BENEFITS

Rural Healthcare Developers and Affiliates offer a variety of employee insurance options to full-time employees. Employees, who are scheduled and work a minimum of 32 hours per week, are considered full-time. More detailed information on each of these plans and eligibility requirements is available from Human Resources.

LEAVE
All full-time employees accrue both Paid Time Off (PTO) and Sick Leave and are eligible to be considered for Bereavement Leave, as well as participation in the Family Medical Leave Act.

PAID TIME OFF (PTO)
Full-time employees accrue PTO to use for such things as vacations, recognized holidays and personal matters. Accruals begin when a full-time employee is hired; however, PTO is not available for general use until 90 days after hire. Time-off taken during the ninety-day introductory period is considered Leave without Pay (LWOP) and must be approved prior to use.
Exception: Full-time staff employed fewer than ninety (90) days may take up to eight (8) hours PTO per day for observed holidays if the following criteria are met:
Employee has enough accrued time banked to cover the leave.
Employee’s assigned department is closed for holiday.
All other employees, who work in departments that are closed on recognized holidays and who are required to take the day off, must use PTO.
The maximum number of PTO hours for holiday time is eight (8 hours).
PTO pay cannot be used if employee is not scheduled to work.

Maximum Accumulation
Employees may carry over up to 184 hours in their accrual banks. Once that threshold is reached, employees will not continue to accrue until they have used enough PTO time to be under the 184 hour threshold.

USE OF PTO

• As a benefit, PTO requests must be approved by management to give the supervisor sufficient time to arrange coverage for the work schedule.
• Approved requests for scheduled PTO must be submitted by employee’s supervisor to Human Resources two weeks in advance.
• The maximum number of PTO hours requested per day cannot exceed the normal length of the shift. The maximum PTO for holidays is 8 hours.
• The addition of PTO cannot be added to exceed the employee’s normal work week.
  PTO will not be paid for call-ins or no-shows.
• Late notice leave may be allowed for other pre-approved reasons, such as bereavement or sick time.
  PTO leave may be allowed after an absence has occurred for sick time without a doctor’s excuse.
• Employees must work the last scheduled day before and after a holiday to qualify for PTO on major holidays.
• Exceptions would be previously approved PTO for the days before and after the holiday or a doctor’s excuse for an absence on a day before or after a holiday.
• PTO may not be requested for days or hours employees are not scheduled to work.
• PTO is not considered in the computation of overtime.
• PTO is used during FMLA after sick leave is exhausted.
• PTO cannot be used in conjunction with Workers Compensation or short-term disability.
• PTO may not be donated or transferred from one employee to another under any circumstances.
• The normal amount of PTO requested for use at any one time is 40 hours. Requests for more than 40 consecutive hours should be reviewed by facility CEOs, who will give determine final approval.

RECOGNIZED HOLIDAYS
Recognized holidays include New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

Holidays are figured into PTO accruals and are published annually. Holidays that occur on Saturday will normally be observed on Friday. Holidays that fall on Sunday will normally be observed on Monday.

TERMINATION AND ACCRUED PTO
At termination, employees will be paid PTO according to state regulations. Determining PTO pay-out is based on several considerations:
State law
Voluntary or involuntary termination
Employee leaves in good standing
Proper notice according to position/departments
The return of all company property, including passwords for any access the employee may have possessed
Employees who voluntarily leave the company, who give proper notice and who have returned all company property are eligible for the payout of their PTO.

Unless otherwise required by state law, employees who are involuntarily terminated are not eligible for PTO payout. Reduction in Force is the exception to the policy.

SICK LEAVE
Full-time employees of Rural Healthcare Developers and Affiliates accrue paid sick leave per pay period with a cap of 240 hours banked. Leave is to be used for illness, scheduled medical or dental appointments for the employee only. PTO may be used to tend to the medical needs of employees’ children, spouse and parents. Sick leave does not count as time worked when computing overtime. Sick Leave is not paid out upon voluntary or involuntary termination. Sick Leave begins to accrue as soon as the full-time employee is hired; however, use begins after the 90-day introductory period. Any leave for illness or medical/dental appointments during first 90 days of employment is Leave without Pay (LWOP).

ACCESSING SICK LEAVE

• Requests for Sick Leave for scheduled medical/dental appointments should be submitted two weeks in advance if possible.
• Unscheduled use of Sick Leave will be considered Leave without Pay (LWOP) or PTO without documentation from a physician.
• Employees will use PTO hours during the first two days of illness. On the third day, sick leave can be used for any days thereafter with the submission of a doctor’s excuse.
• Any employee who is absent from work due to illness three days or longer must have a doctor’s clearance to return to work.
• To be considered as Sick Leave, supervisors must receive the documentation obtained from a medical office/facility on the day the employee returns to work and submit to HR the same day.
• No changes from LWOP or PTO will be made with late submissions of medical excuses.
• In the event the supervisor sends an employee home due to illness, administrative approval will be required. If approved, the time will be deducted from Sick Leave.
• Eligible full-time employees should request FMLA on the fourth day of absence.
• During Family Leave of Absence (FMLA) leave, sick hours will be exhausted before drawing on the employee’s PTO bank.

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE
The loss of a family member can be a very difficult time. Full-time employees who have completed 90-days of employment are granted paid time off for bereavement for immediate family members. Employees must contact their managers to schedule the designated leave.

