EL PASO COUNTY HOSPITAL POLICY: H-2-27
DISTRICT POLICY EFFECTIVE DATE: 07/93
LAST REVISION DATE: 11/14101/16
PAID TIME OFF (PTO)
POLICY
n Paid Time Off (PTO) is an accrued benefit afforded to full-time regular and part-time regular Associates to provide paid time for vacations, holidays, short term illnesses and other personal days needed by Associates. Associates are expected to schedule their PTO in advance; timely requests will be generally given positive consideration as allowed by staffing and workload.
RESPONSIBLE
Board of Managers
Associates
Management Associates
Human Resources Department
POLICY REFERENCES
H-2-9 Donation of Paid Time Off
H-2-11 Employment Status/Classification
H-2-13 Extended Illness Leave
H-2-14 Leave of Absence (FMLA)
H-2-15 Personal Leave of Absence
H-2-16 Other time Off- Funeral Leave, Jury Duty/Supoena, Voting
H-2-18 Medical Leave of Absence (non-FMLA)
H-2-21 Uniformed Service Leave of Absence (USERRA)
H-2-24 Non-Exempt Call Off/Low Census
H-3-1 Attendance
H-3-7 Associate Performance Counseling
H-3-8 Associate Separation and Clearance Process
DEFINITIONS
Paid Time Off (PTO) - A combination of vacation, holiday and sick leave. When Associates request time offuse of PTO, these hours are deducted from their PTO bank regardless of how the time off is used.
PROCEDURE
A. Nonexempt Associates accrue PTO from the date of hire and are eligible to take PTO after completing 90 days of employment with the exception of recognized holidays. PTO balance can be viewed online..
B. New Associates employed less than 90 days will be paid PTO for hospital recognized holidays if the department is closed for the holiday.
C. Exempt Associates accrue PTO from the date of hire and are eligible to take PTO the first pay period they are hired.
D. Accrual
1. PTO accrues each pay period based on benefit level and hours paidworked/scheduled:
a. Full-time regular, nonexempt Associates
Length of Service / Annual Accrual / Pay period accrual /1 – 5 yrs. / 176.0 hrs. / 6.77 hrs.
5 + yrs / 216.0 hrs. / 8.31 hrs.
b. Part-time regular, non-exempt Associates, accrue PTO on the basis shown above but pro-rated on the number of hours paid for the period versus 80 hours per pay period for full-time equivalent. worked in the period as a percentage of the number of hours worked in the pay period as a percentage of the full time 80 hour schedule. For example, an Associate working 40 hours in a pay period would receive 3.385 hours PTO (40/80 X 6.77) per pay period.
c. Full-time regular, exempt Associates
Length of Service / Annual Accrual / Pay period accrual0 + yrs. / 216.0 hrs. / 8.31 hrs.
d. Part-time regular, exempt Associates, accrue on a pro-rata basis to hours scheduled as percentage of above schedule.
e. Relief and PRN Associates are not eligible for accrual of PTO.
2. Maximum PTO accrual is at two times the annual rate. When an Associate has reached their maximum accrual, no further benefit will accrue until the PTO balance is reduced.
3. PTO does not accrue while an Associate is on an unpaid leave of absence.
D. Requests and Authorizations
1. Requests for scheduled, authorized PTO of 5 or more days must be requested in writing to the department manager at least 30 days in advance. Paid Time Off request forms are available from the appropriate management Associate.
2. Requests for scheduled, authorized PTO of less than 5 days must be scheduled as much in advance as possible. ; Ttimely requests will be generally given positive consideration as allowed by staffing and workload requirements.
3. All requests for PTO will be granted at the discretion of the management Associate who will make a reasonable effort to grant PTO for the date(s) requested; however, department staffing requirements and workloads may impact approval.
4. Associates may be allowed to take time off when PTO has been depleted, within limited circumstances and the approval of management,
5. PTO may not be taken in combination with any paid time such as alternate labor.
6. Associates may not request unpaid leave or time off when PTO hours are available.
7. When a non-exempt Associate is called off due to low census, they may request to elect to take unpaid leavePTO for the remainder of the shift.
