The Jeffco leaves department has been telling our members that there are no leaves available for JESPA employees.
THIS IS NOT ACCURATE. In fact, our JESPA CBA section on leaves offers an unpaid leave of absence.
8-9 Approved Unpaid Leave
8-9-1 Unpaid leaves of absence may be approved for other uncovered purposes or when an employee lacks sufficient leave accruals to cover their absence.
8-9-2 Requests for unpaid leave must be submitted by the employee to their supervisor for approval as soon as practicable. The request will identify the reason the leave is needed and the expected duration of the leave. See Appendix F.
8-9-3 Employees who return from an approved unpaid leave within sixty (60) days will be returned to their same position. Employees whose approved unpaid leave extends beyond sixty (60) days will be assigned to the first available position for which the employee is qualified.
In addition, JESPA has proposed additional leave of absence provisions to the district, which would offer you guaranteed semester-long unpaid leaves, for up to two semesters, along with a guarantee that you would be able to return to your position. We hope to have an agreement on that from the district soon. We are working closely with HR and hope the district will approve the language ASAP.
Have you been denied leave or requested a remote work assignment and not heard back? Please let us know, as we are pursuing a class action grievance on this matter. Then, email leaves@jeffco.k12.co.us again and request leave, even if you have been previously denied.
If you feel unsafe working and want to pursue a leave, call in to work and indicate to your supervisor your intent to take a leave of absence. We will work with you to rectify the situation with the HR department.
