Exhibit J - COM Employee Handbook.pdf

Employee Benefits Handbook for

General Municipal Employees

City of Madison, Wisconsin

Effective January, 2026 This Handbook outlines benefits for permanent employees of the City of Madison in Compensation Groups 15, 16, 20, 31, 32, 33, 71, and 83. This existence of this Handbook does not create an express or implied contract and is not a collective bargaining agreement. The City reserves the right to modify this Handbook and to amend or terminate the policies, procedures, or benefits described herein. This Handbook will not override any City Ordinance, Administrative Procedure Memorandum, State or Federal law.

Exhibit J

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS HANDBOOK CITY OF MADISON

i

Contents Overview Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Policy Creation of this Handbook Application of this Handbook Employee/Association Representatives General City Employment

Employee Definition Residency Seniority Job Posting

Compensation Salary Schedules Salary Advancement Longevity Pay Provisions Hours of Work General Work Schedules Employees in Compensation Group 15 Transfers to Vacant Job Assignments Overtime Call-In Pay Multi-Site (Library Only) Work at Home Pay Compensatory Time Out-Of-Classification Pay Shift Differential StandBy Pay Time Usage

Leave Provisions Vacation Leave Holiday Leave Floating Holiday Time Paid Leave Time Paid Parental Leave Sick Leave Family and Medical Leave Bereavement Leave Death of Friends Jury Duty Leave Election Time Off Military Leave Leave of Absence Without Pay Disability Leave and Layoff Organ Donation Leave Lunches and Breaks

Benefits Annual Recertification of Staff Pension ii

Notice of Intent To Retire Post-Employment Health Insurance Plan (VEBA) Health Insurance Reimbursement For Paid Health Insurance Premiums to Qualified Domestic Partners Domestic Partner/Family Partner Benefits Summarized Life Insurance Income Continuation Insurance (Wage Insurance) Dental Insurance Flexible Spending Accounts 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans Long-Term Care Insurance Bus Pass CARS Pool Fleet Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Teleworking

Appeal Procedures Grievance and Arbitration Grievance Procedure

Mediation Final and Binding Arbitration Hearing Decision

Health and Safety, Discipline and Discharge Miscellaneous

Career Ladders Bilingual Pay Training Courses Uniform Allowance Fire Department Clothing Allowance Water Utility Clothing Allowance Parking Enforcement Officer Uniforms Motor Vehicle Mileage and Parking Safety Shoes and glasses Tool Allowance - Compensation Group 15 Safety Committee Vending Machine Proceeds - Compensation Group 15 Incarceration Status Commercial Driver’s License Driver’s License Flexible Work Schedules Alternate Work Schedules

Appendix A: Seasonal and Hourly Employees Appendix B: Crossing Guards Appendix C: Stagehands Appendix D: CG15 Schedules

Schedule A: Fleet Service Schedule B-1: Engineering Division iii

Schedule B-2: Engineering Division Schedule C: Streets Division Schedule D: Madison Public Library Work Schedules

Appendix E: Annual “Meet and Confer” Process Appendix F: Madison Public Library

Overview

The City of Madison employs over 2,800 permanent employees. As one of the largest employers in the city, the City of Madison strives to offer its employees a competitive salary and benefits package. The purpose of this handbook is to provide a one-stop reference for the many and varied benefits the City offers. By putting this information in one place, we hope to create an easy resource for employees who have questions about available benefits. In addition, this handbook provides a mechanism for employees who have disputes over terms and conditions of employment to file a grievance. This handbook will be updated periodically to reflect changes to the compensation and/or benefits offered by the City. The handbook is posted on EmployeeNet and any revisions or updates will be reflected on EmployeeNet at the appropriate time. Hopefully this handbook is useful but if employees continue to have questions about their benefits, please call the City Human Resources Department at 266-4615 or their Compensation Group Representative.

Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Policy

It is declared to be the public policy of the City of Madison to foster and enforce to the fullest extent the protection by law of the rights of all of its inhabitants to equal opportunity to gainful employment, housing, credit and the use of City facilities and public accommodations without regard to sex, race, religion, non-religion, homelessness, refusal to disclose Social Security Number, gender identity, genetic identity, citizenship status, credit history, unemployment history, victim of domestic abuse, victim of sexual assault, victim of stalking, color, national origin or ancestry, age, handicap/disability, marital status, source of income, arrest record or conviction record, less than honorable discharge, physical appearance, sexual orientation, political beliefs, familial status, or the fact that such person is a student, or the fact that such a person is a member of a domestic partnership.

To fully effectuate this policy of promoting nondiscrimination, the City shall endeavor to eliminate all discrimination that may occur in its own employment, housing, and public accommodation practices and in the use of City facilities. The City of Madison as an employer will not violate federal, state or municipal laws concerning discrimination in employment, nor will the City discriminate against any employee(s) because of affiliation or lack of affiliation with a City-recognized association.

