HOURS AND WAGES
Classification of Employees
Employees are considered Regular Full-Time if they are scheduled to work 34-40 hours per week. Employees are considered Regular Part-Time if they are scheduled to work 16-33 hours per week. Employees are intermittent if they are scheduled to work 15 hours or fewer each week. Intermittent employees hired before 8/13/2024 will continue to receive vacation, personal and holiday pay.
Wages
Employees will be hired at the wages determined reasonable by the Director and the Board given the position accepted, the difficulty in filling the position, the wages paid by other libraries to persons in similar positions, and the qualifications of the applicant.
Each year, the board will review the financial resources available and based on the recommendations brought forth by the personnel committee, with consideration of the proposed annual budget, the Library Board of Trustees will determine what, if any, pay increases employees will receive each year.
Compensatory Time
Employees who are not salary exempt in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and whose actual hours worked are more than 40 per week are entitled to be compensated for hours worked over 40. The week is defined as the seven days beginning with Sunday and ending with Saturday. Except in extenuating circumstances, employees should not be scheduled or work more than 40 hours in any week. If employees are required to stay over their scheduled work hours or to come in early so that they will work greater than 40 hours despite being scheduled for 40 hours in any week, the Operations and Personnel Manager should adjust that employee’s schedule for the remainder of the week to ensure that the actual hours worked by the employee remain within the 40-hour limitation. Employees who must work more than 40 hours a week will accrue Compensatory Time at the rate of 1½ times for each hour worked over 40. Any compensatory time accrued by an employee may be used during the second week of the pay period in which it is earned but must be used within the following pay period after it is earned. Compensatory time accrued but unused within the same or the following pay period will be forfeited, with extensions granted by the Operations and Personnel Manager in only the most extreme circumstances. The accrual of compensatory time will only be allowed when library operations and overall patron service is otherwise at risk. The Operations and Personnel Manager must give prior approval to any employee who may accrue compensatory time. There shall be no pyramid of hours or pay.
Honoraria
Employees requested to speak at job-related meetings or workshops, are encouraged to do so, but must have approval in advance to participate in such programs during time they would normally be scheduled to work. If the employee presents the program on Library time, the employee will be paid the employee’s normal wage for the time spent presenting the program, and any cash honoraria paid to the employee will be turned into the Fiscal Officer. Employees may keep any non-monetary material gift received (e.g., pen and pencil set) regardless of whether the program is presented on Library time or not so long as the gift is de minimis and does not violate the Ohio Ethics Laws.
Timekeeping
Accurately recording time worked is the responsibility of every employee. Federal and state laws require the Library to keep an accurate record of time worked to calculate employee pay and benefits. Time worked is all the time spent on the job performing assigned duties. Employees are not permitted to sign in or commence work before their scheduled starting time or to sign out or stop work after their scheduled quitting time without prior approval. Employees shall accurately record the time they begin and end their work. The Library pays employees in increments of 15 minutes. Minutes fewer than the 15-minute increment shall be rounded up or rounded down to the nearest fifteen-minute increment as follows: 7 minutes of work or fewer shall be rounded down to the nearest 15-minute increment and 8 minutes of work or longer shall be rounded up to the nearest 15-minute increment. Employees must also record the beginning and ending time of any departure from work for personal reasons. Salary employees shall accurately record their per pay period absences in accordance with the procedure outlined and approved by the Board. Altering, falsifying, tampering with time records, recording time on another employee’s time record, or deleting time worked from another employee’s time record may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. It is the employees’ responsibility to sign their time records to certify the accuracy of all time recorded. The Operations and Personnel Manager will review and sign the time record and approve any time off request for which the employee is entitled to be paid before submitting to the Fiscal Officer for payroll processing. After notifying the affected employee, the Operations and Personnel Manager may complete incomplete timecards and correct incorrect timecards.
Paid Breaks
Employees scheduled to work 7 or more hours in a day will receive one-half-hour paid lunch and two 15-minute breaks, with the option to consolidate the breaks into a one-hour paid lunch break. Employees working at least 6 but less than 7 hours in a day will receive two paid 15-minute breaks with the option to consolidate the breaks into one half-hour break. Employees working between 4 and 6 hours in a day receive one paid 15-minute break. Breaks will be scheduled to meet operational needs but should be taken at the same time each day.