GUIDELINES FOR BEREAVEMENT LEAVE

• Full-time employees who have completed 90 days of employment and who experience a death in their immediate family are granted up to 3 regularly scheduled work days off with pay.
• Immediate family is defined as husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother/father-in law, sister/brother-in-law, step-parents, stepchildren, grandparents and grandchildren.
• For additional time, employees should submit requests for PTO to their managers for consideration.
• Employees will be asked to provide verification of the loss and relationship to the deceased (ex. the newspaper announcement or other published verification.
• All other deaths – Time off without pay or use of PTO with approval of employee’s supervisor. Verification (announcement) is required.
• To be granted paid leave, documentation must be presented on the day the employee returns to work from bereavement leave.
• Employees will be paid only for those days that fall on their regularly scheduled workdays.
• Employees may request approval for additional time off to be charged against accrued PTO.
• If no accrued PTO is available for requested additional time off, employee may be approved for
• Leave without Pay (LWOP).
• Bereavement for part-time or PRN employees is LWOP.
• Bereavement Leave does not count as time worked when computing overtime.

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES: JURY DUTY AND VOTING
Rural Healthcare Developers and Affiliates believe it is the civic responsibility of every citizen to serve as a juror when possible without suffering a major loss of income in the performance of civic responsibility. Therefore, employees will be paid for regularly scheduled hours lost due to serving as a juror.
Employees should notify their supervisors no later than the next workday following receipt of a summons for jury duty to allow for scheduling.
Employees will be entitled to their usual compensation with verification of time served.
Employees are expected to return to work and complete the work shift on days when jury service is fewer than 3 hours, including the qualification day.
Employees will not be paid to appear as a witness in a case but will be allowed to take PTO or LWOP with verification of appearance.

VOTING
Employees are encouraged to vote in all municipal, state and federal elections and referendums. If employees do not have sufficient time before the shift start or after shift end to vote in compliance with all applicable regulations, then time off may be granted without loss of wages or benefits. Application for leave must be made to employee’s supervisor at least 24 hours in advance. The organization may specify the hours of absence.

ATTENDANCE OF EDUCATION PROGRAMMING
Employees may be asked to attend seminars, conferences and short training programs to broaden their knowledge and skills associated with their jobs. Employees are not required to use PTO, if the employee is requested by the organization to attend training.

RECERTIFICATION HOURS
Training for recertification or renewal of licensure is a condition of employment and is the responsibility of the employee. PTO may be taken for hours away from the job and any cost incurred is the responsibility of the employee. In some instances the organization may determine to offer required training at no charge for all employees. The cost will be absorbed by the organization.

SOCIAL SECURITY
Rural Healthcare Developers and Affiliates and its employees contribute equally to the United States Social Security Program. The U.S. Social Security Program provides retirement as well as death and disability benefits for employees and their dependents.

INSURANCE BENEFITS
Rural Healthcare Developers and Affiliates offer full-time employees the op-portunity to participate in several health insurance options. Employees who enroll in the plans may also obtain coverage for their spouses and dependent children with the appropriate documentation. Employees may apply for insurance benefits during the 90-day introductory period, during the annual Open Enrollment period or in the event of a qualifying event.

In addition to optional insurance benefits, RHD and Affiliates also provide short-term disability insurance and a $10,000 Life/Accidental Death benefit to all full-time employees at no cost.

Coverage is effective 90 days after the first of the next month of the full-time hire date. If employment begins on the first day of the month, coverage will become effective 90 days from that day.

PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS
All insurance premiums are paid through payroll deduction. With the exception of life insurance, premiums are paid through the company’s 125 (Cafeteria) plan so employees can take advantage of paying medical coverage premiums with pre-tax dollars. No changes to insurance may be made after enrollment except in cases where employees go from full-time to part-time or they have a qualifying event, such as marriage, death, birth, divorce, custody change, etc. Employees on any type of leave, and who do not receive a paycheck, are responsible for immediate reimbursement to the company for insurance premiums.

COBRA OPTIONS
If employees are terminated, or if their work hours are reduced to fewer than is required to meet eligibility requirements, employees may elect to pay for and continue benefit coverage during the designated continuation of coverage period through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985, as amended. For more information regarding continuation of coverage, contact the Human Resources Department.

WORKERS COMPENSATION
Rural Healthcare Developers and Affiliates adhere to all federal and stateregulatory guidelines concerning workers’ compensation coverage. Workers’ compensation benefits may be provided to employees who sustain injuries/illnesses in the course of employment. If employees are unable to work as a result of an on-the-job injury/illness, benefits will be provided in accordance with state regulations. Short-term disability and personal time off may be used, if available during the workers’ compensation eligibility determination period. Once the Worker Comp benefit has started, neither PTO nor Sick Leave can be used to supplement benefits. Workers’ compensation runs concurrently with time off for purposes covered by the Family Medical Leave Act.

APPLYING FOR WORKERS COMPENSATION BENEFITS
All work-related incidents, even if medical attention is not necessary, are required to be reported to the employee’s supervisor during the shift so timely reporting and evaluation can occur and instructions regarding medical treatment can be obtained. Failure to timely report a work-related injury or illness may result in the forfeiture of an employee’s benefits. Workers Comp forms are located in each department.
It is the responsibility of management to report all incidents to the appropriate Human Resources representative. If there is no HR representative on-site, Corporate Human Resources should be contacted.
Once an incident is reported, it is the responsibility of management to investigate each situation to determine the nature/cause of the injury or illness so future occurrences can be avoided.

RETURN TO WORK
An employee must have a written clearance from the treating physician to return to work. Requests for light or transitional duty will be reviewed on a case by case basis.