Creation of this Handbook

This handbook was created in cooperation between the City and employee representatives and is meant to provide a general guide for the discussion, application, and enforcement of the provision of benefits to employees within the applicable compensation groups. The existence of this handbook does not create an expressed or implied contract and is not a collectively bargained agreement. This handbook will be modified and updated in cooperation with employee representatives, and approved by the Committee on Employee Relations (CER) and the City Council. This handbook will not override any labor agreement, City Ordinance, Administrative Procedure Memorandum, State or federal law.

http://employeenet/

Application of this Handbook

This handbook applies to general municipal employees in Compensation Groups 15, 16, 20, 28, 31, 32, 33, 71 and 83. All provisions related to hourly or seasonal employees are outlined in Appendix A. All provisions related to crossing guards are outlined in Appendix B. All provisions regarding stagehands are outlined in Appendix C. Where there is a conflict between the ordinances and the provisions of this handbook, the ordinance language will control. Should a conflict exist between the provision of this handbook and the Personnel Rules, the provisions of this handbook shall apply within the applicable compensation groups.

Employee/Association Representatives

Employees shall have the right, without concern for interference, restraint, coercion or domination, of self-organization. Employees within a compensation group may form, join or assist in the creation and maintenance of one association to represent the compensation group in the procedures set forth in Chapter 3 and Chapter 33 of the Madison General Ordinances.

Compensation group representatives shall not collectively bargain with the City. Compensation group representatives may be required annually by the City, on the first day of May, to demonstrate by a show of membership cards that it has more support than any other association group seeking to represent the employees of a given compensation group. The members of the respective compensation group shall determine the employee representatives for their compensation group.

Employee representatives shall be employees of the City of Madison. Each compensation group shall be allowed one (1) employee representative for every fifty (50) members. The employee representatives will be allowed to post notices, meet with employees for reasonable periods of time to discuss issues and potential grievances, and attend meetings with outside counsel or association representatives for reasonable periods of time while on work time. Employee representatives will do this in such a way as to cause the least disruption within the workplace. In addition, each compensation group will be allowed one (1) employee representative for every 100 members to meet and confer with City representatives at reasonable intervals regarding benefits and working conditions contained in this handbook.

Association representatives may also attend such meetings and conferences at the discretion of an employee representative. Association Representative’s may attend meet and confer sessions with the City.

Employee representatives will be allowed up to fifteen (15) unpaid leave days per calendar year to attend educational conferences, classes, or conventions related to their role as employee representatives. Additional unpaid leave days may be authorized by the Human Resources Director. Employee representatives will provide a minimum of seven (7) days advanced notice to their supervisor and will schedule time off in such a way as to cause the least disruption within the workplace.

Employee representatives shall be afforded reasonable opportunities to communicate with employees they represent. Such communication shall include a brief presentation, whether recorded or otherwise, to newly hired employees during on-boarding.

Employee representatives shall be afforded reasonable use of the City’s electronic communication systems and the employer agrees to provide, as reasonably requested, the information needed to ensure employee representatives can communicate with employees they represent.

A copy of all written notices to employees or employee representatives concerning matters related to this handbook, including new job titles or other proposed changes to the compensation groups’ composition, shall be sent to association representatives. Association representatives shall copy the Employee/Labor Relations Manager with any communications to the City concerning matters related to this handbook.

General City Employment

EMPLOYEE DEFINITION

Regular full-time and regular part-time employees are those who are employed in budgeted positions on a probationary, LTE or permanent basis. Additional information can be found in the City Personnel Rules.

RESIDENCY

No employee in any of the listed compensation groups covered by this handbook shall be subject to or have any restrictions in their ability to choose their place of residency.

SENIORITY

Seniority is the employee’s total continuous time of service in a permanent position with the City of Madison. Unpaid leaves of absence, in excess of thirty (30) working days in a year, shall not qualify as service. Military leave shall be counted as service time as provided by law. As with all other benefits, regular part-time service shall be counted on a pro-rata basis (except for employees in compensation group 32 at the Library). Employees in LTE positions may accumulate seniority for benefit and job posting purposes, but are not entitled to layoff or recall rights.

Seniority and continuous service shall be considered broken and any existing rights to employment shall be considered lost when an employee:

1. Resigns;

2. Is discharged for any justifiable cause;

3. Is absent from duty without authorization for three (3) consecutive days;

4. Fails to respond to recall within seven (7) days of notice.

JOB POSTING

The job posting and filling process is generally governed by the City Personnel Rules. For more information on posting, evaluation periods, trial periods, promotions, competitive demotions, and lateral transfer, please see the City Personnel Rules.

Positions posted in compensation group 31, 32 and 33 (within the Library), are posted department-wide for lateral transfer prior to posting. When a position is posted in compensation groups 15, 16, 20, 32, 33, or 71, permanent General Municipal Employees in those compensation groups who apply for a position within that specific compensation group will receive 1 seniority point for each full year of service. Partial points will not be awarded. Those seniority points will be associated with the date established under the seniority provision.

Practices in place regarding lateral transfers shall remain in place following the expiration of the collective bargaining agreements, unless such practices are changed by mutual agreement.

