Many officers have contacted PLEA seeking information on the issue of unpaid holiday hours. As a reminder, under the current imposed contract conditions, Unit 4 members are required to take 12 hours of unpaid holiday leave during the FY 2014-2015 time frame. During FY 2015-2016 of the contract the 12 hrs of unpaid leave from the previous year will remain in effect and officers will be required to take an additional 24 hrs of unpaid leave for a total of 36 hours in year two of the contract.
CLICK HERE to read the letter put out by the Human Resources Department on Furlough and Unpaid Holiday Procedures (specific instructions for unpaid holidays can be found on page 4 of the document).
PLEA has also fielded calls on the option of payment in lieu of unpaid time off. Everyone has the option to pay the City for the 12 hours of holiday time, instead of taking unpaid holidays. If you choose this option, you will still get paid for the holiday (counts towards your pension). You can pay this in one lump sum or can pay over time. This is a good option if you are currently in your “high 3”.
Note: For officers who exercise this option, the city will factor in the fringe costs associated with your salary when telling you how much to pay. For example if officer X normally is paid at a rate of $29.00/hour and the city also pays an additional $15.00/hr in related pension and related insurance costs the city will charge the officer the cost of their hourly wage $29.00 plus the $15.00 for related benefits $44.00 X 12 hrs for a total of $528 (the numbers cited in the example above can vary from employee to employee and are for illustrative purposes only).