.01 Sick leave, military leave, or line of duty injuries shall be considered paid leave within the established guidelines and in accordance with the Personnel Rules and Regulations of the City of Tupelo. The Assistant Chief shall have the discretion to provide minimum staffing levels and grant leave in advance contrary to normal policies in order to maintain the minimum staffing levels. Any leave taken in advance must be taken under unusual circumstances and with the understanding that the leave will be deducted at the appropriate time or at the time of termination.

.02 No Fire Department personnel shall be absent from duty without leave granted by proper authority.

.03 Temporary leave of absence (without proper relief) may be granted by proper authority (company officer), in the event of sudden illness, accident, or other emergency situations involving company members or his/her immediate family (spouse, child, step child, father, or mother). The supervising Chief Officer shall be informed and proper relief provided.

.04 All Fire Department Personnel unable to report for duty due to sickness, injury, etc., shall report this fact to the immediate supervisor on duty indicating the nature of the sickness or injury. When ESD duty is involved, this notification shall be no later than thirty minutes prior to the scheduled reporting time so proper relief can be arranged. Notification should take place as soon as possible. The company officer should notify the Assistant Chief immediately, if the immediate supervisor is unavailable, the Assistant Chief should be notified.

.041 When sick time is utilized for over 1.5 consecutive shifts, a medical excuse is required upon return to work.
.042 A medical excuse will also be required when a person has accumulated more than forty-eight 48 hours of non-medically excused sick leave within the twelve month period preceding and including the date sick leave is used.
.043 Previous medically excused absences will not be counted toward the forty-eight (48) hour rule.
.044 Failure to produce a medical excuse will result in a violation of sick leave policy, constituting an abuse of sick leave benefits, resulting in a suspension equal to the duration of the time off, on the first offense. Subsequent offenses will result termination for abuse of sick leave.

.051 The Fire Department has to maintain a minimum number of personnel on duty and vacation planning will be conducted in the best interest of the department to adhere to the minimum staffing level of firefighters and the minimum company officer staffing level. All leave should be scheduled to minimize the need for payment of overtime to fill vacancies.
.052 All vacation procedures must adhere to the guidelines as set by the City of Tupelo Personnel Rules and Regulations Handbook.
.053 Selection of vacation periods should begin November 1 and should be finalized by January 15 of the affected year. Selection of vacation periods shall be made on a seniority basis, with the most senior man of the shift picking first, then the second most senior next, and so on.
.054 If there is a conflict of seniority due to the hiring of personnel on the same date, the most senior man will be determined by the first letter of his/her last name. Should the first letter of the last name be the same, then the second letter will be used and so on.
.055 Personnel are not eligible for vacation leave until the anniversary date of their first year. At which time the member shall be eligible for vacation which may be taken between the anniversary date and the following January 1. These personnel may schedule their leave on an open date after their anniversary date, in the vacation selection process.
.056 In the event that additional leave time is granted by the Mayor and/or City Council (holidays, etc.) this time will be granted as compensatory time to members of the ESD and shall be scheduled as a part of the vacation period for the affected year, when the number of days left within the granted year are limited and time will not permit the leave to be taken within the calendar year the leave was granted.
.057 Military leave shall in no way hinder the selection or taking of vacation of any member. Military time is not considered as a vacation period, but must be selected in a manner similar to vacation time to assist in scheduling.
.058 Cancellation of vacation leave must be requested to the Assistant Chief no later than 48 hours prior to the affected dates, with the exceptions of emergency situations. The canceled leave will be utilized as dates become available.

.061 Military leave is not to be counted on or to receive priority on the vacation schedule because:

A. Military leave is protected by law.
B. Military leave is mandatory.
C. Seniority would be virtually disregarded during vacation scheduling.
D. Some of the younger men would never get vacations with their families.
E. Members requiring military leave should work with other members the company to assure their military leave does not interfere with family vacation plans.

.062 Members requiring military leave are encouraged to inform the Assistant Chief one shift prior to the request leave date.
.063 Members must submit a copy of Military Orders prior to being granted military leave.
.064 Members requiring military leave must comply with the requirements as established by the Personnel Department.
.065 ESD personnel are currently entitled to 120 hours or five (5) shifts of military leave.

.071 Members may swap time with approval of their Company Officer. Failure to repay swap time can result in elimination of swap time for the member who fails to repay the time owed. Excessive use of swap time can result in a loss of swap time privileges.
.072 Members may not pay other personnel for working their assigned shift.
.073 Compensatory time shall be scheduled so as not to interfere with the minimum staffing requirements of the department. Compensatory leave is subject to immediate cancellation if manning levels are threatened. After arriving for work, persons may request compensatory leave if proper staffing is available.