Board of Directors 
Employees - Policy 3.3 
A. EMPLOYEE LEAVE
Employees accumulate 1 hour of leave for every 25 hours worked. Leave begins to accumulate on the first hour of employment. Leave may be used for sick, personal or vacation leave. After the training period, and before the first anniversary of employment, three days of earned leave may be taken as sick leave. After one year of employment, employees are eligible to use leave for any purpose.
Use of leave should be approved as far in advance as possible by the Team Leader. Employees are responsible to complete Change of Schedule Forms and submit them for approval by the Team Leader.
Leave time may accumulate up to a maximum of 125 hours. Upon termination, employees who have been employed at least one year will be paid for all accumulated leave.
B. LEAVE FOR TEAM LEADERS
Team Leaders who will be taking a leave of more than 48 hours must submit a Leave Request and an amended staffing schedule to their Service Coordinator for approval. A designated Team Leader needs to be appointed for the period of the leave.
C. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
An employee who has worked at least 12 months and at least 1250 hours is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave time during any 12 month period if:
- An employee has a serious health condition that makes him/her unable to perform the functions of his/her position, or
- To care for an employee’s spouse, parent or child who has a serious health condition; and/or
- To provide care for an employee’s new born, adopted or foster care child.
Employees who are eligible for Family and Medical Leave are entitled to be restored, at the end of their leave, to the same job position or an equivalent job with the same benefits, pay and other terms of employment. An employee who wants to request Family and Medical Leave must do so in writing to the Executive Director. The request should state the begin date and end date of the leave period and the reason for the leave. The employee will receive a written response to their request. Employee health benefits will be maintained for the period of the leave at the same level and conditions as if the employee continued to work. Any health premiums paid by the employee prior to the leave must continue to be paid by the employee during the leave period. Accumulated paid leave will be used concurrently with the unpaid leave time and will not extend the 12-week period. Unpaid leave will be granted when an employee’s paid leave hours have been exhausted.
D. SHARED LEAVE
Employees may donate a portion of their accrued leave time to a fellow employee who must miss work due to a situation covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act. It is not necessary for the employee to formally request Family and Medical Leave in order to be eligible to receive shared leave.
An employee wishing to donate leave to a co-worker should fill out a Shared Leave Donation Form and turn it in to the Executive Director for approval. The Executive Director will assure that the employee donating leave has sufficient accrued leave remaining to provide for his/her own needs.
E. UNPAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Requests for unpaid leave time that do not meet the criteria for Family and Medical Leave may be granted at the discretion of the Executive Director. Requests should be made in writing. Leave may be granted if it does not conflict with scheduled earned leave time already granted to other employees, if the employee’s absence does not cause a serious understaffing situation or if the schedule changes proposed do not result in the need for an authorization of overtime hours. Employees who take an unpaid leave of absence will not be eligible for paid medical benefits for any full month they are absent from work.
F. JURY DUTY
Kokua does not reimburse employees for serving jury duty. An employee may elect to use accumulated leave hours for an absence due to jury service.
G. UNPAID MILITARY LEAVE
It is the policy of Kokua to grant military leaves of absence as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA) and by the needs of employees who are members of the military service.
- Any full-time employee who is called to active military duty will be granted a military leave of absence provided the request is in writing and is accompanied by a valid copy of military orders. The duration of the leave shall be the term of enlistment plus any additional time that may be required by the government. It shall include a reasonable allowance of time for travel and adjustment. If the employee voluntarily re-enlists, the military leave will be cancelled and reinstatement privileges terminated.
- On return from military leave of absence, the employee will be reinstated as required by law, subject to these conditions:
- The employee must apply for reinstatement and return to work within 90 days of separation from active duty. Failure to comply will terminate military leave and reinstatement privileges.
- If the employee’s former job is not available, the company will provide a job of similar status and pay.
- When employees are called to military duty emergency conditions, adjustments and exceptions to this policy may be made as circumstances require.
H. PAID MILITARY LEAVE
An employee of Kokua who is a member of the National Guard or a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States, is entitled, upon written request, to a leave of absence not exceeding 15 working days in any year commencing Oct 1. Such leave will be granted without loss of time, pay or leave and without impairment of any other benefits to which the employee may be entitled. Military leave with pay will only be granted when an employee submits a copy of military orders to temporary active or training duty which designates the specific dates of such training. The leave will not be paid unless the employee returns to work on the next scheduled work day following the expiration of the period of duty.