RECREATION DEPARTMENT MANUALS AND REGULATIONS

EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION MANUAL

Resignation

It is our hope that our employees will want to make a career with the Department of Recreation.  However, if an employee decides to leave the Department and separate from City service, the employee is required to provide at least 2- weeks advanced notice in order to resign in good standing.

Employees who leave City service in good standing may, within one year, apply for reinstatement to a position in City service in the same class without having to take a Civil Service examination. Employees may also be reinstated to another class having the same or lower pay and having similar job requirements. The Department has the discretion to reject such requests; it is not an absolute right. In the event that an employee is reinstated following a resignation, he is required to serve a new six-month probationary period.

Retirement

After receiving notice from an employee of their intent to retire, the Human Resources Office will arrange an appointment for you sometime during the last few weeks of your employment.  At that time, you will be scheduled to meet with representatives of the Board of Pensions and Retirement who will provide you with detailed information regarding your pension retirement benefits, including survivorship benefits.

Your first retirement and terminal leave checks (if applicable) are issued approximately four to six weeks after your separation date.

Employees who are fifty years of age or older are encouraged to attend a two-day pre-retirement seminar conducted by the Board of Pensions.

Retiring employees should keep the following details in mind when selecting a final retirement/separation date:

• A retiring employee is eligible to receive four AL days if their retirement/separation date is after July 1 of the year.
• A retiring employee receives credit for monthly vacation/sick leave earnings if they retire after the 16th of the month.
• The five year post-retirement medical benefit coverage begins on the first day of the month following your retirement/separation date.
• A retiring employee may elect to run out his accrued vacation, holiday and compensatory leave balances. This option has the benefit of delaying (extending) the employee's post-retirement medical benefits as well as allowing an employee to continue to participate in the DROP program.
• Employees electing a terminal leave lump sum payment should know that this calculation is based on an employee's final daily rate of pay. Therefore, an employee may consider choosing a retirement date after a scheduled wage increase goes into effect.

Deferred Retirement Option Plan - DROP Program

Employees who are 55 years of age or older and have at least ten years of credited pension service may be eligible to elect to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Program. The DROP program allows participating employees to continue to work for the City for up to four years and, during that period; the employee's earned monthly pension benefit is placed in a DROP account that becomes available to the employee within four years when he officially retires from the City. Employees who are eligible for post retirement health and welfare benefits will begin receiving these benefits on the first day of the month following their actual retirement from the City of Philadelphia.

Additional information about the DROP retirement program, including application forms and information concerning direct rollover features, is available through the Recreation's Human Resources Office or the Board of Pensions at 215-496-7400.

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Index of Employee Orientation Manual