Page 16 - June 2017 Newsletter

Field Representative’s Report
Time to let the Employee Sick Leave Act work for FOP members
The health and well-being of our family mem- bers is our number-one priority. When one of them is hit with a serious illness or injury, it can be devastating.
The stress and anxiety of dealing with a child having a serious illness is one example. The constant visits to doctors and hospitals, as well as the days spent at caring for the child at home, can be overwhelming. When your family’s world
is turned upside down and they need your help, it can be an immense amount of stress placed on your shoulders.
What can add to the burden is the fact that the Depart- ment is limiting time off. Couple that with the financial strain that comes along with medical bills, and the stress can tear a family to its core.
That is why last year, our state legislature passed the Em- ployee Sick Leave Act, which took effect this year. In pass- ing the bill, it appears that the legislature wants to provide workers with the opportunity to take care of our families.
Here is a part of the statute.
(a) An employee may use personal sick leave benefits provided by the employer for absences due to an illness, injury, or medical appointment of the employee’s child,
stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, moth- er-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent, on the same terms upon which the employee is able to use personal sick leave benefits for the employee’s own illness or injury.
Nowhere in this statute does it preclude any group of people; that is, nowhere does it preclude the Police or any government agency.
Even in the Department of Justice Report issued in Janu- ary, the investigators cited the need for the City to address stress issues of police officers, specifically stating:
Officers must receive the support they need from the De- partment to perform their policing responsibilities well and safely, and to address the stressors related to their work. To better support its officers, CPD should evaluate and respond to the needs of CPD officers.
Isn’t family illness a stress to its officers?
The Department should embrace this benefit given to us by newly adopted state law. Give our officers the time off they need to deal with a family member’s illness. Show their concern about their officers’ well-being by allowing them the time off that they need and not causing an ad- ditional financial burden of possibly going without being paid.
However, we’re getting quite the opposite response. We are being told that the new law doesn’t apply to us. We are being told that if there is a need for time off, we must use time due, rather than the medical time that would be af- forded to us under the new state law.
The Lodge and our attorneys have discussed the matter and are in agreement that the City is wrong. We are poised to fight for this benefit on behalf of our membership, a benefit afforded to every other person in the state of Illinois.
If you currently need extended time off to care for a loved one, or if you find yourself in this situation in the near fu- ture, the Lodge is asking that, along with any paperwork you submit, include a To-From and the following wording:
R/O hereby requests sick leave, pursuant to Article 18, Section 18.2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement be- tween the FOP and the City of Chicago, and the Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act (820 ILCS 191/1).
Until this issue is resolved, we ask that if you are denied paid sick leave that you contact the Lodge so that we can work on filing a grievance. We will attempt to recover any personal time that you may have had to use or to recoup any lost wages for taking the leave of absence.
The Lodge hopes that this crucial issue can be resolved quickly, so that our members can avoid unnecessary stress in these unfortunate circumstances by granting us the benefit of the IL Employee Sick Leave Act. That’s the intent behind the law. We want our members to be able to take advantage of it, just like every other employee in the state of Illinois. d
ROBERT BARTLETT
16 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2017