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Section II — Employee Benefits

The Clinton Public School District, in an effort to attract and retain the most effective personnel to serve the children of the Clinton community, offers a wide range of benefits to eligible personnel. Programs such as social security, workers' compensation, state retirement, and unemployment insurance cover all eligible employees in the manner prescribed by law. Benefits eligibility is dependent upon employee classification and other factors. Details of many of the programs can be found within this handbook.

The following benefit programs are available to eligible employees:

  • Direct Deposit
  • Holidays
  • Leave
    • Sick Leave
    • Personal Leave
    • Vacation Leave
    • Medical Leave
    • Professional Leave
  • Insurance
  • Cafeteria Plan
  • Retirement

Some benefit programs require contributions from employees, but others are fully paid by the district. The benefit package for full-time employees represents an additional cost to the Clinton Public School District.

Direct Deposit

State law mandates that all school districts process a single monthly payroll with electronic settlement of payroll checks secured through direct deposits of net pay for all school district employees. It is the employee's responsibility to notify payroll of any changes to their direct deposit accounts. Direct deposit statements can be accessed through Employee Connect.

Holidays

The Clinton Public School District will observe the holidays listed below.

  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Fall Break
  • Thanksgiving Holidays
  • Christmas Holidays
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Day
  • Spring Break
  • Easter Holiday (inclement weather day, if needed)
  • Memorial Day

 
Each hourly employee who is eligible for sick leave shall be given the following holidays with pay if they physically work on the workday before and the workday after the holiday:

  • Independence Day (twelve-month employee who is regularly scheduled to work)
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Christmas Day
  • New Year's Day
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Day
  • Memorial Day (twelve-month employee who is regularly scheduled to work)

If the employee requests sick leave on the day before or after a paid holiday and provides a licensed medical physician's statement, the employee will be eligible for paid sick leave but will not be paid for the holiday because they have not physically worked the workday before and the workday after the holiday.

Employees should refer to policy GCRII in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual.

Leave

1. Each regular employee of the Clinton Public School District who is eligible for health insurance benefits shall be granted sick leave and personal leave days according to the number of days they are originally scheduled to work for each employment year as follows:

Days to Work    Sick Days Granted    Personal Days Granted
180 - 199                      7                                      2
200 - 219                     8                                      2
220 - 229                     9                                      2
230 and over              10                                      2
The term "regular employee" is defined as one who is regularly scheduled to work at least 76% of the employment year, excluding PERS Retirees.

2. Sick leave and personal leave shall be taken in either full or half day increments. If taken in a half day increment, actual hours worked for that day should not go over the remaining half day amount.
3. Unused sick leave and personal leave days shall accumulate as sick leave days to an unlimited amount.
4. Any approved leave of absence shall not be considered an interruption of employment.
5. All leave for the year is posted before it is earned. If any employee is separated mid-year, any unearned leave taken will be docked from the employee's final payroll check.


Sick Leave
Sick leave days may be used for the following:

  1. Personal illness of the employee.
    1. Illness in the immediate family to include husband or wife, child, sister, brother, father, mother, grandparents and grandchildren, or anyone of like relationship by marriage, or persons who have stood in loco parentis.
    2. Absence due to bodily injury.
    3. Medical or dental appointments.
    4. Death in the immediate family. This leave is limited to five days per employment year per immediate family member to include: husband or wife, child, sister, brother, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandparents and grandchildren, or persons who have stood in loco parentis. This leave is limited to one day for a niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, or anyone of the like relationship by marriage. In accordance with state law, this leave shall not be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, or on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday.

    5. Any unused portion of the total sick leave allowance shall be carried over to the next school year if the employee remains employed in the school district. In the event the employee terminates, any unused portion of the total leave allowance shall be credited to such employee in the computation of unused leave for retirement purposes under Section 25-11-109, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Employees shall not take sick leave on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, the day prior to a holiday, or the day after a holiday, unless a licensed medical physician's statement is received on the day the employee returns to work. This applies to all regular employees for all observed holidays.

If the employee requests sick leave on the day before or after a paid holiday and provides a licensed medical physician's statement, the employee will be eligible for paid sick leave but will not be paid for the holiday because they have not physically worked the workday before and the workday after the holiday. Refer to page 11 for any additional details related to paid holidays.


