Contractual Rights

Communications, Complaints and Grievances

1. Grievances, complaints and communications from employees associated with the Omaha Education Association shall be initiated in the following manner:
   
   
   
   1. If the employee has a grievance, the employee should, within 20 working days of the incident, first discuss the matter with an immediate superior (at the building level the immediate superior is the principal) in an effort to resolve the problems informally. A representative of the Association's staff may be invited to attend by either party. If the subject of the grievance extends beyond the authority and jurisdiction of the building principal, the employee may discuss the matter with the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources.
      
      If the employee is not satisfied, the employee shall have the right to have an Association representative's assistance in further efforts to resolve the problem.
      
      
   2. If the problem is not resolved through the aforesaid procedure, then within 20 working days of the incident, the aggrieved person must submit a grievance in writing to the principal or to the person to whom the aggrieved is directly responsible. The person to whom the grievance has been submitted shall have a reasonable period, not to exceed 10 working days, to render a decision and the reasons therefore in writing to both the aggrieved person and to the Association.
      
      
   3. If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance, an appeal to the Superintendent of Schools should follow within 10 working days. Within 10 working days after receipt of the written appeal, the Superintendent or designated representative(s) shall meet with the aggrieved person. The Association's staff may be invited to attend, by either party, and participate in any meeting of the Superintendent or designated representative(s) with the aggrieved person.
      
      The Superintendent shall within 10 working days of the hearing render a decision and the reasons thereof in writing to the aggrieved person with copies to the Association and to members of the Board of Education.
      
      
   4. Should the aggrieved person so desire, the decision of the Superintendent may be appealed to the Board of Education. Such a request should be sent to the Director of the Office of the Board of Education within 10 working days of the receipt of the Superintendent's decision in the matter. Such an appeal shall be in the form of a written request for a hearing before the Board of Education.
      
      At the first meeting after receiving a grievance, the Board of Education shall set a hearing date which shall be within 10 working days. The aggrieved person shall, at this hearing, have the right to be assisted by a member of the staff of the Association and/or an attorney of his/her choice.
      
      The Board of Education shall within 10 working days of the hearing render a decision in the matter and direct its Director to provide written notification of its decision to the aggrieved person and the Association.
      
      A similar procedure shall be followed by employees other than those who are members of the Omaha Education Association.
      
      
   5. If the employee has a complaint other than a grievance, the employee may use steps a. through c. outlined in the grievance procedure above.
      
   
   
2. All complaints shall be in writing, and no anonymous correspondence may be considered officially by the Board of Education.
   
   
3. It shall be understood by all parties involved in the grievance procedure that no reprisals of any kind, implied or intended, shall be brought against the person or persons involved in the resolving of the grievance.
   

Sick Leave

1. Beginning September 1, 1973, all full-time professional employees of the School District of Omaha shall be entitled to an annual sick leave allocation equal to one sick leave day per month of employment, with the total annual allocation being made available for use at the beginning of each fiscal year. Sick leave may be accumulated, based on the individual's annual allocation, to a maximum based on the following formula: number of contract days minus the number of paid vacation days multiplied by the ratio 90/190. Eight (8) days per year of the employee's accumulated sick leave may be used for the illness of an immediate family member. Immediate family member will include the employee's spouse, children, parents in a care facility, or an immediate relative who is a permanent resident in the employee's home or for whom the employee has specific legal responsibility.
   
   
2. Any employee with accrued sick leave of at least 90 days on September 1, 1976, and each September 1 thereafter, shall be entitled, following the use of sick leave subsequent to that use, to accumulate one day per month of employment, for those months remaining during the fiscal year to a maximum number of days as defined in Section IV, DD, 9a. All employees with sick leave accumulation of less than 90 days on September 1, 1976, and each September 1 thereafter, shall have such leave credited to them in accordance with policy 4.17a of the Policies and Regulations of the School District of Omaha.
   
   Any employee with maximum accrued sick leave will maintain the accrued days during the last year of employment prior to retiring or taking early leaving incentive unless more than 10 days of sick leave are used.
   
   Beginning September 1, 1997, after an employee has accumulated the maximum days of sick leave, appropriate to the length of the employee's contract, the employee shall be awarded two additional days toward the employee's maximum accumulation, thereby increasing their maximum an additional two days, for each year of perfect attendance occurring after accumulation of the maximum days of sick leave. For purposes of this provision, the maximum accumulation allowed shall be a ratio of 0.6316 of the length of the employee's contract minus the number of vacation days. Absences counting against perfect attendance are as defined in Section IV, DD, 10.
   
