An employee shall lose his seniority and status as an employee if:

1. He/She quits;

2. He/She retires;

3. He/She is discharged and the discharge is not reversed through the grievance procedure;

4. He/She does not indicate a willingness within five (5) working days to return to work from a layoff within ten (10) working days after being notified by the Employer;

5. He/She fails to return to work after a layoff within ten (10) working days after being notified of recall; except when the failure to return is due to circumstances beyond the control of the employee;

6. He/She has been on layoff for a period of time equal to his/her seniority at the time of his/her layoff or one (1) year, whichever is greater;

7. He/She is absent from work for three (3) consecutive working days without notifying the Employer, except when the failure to return is due to circumstances beyond the control of the employee; or

8. He/She fails to return from sick leave or a leave of absence within three (3) working days after termination of his/her leave, except when the failure to return is due to circumstances beyond the control of the employee, e.g., if an employee is unable to return to work at the time his/her medical leave ends because of continuing ill health resulting from personal illness or injury, as documented in writing by his/her attending physician. In the event of a medical dispute, the Medical Dispute clause in Section 36 of this Agreement shall apply as regards the settlement of such dispute, except that if the employee is receiving Worker's Compensation, any dispute arising from the claim will be resolved by the Employer's insurance carrier and the employee's physician, consistent with the Worker's Compensation Act.