Paid Time Off

This Paid Time Off (PTO) policy provides Team members the opportunity and flexibility to use their earned paid time off to take a break from work, for either rest, relaxation, or personal pursuits. Team members in the following classifications are eligible to earn and use PTO as described in this policy:

Regular Full-time salary

The amount of paid PTO eligible team members receives each calendar year increases with the length of their employment as shown in the following schedule.

•           During the 1st calendar year of employment, the team member will earn 4.62 hours of PTO per pay period.

•           Beginning the 6th calendar year of employment, the team member will earn 6.15 hour of PTO per pay period.

•           Beginning the 11th calendar year of employment, the team member will earn 7.69 hours of PTO per pay period.

In the event that available PTO is not used by the end of the calendar year, Team members may carry a maximum of five (5) unused vacation days forward to the next calendar year.

Accrued but unused PTO is automatically forfeited upon the termination or resignation of a Team member and the Team member will NOT be paid for accrued but unused PTO.

PTO benefits are earned as follows:

Team members who change status, e.g., part-time to full-time, begin earning PTO at their new rate on the effective date of the change, if the effective date falls on the first calendar day of a pay period. Team members whose change in status falls after the first calendar day of a pay period will begin to accrue PTO on the first day of the next pay period.

Any increases in PTO accrual due to anniversary milestones (such as 5 years, 6 years, and 11 years of service) take effect at the start of the next pay period, unless the anniversary date falls on the first calendar day of the pay period.

Taking PTO

Team members are required to give at least a 21-day advance notice of PTO whenever possible to ensure that business needs are met. PTO must generally be scheduled and approved in advance by the Team member’s manager, except if the absence is for unforeseeable circumstances.

To the extent permissible by applicable law, multiple unscheduled absences may result in correction action up to and including termination of employment. If the Team member is out for three (3) consecutive days without advance approval, the Team member will be required to provide a letter from a doctor.

Non-exempt Team members may take PTO in either regularly scheduled full days or on-hour increments. ONLY with the advance approval of their manager and in accordance with applicable laws, Team members who are out for a portion of a day may make up the time during the same day instead of using PTO hours.

Generally, exempt Team members must take PTO in full or half days.

Team members are responsible for reporting all time off using their appropriate timekeeping tool in compliance with the Timekeeping requirements described in Section 2. All PTO MUST be reported within two weeks of the Team member’s return to work. Failure to properly record time off may result in corrective action up to and including termination of employment.

Holidays

In addition to granting personal time, Woodborn will grant paid holiday time off to eligible Team members immediately upon classification assignment. Holiday pay is calculated based on the Team member’s straight time pay rate (as the date of the holiday) times the number of hours the Team member would otherwise have worked on that day. Eligible classifications include:

Full-time salary/hourly (40 hours or more per week)

Below is a list of the holidays where holiday-pay is offered. Due to ever changing business needs, Woodborn cannot assure that all Team members will always have the following days off of work. Woodborn encourages all Team members to work with their managers on holiday schedules, as needs may adjust during this time. 

■ New Year’s Day (January 1st)

■ Martin Luther King day

■ Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)

■ Juneteenth Day (June 19th )

■ Independence Day (July 4th)

■ Labor Day (First Monday in September)

■ Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November)

■ Day After Thanksgiving *Depending upon business needs*

■ Christmas Eve (December 24th) through New Years Eve (December 31st)

■ Team members’ individual Birthdays

To be eligible for holiday pay, Team members must work the last scheduled day immediately preceding the holiday, AND the first scheduled day immediately following the holiday. However, under certain circumstances, a Team member will receive holiday pay, notwithstanding whether they worked before or after the holiday, provided that:

■ The Team member’s absence is caused by an injury on the job which occurred within thirty calendar days prior to the scheduled workday before or after the holiday

■ The Team member’s absence is caused by lack of work, and they have been laid off for not more than five workdays prior to and including the scheduled workday before or after the holiday

■ The Team member’s absence falls within the Team member’s approved vacation period

■ The Team member’s absence is due to illness of not more than thirty days verified by a doctor’s certificate, and if Woodborn desires, verified by Woodborn physician

■ The Team member’s absence is due to jury duty.

