DFRS

POLICES & PROCEDURES
Department Of Fire & Rescue Services
Montgomery County, MD

LEAVE FOR UNION ACTIVITIES





No. 508.4
June 22, 1989

PURPOSE
1.0 To establish procedures for the use of administrative leave for the conduct of Union business.

APPLICABILITY
2.0 All DFRS bargaining unit personnel.

DEFINITIONS
3.0 Union - A short term that refers to the organization holding the certification as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the bargaining unit employees of DFRS, currently Local #1664, Montgomery County Career Fire Fighters Association of the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO.
3.1 Bargaining Unit - Comprised of those employees who hold the positions of Firefighter/Rescuer I, Firefighter/Rescuer II, Firefighter/Rescuer III, Master Firefighter/Rescuer, and who are associated with fire suppression, fire protection, fire communications, fire service training, rescue, and emergency medical services.
3.2 Labor Relations Officer - The senior officer assigned by the Director to coordinate relations with the Union and the Division of Labor Relations and Training of the Department of Personnel of the Montgomery County Government. An Assistant Labor Relations Officer shall also be appointed.

POLICY
4.0 The President of the Union must be granted 1248 hours of administrative leave per year for the purposes of discharging his official representational duties as Union President.
4.1 Members of the bargaining unit shall be assessed three (3) hours of compensatory or annual leave (at the option of the employer) per year which shall be contributed to an administrative leave bank for the purpose of providing additional administrative leave to the President and/or other officials of the Union.
4.2 Administrative leave identified in 4.0 and 4.1 of this policy shall be the sole source of leave for the Union President and shall result in the President being placed on administrative leave full time, except that the President shall continue to use annual and sick leave pursuant to applicable regulations. Any residue in this leave bank at the end of any leave year shall not carry over to the next year.
4.3 In addition, members of the Union Executive Board, when scheduled to work, shall be granted four hours of administrative leave to attend Union Executive Board meetings, not to exceed one a month.

RESPONSIBILITY
5.0 The Labor Relations Officer shall be responsible for all matters relating to the approval, use and accounting of the leave provided for in this policy. In his absence or as directed the Assistant Labor Relations Officer shall be responsible.
5.1 The Labor Relations Officer will provide the Union and the Director an accounting of the administrative leave used and remaining balance on a quarterly basis beginning with the start of the leave year. The Leave Year for the purposes the leave identified in 4.0 and 4.1 of this Policy is July 1st through June 30th of the following year.
5.2 The Union President must provide a list of the Union Executive Board Members to the Labor Relations Officer and provide any changes in these officials when they occur.
5.3 The Union President, Union Executive Board Members, and other officers and officials of the Union are responsible for adhering to and properly administering the requirements of this policy.

PROCEDURE
6.0 The Union President shall automatically be placed on administrative leave and the use of this leave shall not effect the leave slots as specified in DFRS Policy 508.

  1. The Union President shall forward requests for the use of annual leave to the Labor Relations Officer or if unavailable, the Assistant Labor Relations Officer. In the event they cannot be contacted in a timely manner, the Shift Operations Chief shall be notified and will note the occurrence and use of leave in the Shift Operations Chief's logbook.

  2. The Union President shall forward requests for the use of sick leave to the Labor Relations Officer or if unavailable, the Assistant Labor Relations Officer. In the event they cannot be contacted in a timely manner, the Shift Operations Chief shall be notified and will note the occurrence and the use of leave in the Shift Operations Chief's logbook. All other aspects of sick leave shall be administered in accordance with the DFRS Sick Leave Policy.

  3. The Union President shall foreword his bi-weekly timesheet to the Labor Relations Officer or if unavailable, the Assistant Labor Relations Officer for review, signature and forwarding to payroll.

6.1 All requests for administrative leave by other officials and officers of the Union shall be forwarded to the Labor Relations Officer via the Union President who must note his approval beside the employee's signature. The Labor Relations Officer will forward all approved requests to the appropriate District Staffing Officer or as appropriate.

  1. All requests for this leave must be submitted no later than fourteen days in advance. This advance notice period may be waived under extenuating circumstances by mutual agreement.

  2. Except for the President, administrative leave granted for Union activities will be assigned out of the normal complement of leave slots if available at the time of request. If no leave slots are available at the time of request and the leave is approved, it will be granted over and above the normal leave slots available.

  3. Requests for administrative leave shall not be unreasonably denied.

6.2 Administrative leave granted Union Executive Board Members for attendance at monthly Executive Board Meetings shall be entered on the appropriate individuals bi-weekly timesheets using the standard payroll code of ADL. All other administrative leave as delineated in 4.0 and 4.1 of this policy shall be entered using the payroll code of ADL-4.