colorado department of labor and employment standard policy and ...

COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENTSTANDARD POLICY AND PROCEDURESUPERSEDES: __SPP-0028________ SPP NUMBER: _SPP-0066___DATE: 4/10/06________ DATE: 02/13/08__Donald J. MaresExecutive DirectorEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S APPROVAL: Donald J. Mares____________________________________________________________SUBJECT TITLE: Administrative and Other Employer Provided LeaveCATEGORY/UNIT: Human ResourcesAUTHOR: Mike DawsonSUB-CATEGORY:DISTRIBUTION:PURPOSE:To inform employees of the Department’s policy and procedures concerning the granting of administrativeand other employer provided leave.In 2007, the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration began the process of establishing UniversalState Policies. The first application of a universal state policy has been incorporated into the bereavement leavesection below.POLICY:Administrative and other employer provided leave may be granted up to eight hours per workday. Employeesgranted the privilege of flextime and scheduled to work more than eight hours in a day need to request leave forthe extra hours beyond eight or arrange to make up the time during the week of the event/observance.Administrative LeaveThe State Personnel System Rules and Procedures provide that Administrative Leave MAY be granted forthe following purposes:• Periods of investigation into an employee’s conduct;• Incentive Awards;• Coursework at a higher education institution directly related to the work;• To participate in tests and interviews for state positions; (see explanation)• To participate in school or community volunteer activities; (see explanation)• Participation in official activities by elected officers of employee organizations;• Administrative leave up to five days for local or 15 days per fiscal year for national emergencies toemployees who are certified disaster service volunteers for the American Red Cross;• Reasons determined to be for the good of the State. This includes CSEAP counseling sessions where thegranting of such leave may be particularly appropriate when an employee is seeking help with a problemthat affects job performance. Approval of administrative leave for CSEAP is delegated to the appointing

authority and may be further delegated to the appropriate supervisor for reasons of confidentiality.Administrative leave may be granted for up to six visits. The supervisor is also responsible for trackingsuch leave and reporting it to the Payroll Tech Support Unit.Discretionary administrative leave may be granted for attendance and participation at meetings, conferences orother activities only if approved by the Executive Director. These activities must be demonstrated to be relatedto the employee’s job duties and responsibilities and/or “deemed for the good of the State” as a whole or for thegood of the department. This includes service as a duly elected official of an employee organization.Administrative leave MUST be granted for the following:• Participation in hearings or settlement conferences at the direction of the Personnel Board or Director ofPersonnel and to testify in court or official government hearings on state-related matters when requiredby an appointing authority or subpoena;• Two hours to participate in general elections if the employee does not have three hours of unscheduledwork time during the hours the polls are open. The three hours do not need to be sequential. Scheduledadjustments, availability of early voting and absentee balloting should be considered by employees andmanagers well in advance of general elections.• Up to two days per fiscal year for organ, tissue, or bone donation for transplants.Attendance and participation at the Executive Director’s regularly scheduled Employee Advisory Councilmeetings and participation on internal oral boards as a board member should be reported as work time.Administrative leave will not be authorized to conduct personal business, or to attend activities associated withorganizations established for the personal benefit of individual employees. Such situations may be handled by theuse of annual leave when approved by the appointing authority.Test and InterviewsAdministrative leave will not be authorized for time required to complete applications and/or to completeexamination material. This includes any exams or preparation for exams which are to be accomplished on theemployee’s own time for transfers, promotional exams, open competitive exams or other employmentopportunities. Administrative leave may be granted for tests and interviews that are administered during theemployee’s normal scheduled work hours. Up to 12 hours per fiscal year of administrative leave may be grantedfor employees with twelve months of state service to participate in tests and interviews. The 12 hour limitincludes test time and travel time. All appropriate leave rules are in effect for hours in excess of 12 hours.School and Community Volunteer ServiceThe Department recognizes the importance of supporting our local communities. Up to a maximum of 12 hoursper fiscal year of administrative leave may be granted for employees with one year of state service to participatein your child’s school activities and/or to perform a volunteer activity that benefits the community.The philosophy of school leave is to enable parents and legal guardians to attend or participate in their children’sschool events, activities, or conferences that are sanctioned and sponsored by the child’s school. This leave isavailable for pre-K through 12 th grades only.The philosophy of volunteer activity is that the activity being performed should benefit the community at-large.School-sanctioned and community/volunteer administrative leave requests must be accompanied by supportingdocumentation* from:• the school, or;