If a recognized holiday falls during an eligible Team member’s PTO (such as vacation, personal or sick leave), holiday pay will be provided instead of the PTO benefit that would otherwise have been applied. PTO for holidays will not be counted as hours worked for the purposes of determining whether overtime pay is owed.

Religious Days

Team members who wish to take time off for a religious holiday (be it 1 hour or the whole day) for religious obligations or observance can do so without being required to use time from their PTO bucket. Team members must inform their manager and give at least two weeks’ advance notice so that appropriate coverage can be planned. Woodborn does not require any further information from the Team member other than that they need it to observe the religious holiday. 

If a Team member’s religious obligations are completed and there is a reasonable amount of time left in the day, they are expected to return to work. Prior to being absent for a religious obligation, Team members are expected to fulfill all job responsibilities and ensure in their absence, whether through co-workers or managerial support, their personal responsibilities will not be compromised or missed.

Jury Duty

Woodborn encourages Team members to fulfill their civic responsibilities by serving jury duty when required and will provide eligible Team members with paid time off to serve. Jury duty will be calculated on a Team member’s base rate times the number of hours the Team member would otherwise have worked on the day of absence.

Team members must show the jury duty summons to their manager as soon as possible so that the manager may make arrangements to accommodate their absence. Team members are expected to report for work whenever the court schedule permits.

Either Woodborn or the Team member may request an excuse from jury duty if, in Woodborn judgment, the Team member’s absence would create serious operational difficulties. Woodborn will continue to provide all benefits for the full term of the jury duty absence. All benefits will continue to accrue during jury duty leave.

Team members are also asked to turn in their compensation received from the court for jury duty services rendered.

 Bereavement Leave

Team members who wish to take time off due to the death of an immediate family member will be granted up to three days of paid bereavement leave. Team members in the following classifications are eligible for bereavement leave:

Full-time salary/hourly (40 or more hours per week)

In the unfortunate case when a Team member requires bereavement leave, they should contact their manager and/or the CEO or designee immediately. Bereavement leave will normally be granted unless there are unusually demanding business needs or staffing requirements. Team members may, with their manager’s approval, use any paid leave for additional time off as necessary, in addition to their allocated bereavement leave.

For clarity, Woodborn defines “immediate family” as the Team member’s spouse, parent, child, sibling; the Team member’s spouse’s parent, child, or sibling; the Team member’s child’s spouse; grandparents or grandchildren. Special consideration will also be given to any other person whose association with the Team member was similar to any of the above relationships.

In the event of a death of a relative other than immediate family, the Team member may be permitted to be absent from work with pay for the time necessary to attend the funeral at the discretion of their manager. Additional time off may be granted, with or without pay, when necessary for funerals outside of the local area.

Bereavement pay is calculated based on the base pay rate at the time of absence and will not include any special forms of compensation, such as incentives, commissions, bonuses, or shift differentials.

If the Team member receives notification during working hours of a death in the immediate family, they will be paid for the remainder of the scheduled workday. Bereavement leave will begin on the next scheduled workday.

Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

FMLA only applies to a private-sector employer if it employs 50 or more employees* in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year. An employee is considered to be employed each working day of the calendar week if the employee works any part of the week. When FMLA applies to Woodborn, the following is applicable:

Team members at Woodborn may be eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks (or 26 weeks if leave is taken to provide care for qualifying family members injured during military service) of family and medical leave during any twelve (12) month period as outlined in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). This leave may be paid, unpaid, or a combination of paid and unpaid leaves, depending on the circumstances and qualifications. The following policy sets forth Woodborn procedures for qualifying, requesting, and taking leave under the FMLA and the DOL.

Eligibility

To be eligible for family and medical leave under this policy and the Act, Team members must meet all of the below qualifications:

Team members must have been employed with Woodborn for a minimum of 12 months (or 52 weeks). The 12 months need not have been consecutive. Breaks in service may not exceed seven (7) years, unless the break in service was due to military leave. Team members must have worked for the Company subject to the FMLA at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately before the date when the leave would begin. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), number of hours worked does not include any holiday time or PTO. Periods of absence due to military leave will be included in the total hours, in compliance with Woodborn Military

Leave policy.

