PAID TIME OFF

Denver Revised Municipal Code ch. 18, art. V, div. 1

in effect

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-121 Purpose of providing paid time off.

Sec. 18-121. - Purpose of providing paid time off. The purposes of this division are as follows: (a) To reduce the amount of costly financial payouts for large amounts of accumulated sick and vacation leave when officers or employees separate from their employment with the city and county of Denver; (b) To provide officers or employees hired after December 31, 2009, paid leave benefits similar to those currently provided to appointed officers and to create a uniform PTO plan under which all such leave benefits shall be administered; (c) To afford officers and employees hired before January 1, 2010, the opportunity to participate in the PTO plan by converting and placing the existing amounts of sick and vacation leave into a special leave bank not to exceed four hundred (400) hours; (d) To allow for agencies, departments, commissions, or offices to make separation payments to officers or employees for the balance of their leave and special leave bank, each not to exceed four hundred (400) hours; and (e) To provide an incentive for officers and employees hired prior to January 1, 2010, to participate in the PTO plan by affording them the opportunity to utilize their leave at separation in the calculation of retirement benefits for employees of the Denver Employees Retirement Plan (DERP). (f) To comply with Colorado Senate Bill 20-205, the "Healthy Families and Workplace Act" as set forth in C.R.S. 8-13.3-401 et seq. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09; Ord. No. 1233-20, § 1, 11-23-20)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-122 Definitions.

Sec. 18-122. - Definitions. For purposes of this division 1., the following terms shall have the following meaning: (a) Employee means any employee of the city and county of Denver within the meaning of section 1.2.11 of the Charter, including employees in the career service and employees not in the career service. (b) Officer means any of the following: (1) Elected Charter officers; mayor, auditor; clerk and recorder; and members of the city council. (2) Appointed Charter officers; manager of public health and environment, manager of transportation and infrastructure, city attorney, manager of safety, manager of finance, manager of parks and recreation, manager of general services, manager of human services, manager of aviation, manager of community planning and development, and manager of licensing and consumer protection. (c) City means the city and county of Denver, a municipal corporation created by and operating by virtue of Article XX of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. (d) Paid time off (PTO) bank means a depository where an officer's or employee's monthly PTO leave benefit is deposited and stored for future use. (e) Immediate family member means spouse, partner in a civil union or domestic partner ("partner"), child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, child-in-law, parent-in-law, sibling-in-law, and the child, parent, or sibling of the partner. The terms child, parent, and sibling shall apply equally to relationships by birth, adoption, marriage, foster care, or guardianship (e.g. step-children and step-parents). Child shall also include children for whom the officer or employee or the officer's or employee's spouse or partner provide day-to-day care or financial support, and a child lost through stillbirth. (f) Special leave bank means a depository where an officer or employee who converts to PTO from receiving paid sick and vacation leave may store vacation leave and up to one-half of sick leave earned prior to February 1, 2010, that has been converted to PTO. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09; Ord. No. 427-18, § 11, 6-11-18; Ord. No. 601-19, § 1, 7-15-19; Ord. No. 39-20, § 24, 2-3-20; Ord. No. 1003-25, § 10, 7-28-25)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-123 Eligibility.

Sec. 18-123. - Eligibility. (a) All officers and employees hired or rehired by the city after December 31, 2009, shall receive PTO as provided in this division, with the exception of: (1) Part-time employees who are regularly scheduled to work less than twenty (20) hours per week; (2) Members of the classified service of the police and fire departments; (3) Employees in the deputy sheriff classifications; (4) Employees occupying on-call, temporary, seasonal, or contract positions, or positions in which the incumbent is paid according to the community rate schedule; or employees who meet the requirements of subsection 18-408(j)(7) of this chapter. (5) Elected officers. (b) Officers and employees who were receiving the city's paid leave benefit (predecessor to this PTO benefit) on December 31, 2009, and who otherwise continue to remain eligible, shall receive PTO as provided in this division. (c) Reinstated employees. Employees who were laid off while receiving paid sick and vacation leave benefits, and are reinstated under the career service rules after December 31, 2009, will be enrolled in the PTO plan unless they elect in writing to continue in the paid sick and vacation plan. Such election must be made within thirty (30) days of the effective date of their reinstatement. (d) All on-call and part-time employees who are regularly scheduled to work less than twenty (20) hours per week shall receive sick leave pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act at the rate of one (1) hour of leave per thirty (30) hours worked. Any unused leave accumulated by on call and part-time employees scheduled to work twenty (20) hours per week pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplace Act shall not be payable to the employee upon separation, as these employees are not "eligible" for such payout pursuant to section 18-127. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09; Ord. No. 611-19, § 1, 7-15-19; Ord. No. 1233-20, § 2, 11-23-20)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-124 Conversion from paid sick and vacation leave plan to paid time off.