Payroll
All employees are paid bi-weekly. Employees will be paid using direct deposit and will be given a paper paystub.
Payroll Corrections
The Library takes all reasonable steps to ensure that employees receive the correct amount of pay in each paycheck and that employees are paid promptly on the scheduled payday. In the unlikely event that there is an error, the employee should promptly bring the discrepancy to the attention of the Fiscal Officer so that corrections can be made as quickly as possible. Employees who know or should have known that they received greater compensation than they are entitled to and did not report the discrepancy to the Fiscal Officer will be required to return any amounts over their correct payroll amount and will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
Payroll Deductions
The law requires that the Library make certain deductions from every employee’s compensation. Among these automatic deductions are the following:
• City Income Tax
• School District Income Tax
• Federal Income Tax
• State Income Tax
• Medicare
• OPERS
The Library must also deduct from an employee’s compensation those amounts dictated by a court ordered garnishment. Employees whose wages are subject to such orders should notify the Fiscal Officer immediately upon learning that such an order has been entered against them.
Sick Leave
Paid sick leave is available to all eligible employees for temporary absence due to illness or injury. Sick leave is intended solely to provide income protection in the event of illness, injury, medical and dental appointments, and may not be used for any other absence. Any other use of sick leave is inappropriate and may result in disciplinary action.
1. Eligible Employees: Regular full-time, part-time, and intermittent employees are eligible to earn and use sick leave as outlined in this Policy.
2. Sick Leave Transfer: A new employee coming to the Library from another public employer shall be credited with the unused balance of that employee’s accumulated sick leave from the previous employer and provided that the employee was not compensated in any way for the sick leave balance from the employee’s prior public employer. This credited sick leave may be used any time after the employee has completed 240 work hours for the Library.
3. Accrual Rates/Amount of Sick Leave: Employees shall accrue sick leave as follows: Full-time, part-time, intermittent employees earn .0577 hours of sick leave for each hour in active pay status. Sick leave is not earned while on an unpaid leave of absence or if absent without approved leave. Employees may accumulate and carry over all sick leave accrued up to 960 hours. Additional sick leave is not accrued through the accrual of compensatory time.
4. Use of Sick Leave: Sick leave, with pay, may be used in increments of 15 minutes or longer for the following purposes, and must have the approval of the Operations and Personnel Manager.
a. For absence of the employee due to illness, injury, or exposure to contagious diseases which could be communicated to other employees. When an employee plans to use or uses sick leave for a period more than 3 days, the employee must obtain a physician’s certificate, personally signed by the treating physician, verifying the specific reason that the employee was unable to work and stating the date when the employee may return to work along with any restrictions.
b. For absence of the employee during the employee’s medical appointments or dental emergencies.
c. For absence of the employee due to illness or injury of someone in the employee’s immediate family or persons for whom the employee is the primary caregiver. When an employee plans to use or uses sick leave for 3 or more consecutive workdays or parts of 3 or more consecutive workdays, an employee must submit a physician’s certificate, signed by the treating physician which authenticates the illness and the necessity for the duration of the leave. For purposes of sick leave, the immediate family is defined as the employee’s husband, wife, live-in domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild and equivalent in-laws or step- family. Primary care provider is defined as any person for whom the employee is the legal guardian or declares a dependent for income tax purposes, or any person for whom the employee stands in the place of a parent or family member, any relative of either spouse living in the immediate household of the employee, or anyone who depends on the employee for support. d. For absence due to attendance at medical or dental appointments of the employee’s immediate family or of a person for whom the employee is the primary caregiver. For purposes of sick leave, the immediate family is defined as the employee’s husband, wife, live-in domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild and equivalent in-laws or step- family. Primary caregiver is defined as any person for whom the employee is the legal guardian or declares a dependent for income tax purposes, or any person for whom the employee stands in the place of a parent or family member, any relative of either spouse living in the immediate household of the employee, or anyone who depends on the employee for support.
