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HomeMy WebLinkAbout677-14 Amend Employee Policy and Procedure Manual RESOLUTION NO.: 677-14 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE EMPLOYEE POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL. WHEREAS,the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, Florida,has determined that it is in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Zephyrhills to revise the Employee Policy and Procedure Manual to insure efficient and effective management for the employees of the City of Zephyrhills. is NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills Florida, as follows: 1. The revised City of Zephyrhills Employee Policy and Procedure Manual attached hereto is hereby adopted as the written expression of policies for employee education matters for the City of Zephyrhills. 2. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon approval by the City Counci and signing by the Mayor. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills in regular session this 11th day o August, 2014. ATTEST: CITY OF ZEPHYRHILLS Linda D. Boan, City Clerk les E. Proctor, cil President G e Whitfield, a or Approved as to Legal Form and Sufficiency for the reliance of the City of Zephyrhills only eph A. Poblic , ity Attorney SECTION 18 MISCELLANEOUS LEAVES Approved 08/11/2014 Replaces 03/26/2007 18.01 FUNERAL LEAVE A. All regular full-time employees shall be granted up to 24 work hours of funeral leave upon approval of the supervisor and Department Manager in the event of the death of an immediate family member or relative. (See definition of immediate family or relative Section 2). 17.06. A.3 B. Funeral leave shall not be charged to the employee's sick leave, but free time granted by the City. C. The employee may be required to provide proof of death in the immediate family before compensation.is approved. D. If additional time off is necessary to attend a funeral of a member of the immediate family, vacation leave may be used. E. If the employee wishes to attend the funeral of someone outside his/her immediate family, annual leave may be granted by the supervisor and approved by the Department Manager. F. If additional leave is needed, and all other leave is exhausted, leave without pay may be granted upon approval of the Department Manager. 18.02 COURT/WITNESS LEAVE A. Regular employees attending court for jury duty during their normal working hours shall receive pay at their regular rate for those hours providing any jury duty fees received by the employee for appearing is signed over to the City by the employee. B. All regular employees subpoenaed to attend court on behalf of the City are eligible for leave with pay providing any witness fees received by the employee for appearing is signed over to the City by the employee. C. Those employees who become plaintiffs or defendants in personal litigation or who testify or.appear on behalf of parties and other persons except the City are not eligible for leave with pay unless they request and are approved for vacation time under Section 16.03(A). 61360.1.25.3 67 I ' D. Employees who attend court for only a portion of a regularly scheduled work day are expected to report to their supervisor when excused or released by the court. E. Employees required to attend court as a witness on behalf of the City or other governmental agency and who are on a scheduled vacation shall be allowed to take additional leave with pay for that court time. F. Employees required to attend court as a witness on behalf of the City or other governmental agency during his/her off-duty hours or day off shall receive pay for the hours served at time and a half. G. Employees required to attend court as a witness for the City or other governmental agency during his/her authorized holiday will receive pay for the holiday in addition to the pay received for the time spent in court. H. All court attendance must be verified before an employee is compensated. I. Any time spent in court as a criminal defendant shall not be compensated. Time spent serving sentence imposed as a result of conviction for a crime shall not be compensated. 18.03 CONFERENCE LEAVE An employee may be granted leave with pay to attend professional and technical institutes, conferences, or other meetings which the City Manager determines will contribute to- the effectiveness of the employee's service. All such leave and travel expenses will be submitted to the City for review and prior approval by the City. 18.04 MILITARY LEAVE A. Employees who serve in the military reserve are entitled to a paid leave of absence up to seventeen (17) working days per year when required to attend training. Employees called to active military service shall be provided a leave of absence with the first thirty (30) days of any such leave to be with full pay. Any employee called up from military reserve status shall continue to receive service credit and the City of Zephyrhills shall continue to contribute for the employee under the Florida Retirement System. 18.05 EDUCATIONAL COURSES AND REIMBURSEMENT A. All employees required to be licensed or otherwise certified as a condition of employment are responsible for attending and satisfactorily completing all training necessary to maintain any licenses or certifications. 61360.1.25.3 68 B. Voluntary enrollment in college courses by the employee for the employee's own benefit, shall not be eligible for leave with pay to attend classes. This applies even if the coursework may be of benefit to the City. C. For a course to be eligible for tuition reimbursement, the employee, the Department Manager, the Administrative Services Director, and the City Manager must complete all of the following requirements: 1. The employee must have been a full-time employee during all of the year preceding the execution of an Education Agreement. 