8. Associates who work in departments that normally close operation for the EPCHD Hospital District recognized holiday are required to use PTO on that holiday.
The following requests may be approved by the appropriate management Associate if a written request is submitted in advance and the approval is justified based on workload, nature of the work to be performed, etc.
a. Requests to work on a recognized holiday
b. Request to take the recognized holiday off without pay and to work an alternate day within the same week.
9. Unscheduled absences from work will be paid from the Associate’s PTO bank; however, excessive or patterns of unscheduled absences will result in performance counseling in accordance with policies and procedures H-3-1, Attendance, and H-3-7, Associate Performance Counseling.
10. If an Associate takes PTO and returns to work later than the agreed upon date and has not notified the immediate supervisor, the Associate will be subject to performance counseling due to critical absence.
E. Separations and Change of Status
1. All PTO hours accrued by an Associate will be paid upon separation of employment. provided the Associate gives appropriate notice of intent to resign and does not have an active counseling action.
2. Associates who are involuntary separated from employment will forfeit payment of PTO, except when the separation is due to staff reduction.
3. Associates who default under a training or employment agreement will have any available PTO applied towards payment of the balance owed.
4. Associates who terminate employment either voluntarily or involuntarily prior to completion of 90 days of employment are not eligible for payment of PTO upon separation.
5. There will be no bridging of service time for purposes of PTO accrual when an Associate separates from employment and then is rehired in the future. PTO accruals will begin as if he/she they were a new hire (6.77 nonexempt and 8.31 exempt).
6. An Associate that changes status to PRN or relief, which is ineligible for PTO, will have the balance of ir accrued PTO paid out at the hourly rate in effect immediately before the effective date of the status change.
7. If an Associate has received a payout of their PTO balance due to a change of status, then returns to eligible status, the PTO accrual rate the Associate earns will begin as if they were a new hire (6.77 nonexempt and 8.31 exempt).
8.
9. If the District is in receipt of an administrative writ of withholding in a Title IV-D case, payout of PTO will not occur until the District has received authorization from the Texas Attorney General Child Support Division.
F. PTO Buy Back Program
1. Associates may have the option of selling a maximum of 40 hours and a minimum of 10 hours accrued PTO twice a year, in June and in December when approved by the President and CEOsenior leadership. The payment will be at the Associate's current base hourly rate.
2. Procedures for participation:
a. Announcements for participation will be communicated through the Human Resources department. occur in April for the June PTO Buy Back and in October for the December PTO Buy Back.
b. Eligible Associates who want to participate will be required to submit a PTO Buy Back Request using the online tool Form to the Human Resources Department by the stipulated due date. May 1st for the June program and by November 1st for the December program.
3. In order to be eligible for participation:
a. Associates must have been employed at full-time regular or part-time regular (regularly scheduled for 20 hours or more a week) for a minimum of twelve months, which will be determined based upon the pay period dates that are closest to:
Ø From May 1st to April 30th for the June program
Ø From November 1st to October 31st for the December program
b. Associates must have used at least 80 hours PTO leave during the previous 12 months. Previously sold PTO hours are not considered used PTO hours
c. Associates must maintain a PTO leave balance of 40 hours after the sale of accrued PTO.
d. Associates can check their eligibility status by accessing the PTO buyback tool when available.
e. Request to waive eligibility requirements must be submitted and approved by the area Administrator. Management and Associates will be required to provide justification for the request.
4. Pay out will occur in June and in December.
4. Payment of approved PTO buyback hours will be direct deposited into the Associate’s respective bank account.
5. The PTO Buyback program can be suspended at any time at the discretion of the President and CEO.
FORMS
PTO Paid Time Off Request Form 100-033-02 (Rev. 08/11)
PTO Buy-Back Program Request Form 951-006-03 (Rev. 10/03)
El Paso County Hospital DistrictPolicy and Procedure Committee
Chairperson / Date
President and Chief Executive Officer / Date
Board of Managers Chairperson / Date
Review/Revision History:
P&PCommittee / Administrative Team / Board of Managers
02/96 / 10/14 / 08/08
05/99 / 09/16 / 10/11
12/02 / 11/14
10/03 / 11/16
05/05
08/08
08/11
10/14
10/16
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