Sick Leave - Sub Dock
For the first ten (10) days of absence of a licensed employee because of illness or physical disability, in any school year, in excess of the sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee, there may be deducted from the pay of such licensed employee the established substitute amount of licensed employee compensation paid in that local school district, necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee as a result of illness or physical disability. Thereafter, the regular pay of such absent licensed employee will be suspended and withheld in its entirety for any period of absence because of illness or physical disability during that school year. A licensed medical physician's statement is required in order to use sub dock days and is due the day the employee returns to work.

The term "licensed employee" means any employee of a public school district required to hold a valid license by the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development. Reference may be found in Mississippi Code 37-7-307.

 

Job-Related Injuries
Employees who sustain job-related injuries/illness shall:

  1. Immediately report the injury. Failure to report the injury could result in disciplinary action being taken.
  2. Be eligible for school district benefits in accordance with workers' compensation paid by the district.
  3. An employee shall use his/her accumulated leave when covered by workers' compensation.

See further details in the Workers' Compensation section.

 

Physicians Verification of Illness
A licensed medical physician's statement may be requested at any time by the employee's immediate supervisor (Administrator or Director), the Business Office, or the Superintendent. The statement should include the expected length of absence.

An employee who has not been granted sick leave without pay for a specified period of time shall be absent only for such days as the employee's licensed medical physician certifies that the employee was unable to work.

Should an employee be absent from duty and fail to comply with regulations concerning sick leave, such employee shall be charged with unauthorized absence. However, the Board will hear evidence in cases of emergency as to the reasons for late verification of absence and may take such action as necessary.

See Clinton Public School District Board Manual - Policy GADJA.

 

Personal Leave
All employees are limited to two earned personal leave days per employment year. Full per diem shall be deducted from the salary of each employee who is absent for personal business more than the number of accumulated days. If unused, these days will remain as accumulated sick leave days. Licensed employees and regular twelve (12) month employees can accumulate up to five (5) days. All other employees are limited to two (2) days.

A licensed employee may use personal leave as follows:

(i)  Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee is being deployed for military service.

(ii)  Personal leave may be taken on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if an employee of a school district has either a minimum of ten (10) years' experience as an employee of that school district or a minimum of thirty (30) days of unused accumulated leave that has been earned while employed in that school district.

(iii)  Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, the employee has been summoned to appear for jury duty or as a witness in court.

(iv)  Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee dies, or funeral services are held.

For these purposes, the term "immediate family member" means spouse, parent, stepparent, child or stepchild, grandparent, or sibling, including a stepbrother or stepsister.

Further information may be found in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual - Policy GBRI.

 

Vacation Leave
Employees who are scheduled to work 231 days or more per year are eligible for ten (10) vacation days per year. Employees who are scheduled to work 230 days are eligible for five (5) vacation days per year. The twelve (12) month work period will begin July 1 and end the following June 30. Vacation leave shall be synonymous with personal leave. Unused vacation or personal leave accumulated in excess of the maximum five (5) days which may be carried over from one year to the next may be converted to sick leave (Mississippi Code Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95). Refer to policies GBRK, GCRH, and CGPH in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual.

 

Professional Leave
Requests for professional leave or meetings must take into consideration the good of the student and school. The number of professional leave days granted at one time will be limited and dependent upon the availability of qualified substitutes.

Absences for professional purposes must be cleared through the administrator, then by written request to the Superintendent. Requests should be arranged as far in advance as possible and will generally be limited to in-state activities. Attendance at other professional meetings will be contingent upon such factors as numbers involved, expense to the district, and the amount of time away from school. Professional leave should be granted only when it will have a positive effect upon the school system.

 

Approved School Business Leave
Leave for approved school business (whether professional leave or other job-related, out-of-district activities) is at the discretion of an administrator. Leave for approved school business is not charged against an employee's leave days.

 

Military Leave
A military leave of absence will be granted to employees who are absent from work because of service in the United States Uniformed Services in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Advanced notice of military service is required unless military necessity prevents such notice or is otherwise impossible or unreasonable. Employees will continue to receive full pay while on leave for training assignments (up to 15 days) and shorter absences. Longer assignments to fulfill military requirements, such as activation through a reserve unit, may be granted by prior approval from the Superintendent. This military leave can be granted up to one year without pay.

Employees returning from military leave will be placed in the position they would have attained had they remained continuously employed or placed in a comparable position as required by USERRA. Reference may be found in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual- Policy GBRID.