Compensation

The City of Madison strives to offer competitive wages and benefits for all its positions. To this end, the City not only complies with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, but in many cases offers pay above and beyond its legal obligations. Part-time employees receive pay and benefits on a prorated basis. Specific provisions are described below.

SALARY SCHEDULES

Salary Schedules are found on the City website located at:

www.cityofmadison.com/finance/salarySchedule.

Employees shall be compensated in accordance with the applicable Salary Schedules which may be attached or retained elsewhere for the purposes of convenience.

SALARY ADVANCEMENT

After six (6) months employees shall advance from starting Step one (1) to Step two (2) and shall continue to advance after each twelve (12) months of service until reaching Step 5.

Fleet Service Career Ladder: The Fleet Services department may have a career ladder for employees in certain job classifications.

Step increments for the positions of Clerk 1, Clerk Typist 1 and Police Report Typist 1 shall occur on six-month service time intervals commencing with successful completions of the probationary periods until the maximum base step is reached. Upon completion of six months’ service at the maximum step, Clerk 1 and Clerk Typist 1 shall be advanced to the objective classifications of Clerk 2 and Clerk Typist 2 respectively at step three (3); Police Report Typist 1 shall be advanced to the objective classification of Police Report Typist 2 at step three (3). The step increments thereafter shall be on an annual basis.

http://www.cityofmadison.com/finance/salarySchedule

In Compensation Group 33, Librarian 1 and Library Computer Specialist 1 employees who attain at least fifty-four (54) months of service as a Librarian 1 or Library Computer Specialist 1, and possess a Master’s of Library or Information Science, shall be placed in the Librarian 2 or Library Computer Specialist 2 classifications at Step three (3) of that range on the later of their anniversary date or the pay period immediately following completion of the master’s degree. The Library Computer Specialist 2 classification shall be exempt from the master’s degree requirement. For the purposes of this section, anniversary dates shall be defined as the date when a Librarian 1 or Library Computer Specialist 1 would begin the fifty-fifth (55) month of their service in that classification. All Librarian 1 or Library Computer Specialist 1 employees who become Librarian 2s or Library Computer Specialist 2s shall continue to advance through remaining Librarian 2 or Library Computer Specialist 2 steps after each twelve (12) months of service.

LONGEVITY PAY PROVISIONS

All permanent full-time and permanent part-time employees receive longevity pay according to the following schedule:

1. Three percent (3%) of base pay at the beginning of the 5th year of continuous employment;

2. An additional 3% (total 6%) of base pay beginning with the 10th year of continuous employment;

3. An additional 2% (total 8%) of base pay beginning with the 14th year of continuous employment;

4. An additional 1% (total 9%) of base pay beginning with the 16th year of continuous employment;

5. An additional 1% (total 10%) of base pay beginning with the 18th year of continuous employment;

6. An additional 1% (total 11%) of base pay beginning with the 20th year of continuous employment;

7. An additional 1% (total 12%) of base pay beginning with the 25th year of continuous employment.

HOURS OF WORK

The standard workweek and workday for employees in Compensation Groups 15, 16, 20, 32, 33 and 71 will be the workweek and workday in effect for that particular employee at the expiration of the labor agreement. Permanent shift changes can be made with five (5) working days’ advance notice to the employee. If a department permanently changes a shift without five (5) days’ notice, all time worked by the employee will be paid at time and one-half for the hours worked until the five (5) day notice period is reached.

GENERAL WORK SCHEDULES

A permanent full-time employee will be provided a general work schedule. The following shall each be considered general work schedules. Employees shall not be shifted from one general work schedule to another except by mutual consent of the parties. Such work schedules shall be:

1. Five (5) consecutive eight (8) hour days within the period Sunday through Saturday;

2. Five (5) consecutive seven and three-quarter (7-3/4) hour days within the period Sunday through Saturday;

3. Five (5) non-consecutive eight (8) hour or seven and three-quarter (7-3/4) hour days within the period Sunday through Saturday;

4. A schedule which provides for an eight (8) hour day and an average of forty (40) hours per week;

5. A schedule which provides for a seven and three-quarter (7-3/4) hour day and an average of thirty-eight and three-quarter (38-3/4) hours per week;

6. Four (4) ten (10) hour days within the period Sunday through Saturday;

7. A schedule which shall provide for an eight (8) hour day and an average of thirty-eight and three-quarter (38-3/4) hours per week;

8. Other combinations equivalent to full-time employment that are mutually agreed to, have historically been in place, or are posted at the time of initial employment.

Assigned hours, days of the week, days off, shift rotations within each general work schedule as set out above, will only be changed following five (5) workdays’ notice. However, the five-day notice may be waived by mutual agreement. This section shall not apply to employees who are hired in classifications as relief workers or at times when a work schedule adjustment is necessitated by a third party.

Work schedules for Compensation Group 15 are listed in Appendix D of this handbook.

