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with the use of other leave provide a doctor's note. And, Local 2201 has not <br />disputed that this problem exists or that there is anything overly burdensome <br />about requiring an employee to produce a doctor's note under these <br />circumstances. <br />Regarding the newly numbered ¶26.05.C, the County is proposing language to <br />address the issue discussed above regarding employees burning their medical <br />leave during the last months of their employment with the County. The intent of <br />this proposal is not to prevent employees who have legitimate medical needs from <br />taking time off. Instead, the intent is to protect the County against the abuse of <br />leave which increases the Division's overtime expenditures. <br />As to the newly numbered ¶26.05.D, the Division has experienced a problem with <br />bargaining unit employees scheduling doctor's appointments on their assigned <br />shift days and waiting until they come on shift before telling a supervisor that they <br />need to leave for a few hours in the middle of the shift to attend a doctor's <br />appointment. To address this, the County has proposed that the employee provide <br />72 hours of advance notice of doctor's appointments. <br />Turning to the newly numbered ¶26.06.A and B, the Division is experiencing a <br />problem with employees calling in at the last minute to say that they are sick, but <br />will be able to come in an hour, or will be able to come in the second half of their <br />shift (during sleep time). It is way too uncanny that these employees are able to <br />forecast with certainty that they will be better in an hour or later in the day. It <br />does not take much experience in this area to recognize that these employees are <br />gaming the system (e.g., they are using this as a way to sleep in before coming to <br />work). To discourage the practice, the County has proposed disincentive <br />language in the newly numbered ¶26.06.A and B. <br />With respect to the newly numbered ¶26.06.C, the Division is experiencing a <br />problem with employees who are mandated to work an overtime shift and/or who <br />do not like their assignment proclaiming that they are sick and leaving the shift <br />early. This leaves the Division in a lurch as employees leaving their shift early <br />invariably results in the shift being short staffed, and under Article 17.01 of the <br />CBA the Division cannot operate a station short-staffed for more than 4 hours. <br />As discussed more fully in the section of this Brief addressing Article 31, calling <br />off-duty employees in an attempt to get them to fill a vacancy, especially on a <br />moment's notice, is a herculean task, and one that costs the Division overtime. <br />To address this issue, and discourage this practice, the County has proposed that <br />employees who are too sick to finish their shifts bring in a doctor's note verifying <br />their illness. There is nothing overly burdensome about requiring an employee to <br />produce a doctor's note under these circumstances. <br />Accordingly, I recommend that the BCC adopt the County's proposal on ¶1126.01, <br />26.03 (existing numbered), 26.03 (newly numbered), 26.05 (newly numbered), <br />26.06 (newly numbered), and 26.09, attached hereto as Exhibit M. <br />18 <br />18 <br />