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RESOLUTION NO. 23—160
A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE ST.LUCIE COUNTY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK;AMENDING
SECTION 4.11.00, ELIGIBILITY AND ACCRUAL RATE, SECTION 4.11.02, UNUSED
VACATION LEAVE,AND 4.13,SHARED SICK LEAVE;AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida has made the following
determinations,
1, On April 22, 2006, the Board of County Commissioners for St. Lucie County, (the "Board")
adopted Resolution No.06-120 which established the current Employee Handbook,for employees of the Board.
2. The Employee Handbook has been amended several times since its adoption to incorporate
legislative amendments and policy changes approved by the Board and/or the County Administrator, as
authorized by the Board.
3. It is necessary to further amend the Employee Handbook to by amending Section 4.11(Vacation
Leave) to delete the cap on accrual of vacation leave during employment while continuing to apply existing cap
rates to payout of vacation leave hours upon termination in good standing.
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida:
1. The St. Lucie County Employee Handbook is hereby amended as set forth in Exhibit"A"attached.
2. This resolution shall become effective upon adoption.
After motion and second the vote on this Resolution was as follows:
Commissioner Cathy Townsend, Chair AYE
Commissioner Linda Bartz,Vice Chair AYE
Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky AYE
Commissioner Larry Leet AYE
Commissioner Jamie Fowler ABSENT
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 19th day of September, 2023.
ATTEST: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
/ • ST LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
Deputy Clerk J �S� BY:
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!ISib APPROVED AS TO FORM A
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County Attorn
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EXHIBIT"A"
4.11 VACATION LEAVE
4.11.00 Eligibility and Accrual Rate
1. Vacation time with pay is available to eligible employees to provide opportunities for rest, relaxation and personal
pursuits.
2. Regular status employees and employees in the initial probationary period are eligible to earn and use vacation time as
described in this policy.
3.The amount of paid vacation time eligible employees receive each year increases with the length of their employment as
shown in the following schedule, based on 80 hours biweekly, until the cap indicated is reached. Rounding up for the
number of years of service is not permitted. Eligible parttime employees shall accrue vacation time on a pro-rated basis
according to number of hours worked during a pay period.
Years of Eligible Service Vacation Days Per Biweekly Accrual
Year Rate Accrued
Less than 5.0 years 10 3.08 460
5.0 to less than 11.0 years 15 4.62 240
11.0 to less than 21.0 years 20 6.16 320
21.0 to less than 22.0 years 21 6.46 335
22.0 to less than 23.0 year 22 6.78 352
23.0 to less than 24.0 years 23 7.08 368
24.0 to less than 25.0 years 24 7.40 381
25.0 years and above 25 7.70 400
4.The length of eligible service is calculated on the basis of a rolling year.This is the 12-month period that begins when the
employee starts to earn vacation time. Typically, this is the first day employment with the County. Military leave has no
effect on this calculation.
5. Employees eligible to earn vacation time begin earning time on the first day of employment. However, before vacation
time can be used, the Initial Probationary Period must be completed unless approved by the County Administrator of
designee.
4.11.02 Unused Vacation Leave
1. In the event available vacation leave is not used by the end of the fiscal year, employees may carry unused time forward
to the next fiscal year.
vacation accrual will begin again.
2,Any-vac-ation-leave-A€4-u-sed-with-i-n-tweRty-few-(2-4)-FRe441%-f-r-em-clate-eamed-i.vill-be-eeris•ider-ed-fer-f-eited-and-lecA
except when an employee has been denied use of leave because of the needs of the County. In those cases, the County
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3- 2. Employees who have successfully completed the Initial Probationary Period, upon Resigning Employment in Good
Standing,shall be paid for accrued vacation leave not to exceed the cap levels set forth below:
Years of Eligible Service Cap on Accrued Vacation
Hours Payout
Less than 5.0 years 160
5.0 to less than 11.0 years 240
11.0 to less than 21.0 years 320
21.0 to less than 22.0 years 335
22.0 to less than 23.0 year 352
23.0 to less than 24.0 years 368
24.0 to less than 25.0 years 384
25.0 years and above 400
If the employment termination is due to death,the accrued vacation leave shall be paid to the beneficiary.