The Team member must work in a site where 50 or more Team members are employed by Woodborn with which the Team member is employed or at a site within 75 miles of a site that employs 50 or more Team members.  The distance is to be calculated by using available transportation by the most direct route.

Reasons For Leave

In order to qualify for FMLA under this policy, a Team member must be taking leave for one of the reasons listed below:

■ A Team members own serious health condition that makes the Team member unable to perform the functions of their position.

■ To care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition (Under FMLA, a “spouse” means a husband or wife as defined under the law).

■ Due to a “qualifying exigency” for the spouse, children, or parents of individuals who are on, or about to be on, “covered active duty” in the Armed Forces. A “qualifying exigency” includes attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.

■ To provide care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while on active duty (Team members eligible to take military caregiver leave include spouse, children, parents and next of kin of military personnel.) Team members providing care may take up to 26 weeks of FMLA during a twelve (12) month period.

■ The birth of a child an in order to care for that child or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for a newly placed child.

A serious health condition is defined as a condition that requires inpatient care at a hospital, hospice, or residential medical facility, including any period of incapacity or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care or as a condition that requires continuing care by a licensed health care provider.

Team members wondering if their situation qualifies under FMLA should contact the CEO or designee.

Duration of Leave

Eligible Team members may take up to twelve (12) weeks of leave during any twelve (12) month period for all leaves related to the first 3 qualifications. When a Team member takes leave to act as a caregiver to a wounded serviceman (qualification 4), they will be eligible for up to twenty-six (26) weeks of leave in a twelve (12) month period.

Woodborn will measure the 12-month period as a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date the Team member uses any leave under thus policy. Each time a Team member takes leave, Woodborn will compute the amount of leave the Team member has taken under this policy in the last 12 months and subtract it from the available 12 weeks (or 26). The balance remaining will be the amount of time the Team member is entitled to take that that time.

A husband and wife who both work for Woodborn are limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of leave for qualifying circumstances 1-3. Similarly, a husband and wife who both work for Woodborn are limited to a combined total of 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered member of the military who has been injured in the line of duty.

Benefits During Leave

Subject to terms, conditions, and limitations of the applicable plans, health insurance benefits will continue to be provided by Woodborn for up to the first 12 weeks of approved medical leave. During this time the Team member will still be responsible for their share of the premiums that are due. A Team member will become responsible for the full cost of these benefits if they wish coverage to continue beyond twelve weeks. When the Team member returns from medical leave, benefits will again be provided by Woodborn according to applicable plans.

Paid and Unpaid Leave

FMLA leave is generally unpaid. However, Woodborn requires all Team members to use all accrued PTO during any FMLA leave. Leave that qualifies for worker’s compensation, short-term disability, or other wage replacement benefits may still be covered by the FMLA (even though it is paid) and will count against the Team members overall FMLA balance. All remaining leave not covered by other leaves or by accrued PTO will be unpaid.

Intermittent Leave or Reduced Work Schedules

Team members may take FMLA leave in 12 consecutive weeks, may use the leave intermittently (take a day periodically when needed over the year), or, under certain circumstances, and may use the leave to reduce the workweek or workday resulting in a reduced-hour schedule. In all cases, the leave may not exceed a total of 12 work weeks (or 26 workweeks to care for an injured or ill service member) over a 12-month period.

If leave is taken on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule for foreseeable leave needs, Woodborn reserves the right to temporarily transfer the Team member to an alternate position with equivalent pay and benefits in order to accommodate the recurring periods of absence.

Procedure for Requesting Leave

All Team members requesting FMLA leave must provide the CEO or designate with a written notice of the need for the leave. Within five business days after the Team member has provided the notice, the CEO or designate will provide the Team member with the DOL Notice of Eligibility and Rights, as long as the Team member has provided sufficient information regarding the leave and the circumstance qualifies under the Act.

For foreseeable events, eligible Team members are required to make requests for FMLA leave to Woodborn at least 30 days prior to the date on which leave is scheduled to begin. If a Team member becomes aware for need less than 30 days in advance, they are required to alert Woodborn either the same day or the next business say. If a Team member fails to provide 30 days advance written notice of a requested leave and have no reasonable excuse, the leave may be delayed or up to 30 days from the date of notice.

