Paid Time Off (PTO)

Ideal provides Paid Time Off (PTO) to eligible employees. PTO is an all-purpose time-off policy. You can use PTO for vacation, illness or injury, and personal business. PTO combines traditional vacation and sick leave plans into one flexible, paid time-off policy.

Employees in the following employment classifications are eligible for PTO:

* Regular full-time employees

* Regular part-time employees

Once you enter an eligible employment classification, you begin to earn PTO according to the following schedule. You can use earned PTO time in the year after it is accrued.

The amount of PTO you receive each year depends on how long you have been employed. This is the schedule for accruing PTO:

*Upon initial eligibility the employee is entitled to 0 PTO days each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 0 days.

*After 1 year of eligible service the employee is entitled to 5 PTO days each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 0.417 days.

*After 3 years of eligible service the employee is entitled to 10 PTO days each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 0.833 days.

We calculate the length of your eligible service on the basis of a "benefit year." A "benefit year" is the 12-month period that begins when you start earning PTO. Your benefit year may be extended for any significant leave of absence except military leave of absence. (Military leaves do not affect the benefit year calculation.) See the leave of absence policies in this handbook for information on how each leave affects PTO accruals.

You may not take less than one day PTO at a time. If you need to be absent from work unexpectedly, you should tell your supervisor before the scheduled start of your workday, if possible. Your supervisor must also be contacted on each additional day of an unexpected absence.

To schedule planned PTO, you should first ask for advance approval from your supervisor. Each request will be reviewed based on a number of factors, including our business needs and staffing requirements.

You will be paid for PTO at your base pay rate as of the time of the absence. PTO pay does not include overtime or any special forms of compensation such as incentives, commissions, bonuses, or shift differentials.

If you do not use your available PTO by the end of the benefit year, you will lose the unused PTO.

If your employment terminates, you will be paid for any unused PTO that has been earned through your last day of work. However, if Ideal, in its sole discretion, terminates your employment for cause, you may lose any remaining unused PTO and will not be paid for it.

Policy No.  315  Issued  8/2/2005