2. The employee,executes the Education Agreement prior to the start of each semester, quarter, or educational period for which Tuition Reimbursement is requested. The Agreement shall be submitted by the employee to Administrative Services and will have the intended courses listed. 3. The City Manager and Department Manager-shall determine if the coursework will be beneficial to the employee's advancement opportunities within the City. By signing the Education Agreement, the City Manager and Department Manager have indicated their review and approval. 4. The coursework must be accredited at the post high-school level to include undergraduate and graduate college. Correspondence and online coursework requires pre-approval of the City Manager to qualify for tuition reimbursement. By signing the Education Agreement, the City Manager has indicated review and approval of any listed correspondence and online courses. 5. Administrative Services will keep all signed and completed Education Agreements and supporting documentation in the employee's personnel file. 6. The. employee must provide documentation to Administrative Services of a passing grade of"C" or better; or a "Pass/Satisfactory" if it is a "Pass/Fail" course. 7. The employee must provide proof of payment to Administrative Services showing the tuition is paid. 8. When the documentation in items six and seven have been delivered, Administrative Services will review the employee's eligibility and process the Tuition Reimbursement requisition if eligible. The Administrative Services Director's approval of the requisition indicates the employee has met all requirements of this section and is eligible for the reimbursement. 61360.1.25.3 69 D. The City's Tuition Reimbursement program does not include the cost of books or other special training materials required. E. The specific courses taken must not have had tuition previously reimbursed by the City. If other sources of funding have been obtained for specific courses, the City -shall not provide Tuition Reimbursement for those courses. Exception: if other funding sources cover only part of the is tuition paid, the City shall provide reimbursement of the unpaid part. F. Tuition Reimbursement will occur "at cost," and shall not exceed the State University System's tuition rate per-credit-hour. The per-employee Tuition Reimbursement rate is capped per fiscal year. Caps are established each fiscal year by the annual budget. G. The City will attempt to rearrange work schedules for classes if it does not interrupt the normal work flow. H. When the State or other governmental agency mandates additional pay for a class of employees and funds or reimburses the City for same, the City will provide the incentive pay to those employees who meet and maintain the qualifications to receive the incentive pay. Department Managers are required to advise the Finance Department of employees in their Department who are eligible for such pay. I. Employees who do not remain employed with the City for a period of two years after completion of a course for which tuition was reimbursed shall reimburse the City on a pro-rated basis. 18.06 WORKERS' COMPENSATION LEAVE A. An employee who sustains a job connected injury or any eligible compensable illness resulting in a temporary disability will be paid compensation in accordance with the Florida Workers' Compensation Law, supplemented as specified below. Basically, the Compensation Law provides for payment of casually related and medically necessary expenses and a lost wage compensation equal to two-thirds of the wage being earned at the time of the injury. An individual is eligible for lost wages compensation after seven (7) calendar days of not being able to work. B. All accidents must be reported immediately to the supervisor. An accident report must be completed and turned in to the Director of Administrative Services for all job-related accidents, regardless of the extent of the injury. The Notice of Injury Form (DFS-F2-DWC-1) must be obtained from the Director of Administrative Services and should be completed ,by the employee or his/her supervisor,as soon as possible following the accident. The accident must be reported to the insurance carrier within seven (7) calendar days of the City's actual knowledge of the injury. All claims 61360.1.25.3 70 except first aid cases must be reported within 7 days after the employers' knowledge of an industrial injury or disease. Late filing fines are charged to the City by the State. Failure to timely report to the Director of Administrative Services will result in disciplinary action. C. Initial medical treatment for a job-related injury will be done at the fire station, unless the injury obviously requires treatment at a medical facility. For injuries requiring treatment at a medical facility, initial treatment will be done at the facility designated by the City. D. Written doctors' reports will be turned in to General Services and maintained in the Workers' Compensation file. A written report must be on file if an employee has been instructed not to work by a doctor. An employee visiting a doctor under Workers' Compensation should obtain a "Physician's Report for Patient on Workers' Compensation" Form from his/her supervisor and have the doctor complete it. The employee should then return this form to their supervisor so his/her condition may be monitored. E. After seven (7) calendar days, an employee is eligible to receive lost wages benefits from Workers' Compensation equal to two-thirds of his/her salary at the time of the injury. During that first seven (7) days, the employee will receive his/her regular City pay. Time lost due to the injury will not be charged against the employee's sick leave. F. After the first