RULE 5 - ABSENCE

2/500.00 Leaves of absence in excess of the number of days allowed by ordinance, and as otherwise provided in these regulatory procedures, in any calendar year shall be without pay, and shall be granted only in cases of extreme necessity.

                Applications for such leaves shall be made in writing to the commanding officer of the district or to the head of bureau to which the member making such application is assigned. Such application shall state in clear and definite terms the nature of the emergency necessitating such leave of absence, which shall be investigated by the applicant's district commander or by the head of the bureau; and such application shall be forwarded to the Chief of Police with recommendation for approval or disapproval.

2/500.05 As a condition precedent to the approval of any request for a leave of absence without pay, members shall be required to present themselves for physical examination, where such leave is for more than twenty days. Such examination shall be conducted by a police physician, and a report shall be made by such physician relative to the general physical condition of the applicant, who shall again be examined upon the expiration of such leave by the same physician, if possible, who conducted the prior examination, and a report of the examination shall be made to the Chief of Police.

2/500.10 Whenever members of the Department are injured or sick, rendering them unable to perform the duties to which assigned, they shall immediately notify their commanding officers of this fact. Members shall relate the location from which notification is being made and a telephone number at which they can be reached.

                In all such cases, the District or Bureau Commander shall cause Section I of Form PS-16 (Application for Sick Leave or Injury Pay) to be completed and immediately forward the yellow copy to the Medical Section of the Personnel Bureau. (The white original of multipurpose Form PS-16 shall be provisionally retained at the District or Bureau for use as directed hereinafter, and the pink copy of Form PS-16 filed in the member's personnel jacket at the District/Bureau.)

                Effective August 1, 1985, civilian employees of the Department shall be required to submit to their commanding officer acceptable medical substantiation from a private physician or dentist certifying the nature and seriousness of the sickness for each instance of sick leave exceeding three (3) consecutive work days.

                Members whose absence due to sickness or injury extends beyond seven (7) consecutive days shall personally make an appointment with a Police Physician on the first weekday thereafter and report to the office of such Police Physician, unless their condition is such that it makes such visit impractical. In such case the member shall contact the Police Physician by telephone and advise him of the circumstances. Such member shall be subject to the orders of the Police Physician.

                When permission is granted by a Police Physician for members to leave their residence after seven (7) days to further recuperation while on sick leave, or on the effective date of a duty-incurred injury, the District or Bureau Commander shall cause Section II of Form PS-16 to be completed. If members telephone to report that they will be returning to duty, the District or Bureau Commander shall cause Section III of Form PS-16 to be completed.

                Sickness and disability leave (Injury Off Duty) may be permitted without requiring the member to submit a doctor's certificate, provided that the member completes Section IV of Form PS-16 (Application for Sick Leave or Injury Pay). The white original of Form PS-16 shall be forwarded to the Personnel Bureau, Medical Section, immediately after a member returns to work and either completes Section IV of said form, OR presents a doctor's certificate.

                Members may be required by their commanding officer to furnish a doctor's certificate for each absence regardless of duration, if the commanding officer is informed or believes that the member is misusing sick leave. Under such circumstances, the City shall not be responsible for any fee charged by the doctor.

                Members unable to furnish a required doctor's certificate, upon declaring themselves fit for duty, shall not be prevented from returning to duty. Such member shall be carried "sick without pay" for the period of sick absence until they furnish the doctor's certificate.

                Members appointed to the Police Officer position classification on or after August 1, 1985, shall not be entitled to the injury pay benefits provided hereinbefore for any injury they may sustain while on duty prior to the start of field training during the period of time they are assigned to the Police Training Bureau for recruit training. Such members shall instead be covered by State of Wisconsin Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) temporary disability benefits during such period, including all applicable terms and conditions provided for in the WCA.

                Members appointed to the Police Aide position classification on or after April 11, 1985, shall not be entitled to the injury pay benefits provided hereinbefore for any injury they may sustain while on duty. Such members shall instead be covered by State of Wisconsin Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) temporary disability benefits during such period, including all applicable terms and conditions provided for in the WCA.

2/500.15 Sick and disability leave shall cover necessary absence from duty of a member because of illness or pregnancy related disability, bodily injury or exclusion from employment because of exposure to communicable disease. However, sick and disability leave shall not be construed to include any disabling condition due solely or in part to intemperance or moral delinquency as determined by medical examination or other verified information. The term "Sick" shall also apply to any member suffering a disabling mental or nervous affliction recognized by the medical profession.

2/500.20 The requirement that female members submit to an examination by a Police Physician prior to commencing a pregnancy leave is hereby waived pending revision of this rule. In the interim, the only requirement for commencing a pregnancy leave shall be that the member provide her commanding officer with medical certification from her attending physician attesting to her unfitness for duty due to the pregnancy.

