§ 82-471. Administrative discretion; guidelines

A leave of absence (LOA) is an officially approved temporary suspension of employment designed to allow the county to meet its critical business functions while assisting employees who encounter special circumstances that necessitate a limited period of time away from the job, excluding Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) and Military Leave.

(1) It is generally discouraged because it deprives a department of needed staffing. However, a reasonable request for such leave will be carefully considered;

(2) It shall not extend beyond 90 continuous days;

(3) An authorized LOA is a matter of administrative discretion, and no employee may demand that such leave be granted;

(4) Elected official/department heads may grant such leave; however, notification to commissioners court via court order (new employee and position change form) is required;

(5) All approved LOAs shall be for a maximum period of 90 continuous days. Use of all or any number of the 90 days exhausts the employee's LOA possibilities for the next 24 months. (For example: If an employee is granted a 90-day LOA and only takes 15 of those 90 days prior to return to work, the employee cannot at a later date, take the other 65 days nor will the employee be eligible for another LOA for two years from LOA return date.)

(Ord. No. 2011-1463, 8-30-2011)