seven (7) days an employee will no longer receive regular pay, however, employees may use sick or annual leave to supplement the amount received from workers' compensation as provided in Sections 16.05 and 17.06, provided the total compensation does not exceed the employee's full, regular pay. Under normal circumstances, an employee would need to use 2.66 hours per day sick leave (1/3 of 8 hours) to supplement workers' compensation and maintain his/her regular salary. A fireman would need to use eight (8) hours per day (1/3 of 24 hours). G. When an employee is off work for more than seven (7) calendar days, he/she must elect one of the following options (on a pay status form): 1. Employee will receive his regular pay until his accumulated but unused sick and annual leave are exhausted, provided he signs his workers' compensation check to the City; or 2. Employee receives workers' compensation check only. H. When the employee returns to work, any final adjustments to his/her pay will be made in the next scheduled payroll. If an employee elects not to use accrued sick or annual leave, or if sick and annual leave are exhausted, only normal Workers' Compensation benefits will be paid. 61360.1.25.3 71 I. Employees with injuries covered under Workers' Compensation should monitor the time span between treatments. There is a statute of limitations that states that all rights for compensation, remedial treatment or rehabilitative services shall be barred unless a petition is filed with the Division of Workers' Compensation within two years after the date of injury or within one year after the date of the last payment of compensation or furnishing of remedial treatment care or attends. If the claim is not made within this time period, the employee will be responsible for payment. J. Light duty assignments are made at the discretion of the City. Employees assigned light duty are required to work as and when assigned. K. Employees receiving Workers' Compensation checks will not accrue sick and vacation hours except as otherwise required by law. 18.07 BLOOD DONATIONS Subject to prior approval of their immediate supervisor, employees will be allowed up to one (1) hour, to donate blood, or up to two (2) hours for aphaeresis donation, with no charge to sick or annual leave. Employees may be given this time off to either donate blood for a City blood drive on site where they work or to donate at another advertised blood drive anywhere in the community. 18.08 GENERAL LEAVE WITHOUT PAY A. Amount. Except as required by applicable law, the decision to grant a leave without pay (leave of absence) is a matter of administrative discretion. It shall be the responsibility of each Department Manager to weigh each case on its own merits. , Leave without pay for more than thirty (30) calendar days must be approved by the City Manager. B. Extension. Employees on leave shall report for duty at the end of the leave unless they have obtained a written extension from their Department Manager or have been notified not to return. C. Return to Work. An employee who is on a non-medical or non-FMLA 'leave without pay for less than ten (10) working days shall be returned to his former position. When the leave is more than ten (10), but less than sixty (60) working days, the employee shall be returned to his former position or another position for which, in the opinion of the Department Manager, he is qualified to perform all of the duties if one is vacant otherwise he shall be laid off. Return to work from medical and FMLA leave is covered in Sections 17.05 and 19.09. D. Anniversary Date, City and Classification Seniority. Employees returning from a non-medical or.non-FMLA unpaid leave of thirty (30) working days or less shall retain their anniversary date, City, departmental and classification seniority dates. Employees returning from longer unpaid 61360.1.25.3 72 leave will not lose seniority or time of continuous service for benefit calculation but the time they are out beyond thirty (30) days will not be counted. E. Other Employment. Employees on leave without pay of any kind, including unpaid medical leave, shall not accept employment elsewhere without the written permission of the City Manager. F. Accrual of Medical and Vacation Leave. No medical or vacation leave will accrue while on any unpaid leave, except medical or FMLA unpaid leave. 18.09 EFFECT OF LEAVES ON INSURANCE COVERAGE A. Compensable Leave. The City shall continue the employee's group life and hospitalization insurance during compensable leave of absence provided the employee pays his share of the premium. B. Workers' Compensation. The City shall continue the employee's group life and hospitalization insurance during an unpaid leave of absence due to a valid workers' compensation injury or illness, provided the employee pays his share of the premium. If the employee's claim is later determined by law to be invalid, the employee shall reimburse the City for all premiums paid in his behalf during the injury.Failure to repay the City such premium upon demand or under terms agreeable to the City will result in termination of employment, and loss of accumulated sick and vacation leave to the extent necessary to cover the reimbursement. To the extent not fully reimbursed, the City may collect the premiums by any means allowed by law. C. Other Non-Compensable Leave. If an employee is on an unpaid leave of any type other than FMLA leave, including medical leave covered by Section 18.08, he shall be responsible to pay the full premium for group life and hospitalization insurance beginning the month in which the leave began. The employee shall be entitled to continue coverage for the period of the leave provided he pays the premiums subject to any restrictions imposed by the insurance carrier. p . yP fi 61360.1.25.3 73