Time Off Benefits

The City supports a healthy work-life balance by offering a robust leave and time-off program, including sick leave, a sick leave pool, Family and Medical Leave, holidays, funeral leave, jury and witness duty, military leave, maternity and paternity leave, approved unpaid leaves of absence, scheduled break periods, and vacation time.

• Vacation Time

  Annual leave is accumulated monthly and based upon years of service as follows:

  Years of Service	Annual Leave
  Less than five years	12 days per year
  Five through fifteen years	15 days per year
  More than fifteen years	20 days per year

  
  Annual leave may be taken as earned by employees hired after January 1, 1989. Employees hired prior to that date use annual leave within the calendar year following the year the leave is earned. All employees may carry over up to 160 hours at the end of the calendar year. Regular part-time employees who work at least 20 hours per week accrue annual leave at the rate of 4 hours per month.

• Sick Time

  All regular full-time employees are eligible to accrue 12 days of sick leave (Annual Accrual Rate) each year. Regular part-time employees will accrue sick leave at 50% of the Annual Accrual Rate of 12 days. Temporary full-time and temporary part-time employees are not eligible for sick leave.

  The total number of hours accrued each year by Police Officers and Firefighters is based on the number of standard hours they are expected to work in a bi-weekly pay period. However, the number of hours earned will reflect an amount equal to the Annual Accrual Rate indicated above, using their standard workday as the benchmark.

  Unlimited accrual at the rate of one day per month. Eligible for use as soon as earned. Regular part-time employees who work at least 20 hours per week accrue sick leave at the rate of 4 hours per month.

  Sick leave may be granted for the following reasons:

  1. Personal illness.
  2. Serious illness or death of a member of the employee’s immediate family. In the event of death in the immediate family, benefits offered under the funeral leave policy shall be applied before sick leave is used. “Immediate family” for sick leave usage is defined as: the Spouse, Daughter, Stepdaughter, Daughter-in-law, Son, Stepson, Son-in-law, Mother, Stepmother, Mother-in-law, Father, Stepfather, Father-in-law, Brother, Stepbrother, Brother-in-law, Sister, Stepsister, Sister-in-law, Grandfather, Grandmother, Grandfather-in-law, Grandmother-in-law, Grandchild, Foster child, or Guardian.
  3. Employee medical appointments, which cannot be arranged at any time other than during the employee’s normal working hours.

  Employees who are absent from work, on leave without pay, will not earn sick leave during the balance of such leave.

  Sick Leave Payout

  Employees who have completed their one-year probationary period with the City will, upon termination in good standing, be paid for accumulated sick leave, as follows:

  • 2-9 years, 25% of all sick leave accrued
  • 10-14 years, 30% of all sick leave accrued
  • 15-19 years, 40% of all sick leave accrued
  • 20 years and over 50% of all sick leave accrued

  The maximum amount to be paid to any single employee shall not exceed $8,000. A maximum of $8,000 of the payout amount may be used for pension calculations and shall not exceed the amount accrued during the period used to calculate final average compensation for pension purposes.

• Sick Leave Pool

  Allows employees to receive sick leave benefits in cases involving catastrophic or long-term illnesses or injuries after all personal leave time has been depleted.

  Regular full-time employees contribute 8 hours and Regular part-time employees contribute 4 hours on an annual basis. Employees must have completed one full year of service on or before December 31st of the calendar year enrollment; and have accumulated at least 40 hours of sick time (20 hours for Regular part-time employees).

  Participation in this program is voluntary.

• Holidays

  Twelve (12) paid holidays; includes one personal floating holiday to be used at any time after three months of employment and prior to the end of the calendar year.

  • New Year's Day
  • Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday
  • Memorial Day
  • Juneteenth Day
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Veterans Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Friday after Thanksgiving
  • Christmas Eve
  • Christmas Day
  • Floating Holiday

   

• Funeral Leave

  Up to three days off with pay due to death of an immediate family member (as defined in the policy manual).

  Up to four hours off with pay may be obtained through supervisor approval to attend local funeral services of persons other than immediate family.

• Jury/Witness Duty

  Employees required to serve on jury duty will be relieved of responsibility for their regular work shift or portion thereof and receive full pay while serving.

  All fees received for such service may be retained by the employee.

  Employees subpoenaed to any civil or criminal court proceeding, which employee is not personally or monetarily interested, shall be paid as if engaged in regular work activities.

• Military Leave

  Allows for up to 240 hours in any one calendar year for annual military training without loss of pay or benefits for any employee in some type of reserve status for the United States Armed Forces. (see policy manual for additional information).

• Family & Medical Leave

  Federal legislation guarantees up to 12 weeks per year off work under certain circumstances outlined under Family and Medical Leave Act §825.110.

  The employees must have been employed by the City for at least 12 months and have at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12 month period before the requested leave.

  The City of Lakeland will continue its group life and health insurance for an employee on leave at the same level and under the same conditions that existed while the employee was working.

• Maternity and Paternity Leave

  Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for the birth of a child and to bond with a newborn, or for the placement of a child through adoption or foster care. FMLA leave applies to both mothers and fathers and may be taken within 12 months of the child’s birth or placement. During approved FMLA leave, health insurance coverage is maintained under the same terms as if the employee were actively working. Eligibility requirements and applicable conditions apply in accordance with federal law.

• Leave of Absence Without Pay

  The City provides guidelines for requesting a non-medical leave of absence without pay when such requests are reasonable and operationally feasible. Medically related leave requests are addressed separately under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the City’s Sick Leave policies.