TIME OFF WORK
Holidays
All regular Associates will receive time off with pay at their normal base rate for each Company-observed holiday. If a holiday falls on an Associate’s scheduled day off or if the Associate works on a holiday, the Associate will be allowed an additional day off with pay.
Paid Time Off
Paid Time Off (PTO) is designed to allow Associates to manage their time away from work as a combined pool of days. PTO includes vacation and sick/personal time for Associates. If scheduled in advance, up to eight (8) hours per pay period of unpaid time off work can be taken at the discretion of the manager before an Associate’s PTO is exhausted. Otherwise, to the extent permitted by law, you will be required to use all of your PTO hours before you go on unpaid status.
Associates begin to accrue PTO on their date of hire. Associates accrue PTO on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the following schedule, which is based on a 40-hour per week schedule:
Tenure PTO Days Maximum Accrual
0.3.99 years 14 days (112 hours) 21 days(168 hours)
4-8.99 years 19 days (152 hours) 28.5 days (228 hours)
9-13.99 years 24 days (192 hours) 36 days (288 hours)
14+ years 29 days (232 hours) 43.5 days (348 hours)
PTO accrues only for regular hours worked up to 40-regular hours worked in a work week. Officers of the Company have different accrual rates and maximums for PTO. This is communicated with those Associates separately.
Associates are asked to request PTO in advance to the extent possible. When PTO is used for sick leave, Associates may use PTO upon oral or written request. If the need for sick leave is foreseeable, the Associate must give reasonable advance notice. However, if the need for sick leave is unforeseeable, the Associate need only give notice as soon as practicable. PTO may be used for sick time in instances including for Associates themselves or a family member for diagnosis, treatment, preventative care, care of an existing health condition, bone marrow donation, organ donation, or for specified purposes if the Associate or family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Family members include: an Associate’s parent, parent-in-law, child, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or any individual related by blood or affinity whose close associate with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. Preventative care includes annual physicals or flu shots. Where PTO is used for other than sick leave, Associates may request PTO by submitting a request through the time-keeping system for approval by their immediate supervisor. PTO shall be scheduled as early as possible to provide adequate coverage of job responsibilities and staffing requirements. Where PTO is used for other than sick leave, your supervisor must approve your PTO in advance. Conflicts in scheduling that cannot be otherwise resolved will be scheduled on the basis of seniority.
Associates are encouraged to take PTO in the year it is earned. PTO may be carried over from year to year up to one and one-half (1.5) times the Associate’s annual PTO accrual rate (except in Seattle where Associates do not have a cap on the PTO accrual). Once this maximum is reached, PTO will temporarily cease accruing until the Associate has taken time off and his or her accrued hours have dropped below the maximum. For example, if an Associate is accruing PTO at a rate of fourteen (14) days per year, his or her PTO accrual will stop when the balance reaches twenty-one (21) days. The Associate will not accrue any more until he or she uses some of his or her PTO and reduces the balance below the limit. Additionally, there will be no retroactive adjustment to the Associate’s balance for the period of time that the balance remains at the maximum. Moreover, Associates may not borrow against future PTO accrual; therefore, no advance PTO will be granted. On termination of employment, the Associate will be paid for all accrued but unused PTO at the Associate’s final base rate of pay.
State of California & Cities of Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
Essex complies with the cities of Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco ordinances through its PTO policy, which provides benefits more generous than those required by law. Essex also complies with the State of California Sick Leave Law through its PTO policy, which provides benefits more generous than those required by law. For Associates in Seattle, an Associate may use PTO for safe time – i.e. where the workplace or child’s school or place of care is closed by order of a public official to limit exposure to an infectious agent, biological toxin or hazardous material – and only provide notice of the leave as soon as practicable if the need for such leave is unforeseeable.