However, they will be treated as detailed above and are considered to be in the general schedules listed in 1 to 8.

EMPLOYEES IN COMPENSATION GROUP 15 TRANSFERS TO VACANT JOB

ASSIGNMENTS

Employees in Compensation Group 15 may transfer to vacant job assignments when the City decides to fill openings in one of those departments. The permanent transfer of an employee from one shift to another or otherwise, regarding a new opening on an existing shift, when all other factors are equal, the most senior qualified employee within the classification in the affected division without current discipline issues, who desires to transfer, shall receive such transfer. If no qualified employee desires to transfer to an open job assignment, such assignment will go to the qualified least senior person in the classification. The above provision shall not apply to the Engineering Construction Sections (Construction Inspector 1, Construction Inspector 2, and Engineering Aides) or day-to-day assignments.

OVERTIME

For both permanent full-time and part-time employees, overtime is defined as work performed in excess of the general work schedule outlined above. Employees shall not be denied the work of their own assigned schedule for the purpose of avoiding overtime payment. Paid leave shall be considered work time except for the purpose of double time calculations. Employees will receive time and one-half compensation for work beyond the normal, assigned workday or workweek, but if actual time worked exceeds twelve (12) consecutive hours, the employee will be paid double time. There shall be no pyramiding of overtime payments. Overtime offers will be made to employees on as equal a basis as possible by department/division, work unit or classification, as is consistent with custom and practice in that area of the operations. Employees required to work Easter Sunday shall be paid double time for all hours worked.

CALL-IN PAY

Employees in Compensation Groups 16, 20, 32, 33 and 71 who are called in for overtime work shall be granted a minimum of two (2) hours of overtime unless the two (2) hours of work overlaps with the employee’s normal workday. Employees called in to work between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. will receive a minimum of three (3) hours of overtime unless the three

(3) hours of work overlaps with the employee’s normal workday.

In the event a Parking Enforcement Officer is notified of the cancellation of a court appearance, on a scheduled day off with less than a twenty-four (24) hour notice, the Officer will receive two

(2) hours compensation at the overtime rate.

For Compensation Group 15 and 16: Employees reporting for a call-in assignment shall begin to accrue overtime twenty (20) minutes before they report. Such time shall be included in the two

(2) or three (3) hour call-in minimum, provided the employee reports for duty within one (1) hour from the time of the call-in.

MULTI-SITE (LIBRARY ONLY)

Employees of the Library who are designated Multi-site Library Assistants shall be paid a premium of five percent (5%) of their base pay.

WORK AT HOME PAY

Employees who are required to work from home will be paid a half-hour minimum for actual work performed between midnight and 6:00 a.m. The employee must either perform tasks or give direction for tasks which are not of a routine nature.

COMPENSATORY TIME

The decision to compensate overtime hours in the form of money or compensatory time off shall be made by the employee. Compensatory time shall be taken only at mutually agreed-upon times between the supervisor and the employee. All compensatory balances shall be reduced to eighty

(80) hours or less by the end of each year. Maximum compensatory time balances by compensation group or position classification within each division, will not be adjusted without the mutual agreement of the parties.

OUT-OF-CLASSIFICATION PAY

When an employee is assigned the work of a higher classification they shall receive an additional 75¢ per range per hour. A representative of the respective Association must be copied on the email, from HR Services for all new out of class pay approvals.

SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL

Employees eligible to receive overtime pay who perform authorized work between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Monday through Friday or on any designated holiday shall receive a premium payment of one dollar ($1.00) per hour. Employees in Compensation Groups 15, 16, 20, 32 and 33 eligible to receive overtime will receive one dollar and twenty-five cents ($1.25) per hour for authorized work performed on a Sunday.

Employees in Compensation Group 32 shall receive an hourly premium payment of fifty-eight cents ($0.58) per hour for all hours worked on a Saturday between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Employees in Compensation Group 33 shall receive an hourly premium payment of sixty-two cents ($0.62) per hour for all hours worked on a Saturday between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Employees in Compensation Groups 32 and 33 shall receive a premium payment of one dollar ($1.00) per hour for any hours worked on a Saturday between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following Sunday.

STANDBY PAY

Employees assigned to standby duty for emergency technical, maintenance or repair work during hours outside the employee’s general work schedule shall be compensated at a rate of two dollars ($2.00) per hour effective January 1, 2025.

TIME USAGE

In Compensation Group 15, for the purpose of calculating pay when an employee uses vacation, compensatory time or sick leave; time shall be calculated by the minute and the employee may use these leave times by the minute.

Leave Provisions

The City of Madison offers a generous leave package, including vacation, paid holidays, sick leave, and other leave. The specific types of leave are described below.

VACATION LEAVE

Employees earn vacation immediately upon starting with the City according to the following schedule:

Continuous Service Time Full-Time Equivalent

Annual Workdays of Vacation After completion of one (1) year 10 After completion of three (3) years 12-1/2 After completion of seven (7) years 15 After completion of eleven (11) years 17-1/2 After completion of fifteen (15) years 20 After completion of nineteen (19) years 25 After completion of twenty-seven (27) years 27

Employees are not eligible to use vacation time until the successful completion of their three (3) month onboarding report (or equivalent three (3) month review), after which time the employee is able to use the prorated amount of their vacation balance they have earned to that date.

