Opinion ID: 1587319
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: whether pay for unused sick and personal leave is prevalent

Text: In its second assignment of error, the District argues that the CIR erred in finding that paying teachers for unused sick and personal leave was prevalent. We have said that the standard inherent in the word `prevalent' is one of general practice, occurrence, or acceptance and that contract terms need only be `sufficiently similar and have enough like characteristics or qualities' in order to be considered prevalent. [23] The language in question provides in part: Any teacher having served the [District] for 10 or more years shall receive severance pay for each day of accumulated, unused sick leave or personal leave at the rate of one-third (1/3) of his/her daily earnings are to be based on the amount of the last contract, and the number of service days on the contract. At least 10 of the 14 schools in the District's array have some sort of provision requiring payment for unused sick and personal leave as follows: Adams Central: Unused personal leave days will be compensated at a rate of $80 per day. Aurora: All unused Sick Leave and Personal Leave days shall accumulate. Teachers who have taught five or more years in the Aurora Public Schools shall receive severance pay upon ceasing employment with the Aurora School District. Such pay shall be for each day of accumulated sick and personal leave at a rate of one-fourth (1/4) of the teacher's daily earnings. Boone Central: In a given year, a staff member may trade 2 sick days in for 1 additional personal day. Centennial: If six (6) or less sick leave days are used during the contract year, the teacher will be reimbursed one (1) day of the substitute teacher rate of pay. ... Unused personal leave days will be reimbursed at the substitute rate of pay. ... Centura: If the employee does not use two (2) personal days, the district will buy back both days at the substitute pay rate. If the employee uses only one (1) personal day, the remaining day may be rolled over to the next year, and the employee begins the year with three (3) personal days. (The day must be rolled over and will not be bought back.) Cross County: Payment for Unused Sick Leave Days at Separation Should a teacher, at the time of separation from the district, and having a minimum of five years with the district, have accumulated unused sick leave days, the teacher will be entitled, on or before June 15th immediately following the school year, to turn back to the school district [his or her] unused sick days and shall be paid by the School District fifty dollars ($50.00) each for two-thirds (2/3) of the days the teacher is entitled to. ... Payment for Unused Sick Leave Days Continuing Employee Option I: Should a teacher, as of the last duty day of any school year, accumulate more than forty (40) unused sick leave days, the teacher will be entitled, on or before the June 15th immediately following the school year, to turn back to the school district any unused sick days in excess of forty (40) days, and shall be paid by the School district twenty dollars ($20.00) for each day the teacher is entitled to. ... Option II: Should a teacher, as of the last duty day of any school year, accumulate forty-three (43) or more sick days, the teacher will be entitled, on or before June 15th immediately following the school year, to turn back to the school district any unused sick days in excess of forty (40) days, and shall be granted one additional Personal Day for the following school year. Doniphan-Trumbull: Employees with a balance in excess of 45 days at the end of the contract year will be paid at 25% of the employee's daily rate of pay for each day in excess of 45. . . . . ... Teachers ... will be reimbursed at the end of the contract period $100 for each day of the unused leave. Grand Island Northwest: District #82 will pay for unused sick leave in excess of fifty (50) days cumulative sick leave at the rate of $50.00 per day. The maximum number of days that can be paid is ten (10) days. ... . . . . ... District # 82 will reimburse unused personal leave in excess of two (2) days cumulative personal leave at the rate of $50.00 per day. The maximum number of days for reimbursement would be (2) days unless the teacher is resigning from the district, and then the maximum number of days would be four (4). Columbus Lakeview: Upon leaving the system, a teacher will be compensated up to a maximum of thirty (30) accumulated sick leave days. The District's sick leave buy-back policy does not apply to the personal sick leave bank days. The rate of compensation will be based on fifty (50) percent of a substitute's rate of pay at the time of separation. St. Paul: No language allowing payment for unused sick and personal leave in contract. Sutton: At the end of each school year a teacher who has accumulated more than 50 days of sick leave will be given a stipend of $10 for each day in excess of 50 days. ... A teacher shall choose to have unused personal leave days added to [his or her] cumulative sick leave or reimbursed at the rate of 75% of the substitute rate of pay. Twin River: The teacher will be entitled on or before June 15th immediately following the end of the school year to turn back to the School District a maximum of ten (10) sick leave days. The School District shall then pay fifteen dollars ($15) for each day the teacher is entitled. ... ... A teacher leaving the school system will receive fifteen dollars ($15) per day to a maximum of thirty (30) sick leave days for each day of unused accumulated sick leave. Wood River Rural: No language allowing payment for unused sick and personal leave in contract. York: No language allowing payment for unused sick and personal leave in contract. Plainly, pay for unused leave is permitted by 10 of the 14 schools in the District's array. We therefore agree with the CIR and the CCEA that the inclusion of a provision providing for pay for unused leave is prevalent within the array, and to that extent, we affirm the CIR's order. But we also conclude that on this record, the terms of the provision ordered by the CIR are not supported by a preponderance of the evidence. For example, we note that the rate of reimbursement differs in many of the schools in the array. In addition, some schools in the array pay for both sick and personal days, while others pay for just one or the other. Still other schools offer additional personal days in return for unused sick days rather than payment for unused days. We therefore remand this action to the CIR with directions to consider the appropriate terms of the pay for unused leave provision to be included in the parties' agreement.