PTO, Holidays, Leaves, Etc.

Much of our culture is designed around the premise that happy people are more productive, and that everyone works in their own way. That’s why our policies around work flexibility deserve special mention.

We ask that you work from the office 3 days each week. To encourage collaboration, we ask that everyone is in the office on Monday. Outside of that you may choose what days your work from the office. We have instituted year-round summer Friday's, meaning if you get your work done for the week, we don't want you to hang around on Friday waiting for the clock to run out. Instead, put in a 5 hour day, take off early and enjoy your weekend! We don’t care where you get your work done from, and how much time you take off each year provided your choices about each of those things meet the following criteria:

• You are performing all the responsibilities of your job

• It doesn’t affect anyone else negatively

• Your manager knows about it

• Your choices are in alignment with our values

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Our goal is to measure success by output, not input. Expectations from managers should be clear (if they’re not, ask for clarity). The ability to take an afternoon off to join a last minute hiking trip goes hand in hand with the responsibility to work late on a project with a hard deadline. The ability to work from home occasionally goes hand in hand with the responsibility to attend certain meetings in person or travel for work if your job requires it.

It’s a balance, and it will be different for all of us—depending on our job functions, personalities, or even California labor laws, the amount of time we spend out of the office, on our own schedules, or on vacation will vary greatly. For some of us, those dependencies will limit flexibility in these areas, and in that case we hope other aspects of the culture make this the place you want to work. For still others, there may come a time where life circumstances require an extended leave of absence that will come into conflict with your job responsibilities. It is always our goal to be supportive and understanding, and are open to such leaves on a case by case basis.

The bottom line is that we hire people to fit our culture and be excellent at their job. We are flexible with where and when they do this.

Paid Time Off

Salaried employees recieve unlimited PTO. PTO should be requested in advance through Gusto. While you do not need to accrue time to take days off, we ask that you use the following schedule to make sure you are requesting time off far enough in advance. 

• 1-3 days - request 2 weeks in advance

• 4+ days - 1 month in advance

• +1  week - 2 months in advance

Sick Days

All salaried employees get 24 hours of sick time off a year. This time is tracked and can be requested off in Gusto. 

RAREFORM provides Paid Time Off (PTO) to all 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.

Full-Time Exempt, Seasonal, temporary, and part-time employees do not accrue paid time off.

Full-Time Non-Exempt Employees are entitled to paid time off based upon their accrual schedule. Accrual schedule commences with an employee’s first day of full-time work and continues thereafter unless broken by an absence without pay, a leave of absence, or termination of employment.

ACCRUAL SCHEDULE FOR FULL-TIME NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES:

• Year 1 & 2 Employees: PTO accrues at 4.31 hours per bi-weekly pay period, with a total of 112 PTO hours per year

• Year 3+ Employees: PTO accrues at 4.62 hours per bi-weekly pay period, with a total of 120 PTO hours per year

Paid time off can accrue to a maximum of 1.5 times the annual accrual rate for each employee. Once this cap is reached, the employee will have a reasonable amount of time to use their accrued PTO. If no paid time off is taken during that reasonable amount of time, no further paid time off will accrue until some of the already accrued paid time off is used. PTO accrued will carry over from one calendar year to the next, up to the maximum annual accrual.

PTO should be scheduled as far in advance as possible. Time off should be scheduled and approved by employee’s supervisor at least two (2) weeks prior to the date requested (unless due to sickness or other unforeseen circumstances). Preference in selection of dates will be granted based on length of service and the operational needs of the Company. All PTO must be captured in Gusto to ensure proper pay out. Employees must use all available PTO before requesting any unpaid time off.

All accrued, unused PTO will be paid out at the end of your employment up to maximum annual accrual. 

Rareform has specific holidays we observe each year. Please see the list of holidays below. If you are scheduled to work on an observed holiday, you must show up for your shift on time. The full and updated list of holidays changes by year and can be found in your Gusto account.

●      New Year’s Eve

●      New Year’s Day

●      President’s Day

●      Memorial Day

●      July 3rd Holiday

●      July 4th Holiday (or Friday before)

●      Labor Day

●      Thanksgiving Day

●      Christmas Eve

●      Christmas Day

●      Christmas Break: the office is shut down between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.