5. Notification of Sick Leave Usage: Employees who are unable to report to work due to illness or injury should notify the Operations and Personnel Manager before the scheduled start of their workday if possible. Employees who become ill during their workday should notify the Operations and Personnel Manager immediately of their need to leave early. Notification must also be made on each additional day of absence. Employees who request sick leave to attend scheduled medical appointments will request this at least 2 days in advance.
6. Sick Leave Payment: Sick leave is paid at the employee’s base rate of pay at the time the sick leave is utilized. Pay for sick leave does not include compensatory time or any other special forms of compensation.
7. Maximum Accrued Sick Leave Balance: Unused sick leave will be allowed to accumulate until the employee has accrued a total of 960 hours of accrued sick leave. If the employee’s accrued sick leave balance reaches this maximum, further accrual of sick leave will be suspended until the employee has reduced the balance below the maximum.
8. Pay-Out of Accrued Sick Leave Balance Upon Retirement: An employee who retires from the Library under the OPERS plan after 10 or more years of public service will receive severance pay for 25% of the employee’s accrued, but unused sick leave at the time of retirement, not to exceed 240 hours, paid at their current rate. Other employees leaving the employ of the Library will not be paid any severance for their accrued, but unused sick leave.
9. Employees who become ill or injured while taking prior-approved vacation leave or personal leave will generally not be permitted to substitute sick leave for the approved vacation leave or personal leave. The Operations and Personnel Manager may approve an employee to substitute sick leave for the approved vacation leave or personal leave.
Vacation
Vacation leave with pay is available to eligible employees to provide opportunities for rest, relaxation, and personal pursuits.
1.Eligible Employees: Regular full-time and part-time employees are eligible to earn and use vacation leave. Intermittent employees who were hired on or before 10/18/2023 are also eligible to earn and use vacation.
2. Accrual Rates/Amount of Vacation Leave
Employees will accrue vacation leave based on hours worked and may request that time after one year of employment. Employees with prior years of public service may request vacation after 30 days of employment.
3. Vacation leave will be paid based on the number of years of eligible public service:
Years of Employment Accrual Rate (for each paid hour of work) Annual Vacation Accrual
0-7 years 0.0385 hours 2 weeks
8-14 years 0.0577 hours 3 weeks
15-26 years 0.077 hours 4 weeks
27 year or more 0.0962 hours 5 weeks
An employee is entitled to have their prior service with other eligible public employers (e.g., any political subdivision of the State) counted for the purpose of computing Vacation Leave. All service time with public employers shall be counted. The anniversary date of employment, for Vacation Leave computation purposes, is the adjusted service date including such prior qualified service. The employee is required to submit to the Fiscal Officer documentation of service to be transferred from other public employers.
4. The maximum year-end carryover vacation balance for each employee will be no more than the equivalent of two work weeks which will be calculated following the grid below. Employees who have a vacation balance over this maximum will not accrue additional vacation until existing vacation hours are used.
Scheduled Hours per Week Maximum Vacation Carryover Hours at Year End
8-12 hours per week 24 hours
13-17 hours per week 34 hours
18-22 hours per week 44 hours
23-27 hours per week 54 hours
28-32 hours per week 64 hours
33-37 hours per week 74 hours
38-40 hours per week 80 hours
5. Accrual of Vacation Leave During Unpaid Leave of Absence: Employees will not accrue or be credited for vacation leave during unpaid leaves of absence.
6. Use of Vacation Leave: Vacation leave must be requested in writing and approved by the Operations and Personnel Manager. Staffing requirements, date of request and seniority will determine approval. The Library reserves the right to revise previously approved vacation requests should an emergency occur or should the previously approved vacation adversely affect the efficiency of the Library. Vacation can be taken in fifteen-minute increments. Vacation can be used in lieu of sick leave in cases where sick leave has been exhausted, with prior approval from the Operations and Personnel Manager.
7. Vacation Leave Payment: Vacation leave is paid at the employee’s base rate of pay at the time the vacation leave is utilized. Pay for vacation leave does not include compensatory time or any other special forms of compensation. Employees are not permitted to work during a scheduled vacation and be compensated for hours worked plus vacation pay.