Employees who are required to serve a probationary period in excess of six (6) months shall be eligible to receive earned paid vacation leave after completion of six (6) months of probation, not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of the employee’s authorized starting vacation balance. Employees who do not serve a probation period are eligible to use vacation time at any time.

Employees receive their entire vacation allocation for the year as of January 1. However, employees actually earn the vacation on a prorated basis with every biweekly pay period.

Therefore, if an employee uses vacation and then terminates their employment with the City prior to the end of the year, the employee may be responsible for reimbursing the City for any vacation that was used and not earned.

When employees are given their vacation allocation for the year, this takes into account any additional vacation earned due to an employee reaching a new vacation threshold within the upcoming year. The new vacation amount is prorated from the employee’s continuous service start date through the end of the year.

Employees can automatically carry over up to ten (10) days of unused vacation from one year to the next. Unused vacation in excess of ten (10) days may only be carried over with the approval of the employee’s Department Head and Human Resources Director. Any vacation that is carried over must be used by Labor Day of the following year. See APM 2-5 for more details.

Vacation will be scheduled according to the policy established by individual departments.

Consistent with custom and practice in an area of the operations, in the event that a conflict in vacation selection occurs, the City will consider the relative general seniority of the affected employees in deciding the assignment of vacation.

Subject to the vacation leave schedules authorized by the Employer, an employee in Compensation Group 15 may select up to ten (10) vacation leave periods for the period February 16th of one year to February 15th of the following year on the basis of seniority provided that such vacation leave selections are submitted to the Employer no later than February 15th. If two or more employees desire the same leave period(s) during the initial selection of vacation leave periods, the senior employee shall be given preference. A vacation leave period shall be defined as a continuous period of an employee’s regular shift. Once initial vacation leave periods are selected, seniority shall not prevail.

Eligible employees, upon retirement, shall have added to their last paycheck their full vacation credit for that calendar year, less any vacation already taken during said year, regardless of whether the employee earned the vacation at the time of retirement, MGO 3.32(6)(e).

HOLIDAY LEAVE

Eligible employees shall receive the following paid designated holidays:

• New Year’s Day (January 1)

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (third Monday in January)

• Memorial Day (last Monday in May)

• Juneteenth

• Independence Day (July 4)

• Labor Day (first Monday in September)

• Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday of November)

• December 25

Employees must work or be in an approved paid leave status the scheduled workday before and after a holiday in order to receive pay for the holiday. Employees who are absent without pay for a portion of the day before or the day after a holiday will have the holiday prorated.

In the event a designated holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday immediately following will be treated as the holiday. In the event a designated holiday falls on a Saturday, employees will be given an additional vacation day in lieu of the holiday.

Employees scheduled or assigned to work on an established holiday shall be compensated at the rate of two times the employee’s regular rate of pay for the hours worked. In addition, employees who work on a holiday will receive compensatory time for the hours worked on the holiday.

FLOATING HOLIDAY TIME

Employees receive three and one-half (3-1/2) days of floating holiday which can be scheduled and used as vacation time. Floating holidays may not be carried over into another year, unless an employee is hired and starts employment with the City on or after November 1. Any floating holiday time otherwise not used by an employee by December 31 will be forfeited.

PAID LEAVE TIME

Ho-Chunk Day (the day after Thanksgiving) on December 24 and December 31, where said days fall on a normal Monday-Friday workday, are Paid Leave Days. City facilities, except in those agencies performing essential services, are closed on Paid Leave Days and permanent employees are paid for these days. In the event a City facility remains open, the department head may release employees from duty on that day at the department head’s discretion. Employees must work or be in an approved paid leave status the workday before and after a paid leave day in order to receive pay for the paid leave day. Employees who are absent without pay for a portion of the day before or the day after a paid leave day will have the paid leave day prorated.

When December 24 and 31 fall on either Saturday or Sunday, employees are provided one additional vacation day for each day consistent with the provisions of the MGO Chapter 3.32(9).

This vacation day is not applied to an employee’s leave balance until the pay period in which these days fall.

Employees scheduled or assigned to work on an established paid leave day shall be compensated at the rate of two times the employee’s regular rate of pay for the hours worked. In addition, employees who work on a holiday will receive compensatory time for the hours worked on the holiday.

Additional provisions relating to paid leave time will be implemented consistent with the terms of the MGO Chapter 3.32(9).

PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

Paid Parental Leave will be provided for eligible employees in accordance with City of Madison ordinances and related APMs.

The City recognizes that employees experiencing the birth or adoption of a new child may require different lengths of personal leave. To accommodate the varying needs of all employees and their children, the City provides several leave options for new parents. Note that the categories listed below are in accordance with this Handbook and all applicable ordinances and APMs.