 

Jury Duty
There is no deduction in pay for service as a juror. Any payment made to staff members for service as a juror may not be charged against the salary of the staff member. Leave for jury duty is not charged against an employee's leave days. Refer to Policy GBRI found in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual.

 

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Employees who have been employed with Clinton Public School District for at least twelve (12) months and have worked 1250 hours in the immediate past twelve (12) months are eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid leave for the following. The twelve-month period for FMLA leave is calculated as a fixed leave year based on the fiscal year beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30.

  1. The birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care.
  2. The care of the employee's spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition.
  3. The employee's own serious health condition.

Employees seeking to use Family Medical Leave must provide 30-day advance notice of the need to take leave when it is foreseeable. Planned medical treatment must be scheduled so that it will not unduly disrupt the employer's operation. Further information on the FMLA may be found in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual - Policy GBRIA.

 

Penalty for giving False Information
Any employee who gives materially false information as to the cause of absence, which results in the employee receiving any of the benefits of this policy, shall forfeit accumulated or future sick leave or other leave that he/she is otherwise entitled to for a period of one year. Full per diem shall be deducted for each day absent and claimed through false information and said number of days shall be deducted from the employee's accumulated sick leave days.

During the one-year period for which sick leave has been forfeited, full per diem shall be deducted for any day missed. Any sick leave time that had been accumulated in a legitimate manner prior to the time when benefits were forfeited shall be reinstated when the employee becomes eligible for the benefits of this policy. Should the one-year period extend to a new employment year, then leave will be prorated when the employee becomes eligible for the benefits of this policy.

Further information on sick leave may be found in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual - Policy GBRIA.

 

Donating Leave
An employee may donate a portion of his/her earned personal or sick leave to another employee. The employee receiving the leave must be suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness or have an immediate family member suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness and requiring care by the employee receiving leave. The employee receiving the leave must exhaust all available leave before accepting donated leave. If the total amount of leave donated to an employee is not used by the end of that employment year (06/30), the remaining leave donation shall be considered void and those leave days will revert to the employee who made the donation. If needed, a new donation may be made for the following employment year. Employees should refer to policy GADF in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual.

 

Insurance
The Clinton Public School District participates in the State health insurance plan and a private group life insurance plan for school employees. Health and group life insurance is available for all regular employees of the district. These two insurance options are both employee and employer funded.

Eligible employees may also participate in other insurance plans subject to all terms and agreements between the Clinton Public School District and the insurance carriers. Information on all available insurance types and plans may be obtained from the Human Resources Department at the District Administrative Office. Additional insurance will be deducted from the employee's salary at 100% of the premium amount.

Eligible employees may also participate in voluntary deductions for tax-sheltered annuities.

 

Cafeteria Plan
Clinton Public School District participates in a Section 125 Flexible Benefit Plan. Many insurance premiums paid through payroll deduction are exempt from Medicare, Social Security, federal, and state income taxes when sheltered.

 

Benefits Continuation (COBRA)
The Federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) gives employees and their qualified beneficiaries the opportunity to continue insurance coverage under the Clinton Public School District's health plan when a "qualifying condition" would normally result in the loss of eligibility. Such conditions include resignation, termination of employment, a reduction in the employee's hours, a leave of absence, an employee's divorce or legal separation, a dependent child no longer meeting eligibility requirements, or death of an employee.

Under COBRA the employee or beneficiary pays the full cost of coverage.

 

Worker's Compensation
The Clinton Public School District provides the Worker's Compensation Insurance Program at no cost to employees. This program covers any injury or illness sustained in the course of employment that requires medical, surgical, or hospital treatment. Subject to applicable legal requirements, Worker's Compensation Insurance provides benefits after a short waiting period or if the employee is hospitalized, immediately.

An employee should notify his/her immediate supervisor whenever an injury is incurred whether or not medical attention is needed. A worker's compensation form should be filled out within twenty-four (24) hours of the incident. It is important to report all injuries immediately. This will enable an eligible employee to qualify for coverage as quickly as possible.  The immediate supervisor will notify the District Administrative Office, make the necessary arrangements for medical attention, and see that all claim forms are properly completed. Failure to report an injury within the timeframe stated above could result in disciplinary action being taken. An employee shall use his/her accumulated leave when covered by workers' compensation.

 

Unemployment
Unemployment Insurance is a program designed to ease the economic burden of unemployment by providing a temporary source of income for individuals who are unemployed through no fault of their own. School district employees are not necessarily eligible simply because school is not in session. This includes all holidays and summer break, which are known as designated vacation.
 

