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Amendments to the Personnel Policies Manual
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SUBJECT
recommendation
Authorize amendments to the Personnel Policies Manual within the following sections:
• I. Employee Practices
• II. Employee Conduct and Safety
• III. Complaint Resolution
• IV. Compensation and Reimbursement
• V. Time-Off Benefits
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PURPOSE
Amendments to the Personnel Policies Manual are needed to reflect changes in federal law, implement best practices and make minor corrections throughout. Specific changes include new processes related to employee grievances and appeals, implementation of on-call/standby pay and an addition to official holidays.
RECOMMENDATION
The Executive Director/General Manager and NTMWD staff recommend the Board of Directors amend the NTMWD Personnel Policies Manual.
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Committee: |
This item was on the August 7, 2024, Personnel Committee and September 11, 2024, Policy Committee meeting agendas |
DRIVER(S) FOR THIS PROJECT
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Strategic Objective: |
4.2 Safe and Healthy Employees 4.4 Employer of Choice |
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☒ Regulatory Compliance |
☐ Asset Condition |
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☐ Capacity |
☐ Redundancy/Resiliency |
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☐ Relocation or External Requests |
☐ Operational Efficiency |
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☐ Safety |
☒ Administrative |
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☒ Policy |
☐ Other _____________ |
BACKGROUND
The Personnel Policies Manual was originally adopted in August 2017 in an effort to consolidate existing policies into a single manual. Amendments to the Personnel Policies Manual have been adopted since its creation to reflect changes in positions, processes and regulations.
Revisions to comply with recent changes in employment laws and workplace rules include the addition of “religion” and “pregnancy-related medical condition” as factors to consider for reasonable accommodation. These changes are reflected in Sections 1.3, 2.4, 2.12, and 5.13.
Additional substantive changes include the following:
• Section 3.1 - Employee Grievances and Complaints
o Retitle to reflect the removal of the appeal process to a new section 3.2
o Clarify roles and responsibilities for employees, supervisors, managers, department management, and HR
o Layout the investigation process and clarify the procedure for submitting additional information outside of the investigation process
• Section 3.2 - Appeal of Formal Disciplinary Action
o Add a new section for appeal, separate from grievances and complaints
o Identify types of disciplinary actions that may be appealed
o Identify employees who may appeal disciplinary actions and establish a timeline
o Clarify the responsibilities for the employee and the Human Resources Department
o Create a process for reviewing appeals by adding an appeal panel and stating the composition of the panel
o Clarify that the appeal panel can sustain, amend or reverse disciplinary actions
o Remove the ED/GM and the Personnel Committee of the Board from the appeal process
• Section 4.6 - On-Call/Standby Pay
o Add a new policy to provide additional pay for employees who are on a rotational standby schedule
o Pay a fixed amount per 24-hour period when the employee is assigned on-call status
o If called into work, the employee is paid for the actual hours worked
• Section 5.7 - Official Holidays
o Add Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a new holiday
o Clarify that employees who cannot be off on a NTMWD holiday will be paid for time worked in addition to receiving holiday pay
Finally, minor revisions and clarifications are proposed throughout the document
FUNDING
N/A