Coverage Category

Maximum Leave Duration

Eligible Timing Order of Use (Example Only)

City of Madison

APM

Notes

Wisconsin

FMLA

(Family Medical Leave Act)

6 weeks

Beginning anytime within 16 weeks before or after date of birth/adoption

Weeks 1-6 (must run concurrent to weeks 1-6 of federal FMLA)

APM 2-21

- Subject to criteria outlined in APM 2-21.

Employees must fill out application form/s referenced in that document.

- WI FMLA leave runs concurrent to first 6 weeks of Federal FMLA (below).

Federal

FMLA

(Family Medical Leave Act)

12 weeks

Anytime within 12 months of first date of leave claimed under Federal

FMLA

Weeks 1-12 APM 2-21

- Subject to criteria outlined in APM 2-21.

Employees must fill out application form/s referenced in that document.

- First 6 weeks of federal FMLA leave runs concurrent to WI FMLA leave period.

Paid Parental Leave 6 weeks

Anytime within 12 months of the date of birth/adoption

Weeks 1-6, or 6-12 if using wage insurance for weeks 1-6 (suggested)

APM 2-49

- Subject to criteria outlined in APM 2-49.

Employees must fill out application form/s referenced in that document.

Additional Accrued Leave (available paid leave such as vacation, comp, or sick leave)

Not specified

Anytime during the leave period, subject to any ordinance or APM that specifies what order such leave must be used, and subject to any required department/division head approval

Weeks 6-12 or after 12 weeks (suggested)

See employee handbook

- Accrued leave may be used to provide pay anytime during FMLA when not using PPL. Use of accrued paid leave after FMLA runs out is subject to departmental head approval.

Absence Without Pay

(AWOP)

Not specified

Anytime during the leave period, subject to APM 2-31 and handbook

Weeks 6-12 or after 12 weeks (suggested)

APM 2-31

- AWOP use requests subject to criteria outlined in APM 2-31 as explained or modified by the “Leave of Absence Without Pay” section of this Handbook.

An employee experiencing a qualifying birth or adoption event may request the following categories/types of leave. This chart is meant to illustrate the available leave types (paid and unpaid), an acceptable order in which to take various leave, and how such leave time overlaps with state and federal FMLA. Nothing in this chart or this Handbook should be interpreted to be more restrictive to employees than the applicable APM(s) or ordinance(s):

All leave types outlined above may be requested on a full-time or intermittent basis, subject to the criteria described in the relevant APMs. Employees may also make telework and/or flexible/alternative schedule requests.

*If an employee has Wage/Income Continuation Insurance, it may be used to provide compensation during Federal FMLA-covered leave that would otherwise remain unpaid, subject to the requirements and conditions laid out in the “Income Continuation Insurance (Wage Insurance)” section of the Employee Handbook. If an employee believes that a portion of their leave will qualify for wage insurance coverage, they are encouraged to reach out to Human Resources for assistance.

The order of use column in this handbook is an example only. Employees are encouraged to review their own circumstances and meet with Human Resources staff to develop a plan to meet their individual circumstances, subject to criteria outlined in the relevant APMs.

SICK LEAVE

Sick leave may be used for any absence necessitated by an employee’s, or an employee’s immediate family member’s, serious illness or injury. “Immediate family member,” for the purposes of using sick leave is defined as follows:

1. Parent or stepparent

2. Husband or wife

3. Child, stepchild, grandchild or foster child

4. Spouse’s foster child

5. Brother or sister

6. Grandparent or great-grandparent.

7. Person designated in writing by the employee as a family partner, and that designated family partner’s: child, stepchild, grandchild, foster child, parent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, or great-grandparent

8. Father-in-law, mother-in-law, stepfather-in-law or stepmother-in-law

9. Sister-in-law, brother-in-law, stepsister-in-law or stepbrother-in-law

10. Son-in-law or daughter-in-law

11. Spouse’s son-in-law or daughter-in-law

12. Spouse’s grandparent or great-grandparent

13. Domestic Partner as provided in Section 39.03(2)(n) and (o) and 39.03(11), Madison

General Ordinances

If the City has reason to believe an employee is abusing this benefit, the employee may be required to provide a certificate explaining the necessity for the employee’s absence from work, or other documentation substantiating that the absence was for an approved use of sick leave.

The certificate shall be signed by a physician, physician’s assistant, registered nurse, or child care provider. Failure to provide appropriate documentation may result in a loss of pay for the time absent and discipline. Sick leave abuse is defined as using sick leave when an employee is not ill or injured or otherwise deemed eligible by law or this handbook. Examples of sick leave abuse include using sick leave following denial of vacation, using sick leave to avoid a job assignment, demonstrating a pattern of sick leave use, continually exhausting sick leave balances (unrelated to a major illness), or using sick leave to extend a vacation or other leave time.

