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5.11 Mentoring Leave

  1. Eligible Unit 9 employees may receive up to forty (40) hours of “mentoring leave” per calendar year to participate in mentoring activities if they use an equal amount of their personal time for these activities. “Mentoring leave” is paid leave time which may only be used by an employee to mentor. This leave does not count as time worked for purposes of overtime. “Mentoring leave” may not be used for travel to and from the mentoring location.
  2. An employee must use an equal number of hours of their personal time (approved annual leave, vacation, personal leave, personal holiday, or CTO during the work day and/or personal time during non-working hours) to receive “mentoring leave.” For example, if an employee requests two (2) hours of “mentoring leave,” they must use two (2) verified hours of their personal time to receive “mentoring leave.” “Mentoring leave” does not have to be requested in the same week or month as the personal time but must be used in the same calendar year.
  3. Prior to requesting mentoring leave, an employee shall provide their supervisor with verification of personal time spent mentoring or a plan to provide personal time.
  4. Requests for approval of vacation, CTO, and/or annual leave for mentoring activities are subject to approval requirements in this agreement. Requests for approval of mentoring leave are subject to operational needs of the State, budgetary limits, and any limitations imposed by law.
  5. In order to be eligible for “mentoring leave,” an employee must:
    1. Have a permanent appointment;
    2. Have successfully completed their initial probationary period; and
    3. Have committed to mentor a child, youth, or group with an approved mentoring activity.
  6. An employee is not eligible to receive “mentoring leave” if:
         (1) They are assigned to a “post” position in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
               Division of Juvenile Justice, or,
         (2) They work in a level of care position in the Departments of Developmental Services,
               State Hospitals, Education, and Veterans’ Affairs.
  7. Permanent part-time and permanent intermittent employees may receive a prorated amount of mentoring leave based upon their timebase. For example, a halftime employee is eligible for twenty (20) hours of “mentoring leave” per calendar year, whereas an intermittent employee must work a monthly equivalent of 160 hours to earn 3.33 hours of mentoring leave.
  8. CalHR shall authorize mentoring leave in support of Habitat for Humanity, statewide and regional Science and Engineering Fairs, the California Academic Decathlon, the California Bridge Building Competition, and the Promoting Readiness for Engineering Professions Foundation as approved programs under this Section. CalHR or Departments may authorize additional mentoring activities.
  9. Any appeals and/or disputes regarding this section shall be handled in accordance with the grievance procedure specified in Section 12 of this Contract but shall not be subject to arbitration.
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