Leave Of Absence

Updated Dec. 2023

This policy addresses leave time that is regulated by applicable law. Vacation and personal leave is addressed in the Away Time Policy.

The bottom line is that we want you to take care of yourself and your loved ones, and we do our best to make sure that you can do that without worrying about loss in income or benefits.

As a NY-headquartered company, Cadence OneFive’s the following sets forth the requirements required by New York and Federal law. However, the Company adheres to all applicable law that applies to each remote employee. The laws around sick leave, medical leave, and parental leave vary from place to place; there are many requirements, qualifications, and exceptions under these laws; and each employee’s situation is different. Please be sure to refer to Justworks for the information specific to you.

Sick and Safe Leave

You may use sick and safe leave for your own care or for that of a family member.  You may use sick and safe leave for any reason permitted by applicable New York State and New York City law, which include, but are not limited to:

• A mental or physical illness, injury or health condition;

• Medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or healthcondition;

• Preventative medical care;

• Elective surgery (including organ donation);

• Closure of the workplace due to a public health emergency;

• Your need to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed by order of a public health official due to a public health emergency; or

• You or your family member’s status as a victim of any act or threat of domestic violence, family offense, sexual offense, stalking or human trafficking.

“Family member” is defined by applicable law as a child (biological, adopted, foster, legal ward or in loco parentis), grandchild, spouse, domestic partner, parent (biological, foster, step or adoptive parent; legal guardian or person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child), grandparent, child or parent of your spouse or domestic partner or sibling (including a half, adopted or step sibling), any other individual related to you by blood, or any individual whose close association with you is the equivalent of family.

| I am a:

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Exempt employee

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Non-exempt hourly employees

| | --- | --- | --- | | When am I eligible? | First day of employment | First day of employment | | How many hours of sick leave am I entitled to per year? | Up to 40 hours per year for full time, prorated for part-time and for start date. | Up to 40 hours per year prorated for part-time and for start date plus any time rolled over. | | Do I accrue sick time? | Yes. Sick time accrues at a rate of 1 hour per 30 worked. | Yes. Sick time accrues at a rate of 1 hour per 30 worked. | | What if I need to take sick time that hasn’t yet accrued? | Your sick leave balance can run negative and zero out over time as the time is earned | Your sick leave balance can run negative and zero out over time as the time is earned | | Do sick hours roll over at the end of the year? | No. You may not roll over any sick time at the end of the year. You also will not be paid out for any unused sick time at the end of the year, or at the time of your separation of employment, for any reason | Yes. You may roll over up to 10 hours.You also will not be paid out for any unused sick time at the end of the year, or at the time of your separation of employment, for any reason. | | How do I take additional leave after my paid sick leave balance is exhausted? | You may qualify for PFL, Disability or an Accomodation. | You may qualify for PFL, Disabiliy or an Accomodation. |

Advance Notice

If the need for sick leave is foreseeable, employees are required to give at least 14 calendar days’ advance notice (e.g., a planned medical treatment) whenever possible. If the need for sick leave is not foreseeable, employees are asked to notify their team/stakeholders as soon as is practical.

If you use more than three consecutive workdays of sick or safe leave, the Company reserves the right to obtain documentation after you return to work verifying the need for the amount of leave used, and that the leave was used for an authorized purpose under the law. Note that you are not required to disclose confidential information or specify the reason for safe or sick leave in the provided documentation.

You may request in writing or verbally that the Company provide a summary of the amount of sick leave accrued/or and used by you in the current or prior calendar year, which the Company will provide to you within 3 business days of the request.  

Minimum Mandated Sick and Safe Leave Days

It may seem confusing that we have unlimited Away Time and yet have a specified number of accrued sick days – it’s simply that we must meet the compliance requirements of local and state laws. Please ALWAYS log sick days separately from discretionary Away Time.

Sick Days Beyond the Minimum

Up to 40 hours must be logged in Justworks as Sick Leave for compliance purposes. Beyond the 40 hours, you may be eligible for Paid Family Leave, Disability or an accommodation. Please contact HR for additional information.

Anticipated Sick Leave of 14 Days or Longer

If you have a foreseeable sick leave of long duration (e.g. longer than a week), you may qualify for Short-term Disability (STD). Contact Justworks and follow their instructions for accessing the STD policy.

Under STD, the first 7 will be paid as a combination of Sick Leave (and Away Time, if accrued Sick Leave is insufficient). From the 8th day onward, the STD policy will provide a portion of your pay for up to 180 days, and Cadence OneFive will make “top-up” payments such that the combination is equal to your regular salary for the duration of your STD. Consult Justworks on the details of the Short-term Disability insurance.

Paid Pregnancy and Parental Leave

Effective Jan 1, 2024

The company recognizes that employees may need to be absent from work to care for a newborn child or newly adopted or foster child or due to a pregnancy-related condition.

Policies for paid parental leave differ across jurisdictions. It is the intent of the company to provide up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all eligible full-time t employees (exempt and non-exempt) at their regular rate of pay using a combination of wage replacement (i.e., New York Paid Family Leave and Short-term disabiliyt, as applicable) and company resources:

• Short-term disability (STD) insurance, when applicable. The company will provide “top-up” payments up to your full salary for eligible employees who take short-term disability insurance payments for the duration of your STD.