Sick leave is earned at the rate of one-half day per biweekly pay period, prorated based on an employee’s FTE. Employees must complete six (6) days of compensated service in a pay period in order to earn sick leave during that pay period. Employees earn sick leave immediately upon starting employment with the City. Only employees in their original six (6) months of employment may draw in advance of the amount of sick leave (up to 6 days) which would be accrued within the six (6) months. If the employee’s service is terminated prior to the end of this period, the employee shall reimburse the City for any unearned sick leave used.

Employees in Compensation Group 15 may accumulate up to a total of 163 days of sick leave.

At the end of each year, any employee with a sick leave balance in excess of 150 days will receive a payout on the pay date of pay period 25 equivalent to the employee’s regular salary times the number of excess days.

In the case of employees in Compensation Groups 16, 20, 32 and 33 who have accumulated a sick leave balance in excess of 150 days, the balance from the previous year will remain and 50% of any newly accrued sick leave days will be paid out and the remaining 50% will be added to the total accrued sick leave time.

Employees who retire or who become disabled and who are also eligible to receive either Social Security benefits, Wisconsin Retirement Fund annuity payments or other publicly established retirement fund annuities shall receive the cash equivalent of 100% of their accumulated unused sick leave credits. If this amount is greater than $2,000.00, these funds will be placed into the City of Madison Post-Retirement Sick Leave Conversion Medical Reimbursement Plan and Trust, pursuant to the terms of the Plan, or the City of Madison Governmental 401(a) Special Pay Plan and Trust, pursuant to the terms of the Plan.

Employees who are displaced and become unemployed as a direct result of the transfer of a department/division operation to another government entity or due to subcontracting the operation to a private entity will receive the equivalent value of their accumulated unused sick leave not to exceed the value of six (6) months of the employer’s normal contribution toward health insurance. These funds will be placed in an escrow account and will be used to continue the City’s normal contribution toward health insurance premiums for a period not to exceed six

(6) months following the date of layoff. If the employee is recalled or rehired by the City within twenty-four (24) months of the layoff, the accumulated unused sick leave credits not converted to the escrow account for health insurance contributions will be restored to the employee.

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

Qualifying employees are entitled to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act for a variety of reasons. Reasons include an employee’s own serious health condition, the serious health condition of a family member (as defined in the Federal or Wisconsin FMLA), the birth or adoption of a child, and other qualifying reasons. The City recognizes and tracks leave under both the Federal FMLA and the Wisconsin FMLA. APM 2-21 outlines the City’s policy with respect to FMLA. Employees using Federal FMLA may be required to substitute other forms of paid leave consistent with the terms of the APM. Instructions and forms for requesting FMLA leave can be found on EmployeeNet.

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE

Employees shall be allowed three (3) workdays leave with pay in the event of the death of an immediate family member as listed above in the “Sick Leave” section. Such leave must be used within two (2) weeks of the death, memorial service, and/or funeral service which is the basis for the leave. Authorization for exceptions to this requirement can be obtained through the Human Resources Director.

The leave provided under this provision is not to be considered as vacation or holiday leave. It is leave provided for obvious reasons related to the death of a close relative. Employees are urged to exercise good judgment in deciding the amount of time off that is necessary.

In the event of the death of a member of the employee’s family, including or other than those set forth in Paragraph one (1) of this section, leave may be granted at the discretion of the department or division head and such leave shall be charged against the compensatory time or vacation balance of the employee. In the absence of compensatory time or vacation balance, the leave may be charged to accrued sick leave. In the event that the employee’s compensatory time, vacation, and sick leave balances are exhausted, the department or division head may authorize up to three (3) days of vacation leave use from the vacation leave to be earned by the employee the following year and which would create a negative vacation leave balance until the end of the year.

DEATH OF FRIENDS

Employees shall be entitled to leave without pay for one (1) day when the memorial service takes place out of town; one-half (1/2) day for an in-town memorial service; such time off may be charged against any paid leave credits due the employee, at the discretion of the employee. In the absence of any paid leave credits, the time off shall be charged as absences without pay.

JURY DUTY LEAVE

Permanent employees who are called for jury service in any court of the State of Wisconsin or of the United States will be entitled to a leave of absence from the City without loss of pay. Serving as a juror will not constitute an interruption of service for the purposes of computing seniority or longevity and an employee will not be charged with any personal leave during the time on jury duty.

ELECTION TIME OFF

State law requires that employees be allowed time off for the purpose of voting on Election Day.

Any employee wishing to vote during regular work hours should notify their supervisor in advance of the desire to vote on Election Day. Any employee having given notice prior to Election Day may take up to three (3) hours of vacation, compensatory time, personal time, or absence without pay, for the purpose of voting on Election Day. The City, and specifically each individual department/division, reserves the right to designate the time of day in which an employee is released to vote.

MILITARY LEAVE

Employees are entitled to leave to serve as a member of the military consistent with the provisions of APM 2-39 and state and federal law.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY

Department Heads may, in appropriate circumstances, grant employees a leave of absence without pay limited to fifteen (15) working days in accordance with APM 2-31. A leave of absence without pay in excess of fifteen (15) working days may be granted subject to the written approval of the Human Resources Director. Forms for requesting a leave of absence without pay can be found on EmployeeNet.