○ Customer service works 2-4 hrs/day to and receives 2 floating holidays 

Jury Duty

You are given advance notice for jury duty. As soon as you receive a summons, you must let your immediate supervisor know the details. Arrangements can be made to accommodate your possible absence from work. During the leave, you will be compensated at your normal rate for up to 3 business days. Upon return to work, you must give your direct supervisor a signed certification of jury duty service as evidence of the number of days served.

Witness Duty

If you receive a subpoena to testify in court, Rareform will give you time off to be a witness. If you are summoned to be a witness for Rareform or if we ask you to testify, we will give you time off with pay.

If you have to go to court to be a witness for someone other than Rareform, we will give you a maximum of 8 hours’ time off with pay at your base rate. You may also use any available paid leave benefits you have, such as PTO, to be paid for any unpaid time off you have to take.

If you need time off to be a witness, show the subpoena to your supervisor as soon as you receive it. We expect you to report for work whenever you are not testifying.

Voting

Rareform encourages you to fulfill your civic responsibilities by voting in elections. Generally, the polls are open for several hours in the morning and evening and we expect that you will be able to vote either before or after work hours.

If there is not sufficient time before or after work, California regulations allow employees up to two hours without loss of pay to vote. This time needs to be requested at least two days in advance and is to be taken at the beginning or the end of the regular working shift.

Take some time off. Let us know what you need, and how we can help.

Legally, you have up to three (3) consecutive workdays of paid time off will be given in the event of the death of an employee’s:

• Father

• Mother

• Brother

• Sister

• Spouse

• Child

• Step-child

• Father-in-Law

• Mother-in-Law

• Son-in-Law

• Daughter-in-Law

• Brother-in-Law

• Sister-in-Law

• Grandchild

• Grandparent

• Significant Other

If more than 3 days are needed, you can take PTO, or leave without pay. Just contact your supervisor.

Part-time and temporary employees may take a reasonable amount of leave without pay upon the death of a member of the immediate family with the approval of your immediate supervisor.

Child Bonding Pay

If you’re becoming a new parent, you better take some much-needed time off to spend time with your family! Rareform supports every full-time team member in doing this by allowing you to take 4 weeks of paid time off to bond with your new baby. This means you can take off for the birth, adoption, and/or fostering of your new child. You’re not required to take the full 4 weeks to receive this benefit. We just ask that you take the time off within 12 months from the date of the birth or placement of your child and that the time off is taken in at least 1 week increments.

For birth mothers, extended leave is offered. Rareform offers up to 20 weeks of leave, as follows:

• 8 weeks (months 1&2): CA Paid Family Leave (PFL) will pay 60-70% of wages. Rareform will pay 40% of wages to total 100% coverage.

• 4 weeks (month 3): Rareform will pay 100% of wages.

• 4 weeks (month 4): Rareform will pay 60% of wages.

• 4 weeks (month 5): Option to extend leave 1 additional month (no pay benefits).

Personal Leave

A personal leave of absence without pay may be granted at the sole discretion of Rareform. Requests for personal leave should be limited to unusual circumstances requiring an absence of longer than two weeks. Approved personal absences of shorter duration are not normally treated as leaves, but rather as excused absences without pay. If you take a personal leave of absence, you are not guaranteed reinstatement. Rareform will have complete discretion to fill your position. Any agreement contrary to this requires a written agreement signed by an authorized officer of the Company. During a personal leave, you may continue to participate in Rareform’s group health plans under COBRA by paying the entire cost of the COBRA payment. However, participation in any and all other employee benefit plans, perks and programs will cease. The vesting of any stock options you hold will be governed by the terms of your agreement and the applicable plan document under which the award was issued.

Pregnancy Disability Leave

Any female employee planning to take pregnancy disability leave should advise her supervisor as early as possible. The following conditions apply to pregnancy-disability leaves:

• Employees who need to take a pregnancy disability leave must inform Rareform when a leave is expected to begin and how long it will likely last. If the need for a leave or transfer is foreseeable, employees must provide notification at least 30 days before the pregnancy disability leave or transfer is to begin. Employees must consult with their supervisor regarding the scheduling of any planned medical treatment or supervision in order to minimize disruption to the operations of Rareform. Any such scheduling is subject to the approval of the employee’s health care provider.