A Team member undergoing planned medical treatment is required to make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment to minimize disruptions to the business operations of Woodborn.

Medical Certification Requirement

When FMLA leave is being requested due to the serious health condition of the Team member, to care for a qualifying family member, due to a qualifying exigency for military family leave or to care for a covered service member who has been injured, Woodborn  requires that the certification of the health condition be obtained from the pertinent doctor or health care provider. This certification must be provided to the CEO or designate within fifteen days of the leave request, or, if delayed, a reasonable explanation for the delay must be submitted. Failure to provide certification may result in the denial or continuation of the leave.

Medical certification provided in justification of a request for an FMLA leave must include the following information:

■ A statement of the health care provider’s specialization

■ The date on which the serious health condition started and its expected duration

■ The medical facts regarding the patient’s condition and a diagnosis concerning the condition.

■ A brief description of the treatment prescribed for the condition.

■ A statement of whether in-patient hospitalization is required.

■ A statement that the Team member is needed to care for a spouse, child, or parent afflicted with a serious health condition or, if the Team member has the serious health condition, a statement that they are unable to perform essential functions of your position or work of any time due to the health conditions.

Woodborn may directly contact the health care provider to verify and clarify information contained in the certification. Team members are responsible for signing and/or obtaining any authorization necessary to permit the health care provider or other third party to provide Woodborn with the required information.

Woodborn reserves the right to ask for a second opinion of a certification of a serious health condition. Should we choose to do so, Woodborn will pay for the Team member to get the certification from a second health care provider of our choosing. If a conflict emerges between the original certification and the second opinion, Woodborn will require the opinion of a third health care provides to resolve the dispute. Woodborn and the Team member will jointly select this third party, and all financial costs will be covered by Woodborn. This third opinion will be considered final.

Additionally, Woodborn reserves the right to request recertification for the serious health condition of the Team member or the Team members’ family member every six months in connection with an FMLA absence. Team members are required to alert the CEO or designee of any significant circumstance changes. In this case, or in the case that Woodborn receives information casting doubt on the reason given for the absence, Woodborn may request recertification for the serious health condition.

Returning from Leave

Any Team member taking leave under this policy will be returned to the same job they held when their leave began. If this is not feasible, due to business needs or Team member limitations, the Team member will be returned to a position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms. This position will be the same or one that entails equivalent skill, effort, responsibility and authority as the original position of the Team member. The only exception to this rule will be in the circumstances of layoffs and reorganization, where the Team members position would have been eliminated even if they had not been on leave.

Upon completion of FMLA leave due to a personal illness or injury, Team members are required to submit a health care provider’s verification of their fitness to return to work. Team members will not be permitted to return to work until such clarification is provided.

To ensure that a Team member’s return to work can be properly scheduled, a Team member on medical leave is requested to provide Woodborn with at least two weeks’ advance notice of the date the Team member intends to return to work. While on leave, Team members may be required to periodically report to Woodborn regarding the status of their intent to return to work. If a Team member fails to return to work on the agreed upon date with no prior notice to Woodborn, it will be assumed that the Team member has resigned.

Team members with any questions or concerns regarding Woodborn policy outlining Family and Medical Leave should speak directly with the CEO or designee.

Maternity Leave

Woodborn is committed to all aspects of our Team members lives and believes new and expecting Mothers deserve extensive time off to safely and comfortably have their children and acclimate to life as a mother.

Federal Law Compliance

Woodborn is firmly committed to protecting the rights of expectant mothers and complying with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. Woodborn policy is to treat women affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions in the same manner as other Team members unable to work because of their physical condition in all employment aspects, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion and benefits.

Benefits and Requests for Leave

In congruency with the FMLA policy, all health insurance benefits, and benefit accruals will continue throughout maternity leave.

Additionally, Team members requesting maternity leave will have to follow the same process as if they were requesting FMLA leave. To ensure all leave requests are processed in a timely manner, and all positions are adequately covered, Team members are expected to begin the conversation with the CEO or designee as soon as possible.

