Category: E. Vacation & PTO

Paid Time Off

CarlinVision offers a Paid Time Off (PTO) program that provides employees the opportunity to take time away from work without loss of compensation and ensures that employees have periods of rest and relaxation which contribute to a healthy and equitable work-life balance. The PTO Program is an inclusive time-off program that covers vacations, non-work related sickness, personal or family business, dependent care, doctor appointments, school, volunteerism, and other activities of the employee’s choice that may require time off from work. PTO provides employees the flexibility to use their time to meet their personal needs, while recognizing the individual’s right and responsibility to manage their own time away from work.

While a major portion of an employee’s PTO should be viewed and taken as necessary for unexpected circumstances and sickness/injuries (non-work related), the Company acknowledges that an employee may take their entire amount of PTO for any purpose they choose.

Effective Date

This policy/program is effective August 18, 2020 and supersedes any and all previous vacation, sick, and personal leave policies at CarlinVision.

Eligibility

Every eligible CarlinVision employee will earn PTO hours based on years of service. Paid time off is to be used for both planned and unplanned absence. An employee is entitled to use his/her PTO with prior management approval based on the procedure below. Time off may not be taken without pay unless the employee has NO PTO and has received prior management approval.

Full time employee work 64-80 hours in a pay period

Part time employee work 48-63 hours in a pay period

Casual employee works 47 or less hours a pay period do not earn PTO.

Both full time and part time employees are eligible for PTO. An employee will accrue PTO upon completing their 90 days at CarlinVision.

PTO Schedule FULL TIME

Years of Service	Maximum PTO Earned Each Year
Day 91-10 years	15 days (120 hours) accrue 4.62 hours per pay period
10+ years	20 days (160 hours) accrue 6.15 hours per pay period

PTO Schedule PART TIME

Years of Service	Maximum PTO Earned Each Year
Day 91-10 years	7 days (56 hours) accrue 2.15 hours per pay period
10+years	9 days (72 hours) accrue 2.77 hours per pay period

Use of PTO

• PTO must be used for all planned and unplanned absences. Examples of planned absences are vacation, doctor or dental appointment, a personal day. All planned absences have prior management approval. Examples of unplanned absences include illness or a child’s illness, car breakdown, any absence that does not have prior management approval.
• If the employee has no PTO, the request for planned time off will be denied. On rare occasions and only in special circumstances, planned time off may be granted as unpaid time off at the discretion of the Practice Manager.
• An employee must have prior management approval to use PTO. Every effort will be made to accommodate an employee’s PTO request. PTO must be requested with at least two (2) working days advance notice. In order to avoid potential problems, however, employees are encouraged to ask for their PTO as far as 4 months in advance.
• The Manager has the responsibility to insure that adequate staffing is maintained to meet the workload demands. When requesting time off, the employee must work with management to find coverage.
• Use of the Paid Time Off Request form is required. When submitting you must designate amount of hours to use. Verbal requests for PTO are not permitted.
• PTO may be used in one (1) hour increments.
• In order to assure proper payment, the Manager must authorize the number of PTO hours to be paid on the appropriate payroll form. All corrections will be made the pay period following discovery.
• Negative balances of PTO will not be permitted.
• Compensation for all PTO will be based on the employee’s current hourly rate at the time the PTO is taken.
• Employees who agree to take time off at the Manager’s request (to reduce staffing levels due to reduced workload) have the option to use PTO or take unpaid time off.
• PTO may be carried over into the next calendar year with management approval. The maximum allowable PTO carryover is 80 hours. After March 31 any PTO in excess of the amount allowed for carry over will be lost. The benefit year ends on March 31 of each year.
• PTO must be used to cover time away from the office, ie, surgeries, maternity leave, and dependent care. You must exhaust all PTO prior to using unpaid time off.
• Employees who voluntarily resign their employment with CarlinVision must provide a minimum of two weeks notice of resignation in order to be eligible to receive any unused, accrued PTO at time of termination. An employee who has resigned and provided a written notice or resignation is required to work the last day of their two-week notice period (unless otherwise changed or agreed upon by management).  The following additional conditions must also be met for voluntarily resignations:

1. Unplanned PTO may not be approved during a notice period.
2. Any PTO approved prior to giving notice may be revoked by the Manager.
3. PTO requested after notice may be granted at the discretion of the Manager. Replacing an employee can be difficult and time consuming and the preference is that the departing employee work her/his entire two-week notice period.
4. Payment of approved PTO is determined by the Manager at the end of the notice period and is subject to the employee’s fulfillment of the notice period. This means that if the employee fails to report to work or otherwise complete her or his notice period, she/he may not be paid PTO, even if it was approved.
5. Managers are expected to be fair and consistent when granting PTO during a notice period.
6. If the employee works the last day of the notice period, she/he will be paid the remaining PTO balance, provided she/he has conducted himself in a professional, courteous manner during the entire notice period. If, during the notice period, the employee is unprofessional or produces below standard work, she/he will not be eligible to receive final payout of their PTO balance whether they work the entire notice period or not.
7. If the Manager decides to cut short an employee’s notice period for reasons unrelated to the employee’s performance (e.g. a reduction in staff) and the employee qualifies for PTO payout, she/he shall receive payment.

• If an employee submits her/his resignation while on maternity/paternity leave, her/his employment and any remaining PTO will cease as of that same date.
• In cases of involuntary termination for cause, PTO will not be paid out to the terminated
• In cases of involuntary termination without cause, management may pay out any unused accrued PTO at termination at the company’s sole discretion. Examples of termination without cause includes, but is not limited to layoffs, job eliminations or other reasons not at the fault of the terminated
• When an employee changes employment status from full time, part time or casual so will their PTO eligibility. You will earn benefits based on employment status.

Absences

An employee who expects to be absent must notify their immediate supervisor at least one hour before the beginning of their workday. The employee must call their supervisor and speak with them providing the supervisor with the reason for the absence and when they expect to return to work. Voicemail messages, texts, emails and messages to co-workers and messages from family members or friends are not acceptable means of reporting an absence. The employee must also contact the office and report their absence.

An employee who is absent more than one day must keep their supervisor informed of their status and the day and time she/he expects to return to work. The employee must call their supervisor before the start of each workday or as otherwise agreed upon. In some cases, the employee may be required to have a physician’s note to support the employee’s absence and the approximate time the employee may miss work.

Upon returning to work, the employee is required to complete a PTO form for the unplanned absence. You must use PTO when absent.

All absences will be recorded on each employee’s attendance calendar.

Employees still in their Evaluation Period:

1. Employees who are in their evaluation period (generally considered the first 90 days of employment) can have no more than three (3) occurrences within the first 90 days.
2. The first occurrence will result in a verbal warning.
3. The second occurrence will result in a written counseling.
4. The third occurrence will result in termination

Employees who have completed their Evaluation Period:

1. Once all PTO has been used and absence occurs, a formal counseling session will be held with the employee. This will be considered the start of the Progressive Disciplinary process.
2. The first occurrence in a 12 month period will result in a verbal warning.
3. The second occurrence in a 12 month period will result in a written warning, and
4. The third occurrence in a 12 month period will result in discharge from employment.

Depending on the circumstances, the Manager may repeat a progressive disciplinary step or may skip a step (e.g. may issue another verbal warning instead of issuing a written warning or termination instead of a written warning).

The table below summarizes these steps:

Summary of Progressive Discipline Steps*
Employee in Evaluation Period:
First Occurrence	Verbal warning (documented)
Second Occurrence	Written counseling
Third Occurrence	Termination
Employee Who Has Completed Evaluation Period:
First Occurrence	Verbal warning (documented)
Second Occurrence	Written warning (documented)
Third Occurrence	Termination
*The Manager may repeat or skip a step, depending on the circumstances.

 

Revised 8/18/20

If you have six months of service with the corporation, you are eligible for a leave of absence for extended illness or injury, including pregnancy or childbirth, which medically required you to be absent from work. A written notice containing a detailed reason for the absence and expected dates of absence must be approved by the Practice Administrator and/or the physicians prior to leave. This leave is only for a period of time for which an employee is medically required to be away from work. This medical leave of absence may not exceed 60 calendar days but may be renewed upon agreement by the corporation if the employee has received a physician’s statement verifying the need for a continuation of medical leave. Leaves may be continued for a maximum of six months. At the end of your leave, if you do not return to work or receive approval for an extension of leave, you will be terminated.

You must use all accrued PTO during the leave, once depleted leave will be unpaid.

The corporation will make every effort to reinstate an employee to the same position previously occupied or to a similar position following a leave of absence. However, the corporation cannot guarantee the same position or a similar position will be immediately available at the time an employee is able to return to work. If you accept employment from another employer or become self-employed while on leave, you will be subject to termination.