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PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
VACATION 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 December 1, 20243:
(a) All officers and employees, other than seasonal employees and certain classifications of nursing personnel, shall be granted vacation leave under this policy, that may be taken for any reason. Vacation leave is earned on a pro rata basis as each employee renders service over the course of the year except as otherwise provided herein. Employees and officers of Cook County, including those with service referenced in Subsection (ge) of this section, shall be granted vacation leave consistent with the rules established by the Chief of the Cook County Bureau of Human Resources as follows:
(1) Fifteen days per year between one year of service and four years of service. Maximum accumulation allowable 30 days.
(2) Twenty days per year between five years of service and nine years of service. Maximum accumulation allowable 40 days.
(3) Twenty-five days per year with ten or more years of service. Maximum accumulation allowable 50 days.
(b) Computation of vacation leave shall begin at the initial date of employment; with the rate of accrual increasing thereafter as prescribed by the rules established by the Chief of the Cook County Bureau of Human Resources.
(c) Employees may use only such vacation leave as has been earned and accrued. The heads of the County offices, departments, or institutions may establish the time when the vacation shall be taken.
(d) Newly hired non-union Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempt employees will be advanced five (5) working days of vacation upon hire, such time to be subtracted from the total first year vacation allowance. Upon separation from service, the non-union FLSA exempt employee’s vacation days shall be prorated as of the date of separation and the employee shall be compensated only for vacation time earned but unused prior to the effective date of separation, including advanced time.
(e) Employees hired into Executive-level Positions, as defined by the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources, will be entitled to twenty-five (25) days of paid vacation per year. Vacation days shall accrue beginning on December 1st for each year. Newly hired employees into Executive-level Positions shall have a prorated bank of days depending on their date of hire, as follows:
(1) Employees hired into Executive-level Positions from December 1st - May 31st shall receive twenty-five (25) vacation days.
(2) Employees hired into Executive-level positions from June 1st - November 30th shall receive twelve and a half (12.5) vacation days.
(3) Executive-level employees may retain a maximum of no more than fifty (50) days of vacation.
Upon separation from service, the Executive-level employee’s vacation will be prorated as of the date of separation and the employee shall be compensated only for earned, but unused vacation time as of the date of separation.
(f) Vacation accruals for employees governed by collective bargaining agreements may vary in accordance with provisions of collective bargaining agreements or existing policies.
(ge) 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, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation 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 a certificate of such prior service from such former place or places of employment.
(hf) In the event an employee has not taken vacation as provided herein by reason of separation from service, the employee, or in the event of death, the employee's estate, shall be entitled to receive the prevailing salary for such unused vacation period.
(ig) In computing vacation leave, employees shall be credited with regular working time plus the time of duty disability.
(jh) 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 the funeral, make necessary arrangements, or grieve the death of a member of the employee's immediate family or household.
(b) Leave beyond these amounts may be approved under special circumstances, but will be charged against accumulated vacation or personal leave.
(c) If leave is requested to attend the funeral of someone other than an immediate family or household member, it may be granted, but time so used shall be deducted from the accumulated vacation or personal 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) 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 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 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 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 effect December 1, 2024.