Taking Leave

Pregnant Team members may continue to work until they are certified as unable to work by their physician. At that point, pregnant Team members will start their maternity leave benefits. Team members taking maternity leave have the opportunity to take the FMLA approved 12 weeks all at once, or to spread out their time off over the course of one year. This schedule should be discussed at least 30 days prior to the leave of absence and will only be amended upon written agreement from Human Resources, applicable managers, and the Team member.

Return to Work

Woodborn may require a Team member on FMLA leave to report periodically on the Team member’s status and intent to return to work.  The date a Team member will return to work must be pre-approved by Woodborn at least 21 days in advance of returning to work. If for some reason this date needs to be changed, Team members must contact the CEO or designee as soon as possible to discuss alternatives. Should the Team member not return to work when released by her physician without giving prior notice to Woodborn, she will be considered to have voluntarily terminated her employment. When the Team member returns to work, she is entitled to return to the same or equivalent job with no loss of service or other rights or privileges.

Team members with any questions or concerns regarding Woodborn policy outlining Maternity Leave should speak directly with the CEO or designee.

Personal Leave

Woodborn provides leaves of absence without pay to eligible Team members who require additional time off from work duties to fulfill personal obligations. All Team members, after having completed 90 calendar days of service, are eligible to request personal leave. As soon as eligible Team members become aware of the need for a personal leave of absence, they should request a leave from their manager.

Personal leave requests will be granted at the discretion of Woodborn on a case-by-case basis. With the manager’s approval, a Team member may take any available PTO leave as part of the approved period of leave.

Requests for personal leave will be evaluated based on a number of factors, including anticipated workload requirements and staffing considerations during the proposed period of absence.

Subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of the applicable plans, health insurance benefits will not be provided by Woodborn during the duration of a personal leave of absence. When the Team member returns from personal leave, benefits will again be provided by Woodborn according to the applicable plans.

Benefit accruals, such as PTO or holiday benefits, will be suspended during the leave and will resume upon return to active employment.

When a personal leave ends, every reasonable effort will be made to return the Team member to the same position, if it is available, or to a similar available position for which the Team member is qualified. However, Woodborn cannot guarantee reinstatement in all cases.

If a Team member fails to return to work on the agreed upon date, Woodborn will assume that the Team member has resigned. Extensions of personal leave may be available but will be determined on a case-by-case basis and must be requesting a least one week prior to a perceived schedule change.

Team members with any questions or concerns regarding Woodborns’ policy outlining unpaid personal leave should speak directly with the CEO or designee.

Military Leave

Woodborn is committed to protecting the job rights of Team members absent on military leave. In accordance with federal and state law, it is Woodborn policy that no Team member or applicant will be subjected to any form of discrimination on the basis of that person’s membership in or obligation to perform service for any of the Uniformed Services of the United States. Specifically, no person will be denied employment, reemployment, promotion or other benefit of employment on the basis of such membership.

Eligibility

In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave act of 1993 (FMLA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a military leave of absence will be granted to Team members who are absent from work because of service in the U.S. Uniformed Services. Such military duties include training, periods of active military service, funeral honors duty, as well as time spent being examined to determine fitness to perform such service. Advance notice of military leave is required, unless military necessity prevents such notice, or it is otherwise impossible or unreasonable.

Subject to certain exceptions under the applicable laws, this leave is generally limited to five years of absence. Military leave is generally unpaid, but Team members may substitute their accrued PTO for unpaid leave (for unlimited PTO:  will use years of service)

Benefits

Continuation of health insurance benefits is available as required by USERRA based on the length of the leave and subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of the applicable plans for which the Team member is otherwise eligible.

Benefit accruals, such as PTO and holiday benefits, will continue during the leave and will resume upon the Team members return to active employment.

Return to Work

In compliance with federal regulations, at the conclusion of the leave, Team members are generally guaranteed reinstatement to their original position or a comparable position.

Team members on military leave for less than 30 days are required to return to work for the first regularly scheduled shift after the end of service, allowing reasonable travel time. Team members on military leave longer than 30 days must apply for reinstatement in accordance with USERRA and all applicable state laws. Failure to report back to work within 30 days of military termination, with no notice to Woodborn, will be regarded as a voluntary resignation.

Team members with questions or concerns regarding military leave or status should contact the CEO or designee.