• If 30 days’ advance notice is not possible, notice must be given as soon as practical

• Upon the request of an employee and recommendation of the employee’s physician, the employee’s work assignment may be changed if necessary to protect the health and safety of the employee and her child

• Requests for transfers of job duties will be reasonably accommodated if the job and security rights of others are not breached

• Temporary transfers due to health considerations will be granted when possible. However, the transferred employee will receive the pay that accompanies the job, as is the case with any other temporary transfer due to temporary health reasons

• Pregnancy leave usually begins when ordered by the employee’s physician. The employee must provide Rareform with a certification from a health care provider. The certification indicating disability should contain:

  • The date on which the employee became disabled due to pregnancy

  • The probable duration of the period or periods of disability; and

  • A statement that, due to the disability, the employee is unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of her position without undue risk to herself, the successful completion of her pregnancy, or to other persons

• Leave returns will be allowed only when the employee’s physician sends a release

• Any employee will be allowed to use PTO during a pregnancy disability leave

• Duration of the leave will be determined by the advice of the employee’s physician, but employees disabled by pregnancy may take up to four months. The four months of leave includes any period of time for actual disability caused by the employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition. This includes leave for severe morning sickness and for prenatal care.

Leave does not need to be taken in one continuous period of time and may be taken intermittently, as needed. Leave must be taken in weekly increments.

Under most circumstances, upon submission of a medical certification that an employee is able to return to work from a pregnancy disability leave, an employee will be reinstated to her same position held at the time the leave began or to an equivalent position, if available. An employee returning from a pregnancy disability leave has no greater right to reinstatement than if the employee had been continuously employed.

California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”).

Rareform complies with all applicable provisions of the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”).

You are eligible for CFRA leave if you have been employed for at least one year with Rareform and have worked at least 1250 hours over the previous 12 months, and you work at a California worksite with 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius.

If you are an eligible employee under the CFRA, you may take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if you had not taken leave. You will be entitled to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for.

CFRA provide up to 12 work weeks for the following reasons:

• An employee's own serious health condition

• Care of a newborn child, newly adopted child, or care of a child newly placed in foster care;

• The care of a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.

Time taken to care for a domestic partner is covered by UC Policy and CFRA, but not FMLA.

Disabilities due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions are covered under FMLA, but not the CFRA. In California pregnancy and pregnancy-related disabilities are covered under the Pregnancy Disability Leave Act (PDL).

CA Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL)

CA PDL is available to all pregnant female employees, including those who may not be eligible for FMLA leave. It provides up to four months of unpaid, job protected leave (or 88 work days for full-time employees) for any periods of actual disability due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. Time off needed for prenatal or postnatal care, severe morning sickness, doctor-ordered bed rest, childbirth, post-partum depression, the loss or end of pregnancy, recovery from childbirth, and other pregnancy-related conditions that are considered to be disabling would all be covered by PDL.

If leave time is needed in excess of the maximum four months because of your actual disability due to pregnancy, please contact HR@rareform.com for additional information. PDL runs concurrently with leave under the FMLA, if you are qualified for FMLA leave. The maximum duration of FMLA leave is 12 workweeks (60 workdays).

Therefore, FMLA may terminate before PDL. PDL is separate from the leave of absence that you may be eligible to take under CFRA to care for a newborn or newly placed child. If you qualify for leave under CFRA to care for a newborn child, a leave of absence up to an additional 12 weeks may be available to you.

Military Leave

If you wish to serve in the military and take military leave, you should contact HR@rareform.com for information about your rights before and after such leave. Employees on military leave are entitled to reinstatement upon completion of military service, provided you return or apply for reinstatement within the time allowed by law.

Other Types of Leaves

Rareform provides additional leaves and time off required by Federal and State Laws. These other leaves and time off include:

• School Activities Leave

• Time off for Witness Appearances

• Time off for Victims of Crime

• Time off for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Victims

• Time off for Bone Marrow Donation

• Time off for Organ Donation

• Time off for Volunteer Firefighter, Reserve Peace Officers, or Emergency Rescue Personnel

• Time-off to Attend Alcohol/Drug Rehabilitation

• Workers’ Compensation Leave