   Each school year that an employee has unused personal leave days, the employee shall be awarded one additional day of accumulated sick leave for each day of unused personal leave, subject to limitations on maximum accumulation.
   
   
3. Whenever a first-year employee resigns within the first six months of employment, the employee is obligated to repay the amount of any sick leave benefit paid in excess of one day per month of actual employment.
   
   
4. Any employee with accrued sick leave in excess of 90 days on September 1, 1973, shall retain all rights and privileges accorded to such accumulation; provided however, that a maximum as defined in Section IV, DD, 9a shall be used in the calculation of pay for unused sick leave at retirement.
   
   
5. Sick leave benefits accrued during the regular school year may be used by teachers employed during the summer session on the following basis:
   
   
   
   1. A maximum of one sick leave day for five teaching days will be allowed.
      
   2. One day of sick leave constitutes either a full day or one-half day's reduction of accrued leave, based on a summer school assignment.
      
   
   

Personal Leave

1. Personal leave may be granted to a maximum of two days per year, one day per semester for first year employees.
   
   Whenever possible, business transactions shall be scheduled after 3:00 p.m. At their discretion, principals are authorized to release teachers for such transactions which are similar to early release to attend meetings or university classes.
   
   Personal leave may be granted in excess of two days, but when this is the case, loss of full pay will be required commencing with the third day of such leave.
   
   
2. PLEASE NOTE: Personal leave cannot be requested during the first five student contact days or the last ten contracted days or on days immediately preceding or following a federal or school holiday and/or recess period except for the following reasons (Personal leave requested for these days for one or more of the reasons listed below must be done in writing on the appropriate form.):
   
   
   
   1. Childhood diseases not requiring medical attention of a physician.
      
      
   2. A leave will be granted for an employee's wedding or a wedding of the parents, children, grandchildren, or brothers/sisters of an employee. Wedding leave must begin no later than two working days following the actual wedding day.
      
      
   3. For legal arrangements which are related to the settlement of the estate of a relative.
      
      
   4. To comply with a court summons when it does not involve an instance where the employee has violated the law.
      
      
   5. To take a special examination administered by a university for an advanced degree program.
      
      
   6. To attend the funeral of a close friend.
      
      
   7. For family emergencies, such as surgery or serious illness requiring medical treatment in a hospital, medical clinic, or medical doctor's office. This rule applies only to immediate relatives where the presence of the employee is necessary (or the illness is of a very serious nature). Immediate relative shall be interpreted to include the employee's spouse, parent, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or any other relative who is a permanent resident in the employee's home for whom the employee has specific responsibility.
      
      
   8. For serious illness of immediate family members. Immediate family will include employee's spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or an immediate relative who is a permanent resident in the employee's home.
      
      
   9. When the illness/injury of the employee's child is of such severity as to require the medical attention of a physician and the parent's presence is necessary. (On the leave request, please state child's age and illness.)
      
      
   10. To be present at the time an employee's child is born and/or for the care of the employee's spouse upon release from the hospital.
       
       
   11. Absence of an employee resulting from mandatory preinduction physical examination requested by the Selective Service System.
       
       
   12. For legal proceedings requiring the attendance of a parent/legal guardian.
       
       
   13. To attend the graduation, ordination, or similar ceremony of an immediate relative. Immediate relative shall be interpreted to include the employee's spouse, parent, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or any other relative who is a permanent resident in the employee's home or for whom the employee has specific responsibility. Travel consecutive with the event will be allowed within the two-day personal leave provision.
       
       
   14. To close on a house which will be the primary residence of the employee, only if the closing cannot be scheduled outside normal duty hours.
       
   
   

Bereavement Leave

1. Absence from work will be allowed so that the employee may have four consecutive workdays following the death of an immediate relative without loss of pay. Bereavement leave must begin no later than five days following the death of the immediate relative. Employees who are required to travel a minimum of two hundred miles (200) one way to attend the funeral of an immediate relative will be granted an additional day of leave. This rule applies only to an immediate relative, interpreted to be as follows: an employee's spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or any other individual who is a permanent resident in the employee's home.
   
   
2. For the purpose of attending the funeral of any other near relative, an employee may be allowed a maximum of one day’s absence without loss of pay. Employees who must travel a minimum of 200 miles one way will be granted an additional day of leave.