5-06-011 Personal Leave

(a) The appropriate Chief Executive Team member, at his or her sole discretion for the following reasons, may approve leave without pay for an employee:

(i) Serious illness in the employee’s immediate family requiring attention of the employee that is not covered under Tribal family medical leave;

(ii) Compelling personal business, i.e., subpoena, restraining order, etc;

(iii) Extreme personal emergencies; or

(iv) Approved absences during an employee’s trial employment period.

(b) Personal leaves are granted with the understanding that the employee intends to return to work upon completion of the leave and that the retention of the employee is desirable. If the personal leave is for longer than 30 days, the written approval for such leave shall contain a discussion of conditions, if any, for return of the employee to his or her prior position.

(2) Approval of Requests for Personal Leave. Requests for personal leave of less than two weeks shall be submitted in advance to the applicant’s immediate supervisor through Employee Web Services, and shall contain reasonable justification for approval. Requests for personal leave in excess of two weeks must have the prior approval of the appropriate Chief Executive Team member. In no case will personal leave be granted in excess of 12 months.

(3) Criteria for Personal Leave. Requests for personal leave will only be granted when such leave can be scheduled without adversely affecting the operation of the Tribal organization and when the needs of the employee are sufficiently important to offset the cost and inconvenience to the Tribal organization. An employee who is granted personal leave can be asked to return to work if the job so requires. The employee will be notified that if they do not return to work someone else will be hired to replace them. Personal leave will not be granted to allow an employee to work for another organization or company.

(4) Break in Service. Approved personal leave will not normally break continuous service for purposes of determining benefits and giving service awards. However, employees on personal leave will not accrue sick leave or annual leave benefits during the time of their absence. [Res. 2022-10-016 § 1, 2022.]