Employee Benefits for CALS Retirees

SECTION ONE: For employees hired on or before 12/31/2018 who meet the Rule of Seventy:

A. RULE OF SEVENTY

Employees who meet the Rule of Seventy are eligible for the following benefits. To satisfy the Rule of Seventy, a person must meet the following criteria:

1) The person’s combined age and years of regular employment must total seventy; and

2) The person must be at least fifty-five.

In calculating the Rule of Seventy, Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) will use the person’s actual hire date as a regular employee. Employment as a Temporary or Seasonal Employee is not considered regular employment. Years of service will be calculated for the total years employed, whether that service is consecutive or non-consecutive.

Employees retiring under the City of Little Rock Non-Uniform Employees’ Pension Plan are entitled to the benefits listed in B and C and D of this section.

Part-time, regular employees can qualify for certain retirement benefits if they meet the Rule of Seventy. In calculating the Rule of Seventy for part-time employees, each year of part-time service will be calculated at 50%, regardless of the number of hours worked per pay period. Part-time employees reaching the Rule of Seventy are entitled to the benefits listed in B and C and D of this section. Part-time employees are not eligible for participation in CALS’s pension program.

B. PTO OPTION

Accrued PTO hours up to a total of 480 will be paid in a lump sum when the employee retires unless the retiring employee requests that the amount be paid in eighty-hour pay periods. The payout of the latter option will be made prior to the beginning of any Frozen Sick Leave payout. During the PTO payout, CALS shall continue to pay the retiring employee’s current elections for medical coverage (including any dependents covered by elections) at the current percentage rate of CALS employees.

C. SEPARATION PAY FOR FROZEN SICK LEAVE

Employees hired prior to 12/31/2018 may have accrued unused PTO (up to 2,080 hours) in a balance of hours called Frozen Sick Leave that ceased accruing on 12/31/2018. Compensation will be paid for those Frozen Sick Leave hours upon separation if the employee meets the Rule of Seventy. The value of the payout for those Frozen Sick Leave hours will be calculated by multiplying the average hourly rate of the employee (average rate defined as the employee’s rate at date of hire plus the employee’s rate at

12/31/2018 divided by 2) by the number of transferred Frozen Sick Leave hours. CALS will pay to the retiring employee compensation for that person’s Frozen Sick Leave balance at the rate of eighty hours per pay period until the balance is exhausted. The retiree will not accrue PTO hours or receive any other benefits except for medical/dental insurance as defined in B of this section.

D. BALANCES AS OF 12/31/2018

All employees with Frozen Sick Leave balances at 12/31/2018 will be allowed to keep their accumulated Frozen Sick Leave balance as of 12/31/2018 (separate from the Extended Illness Bank defined in Board Policy 111) and upon retirement, if they meet the Rule of Seventy, they will receive their payout at their average rate of pay (as defined in C of this section).

SECTION TWO: For all employees who do not meet the Rule of Seventy and employees with hire dates after 12/31/2018:

SEPARATION PAY

Separation is defined as the termination of an employee’s employment at CALS for any reason. The first 480 hours of an employee’s PTO will accrue and be paid upon separation at the employee’s current pay rate. CALS will choose at its discretion to pay compensation for the accrued PTO hours to the separated employee either in a lump sum or at the rate of eighty hours per pay period until the balance of hours is exhausted. The employee will not accrue additional PTO hours or receive any other benefits after the date of separation.

The continuation of the benefits outlined in Sections One and Two of this Board Policy #109 is dependent on the availability of funds, and benefits may be modified or repealed at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Section 3.3 (Retirement) of the Personnel Manual is repealed.

Policy Information

Board Policy #109
Board Approval: 07/22/00
Revision: 04/2002, 04/2003, 05/2006, 11/2010, 01/2019, 07/25/19
Director’s Recommendation: 07/22/00