Sec. 18-124. - Conversion from paid sick and vacation leave plan to paid time off. (a) [Election of benefits.] Officers and employees who were receiving paid sick and vacation leave on December 31, 2009; and who otherwise continue to remain eligible, may voluntarily elect to receive PTO benefits instead of paid sick and vacation leave. In order to receive PTO benefits, such officers and employees must provide written notice of this election to the department of finance on or before February 1, 2010. Submission of this written notice will result in an irrevocable waiver of the officer's or employee's right to further receipt of paid sick and vacation leave benefits provided under this article. (b) Conversion of existing sick and vacation leave banks. Officers and employees who elect to participate in the PTO plan must convert their existing sick and vacation leave banks into a special leave bank subject to the following conditions. An officer or employee may deposit one hundred (100) percent of his or her existing vacation leave plus a maximum of fifty (50) percent of his or her existing sick leave into PTO, which shall be deposited in a special leave bank, so long as the amount of PTO in the special leave bank does not exceed four hundred (400) hours. Any excess sick leave shall be forfeited. The amount of existing sick and vacation leave to be converted shall be the amount of leave earned as of January 31, 2010. (c) Exhaustion of special leave bank. The PTO balance in an officer's or employee's special leave bank shall not be replenished. PTO subsequently earned by an officer or employee shall be deposited in his or her PTO bank. PTO used by an officer or employee shall be debited from the officer's or employee's PTO bank first unless it has been exhausted or if the officer or employee requests that the special leave bank be used first. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-125 Paid time off allowance.

Sec. 18-125. - Paid time off allowance. The amount of PTO earned by eligible employees and officers working full-time shall be calculated as follows: (a) Under six (6) months of consecutive service, ten (10) hours per month; (b) At six (6) consecutive months of service, and up to five (5) years of consecutive service; twelve (12) hours per month; (c) At five (5) consecutive years of service, and up to ten (10) years of consecutive service; fifteen (15) hours per month; (d) At ten (10) consecutive years of service, and up to fifteen (15) years of consecutive service; eighteen (18) hours per month; (e) At fifteen (15) or more consecutive years of service; nineteen (19) hours per month; These amounts are demonstrated below: Paid Time Off Years of Service | Accrual Hours per Month | Hours per Year From hire to 6 months | 10 | - From 7 months to 1 year | 12 | 132 Years 1 to 4 | 12 | 144 At 5 years, <10 years | 15 | 180 At 10 years, <15 years | 18 | 216 At 15 years and beyond | 19 | 228 A proportionate amount shall be allowed eligible employees working part-time. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09; Ord. No. 233-21, § 4, 3-30-21)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-126 Effect of transfer.

Sec. 18-126. - Effect of transfer. When an officer or employee receiving PTO is appointed to a position in another city department or agency which is governed by the provisions of this article, his or her PTO credits shall be transferred into the new place of city employment provided that the entrance on duty in the new position immediately follows the separation from the former position. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-127 Accumulation and pay-out of paid time off.

Sec. 18-127. - Accumulation and pay-out of paid time off. (a) PTO may not be accumulated in the PTO bank in excess of four hundred (400) hours. (b) Upon separation, a PTO recipient shall be paid at his or her regular rate of pay for the unused portion of his or her accumulated PTO bank and special bank if applicable. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-128 Bereavement leave.

Sec. 18-128. - Bereavement leave. Officers and employees who receive PTO benefits shall be entitled to use up to forty (40) hours of paid bereavement leave because of the death of a member of an officer's or employee's immediate family. This forty (40) hours of bereavement leave shall not count against the officer's or employee's PTO bank. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-129 Career service rules.

Sec. 18-129. - Career service rules. The career service rules shall include provisions implementing this division relating to PTO that shall apply to all officers and employees covered by this division, including, but not limited to, rules related to donated leave, approval of leave usage, and debiting leave balances. Career service rules implementing the PTO leave benefit shall apply to officers and employees not in the career service, except that when the career service rules permit exceptions with the approval of the Office of Human Resources Executive Director, such approval shall be the sole responsibility of the employee's appointing authority, and the approval of the Office of Human Resources Executive Director shall not be required. (Ord. No. 634-09, § 3, 11-2-09; Ord. No. 661-12, § 3, 12-26-12)

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 18-130 Reserved.

Source: City and County of Denver, Revised Municipal Code and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/co/denver/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIIREMUCO_CH18EMOFPABE_ARTVLEHO_DIV1PATIOFFetched: 10/27/2026