Know Your Contract
The NTA strives for transparency and clarity around our contract. Each week as we send out the EBulletin, we will share easy to understand information about our contract in a section titled "Know Your Contract". You can find all of those helpful blurbs housed on this page!
Sick Leave
Sick leave days, also known as personal illness days, are for the injury or illness of the employee. From your sick days, you may use up to 14 per year for the illness or injury of a family member or dear friend. These are called family illness days. You DO NOT have to ask for permission to use a personal illness or family illness day. If you will be out, you should simply report your absence in the Frontline Absence Management System and follow any other building or program based instructions for reporting your absence. You cannot be asked for documentation regarding such an absence unless you have been out for six or more consecutive days. If you are out for six or more days, you MAY be asked for documentation. While HR might send you the FMLA forms in this instance, our contract allows for you to submit a letter instead of the FMLA form. It is often simpler for you and for your medical provider to supply a letter rather than fill out the FMLA form. The letter must be on letterhead, and have the medical provider’s signature. It must contain the following information: - Employee’s name - Approximate date the illness or injury commenced - A description of the injury, illness or medical condition - A statement that the employee is not able to perform his/her position - The expected return to work date
Workplace Injuries
The City of Newton is exempt from Workers Compensations Laws, but the NTA has made sure our members are protected by negotiating for and winning contractual rights around workplace injuries. In order to protect your rights, If you are injured at work, first of all: be sure to complete an incident report to record the fact and circumstances of your injury. Additionally, email HR and request that they provide you with a letter for your doctor/insurance company that states that you are not covered by Workers Compensation for this workplace injury. There are two primary benefits related to workplace injuries that are provided by our contracts: - No "out-of-pocket" medical expenses. You will be reimbursed for “co-pays for office visits, emergency room visits, and prescription drugs, as well as physical and occupational therapy appointments that are not covered by insurance incurred due to physical injury/accident to the employee arising out of and in the course of employment.” You need to keep receipts and careful records of these expenses for submission. - No use of personal sick days while absent from a work related injury. You do not have to use your own sick time for days missed from work due to a workplace injury: “Individuals who are absent as a result of an on the job accident or personal injury suffered during the workday shall not lose pay because of such absence. The parties agree that sick leave bank days may be utilized for such purposes.”
Other Paid Leave
Personal Days: Each year, you are allocated two days that can be used for “urgent personal business" as judged by the employee. - You do not have to ask permission to use your personal days. - If you will be out, you should report that in the Frontline Absence Management System and follow any other building or program based instructions for reporting your absence. - You cannot be asked to say why you are using a personal day. - The only contractual restriction: personal days cannot be used to “extend a holiday or vacation or facilitate travel plans.” - To be perfectly clear: You CAN use your personal days for urgent personal business adjacent to a holiday or vacation; you CANNOT use them to extend that holiday or vacation or to facilitate travel plans. - When you take a personal day on a day that is adjacent to a holiday or vacation time, you CAN be asked to confirm that you are not taking it to extend the holiday or vacation or facilitate travel plans. That is the only question you can be asked. - You CANNOT be asked to provide the specific use of those days. “Other” Days: You have up to four (4) paid leave days that can be used for specific purposes as set out in the contract. You do not have to ask for permission to use these days, but may in some instances be asked for supporting documentation: - Bereavement related to the death of a close family member or dear friend. - Holy Days - Court Appearance by Summons - Commencement exercises: Limited to those where the employee or their spouse or child will be awarded a degree or diploma. - Absence caused by an automobile accident on your way to work. Limited to the day of the accident only. - Up to two (2) days if your attendance is required by an educational institution where you are enrolled. There are certain restrictions and this leave must be approved by the Superintendent. - Selective Service examination - To attend the MTA Annual meeting Accumulation of sick, personal, and other days: - Unused Personal Illness Days accumulate year over year; - Unused Family illness days do not accumulate; you may use only fourteen in any given year; - Unused Personal Days accumulate as Personal Illness Days; - Unused "Other" Days do not accumulate.
Parental Leave
In our new contract, members are now guaranteed 40 days of paid parental leave, but, depending on how many personal sick days they have banked, they may be entitled to take up to 60 days paid. The district pays the first 20 days of leave, then the member may use up to 40 of their own personal illness days to be paid for up to 40 additional days. If a member has saved fewer than 40 personal illness days, the district will pay additional days for them directly, up to a total of maximum of 20 more days. The easiest and most accurate way to determine how many paid days for which you are eligible is to use the spreadsheet that is found on slide seven of the Human Resources slide deck on parental leave, which accurately calculates paid days based on the formula we agreed to in our last negotiations. Check it out at this link: https://shorturl.at/zdxAc
Sick Leave Bank
The contracts says that, “Sick leave with pay is intended to cover the employee’s own incapacitation due to sickness or injury.” There is no language in the contract that limits the number of days of sick leave that can be utilized. There is, however, language that requires medical documentation to support the need for sick leave. When an employee is out for six or more consecutive days, they can be asked for a note. If a sick leave continues for more than 45 days, they can be asked for an updated note. Employees also enjoy the benefit of a sick leave bank. Who can access the sick bank? The language is clear: There shall be a sick leave bank for use by eligible employees covered by this Agreement who have exhausted their own sick leave. Eligible employees are members who qualify under one of the following circumstances: member with a serious illness.” This bank exists because every employee donates one day each year to this bank — that adds up to more than 2,000 days available each year in the sick leave bank. The donated days are for use in the current year and do not roll over, so any days left unused at the end of the year simply disappear. In Mike’s and my combined experience with the sick leave bank, there has never been a year when we have even come close to exhausting the days in the sick bank. The bank is administered by a “Sick Bank Committee” consisting of four members, two appointed by the superintendent and two from the NTA. Current members are Joany Santa, Liam Hurley, Mike Zilles, and Chris Walsh. In assessing an application for time from the sick leave bank, the committee considers just two factors, per the contract: Adequate medical evidence of serious illness; and Prior utilization of all eligible sick leave. Historically, if these two criteria are satisfied, the sick bank access is granted. Over the years, grants of time from the sick leave bank have varied from grants of just a few days to grants of a full school year or more. The longer grants are rare, and usually involve a member suffering from a debilitating or chronic illness. And this is the reason the bank exists — through the generosity of colleagues, those of us in the most need are taken care of.