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PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TO FILE 23-5466
MODIFICATION TO COOK COUNTY VACATION AND PERSONAL LEAVE
BE IT ORDAINED, by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that Chapter 44, HUMAN RESOURCES, Article III, VACATION AND SICK LEAVE, Sections 44-94 and 44-96 of the Cook County Code is hereby amended as Follows:
Sec. 44-94. Vacation leave.
Effective the first full pay period after December June 1, 2023:
(a) (a) All salariednon-union eEmployees and officers and employees who have completed one year of services with of Cook County, including those with service referencedmentioned in Subsection (e) of this section, shall be granted vacation leave consistent with the rules established by the Chief of the Cook County Bureau of Human Resources with pay for periods as follows:
(1) Two weeksFifteen (15) days per year after having completed between one (1) year of service and ten four (4) years of service. , at the rate of 1⅙ days per month. Maximum accumulation allowable four weeks thirty (30) days.
(2) Three weeksTwenty (20) days per year after having completed between 11 five (5) years of service and 20 nine (9) years of service.at the rate of 1¾ days per month Maximum accumulation allowable six weeksforty (40) days.
(3) Four weeksTwenty-five (25) days per year after having completed with 21 ten (10) or more years of service at the rate of 2⅓ days per month. Maximum accumulation allowable eight weeksfifty (50) days.
a) (b) All employees in the skilled-labor and labor-service occupational groups who are on a per diem or hourly basis, who have completed one year of service with the County, including service mentioned in Subsection (d) of this section, shall be granted vacation leave with pay for periods as follows:
(1) Ten working days per year after having completed between one year of service and ten years of service, at the rate of five-sixths days per month. Maximum accumulation allowable: 20 working days.
(2) Fifteen working days per year after having completed between 11 years of service and 20 years of service, at the rate of 1¼ days per month. Maximum accumulation allowable: 30 working days.
(3) Twenty working days per year after having completed 21 or more years of service, at the rate of 1⅔ days per month. Maximum accumulation allowable: 40 working days.
(c) Computation of vacation leave shall begin at the initial date of employment; with the rate of accrual increasing thereafter on the tenth and 20th anniversary date of employmenas prescribed by the rules established by the Chief of the Cook County Bureau of Human Resources.
(dc) Employees may use only such vacation leave as has been earned and accrued. Provided, however, that one week for salaried employees, (five working days for per diem or hourly employees) of the initial vacation allowance may be allowed after the first six months of service. The heads of the County offices, departments, or institutions may establish the time when the vacation shall be taken.
(ed) Vacation accruals for employees governed by collective bargaining agreements may vary in accordance with provisions of collective bargaining agreements or existing policies.
(e) Any employee in the County who has rendered continuous service to the City of Chicago, The Chicago Park District, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, orthe Metropolitan Water Reclamation Sanitary District of Greater Chicago, agencies under the State of Illinois, including, without limitation, the University System, the Regional Transportation Agency, the Chicago Transit Authority and/or the Chicago Board of Education shall have the right to have the period of such service credited and counted for the purpose of computing the number of years of service as employees of the County for vacation credit only. All discharges and resignations not followed by reinstatement within one year shall interrupt continuous service, and shall result in the loss of all prior service credit. Credit for such prior service shall be established by filing with the designated Human Resources Officer office of the Deputy Comptroller of the County a certificate of such prior service from such former place or places of employment.
(f) In the event an employee has not taken his vacation as provided herein by reason of separation from service, the employee, or in the event of death, his widow orthe employee’s estate, shall be entitled to receive his the prevailing salary for such unused vacation period.
(g) In computing vacation leave, employees shall be credited with regular working time plus the time of duty disability.
(h) Holidays recognized by the County Board are not to be counted as part of a vacation.
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Sec. 44-96. Excused absence with pay.
(a) Approval will be granted for a leave, with pay, of up to three days to attend afor the funeral, make necessary arrangements, or grieve the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family or householdand for one day for the funeral of a relative outside the immediate family or household and will be charged to excused absence with pay.
(b) Leave beyond these amounts may be approved under special circumstances, but will be charged against accumulated vacation or personal leavesick leave.
(c) If leave is requested to attend the funeral of someone other than an immediate family or household member relative, it may be granted, but time so used shall be deducted from the accumulated vacation or personalup to one-half day, but time so used, shall be charged against sick leave of the employee making the request.
(d) Approval will be granted for a leave with pay, for any jury duty imposed upon any nonexempt officer or employee of the County. However, any compensation and travel allowance received therefor must be turned over to the County by said officer or employee.
(e) Personnel Personal days.
(1) All employees, except non-union, prevailing wage trades, those in a per diem or hourly pay status and those of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, shall be permitted four (4) days off with pay each fiscal year. Employees may be permitted these four days off with pay for personal leave for such occurrences as observance of a religious holiday, shopping, or for other personal reasons. Such personal days shall not be used in increments of less than one half day at a time.
(2) Employees entitled to receive such leave who enter County employment during the fiscal year shall be given credit for such personal leave at the rate of one day for each full fiscal quarter in a pay status. Except that two personal days may be used for observance of religious holidays prior to accrual, to be paid back in the succeeding two fiscal quarters. No more than four personal days may be used in a fiscal year.
(3) Personal days shall not be used as additional vacation leave. If the health of an employee warrants prolonged absence from duty, the employee will be permitted to combine his personal days, sick leave, and vacation leave.
(4) Personal days may not be used consecutively unless approved by the department head.
(5) Personal days off shall be scheduled in advance to be consistent with operating necessities and the convenience of the employee, subject to department head approval.
(6) In crediting personal days, the fiscal year shall be divided into the following fiscal quarters:
a. 1st: December, January, February
b. 2nd: March, April, May
c. 3rd: June, July, August
d. 4th: September, October, November
Accrual of personal days shall be accredited to present County employees beginning March 1, 1969. Severance of employment shall terminate all rights to accrued personal days.
Non-union employees who will no longer accrue personal days but will retain no more than eight (8) hours of earned personal day time may use it until the end of the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2024.
Effective date: This ordinance shall be in December 1, 2023.
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