• Paid parental leave insurance, where applicable. In states and localities that provide for paid parental leave, the company will provide “top-up” payments concurrently with paid parental leave insurance payments.

Please note, in no case shall an employee receive more than 100% of their base compensation. Also, this leave may run concurrently with other leave where permitted by applicable federal, state and local law.

Understanding what combination of resources are available can be confusing. Justworks, our PEO, administers our STD and paid parental leave insurance and can be helpful in clarifying the specifics of your situation.

Additionally, all employees are eligible for unpaid pregnancy disability leave in accordance with applicable law.

Time Off for Voting

Cadence OneFive recognizes that voting is a right and privilege of being a citizen of the United States and encourages employees to exercise their right to vote.

Both exempt and non-exempt employees may adjust their hours of work to accommodate voting.

Non-exempt employees may, if needed, use one hour of paid leave to vote, without using their accrued leave time.

Jury Duty

The company supports employees in their civic duty to serve on a jury. Please notify your team/stakeholders as soon as possible after receiving the notice to allow advance planning for your absence.

Exempt employees may use Away Time for jury duty.

Nonexempt employees will be paid for up to 2 weeks of jury duty service at their regular rate of pay and customary hours worked, minus any compensation received from the court for the period of service.

Bereavement Leave

Exempt employees may use Away Time for bereavement.

Nonexempt employees with more than 3 months of employment may take up to 3 days of paid bereavement leave. The company may require verification of the need for the leave. Payment for bereavement leave is computed at the regular hourly rate and customary hours worked (to a maximum of 8 hours per day). Time off granted in accordance with this policy shall not be credited as time worked for the purpose of computing overtime.

Other Regulated Leave Time

New York Paid Family Leave

New York Paid Family Leave (PFL) provides job-protected, paid time off up to twelve (12) weeks of leave per any calendar year, either all at once or intermittently, to eligible employees so you can:

• Bond with a newly born, adopted or fostered child, Care for a close relative with a serious health condition, or

• Assist with family situations when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service.

• Paid Family Leave may also be available for use in situations when you or your minor dependent child are under an order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. See PaidFamilyLeave.ny.gov/COVID19 for full details.

If you are eligible for disability benefits under New York law, you may take a combined maximum of 26 weeks of leave during any 52-week period. Disability benefits cannot be taken at the same time as PFL.

You can continue your health insurance while on leave, for a maximum of 12 workweeks, at the level and under the conditions of coverage as if you had continued in employment for the duration of such leave. The company will continue to make the same premium contributions as if you had continued working. The continued participation in health benefits begins on the date leave first begins. If you fail to return to work following leave, the Firm may recover premiums paid to maintain health coverage.

While on leave, you will collect 67% of your average weekly wage, capped at the same percentage of the New York State Average Weekly Wage. If you take PFL leave, you can continue participating in any health and welfare benefit plans in which you were enrolled before the first day of the leave, for a maximum of twelve (12) workweeks, at the level and under the conditions of coverage as if you had continued in employment for the duration of such leave. The Company will continue to make the same premium contribution as if you had continued working. The continued participation in health benefits begins on the date leave first begins. If you fail to return to work following leave, the Company may recover premiums paid to maintain health coverage.

On your return from PFL, the company will reinstate you to your original position, or if no longer available, any equivalent position with equivalent terms and conditions of employment, including pay and employment benefits.

Retaliation or discrimination against an employee who requests or takes leave under this policy is stricly prohibited.

Eligibility

Full-time employees: Employees who work a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week are eligible after 26 consecutive weeks of employment.

Part-time employees: Employees who work a regular schedule of less than 20 hours per week are eligible after working 175 days, which do not need to be consecutive. Employees with irregular schedules should look at their average schedule to determine if they work, on average, fewer than 20 hours per week.

Time spent on paid vacation, sick or personal days can be counted toward an employee’s eligibility determination. Time out on short-term disability does not count towards an employee’s eligibility determination.

Paid Family Leave can be taken by employees who are eligible for time off under the provisions of the FMLA. PFL will run concurrently with designated FMLA leave when the reason for leave qualifies under both PFL and FMLA. Eligible employees must then apply for both PFL and FMLA.

Generally, you may not receive short-term disability and Paid Family Leave benefits at the same time. You may not take more than 26 combined weeks of short-term disability and Paid Family Leave in a 52-week period.

If you are unable to work and qualify for Workers’ Compensation Benefits, you may not use Paid Family Leave benefits at the same time as you are receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits. If you are working and receiving reduced earnings, you may be eligible for Paid Family Leave.

While on PFL, employees will not continue to accrue sick or vacation time

Military Leave

Cadence OneFive supports the military obligations of all employees and grants leaves for uniformed service in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. Any employee who needs time off for uniformed service should immediately notify the company. If an employee is unable to provide notice before leaving for uniformed service, a family member should notify the company as soon as possible.

Upon return from military leave, employees will retain certain rights with respect to reinstatement, seniority, layoffs, compensation, length of service promotions, and length of service pay increases, as required by applicable federal or state law. Failure to report for work within the prescribed time after completion of military service will be considered a voluntary termination.

All employees who enter military service may accumulate a total absence of 5 years and still retain employment rights.