43. Employees electing to participate in the FRS Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) may choose to receive a
payment or partial payment for accrued vacation leave at the time the employee enters the DROP program or any time
during the employee's participation in the DROP program as allowed by FRS regulations.
a.The Human Resources Department is responsible for notifying employees of this option.
b.The maximum payment for accrued vacation leave shall not exceed the maximum amount of vacation leave the
employee has accrued at the time of the initial payment, the cap on accrued vacation leave as stipulated in the
table in Section 4.11.00(3)4.11.02.2 or a maximum established by the FRS,whichever is less.
c. Employees choosing this option for payment will continue to accrue vacation leave and may use it in accordance
with conditions outlined in this section (Section 4.11). However, if an employee chooses to receive a payment for
accrued vacation leave at the time of entering DROP or at any time during DROP,the following shall apply:
i.An employee who chooses to receive the maximum payment to which he/she is eligible,will not then be eligible
for payment of any remaining unused annual leave upon actual termination of employment with the County.
ii.An employee who chooses to receive less than the maximum payment to which he/she is eligible will be eligible
for payment of any remaining vacation leave accrued at the time of the initial payment. For example, if an
employee has accrued 300 hours of vacation leave at the time of entering DROP and elects to receive payment for
only 220 hours, the employee shall be eligible for a maximum payment of 80 hours of accrued vacation leave at
the time of employment termination.
iii. An employee is eligible to receive not more than two payments for accrued vacation leave: one at the time of
entering DROP or during DROP and the second at the time of termination from employment.
;4.As allowed by FRS, any payment of accrued vacation leave, either during the DROP program or upon termination from
employment, may be considered salary payment and be used in determining average compensation.
4.12 SICK LEAVE
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4.12.03 Sick Leave Termination Pay
1.After six(6)years of creditable and continuous service with St. Lucie County,all County employees eligible for sick leave
shall be entitled to Sick Leave Termination Pay for accumulated and unused sick leave upon Resigning Employment In Good
Standing. If the employee has six (6) years of creditable and continuous service and termination is due to death, the sick
leave termination pay shall be paid to the employee's beneficiary.
2. The payment shall be determined by using the rate of pay received by the employee at the time of Retirement,
termination, resignation,or death.
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3. Sick Leave Termination Pay allowable for unused sick leave shall not exceed the following. Rounding up for the number
of years of service is not permitted.
Years of Credible and Continuous Service Cap on Sick Leave Termination Pay
Less than 6.0 years 0 hours
6.0 to less than 10.0 years 240 hours
10.0 to less than 11.0 years 480 hours
11.0 to less than 12.0 years 520 hours
12.0 to less than 13.0 years 560 hours
13.0 to less than 14.0 years 600 hours
14.0 to less than 15.0 years 640 hours
15.0 to less than 16.0 years 680 hours
16.0 or more years 720 hours
4. If an employee has a scheduled termination date,the employee's sick leave termination cap set forth in Section 4.12.02.3
will be reduced by the amount of any sick leave donated ninety(90)days or less prior to the employee's termination date.
4.13 SHARED SICK LEAVE
4.13.00 General Provisions
1.Shared sick leave is a voluntary program in which County employees can donate accumulated sick leave to fellow County
employees who are unable to perform their duties due to a serious medical condition are currently on continuous or
intermittent approved medical leave under FMLA.
2. Shared sick leave may not be requested more frequently than every thirty (30) days and each request is subject to the
recommend of the Department Director and approval of the County Administrator or designee.
3. An employee is limited to 120 share sick leave days (if available) for one period of absence from work during a twelve
(12)month period.
4. The maximum number of shared sick leave days, if available, which can be used by an employee during his/her
employment is 240 days.
5. Unless otherwise stated in this Section,all policies in regard to regarding sick leave also apply to shared sick leave.
6. An employee's sick leave termination cap set forth in Section 4.12.03 will be reduced by the amount of any sick leave
donated ninety(90)days or less prior to the employee's termination date.
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