2 These deductions shall commence thirty (30) days after the beginning of employment in the unit or ten (10) days after re-entry into employment in the unit.

3.3 The amount of said representation fee shall be certified to the Employer by the Union, which amount shall not exceed 85% of the regular membership dues, fees and assessments charged by the Union to its own members.

3.4 The Union agrees to indemnify and hold the Employer harmless against any liability, cause of action or claims of loss whatsoever arising as a result of such deductions.

3.5 The Employer shall remit the amounts deducted to the Union monthly, on or before the 15th of the month following the month in which such deductions were made.

3.6 The Union shall establish and maintain at all times a demand and return system as provided by N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.5(c) and 5.6, and membership in the Union shall be available to all Employees in the unit on an equal basis at all times. In the event the Union fails to maintain such a system, or if membership is not so available, the Employer shall immediately cease making said deductions.

4.1 The thirteen (13) paid holidays are as follows:

▪ New Year's Day ▪ Independence Day

▪ Martin Luther King's Birthday ▪ Labor Day

▪ Lincoln's Birthday ▪ Columbus Day

▪ Washington's Birthday ▪ Veteran's Day

▪ Good Friday ▪ Election Day

▪ Memorial Day ▪ Thanksgiving Day

▪ Christmas Day

4.3 If a holiday is granted by an intra-County memorandum, or a notice of a holiday is transmitted by telephone because of lack of time to prepare a memorandum, said holiday shall be granted to Employees covered by this Agreement.

4.4 When a member of the bargaining unit is scheduled to work on a holiday, said member shall receive eight (8) hours' pay for the day worked, and shall also receive time and one-half (1-½) for the hours actually worked on said holiday.

4.5 When an employee is off duty on a paid holiday, his pay for the holiday shall be included in his regular biweekly paycheck in the same manner as a regular day worked.

4.6 In the event a paid holiday falls on a day in which an Employee is otherwise not scheduled to work, the Employee shall be scheduled a day off in lieu of the holiday at a time convenient to the County in its sole discretion. In the event the County fails to so schedule a day off in lieu of the holiday, the Employee shall be paid for the holiday at the close of the calendar year. There shall be no carryover of such days scheduled in lieu of holidays to a succeeding year.

4.7 When a member of the bargaining unit is scheduled off on a holiday and is called into work on the holiday, said member shall receive eight (8) hours' pay for the day worked, and shall also receive double time pay (2x) for the hours actually worked or credited to the member as “call-in” time under Article IX, whichever is greater.

4.8 When a member of the bargaining unit is scheduled to work on a holiday and said member is required to work an additional eight (8) hour shift on said scheduled holiday for a second eight (8) hour shift, said member shall receive double time (2x) for any and all hours worked on the second eight (8) hour shift.

5.1 Amount of Sick Leave

A. New County employees shall receive one working day for the initial month of employment if they begin work on the 1st through the 8th day of the calendar month and one-half working day if they begin on the 9th through the 23rd day of the month. Employees who begin to work after the 23rd of the month are not entitled to any sick leave for that month. After the initial month of employment and up to the end of the first calendar year, employees shall be credited with one working day for each month of service.

B. After the first calendar year of service, employees shall receive 15 working days of sick leave at the beginning of each calendar year in anticipation of continued employment.

C. Employees who regularly work 20 hours or more and less than 35 hours per week shall be entitled to a proportionate amount of paid sick leave. For example, employees who regularly work 25 hours per week are entitled to 9.5 sick days per full year worked.

D. An employee continues earning sick leave from the day of hire and as long as the employee actually works or is compensated for vacation, personal leave or sick days. Employees do not earn paid sick days while on a leave of absence without pay or suspension.

E. Sick leave shall not accrue after an employee has resigned or retired although his or her name is being retained on the payroll until exhaustion of vacation or other compensatory leave.

F. An employee who exhausts all paid sick leave in any one year shall not be credited with additional paid sick leave until the beginning of the next calendar year. Employees who have exhausted their sick leave will be docked for any additional days absent in that calendar year.

G. Unused sick leave shall accumulate from year to year without limit.

H. Employees who leave the County for any reason other than retirement will not be paid for unused sick days.

5.2 Authorized Uses

A. Sick leave may be used by employees who are unable to work because of:

1. Personal injury or illness not related to County employment;

2. Exposure to contagious disease not related to County employment;

3. Care, for a reasonable period of time, for a seriously ill member of the employee’s immediate family (“Immediate family” means an employee’s spouse, child, legal ward, grandchild, foster child, father, mother, legal guardian, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law and other relatives residing in the employee’s household); or

4. Death in the employee’s immediate family, for a reasonable period of time.

5. By a handicapped employee for absences related to the acquisition or use of an aid for the handicap when the aid is necessary to function on the job.

B. Sick leave may not be used for any purpose other than those outlined in Section 5.2A of this Article.

5.3 Maternity/Paternity Needs

Employees may use accrued sick leave in cases of the birth of their children. Verification of the need for the sick leave may be required.

5.4 Doctor’s Notes

In all instances, employees claiming entitlement to sick leave may be required to submit a doctor’s note. The note must explicitly excuse the employee from work on each day absent. Notes that merely indicate that the employee had a doctor’s visit are not acceptable. Doctor’s notes may be required regardless of the number of days absent. This is true even if the employee is attending to a seriously ill immediate family member. In that situation, the employee may be required to supply a note from the immediate family member’s doctor indicating the degree of illness and the need for the employee’s absence from work each day the employee was absent. Failure to submit required doctor’s notes prior to the start of the next scheduled work day may result in denial of paid sick leave and may also result in discipline up to and including discharge.