8. Consideration of Paid Holidays During Vacation Leave: If a holiday occurs while an employee is on vacation leave, the day off on the holiday is considered to result from the holiday and no vacation leave is deducted for that day.
Personal Leave
1. The Library provides personal leave to all full-time, part-time for absence due to personal reasons available to use after 30 days of employment. Intermittent employers who were hired on or before 10/18/2023 are also eligible to earn and use personal leave after 30 days of employment.
2. Regular employees hired on or before April 30 each year shall be eligible for 3 days of personal leave in that year. Regular employees hired after May 1 each year shall be eligible for 2 days of personal leave in that year. Employees hired after September 1 each year shall be eligible for 1 day of personal leave in that year. Anyone hired after November 1 will not receive personal days for that calendar year.
3. Employees will be eligible for Personal Leave under the following schedule:
Scheduled Hours per Week Personal Pay Hours Received Per Day
8-12 hours per week 2 hours
13-17 hours per week 3 hours
18-22 hours per week 4 hours
23-27 hours per week 5 hours
28-32 hours per week 6 hours
33-37 hours per week 7 hours
38-40 hours per week 8 hours
4. Employees with variable schedules will receive personal leave based on their weekly hours assigned upon hire. On January 1 of the year following their date of hire, employees who work variable hours will be assigned personal leave that is based on the average number of hours worked per week of the prior calendar year. This assignment will remain in effect for the full calendar year and an updated weekly average number of hours worked will be recalculated at the start of each calendar year. Employees hired after October 1 of any year will receive personal leave based on their weekly hours assigned upon hire until December 31 of their second calendar year of employment.
Holidays
1. Paid Holidays: The Library will close for the following paid holidays each year:
• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Presidents’ Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
2. Employees will be eligible for Holiday Pay under the following schedule:
Scheduled Hours per Week Holiday Pay Hours Received
8-12 hours per week 2 hours
13-17 hours per week 3 hours
18-22 hours per week 4 hours
23-27 hours per week 5 hours
28-32 hours per week 6 hours
33-37 hours per week 7 hours
38-40 hours per week 8 hours
3. Employees with variable schedules will receive holiday pay based on their weekly hours assigned upon hire. On January 1 of the year following their date of hire, employees who work variable hours will be assigned holiday pay that is based on the average number of hours worked per week of the prior calendar year. This assignment will remain in effect for the full calendar year and an updated weekly average number of hours worked will be recalculated at the start of each calendar year. Employees hired after October 1 of any year will receive holiday pay based on their weekly hours assigned upon hire until December 31 of their second calendar year of employment.
4. Employees who are not scheduled to work on a holiday will receive a floating holiday within that same work week and are not eligible to accrue compensatory time.
5. An eligible employee whose approved vacation or sick leave encompasses a holiday will receive holiday pay and will not be charged vacation or sick leave for the holiday.
6. Holidays that fall on Sunday will be observed on the following Monday, and those that fall on Saturday will be observed on the preceding Friday.
Religious Observances
Employees who are members of religious groups that have special observances on days other than the holidays observed by the Library, may request time off (vacation leave for eligible employees or unpaid leave of absence) to participate in the observance of their religious holidays. In addition, such employees may request that the employee’s schedule be modified to allow the employee to absent themselves to participate in the observance of their religious holidays. The Operations and Personnel Manager will grant the employees’ request and modify the requesting employee’s schedule, unless doing so creates an undue hardship on the Library. Employees whose schedules have been modified (rather than taking time off) will be required to make up the hours missed on another day in the same work week.
Bereavement
The Library offers paid bereavement leave to provide a time for mourning after the death of an immediate family member. Employees who are eligible for paid time-off benefits may be granted up to 3 workdays per occurrence for attendance at funerals and memorial services in conjunction with the death of a member of the employee's immediate family. If additional time is needed due to out-of-town travel or other circumstances, sick leave, vacation time, or other benefit time may be used with approval. For purposes of bereavement leave, immediate family is defined as the employee’s husband, wife, live in domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild and equivalent in-laws or stepfamily, and persons living in the same household as the employee. Paid Bereavement Leave is deducted from the employee's sick leave and will be allotted based on actual hours scheduled during the bereavement period.
