Contract 101 Wellness Leave

1
Contract 101 Wellness Leave

• Article 15 Leaves
• Section D Pages 87 and 88
• Provided/created by
• Jason Brown/FWEA Vice President
• Chuck Christensen/Director of Human Resources
• Vicky Quackenbush/FWEA Bargaining Chair

2
Know Your Contract!

• We (the FWEA and FWSD Management) recommend that
  each staff member bring a copy of his/her
  contract with them to each Contract 101 session.
  Participants can use sticky notes or some other
  means of marking each section so that it is
  easier to reference in the future when, and if, a
  question on that particular topic/subject should
  arise again.

3
Collaboration Is Key!

• We, the Federal Way Education Association and
  the Federal Way School District Management, have
  entered into a collaborative bargain because we
  believe working together will produce an
  Agreement that will meet the needs of both
  management and staff in accomplishing our shared
  aim - providing a quality education for all
  children in the District without exception.

4
Purpose of Wellness Leave

• The Board will provide each full time staff
  member twelve (12) days of wellness leave per
  contract year.
• Wellness leave is intended to be utilized for
  personal and family illness, medical and legal
  appointments, emergencies, and the occasional
  personal or family event that cannot be scheduled
  outside of the workday.

5
Wellness Leave Is Not Intended To Be Used For

• annual vacations
• shortening the work week
• pursuing advanced degrees, internships,
  activities or responsibilities related to an
  outside business
• extending a holiday

6
What Are The Blackout/Excluded Days?

• These are the days when wellness cannot be
  used.
• first five(5) days of school
• last five (5) days of school
• waiver days
• the day before and after Thanksgiving, winter,
  midwinter, and spring break(s)
• District-directed or building directed days (or
  for P1/P2 staffsupplemental day former optional
  day)

7
What Happens If I Must Use Wellness On An
Excluded Day?

• Pre-arranged Wellness is not allowed on excluded
  days as there simply arent enough subs to cover
  classes. If an employee does take Wellness leave
  during these excluded days (blackout days), the
  employee will have two (2) days deducted from
  their Wellness leave balance for each day
  utilized.

8
What If I Was Truly Sick Or Have Extenuating
Circumstances On An Excluded Day?

• An employee may petition Human Resources and
  provide documentation demonstrating why the
  Wellness leave was unavoidable and, if approved,
  have only one day deducted. Denial of the appeal
  will not be subject to grievance appeal (In other
  words, the decision is not grievable).

9
Things To Remember!

• The District may limit prearranged Wellness leave
  to thirty-five (35) employees for any
  specific/given day (except excluded days as there
  is no pre-arranged Wellness allowed on excluded
  days).
• Extended Wellness leave (in excess of 4
  consecutive days)Employee must meet with their
  supervisor at least (2) two weeks prior to taking
  the leave to discuss sub coverage. lesson plans,
  etc..Pg.87 last paragraph

10

• Certificated employees must ALWAYS use 32 on the
  reason for being gone list when using Wellness.
  For all other reasons..jury duty, bereavement,
  etc..please listen carefully to the list of
  options on the sub system or visit the FWEA web
  site for a complete downloadable list.

11

• Please refer to pages 87-94 of your contract for
  all other specific questions regarding Wellness
  and other leave.

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Questions or Comments?

• Visit www.federalwayea.orgContact your
  Association Representative
• Contact District Management

Jason Brown/FWEA VPChuck Christensen/Director
of HR FWSDVicky Quackenbush/FWEA Bargaining
Chair