5.5 Sick Leave Abuse

Abuse of sick leave or chronic or excessive absenteeism may result in discipline up to and including discharge. Abuse includes using sick leave when the employee is not ill. Examples of chronic or excessive absenteeism include situations where employees routinely use more than the amount of sick leave earned in a calendar year or where a pattern of absences is established.

5.6 Unearned Sick Leave

Annual sick leave is granted at the beginning of each calendar year in anticipation of continued employment. The annual sick leave entitlement of an employee whose employment terminates for any reason during the course of a calendar year shall be pro-rated accordingly. If the employee utilized more sick leave prior to termination of employment than his or her pro-rated entitlement, the amount of excess sick leave utilized shall be deducted from the employee’s last paycheck or otherwise be reimbursed to the County.

5.7 Sick Leave Call-in Procedure

A. An employee on a rotating shift or who is assigned to work in a continuous work location who is absent due to illness or injury must notify a supervisor at least 60 minutes prior to the start of the employee’s regularly-scheduled work day.

B. An employee on a non-rotating shift or in a non-continuous operation work location who is absent due to illness or injury must notify his/her supervisor no later than 15 minutes after the start of the employee’s regularly-scheduled work day.

C. Employees who fail to timely notify the appropriate supervisor will be denied sick leave and are subject to discipline.

D. The only exception to this call-in procedure is when an employee establishes that he or she could not call-in because of unusual or emergent circumstances.

5.8 Return to Duty Examination

Employees who have been on sick leave may be required to be examined by the County’s Health Services physician, or to bring in a certificate from the employee’s own physician, in the County’s discretion, before being permitted to return to work. The County may exercise its authority under this Section solely for the purpose of determining whether the employee is able to perform job-related functions without posing a direct threat to the health or safety of the employee or of other individuals in the workplace.

6.1 Military leave will be provided in accordance with state and federal laws.

6.2 Any Employee called into the Armed Forces of the United States during a national emergency, or drafted, shall be given all the protection of applicable laws, and leaves of absence shall be granted.

6.3 An individual Employee shall be given three (3) days with pay as funeral leave for a death in the Employee's immediate family. Funeral leave shall be defined as leave granted for the sole and exclusive purpose of allowing the Employee to attend formal memorial services for the deceased member of the immediate family. The County reserves the right to obtain verification of any such attendance from the Employee.

6.4 An Employee's immediate family shall consist of the following: mother, father, son, daughter, sister, wife, grandchild, mother-in-law, brother, husband, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and grandparent.

6.5 Matters of special circumstances involving proper identification of the immediate family or involving an extension of leave time with or without pay shall be at the sole discretion of the County.

6.6 Personal Days: Each Employee in all titles in this bargaining unit shall be entitled to two (2) paid personal days. Effective July 1, 1997, employees with more than five (5) years continuous service will receive a third personal day. Personal days are earned on a pro-rated basis.

Requests for personal days shall be made in writing at least seven (7) days in advance and approved in advance of the requested date by the Employee's immediate supervisor. Personal days may be granted, in the County's discretion, on shorter notice in the event of an emergency.

New Employees must be employed by the County for six (6) full months before being entitled to paid personal days. Personal days must be used within the 12 calendar months in the calendar year in which such days are earned. There shall be no carryover or banking of personal days.

7.2 The Employee will receive pay during the period of jury service equal to his regular wages, less the remuneration of jury service allowance. A statement of jury earnings and time served must be supplied by the Employee to the County to allow verification of same.

7.3 If an Employee reports for jury duty and is excused that day, the Employee shall be required to report back to work, as soon as practical thereafter, except such Employee shall not be required in said instance if there is less than four (4) hours remaining in the work shift.

7.4 An employee who has served on jury duty during the day and is scheduled to report to work that evening or night may utilize a personal day under Section 6.6 of this Agreement to be excused from duty that evening or night. An employee who intends to utilize a personal day for this purpose shall so notify his supervisor at least two hours prior to the start of his scheduled shift.

10.1 Employees shall be granted the vacation schedule below:

First year of employment - one (1) day per month up until the end of the first calendar year.

Beginning the second calendar year of employment through the fifth calendar year, twelve (12) working days;

Beginning the sixth calendar year through the fifteenth calendar year, fifteen (15) working days.

Beginning the sixteenth calendar year through the twenty-fourth calendar year, twenty (20 working days..

Beginning the twenty-sixth calendar year, twenty-six (26) working days;

Beginning the twenty-seventh calendar year, twenty-seven (27) working days;

Beginning the twenty-eighth calendar year, twenty-eight (28) working days;

Beginning the twenty-ninth calendar year, twenty-nine (29) working days; and

Beginning the thirtieth calendar year, thirty (30) working days;

STEP ONE

STEP THREE

STEP FOUR

Assistant Chief Engineer - Rate x 5 hours per week = Total

Engineer & Welder - Rate x 5 hours per week = Total

Fireman - Rate x 5 hours per week = Total

Pump Room - Rate x 5 hours per week = Total