Resignation

Employees who wish to resign must submit a letter of resignation with an intended final effective date of employment. The resignation letter must be submitted to the principal or immediate supervisor to be forwarded to the superintendent for School Board approval. Any certified contractual employee who remains under contract at the time of the intended resignation must request to be released from their contract and may not have their resignations accepted unless a satisfactory replacement can be secured.
Resignations from the contract will be approved at the discretion of the Superintendent and only if properly executed. If employment is to be terminated during the school session, the resignation should be submitted in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of the resignation.

Further information may be found in the Clinton Public School District Board Manual - Policy GBO.

Any employee who resigns and has been paid more than the amount they have "earned" through worked time will have that difference deducted from the employee's final payroll check. Additionally, if the employee has been paid more than the amount they have "earned" through worked time and will not be receiving a subsequent payroll check, the employee immediately becomes liable to the Clinton Public School District Board of Trustees and must remit payment for that difference, plus interest.

Retirement

Any employee anticipating retirement during or at the end of the school fiscal year should adhere to the following guidelines:

  1. Notify the principal or supervisor of intent to retire.
  2. Notify Human Resources and Payroll at the District Administrative Office.
  3. Request a retirement package from the District Administrative Office. Failure to request a retirement package at least three months in advance may result in delay of retirement benefits.
  4. When the package is received, call the payroll office to set up an appointment to complete retirement papers.

Upon retirement from employment, each licensed and unlicensed employee shall be paid for not more than thirty (30) days of unused accumulated leave earned while employed by the school district in which the employee is last employed. Such payment for licensed employees shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the amount paid to substitute teachers and for non-licensed employees, the payment shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the federal minimum wage. The payment shall be treated in the same manner for retirement purposes as a lump-sum payment for personal leave as provided in Section 25-11-103(f). Any remaining lawfully credited unused leave, for which payment has not been made, shall be certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as otherwise provided by law for unused leave. No payment for unused accumulated leave may be made to an employee at termination or separation from service for any purpose other than for the purpose of retirement.

According to the PERS handbook, accumulated leave days may be credited toward retirement using the following information:

  • 15 - 77 days= .2500 (3 months)
  • 78 - 98 days= .5000 (6 months)
  • 99 - 119 days = .5833 (7 months)
  • 120 - 140 days= .6667 (8 months)
  • 141 - 161 days= .7500 (9 months)
  • 162 - 182 days= .8333 (10 months)
  • 183 - 203 days = .9167 (11 months)
  • 204 - 224 days = 1.000 (12 months)
  • 225 - 245 days = 1.0833 (13 months)
  • Add one month for each additional 21 days.

Termination of Employment

Suspension: All Employees
The Superintendent or designee may suspend employees under their supervision for failure to comply with Board policies and procedures or reasonable requests of the administration. The employee may have the right to a hearing as outlined in the grievance procedures.

Dismissal for Cause
State law gives the Superintendent the authority to suspend or remove a staff member. Reasons for dismissal include, but are not limited to the following:

  1. Incompetence
  2. Neglect of duty
  3. Immoral conduct
  4. Intemperance
  5. Excessive absences
  6. Tardiness
  7. Brutal treatment of a pupil
  8. Insubordination/Conflict
  9. Violation of confidentiality
  10. Disorderly conduct
  11. Insulting language or behavior
  12. Disrespect
  13. Harassment, intimidation, or threats
  14. Violation of any district policy

Before being removed or suspended, the staff member shall be notified of the charges. The licensed staff member may be entitled to request a hearing after the notification. The school board, upon a request for a hearing by the person so suspended or removed, shall set a date, time and place for such hearing which shall be not sooner than five (5) days nor later than thirty (30) days from the date of the request. The procedure for such hearing shall be as prescribed for hearings before the board or hearing officer in Section 37-9-111 of the State code. If the licensed employee does not request a hearing within five (5) days after being notified, the decision of the Superintendent is final.
 
Any employee whose employment is terminated, and that employee has been paid more than the amount they have "earned" through worked time will have that difference deducted from the employee's final payroll check. Additionally, if the employee has been paid more than the amount they have "earned" through worked time and will not be receiving a subsequent payroll check, the employee immediately becomes liable to the Clinton Public School District Board of Trustees and must remit payment for that difference, plus interest.