DISABILITY LEAVE AND LAYOFF

An employee who is injured or otherwise unable to work because of a physical or mental impairment that is not work-related is entitled to a maximum of six (6) months leave of absence without pay subject to the following conditions:

• The employee must not have any available sick leave time.

• The employee must apply for such leave in writing to their department/division head, who will forward such request to the Human Resources Director, or designee, for approval.

• The employee must submit a treating physician’s report directly to Human Resources, including a statement regarding the medical reason(s) for the leave and whether or not the employee is able to work.

• In order to return to work, the employee must provide notice and submit to the department/division head a treating physician’s release for work.

During the period of disability leave of absence, the City will make its normal contribution toward the employee’s health insurance premiums. When medically fit to return from disability leave, the City will restore the employee to their original position. Employees can be placed on disability leave status during a covered leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In this case, employees do not need to submit additional medical documentation; the City will consider the documentation submitted with the FMLA sufficient for disability leave. Employees are not eligible for holiday pay, paid leave days, or other paid leave accrual during disability leave.

An employee who returns to work from a disability leave must be back at work for at least two

(2) months before being eligible for a new six (6) month disability leave. Any paid leave taken during the two (2) month period shall act to extend the two (2) month period on a day for day basis. If the employee requires any amount of unpaid leave during the two (2) months, the two

(2) month period will start over from the time s/he returns from unpaid status.

Disability leave may not be used for intermittent leave requests except in the following cases:

• The employee is using leave otherwise covered by FMLA.

• The employee needs time off to attend doctor appointments for a period of time following a return from disability leave.

• The employee is in a “work-hardening” period and working a reduced or intermittent schedule at least half-time for the purpose of returning to regular status.

An employee who returns to work on an intermittent basis will continue to have the hours taken as AWOP counted towards the six (6) months of disability leave. Once an employee reaches six

(6) months of AWOP, if the employee is unable to work their regular schedule or with permanent restrictions, s/he will be placed on disability layoff until such time as the employee is released to work the regular schedule or with permanent restrictions.

In the event the employee is unable to return to work at the end of the disability leave period, the employee will be placed in a layoff status for a period not to exceed eighteen (18) months. The City will make no health insurance contributions on behalf of the employee during the eighteen

(18) month layoff. However, the employee can maintain insurance coverage by paying the entire premium. If an employee is certified to return to work during the layoff period, the employee will be given recall rights. Specific provisions relating to Disability Leave or Layoff will be implemented consistent with the terms of APM 2-45.

This policy applies to all City employees with qualifying medical conditions, which is not limited to, but may include, employees with disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or related legislation. An employee’s eligibility for disability leave or disability layoff shall in no way infer the existence of a disability as defined by the ADA or related legislation. Information regarding an employee’s eligibility for reasonable workplace accommodations and the City of Madison’s compliance with the ADA and related legislation can be found in APM 2-22.

ORGAN DONATION LEAVE

Organ donation leaves of absence will be provided such that:

1. The Department or Division may grant a paid leave of absence of 5 workdays to any employee who requests a leave of absence to serve as a bone marrow donor, if the employee provides the appointing authority with written verification that the employee is to serve as a bone marrow donor.

2. The Department or Division may grant a paid leave of absence of 30 workdays to any employee who requests a leave of absence to serve as a human organ donor if the employee provides the appointing authority with written verification that the employee is to serve as a human organ donor.

3. An employee who is granted a leave of absence under this subsection shall remain on paid status without interruption during the leave of absence. The leave of absence shall count against the employee’s annual entitlement under the federal and state Family and Medical Leave Acts. If additional time off from work in excess of that authorized by sub. (a) or (b) is needed, the employee will be required to utilize accrued leave.

LUNCHES AND BREAKS

Upon expiration of the collective bargaining agreements, provisions regarding the number and duration of lunches and breaks shall continue, in accordance with APM 2-28.

Benefits

The City of Madison offers a number of benefits for employees and family members. These benefits include a pension, health insurance, life insurance, wage insurance, two (2) 457 deferred compensation plans, and a number of other benefits as described below.

ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION OF STAFF

Employees that are certified at less than 1.0 FTE shall be recertified for benefit purposes on at least an annual basis. Library employees in compensation groups 32 and 33, who are less than

1.0 FTE, shall be recertified on a quarterly basis.

PENSION

The City of Madison participates in the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) which is administered by the State of Wisconsin, Department of Employee Trust Funds. Employees who have WRS service prior to July 1, 2011 begin participating in the WRS upon date of hire in permanent positions and for limited-term employees working at least twelve (12) months.

Permanent and limited-term employees expected to work at least twelve (12) months and hired after July 1, 2011 will begin participating in WRS upon date of hire as long as their positions are certified at .6 FTE or greater (a minimum of 1,200 hours in a 12-month period). Hourly employees become eligible after having worked twelve (12) months and at least 1,200 hours.