                The existing practice that pregnant females submit an `In the Matter Of' report to their commanding officer informing him/her of the pregnancy and the anticipated delivery date shall remain in effect. This report shall be accompanied by a medical certification from the attending physician confirming the pregnancy. Female officers shall include in their report a request to be placed on limited duty status during the pregnancy. Such members do not have to examined by a police physician.

                (For more detailed information, employees should consult their current labor contract.)

2/500.25 Except as provided for hereinafter, members of the Department who meet the requirements of the foregoing in the determination of the Chief of Police shall be granted sick leave with full pay during such absence for a period equal in the aggregate to fifteen days excluding regularly scheduled off days falling within such period for each year of service in the Department, less any previous periods of sick leave with full pay, other than periods of absence from duty because of injury sustained in the actual performance of police duty of not more than one year per duty injury.

                In computing previous periods of sick leave prior to January 1, 1952, with full pay, for the purpose of this section, it shall be assumed that such periods did not exceed, in the aggregate, fifteen days for each year of service. During the period of January 1, 1952 to January 1, 1962, the number of sick days granted per year was twenty. Beginning with January 1, 1962, with the establishment of new data processing procedures, the annual sick days with full pay each year was reduced to fifteen.

                Eligibility for sick leave with pay for members newly appointed to City employment after August 1, 1985, shall begin after completion of six months of active service in the Police Department, but sick leave credit shall be earned from date of appointment. Eligibility for sick leave with pay, for employees appointed to City employment prior to August 1, 1985, shall begin as soon after regular appointment as any sick leave credit has been earned.

                Members who have not applied for and received either a leave of absence without pay or a disability pension within ninety days of exhausting their sick and injury pay benefits and who are medically incapacitated for duty shall be subject to discharge.

                Any member who is found ineligible to continue to receive a disability pension who shall fail to apply for return to duty when such disability pension has been terminated or who fails to pass a satisfactory medical examination or for some other reason fails to return to duty within ninety days shall be eligible for reappointment to the police service exclusively as provided by applicable rules and regulations of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners governing reappointment of resigned former members of the Department.

                Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, no single period of sick leave with full pay shall extend beyond a period of three hundred and sixty‑five days regardless of length of service.

2/500.30 Members of the Department shall not leave their residence or place of confinement for any purpose without obtaining the permission of a Department physician and the member's commanding officer, by telephone or otherwise, during the first seven (7) days of absence due to sickness or injury, EXCEPT as elsewhere provided for in these Regulations and Standard Operating Procedures for members of the police force on duty‑incurred injury status.

                However, during said first seven (7) day period, District/Bureau Commanders will grant permission to members to be absent from the residence for reasonable times for these specific purposes:

                A.            To keep scheduled appointments with physicians, dentists, physical therapists, and/or hospitals, or clinics, whether or not related to the officer's present sickness or injury.

                B.            To purchase food, household necessities and medication for the officer's present injury or illness or for the health care of minor children.

                C.            To attend religious services.

                D.            To register to vote or to vote in elections for Municipal, County, State, or Federal offices, or in regularly scheduled union elections.

                E.             To engage in physical exercise recommended in writing by an attending physician.

                F.             To answer court subpoenas in cases arising out of the officer's employment.

                G.            To report to headquarters or other police facilities when ordered to do so by a supervisory or commanding officer.

                Members shall make such requests by contacting their commanding officer or shift commander. In making the request, the member will state the purpose or purposes in leaving the residence, the destination or destinations, the planned time of departure, the method of transportation, and the estimated time of return to the residence. Upon returning to their residence, members will contact their commanding officer or shift commander to notify the Department of their return.

                Members of the Department absent from duty in excess of seven (7) days due to sickness or injury shall be permitted to leave their residence or place of confinement and to travel freely within the confines of Milwaukee County so long as they have first obtained a written statement from their personal physician stating that such travel will further their recuperation and the member has first presented the personal physician's statement to a Police Department physician who has approved same in writing. A POLICE PHYSICIAN GRANTING SUCH PERMISSION SHALL IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY THE COMMANDING OFFICER of the district or bureau to which such member is assigned and inform the commanding officer of the purpose for which such permission was granted.

                Members of the police force absent from duty due to a duty-incurred injury shall be permitted to leave their residence or place of confinement so long as they have first obtained a written statement from their personal physician stating that such travel will further their recuperation and the member has first presented the personal physician's statement to a Police Department physician who has approved same in writing. Whenever members of the police force, authorized to leave their residence or place of confinement when on duty‑incurred injury status, leave the confines of Milwaukee County, they shall provide their commanding officer written advance notice of this departure indicating on the notice the time period that the member will be out of Milwaukee County, location(s) where the member can be reached and, if the location has an address and/or telephone number, the address and/or telephone number of the location(s). While outside the confines of Milwaukee County, members shall be required to notify their commanding officer of their whereabouts by telephone and of any changes in the locations indicated on the advance notice. During any fifteen (15) day period, the member shall not be permitted to remain outside the confines of Milwaukee County for more than fourteen (14) consecutive calendar days. Nothing herein shall limit or diminish existing requirements subjecting members to the orders of a police physician or the requirement that members appear before, or report to, a Police Medical Panel for periodic examination.

                Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, Department members may leave their residence or place of confinement when absolutely necessary in an emergency in which case the member shall report the circumstances connected therewith to the member's commanding officer or bureau head as soon as practicable.

2/500.35 The granting of permission to leave the County when on sick or injury leave shall be only upon the recommendation of a police physician; and, provided further, that members of the police force comply with the provisions set forth in Subsection 3/010.75 of these procedures relating to use of vacation during duty-incurred injury leave status. An applicant for such leave shall be examined by a police physician, and a report thereof, together with recommendations, shall be submitted to the Chief of Police.

2/500.40 Members of the department who have been on sick or injury leave, and are reported fit for return to duty by a police or attending physician, who fail to report at their regular starting time, shall be considered absent without leave.

2/500.45 FUNERAL LEAVE 

                A.            MEMBERS TO BE GRANTED LEAVE

                               Members of the Department shall be granted a paid leave of absence in case of the death of a relative as provided in the applicable labor contract. 

                B.            NON-MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEES

                                Non-Management/Non-Represented employees and management pay plan (civilian management) employees can take up to three work days off (instead of calendar days) in case of the death of a brother, sister, mother‑in‑law, father‑in‑law, grandchild, brother‑in‑law, sister‑in‑law, stepparent or stepchild, in addition to spouse, child or parent. This is provided that the workdays fall within a ten consecutive calendar day period beginning with the day of death. 

                C.            CHANGE OF REGULAR OFF DAY PERMITTED

                                In the event of the death of any other relative not specifically covered by the current labor contract, members shall be permitted to change their next regular day off so they may attend the funeral.

2/500.50 Bureau/District Commanders shall immediately notify the Chief of Police when a police officer is directly involved in a shooting incident resulting in the death or life-threatening injury of another. The respective commanding officer shall then either relieve from all police duty the officer(s) involved in the incident, or assign him/her to station house police duty and immediately submit a written report relating to such action to the Chief of Police. Upon completion of a full investigation of the incident, the respective commanding officer shall submit his/her findings in writing to the Chief of Police.

                Police officers assigned to station house duty, pursuant to the above, shall be strictly assigned to routine office duties (Servicing telephone requests, filing, Daybook and other record entries, etc.). They shall be strictly enjoined from coming in contact with prisoners and they shall not be assigned to duty, such as, (1) wagon driver, (2) wagon attendant, (3) booking and searching of prisoners, (4) keeper of jail, (5) building security.

                In the event an unusual number of officers are involved in an incident from a single Bureau/District and are relieved from all police duty or assigned to station house duty, the commanding officer of the Personnel/Administration Bureau shall cause such number of personnel to be transferred to said Bureau/District to ensure proper police coverage.

                A Police officer directly involved in a shooting incident resulting in the death or life-threatening injury of another, or a police officer who used force upon a person, which results in death or great bodily harm to another, for the good of the service and the welfare of the officer, shall either be relieved from all police duty by the Chief of Police, no later than at the start of the next regularly scheduled duty day, or be temporarily assigned to station house police duty, with all pay and benefits continuing. "Great bodily harm" means bodily injury which creates a high probability of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury.

                The Chief of Police or designate shall immediately notify the Office of the District Attorney in the event of the death of an individual while the police are effecting an arrest, or while an individual is in police custody. The Chief of Police or designate shall further notify the Executive Director of the Commission at the beginning of the next business day.

                The Chief of Police shall immediately report such relief from duty or reassignment to the Fire and Police Commission by submission of a written report to the Executive Director of the Fire and Police Commission, and provide a copy of such report to the Milwaukee County District Attorney.   This report shall detail the identity of the officer, or officers so relieved or reassigned, and identify the incident causing such relief from duty or reassignment. Any officer relieved or reassigned under this section remains a member of the Department and subject to all rules and regulations.

                Upon completion of a full investigation of the incident, with the resultant determination by the Chief of Police that no additional administrative investigation is required, and a further determination having been made by the Chief of Police that there has been no violation of Police Department rule or state law, the Chief of Police shall prepare a written report to the Executive Director of the Fire and Police Commission with at least three working days' notice that the Chief intends to reinstate any officer relieved or reassigned to their full police duties. Being relieved from duty, under this rule, is not disciplinary in nature, and does not intimate any impropriety of conduct by such officer. 

                A leave of absence, with pay, for one day may be granted by a commanding officer to any member of his command in case of serious illness to his immediate family or other extraordinary emergency.

2/500.55 Absence from duty without leave of any member of the Department shall be followed by forfeiture of pay for time absent, and charges shall also be preferred against the members by the district commander or head of the bureau, unless otherwise directed by the Chief of Police. An unexplained absence without leave of any member of the Department for three days shall be considered grounds for discharge.

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