June 2007

LMEA Election Results

 Congratulations to newly elected 2007-2008 officers and committee members:

Officers

President - Chris Santa Maria

1 st Vice President -Arlene Flicker

Support Vice President -Victor Fedeli

Professional Vice President -Aimee Avellino

Professional Secretary - Mike Stettner

Support Secretary -Lisa McDevitt

Treasurer -Darlene Mandarino

 

Combined Negotiations Committee

Building & Grounds - John Collins

Elementary - Jackie Gaines

Senior - Russ Loue

Campus/Bus Aides and Food Service – Norm Esibill

Transportation – Ed Leber

 

PR&R

Custodians – Vic Fedeli

Elementary – Myra Rios

Senior – Mike Stettner

Instructional Assistants – Danita Simon

 

June 15 Make –up Day for Professionals due to Emergency School Closing- April 16

On Monday April 16, 2007 the District contacted all employees announcing that schools would open two hours late for students. At approximately, 7:30AM, the start of the workday for the high school staff, the school district announced that schools would not open for students that day. Because of the lateness of the decision to close schools for students some employees had already reported to work and most were on their way to work because of the new language in Article 27, Section A, number 6 and Section B, number 2, professional and support staff must make a “good faith effort” to arrive at work at their designated starting time. The District considers April 16 an emergency closing for staff. The LMEA considers April 16 as a late opener for staff not an emergency closing for staff and filed a grievance not to make up the day. If the grievance is denied the remedy sought changes to an additional paid day at the per diem rate.

On May 21, 2007 Dr. Jamie Savedoff issued his Level III grievance decision denying the grievance. In the decision, Dr. Savedoff informs the LMEA that “per the contract personal days will not be approved for the purpose of vacation or personal convenience” and warns the LMEA that “all sick days will be considered suspect”.

Please note that the contract does give the superintendent authority to approve personal days preceding a holiday if he so chooses. Furthermore, the LMEA maintains that the professional (and support) staff use sick leave for valid reasons. For the professional staff, the contract says that the consequences for absences that are suspicious is a warning. After due warnings for subsequent absences, employees may be required to provide a doctor’s certificate.

Please contact the LMEA if you are disciplined in a way that violates the contract.

Maternity Leave, Childrearing Leave, and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

For the third time, a grievance has been filed relative to Maternity, Childrearing and FMLA leave.

On May 8, 2007, Dr. Marty Yoder informed the LMEA that the district’s interpretation of the act is that “Paid time off – vacation, sick, or personal time is approved paid time off, but it will not be counted as time worked.” Consequently, according to this interpretation you may not qualify for FMLA for the previous 12 months if you were sick or on leave. This particularly affects women on maternity leave. Some women affected consulted with their attorneys about filing a disparate impact suit.

The LMEA disagrees with this interpretation based on sound legal opinions researched by the PSEA legal department. We are confident we will once again prevail and win the arbitration as we did in the past.

If you are denied a FMLA leave, please contact the LMEA immediately.

Upcoming LMEA Events

June 30-5 NEA Representative Assembly in Orlando

July 23-28 PSEA Leadership Conference in Gettysburg