• the charitable organization brochure, flyer or other announcement describing the community/volunteeractivity, or;• the School/Community Volunteer Activity Request Form available on the Human Resources website.* NOTE: It is recognized that supporting documentation can not always be obtained from the school. In thesecases, please attach a completed School/Community Volunteer Activity Request Form (available on the HRwebsite) to the Leave/Absence Request Form and route to your manager for approval. School-sanctioned andcommunity volunteer leave requests are to be routed to your Appointing Authority for final approval, and mustbe posted to the correct leave type in Kronos.Bereavement LeaveUp to 40 hours per occurrence (up to eight hours per day) of paid bereavement leave will be granted topermanent employees in connection with the death of a person with whom the employee has a relationship. Therelationship should have had a significant impact on the employee’s life. The amount of leave granted isdependant upon the amount of leave requested by the employee on the leave slip and the dialogue betweensupervisor and employee. The purpose of this dialogue is to determine a fair and reasonable amount of leavebased on the individual circumstances and the employee’s relationship to the deceased. The purpose ofbereavement leave is to provide time for employees to deal with personal needs during the grieving process andto attend any services in connection with a death. However, bereavement leave is not intended to be used to dealwith business such as settling the estate. Documentation may be required when deemed necessary by thesupervisor. The Appointing Authority has final approval for bereavement leave requests of 40 hours or less.If the employee has a compelling need for additional time off beyond the 40 hours, a written request (which maybe made via email) shall be submitted through the supervisory chain to the Office of Human Resources whichwill consult with the Executive Director for consideration. Such a request should outline the amount of additionaltime requested and the reasons for the request.Jury LeaveJury leave will be granted to permanent and temporary employees when called to jury duty. The supervisoror appointing authority will approve the leave. Substantiation of jury duty is required. Permanent employeesare granted jury leave for the period they are required to serve, up to eight hours per day. Temporaryemployees are granted up to three working days (24 hours) when jury duty occurs during days they arenormally scheduled to work.Military Training Leave and Military LeaveMilitary Training Leave is paid leave granted to employees when they are called to active duty for training,whether voluntary or involuntary. Military Leave is unpaid leave granted to employees who are called to activeservice. State employees, whether probationary or certified, will be given Military Training Leave or MilitaryLeave upon submission of proper documentation (official military orders from the Military/ Naval unit ororganization to which the employee is assigned.)Leave Without PayLeave without pay may be granted to permanent employees after other applicable paid leaves are exhausted. Theemployee’s appointing authority must approve leave without pay.Voluntary Furlough Leave Without Pay

The purpose is to prevent the need for position reductions and/or abolishment when an Executive Directorofficially declares a budget deficit in personal services. Employees earn sick and annual leave and continueto receive service credit as if the furlough had not occurred.Victim Protection LeaveThis is unpaid leave granted to employees with one year of state service for up to twenty-four hours (prorated forpart-time employees) per fiscal year for victims of stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence or abuse.(See SP-243 Leave Transfer/Leave Bank Program)PROCEDURE:Administrative leave and other employer provided leave requires the approval of the Executive Director or theExecutive Director’s designee unless otherwise stated. All requests and authorization for mandatoryadministrative leave must be submitted on the official Request and Authorization for Leave of Absence Form, orother type of electronic process implemented by the Department, and forwarded through the appropriatesupervisory chain for review and approval by the Executive Director or designee in advance of actual usewhenever possible. Requests for discretionary administrative leave must be submitted in the same manner and, ifpossible, two weeks in advance. The request should be accompanied by a written statement from the AppointingAuthority clearly identifying how such leave meets the criteria.Time and Leave Coordinator (TLC)Supervisors are required to track and report administrative leave by type (i.e.: exam, interview, hearing, school,or volunteer, etc.). Copies of approved administrative leave requests must be forwarded to the Payroll TechSupport Unit. Time and Leave Coordinators (TLC’s) may assist in this function. Questions regarding leaveshould be directed to the Office of Human Resources/Personnel.

Colorado Department of Labor and EmploymentSchool/Community Volunteer Activity Request FormName________________________________________ Phone:____________________Division: ___________________Supervisor:___________________________Description of School/Community Event/Activity:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Date & Time of Event: ____________________________________________________Employee Signature: _____________________________Supervisor/Mgr Approval: ________________________Date: _________________Date: _________________(Please attach any additional school or volunteer service documentation you might have to supportthis request)