Jury Duty
The Library will provide full pay to employees who are subpoenaed for jury duty by the United States, State of Ohio, or a political subdivision thereof. Employees must provide notice of jury duty within 3 days of receiving the subpoena. While serving jury duty, the employee will receive full pay for the time the employee was scheduled to work for up to 2 weeks per year. Employees who receive compensation for jury duty will be required to reimburse the Library in the amount of the compensation they receive for any day for which the employee was paid by the Library. A personal check in the amount of the jury duty pay received by the employee for those days should be made payable to the Library and given to the Fiscal Officer. Employees may keep jury duty compensation for any days they were not scheduled to work and did not receive pay from the Library.
Family and Medical Leave
Under the Federal guidelines of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Library does not employ a sufficient number of employees to require compliance with the Act.
Leaves of Absence without Pay
Leaves of absence without pay are intended for use only under extraordinary circumstances for either personal or medical reasons. Employees may only request a Leave of Absence Without Pay when all other forms of paid leave are exhausted. Leaves of absence without pay may not be granted to any employee in order that the employee may accept temporary or other remunerative employment elsewhere.
1. Employees Eligible for Leave of Absence Without Pay: All employees who have completed one year of service may request a leave of absence without pay.
2. Non-Continuation of Earned Benefits During Leaves of Absence Without Pay: Earned benefits (e.g., seniority, vacation time, sick time, holiday pay) will not accrue or be paid during leaves of absence without pay.
3. Failure to Return to Work: Employees who do not return to work at the conclusion of the approved leave of absence without pay may be terminated.
4. Types of Leaves of Absence Without Pay:
Personal Leave of Absence Without Pay:
Employees may be granted personal leave of absence without pay for a maximum duration of 4 weeks for any personal reasons of the employee (including extended travel). Such personal leave of absence without pay may not be renewed or extended beyond the initial 4-week period. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Operations and Personnel Manager who will consider: the operational and staffing needs of the library, the amount of notice given by the employee, the nature of the employee’s position, and additional staffing needs created by the employee’s absence. Personal leave without pay requests may be denied when that leave creates an undue hardship.
Medical/Disability Leave of Absence Without Pay:
Employees may be granted a medical leave of absence without pay for a period not to exceed 12 rolling months when the employee’s medical condition continues beyond the use of all accumulated sick, vacation, and other paid leaves. The employee must furnish the Library with a signed physician’s statement declaring the employee to be unable to work which includes the nature of the medical condition and a projected return to work date. The employee will submit a written request for medical leave of absence without pay to attach to the physician’s statement.
a. Requests for Leave of Absences Without Pay for Medical Reasons: Employees shall notify the Operations and Personnel Manager as far in advance as possible of the employee’s need to request any leave of absence without pay. It is the employee’s responsibility to request a medical/disability leave of absence without pay as such leave is not granted automatically when an employee’s accrued leave balances are exhausted.
b. Return to Duty Requirements for Leave Without Pay for Medical Reasons:
The Library expects all employees for whom a leave of absence without pay is granted to return to work at the conclusion of the employee’s period of leave. An employee may return to work before the scheduled expiration of any leave of absence without pay if the employee provides a written request to return early and that request is approved by the Operations and Personnel Manager Employees on medical/disability leave of absence without pay must furnish a physician’s certificate, personally signed by the treating physician, verifying that the employee is able to return to work and to perform all the essential functions of the employee’s job including any accommodations needed as covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employees who are released by the physician(s) provided for in this section shall be assigned to a work schedule as soon as practical following such release(s). Employees who return to work after any leave of absence without pay will be returned to their prior job duties unless their position is no longer available. In cases where the employee cannot be returned to the employee’s prior job duties, the employee will be assigned to the next available job for which the employee is qualified.
WPL Adopted 8/13/2024, Amended 1/14/2025, 12/9/25
