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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-01 ORDINANCE NO.cOa AN ORDINANCE AMENDING EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK FOR THE CITY OF BATESVILLE AND BATESVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT WHEREAS, from time to time it is necessary to review and amend the City's Employee Handbook; and WHEREAS, it is in the City's best interest to keep our policies current with the changing state and federal laws. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BATESVILLE, ARKANSAS, SECTION 1: The amendments to the Employee Handbook for the City of Batesville and Batesville Municipal Airport are attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference is hereby adopted. PASSED AND APPROVED this 13th day of April, 2021. k Elu'r+=Wg�, Mayor ATTEST: Denise M. Johnston, CityyXI-erk CITY OF BATESVILLE Employee Benef its Employee Handbook Full-time Class B employees with the City of Batesville are provided a variety of benefits, including medical, life, dental, and pharmaceutical insurance; paid vacations, holidays and sick leave-, and education assistance program-, a retirement plan, and a number of other benefits to enhance the employee's job satisfaction. The information below is an overview of each benefit. If an employee needs additional information, he/she may discuss the questions with his/her Supervisor or the City Clerk's office. A. PAID TIME OFF Paid vacations and paid sick leave are not requirements of the law except for firefighters. However, the City of Batesville like most other corporations has made provisions to allow each individual to accrue paid vacation and paid sick leave as outlined in this handbook. 1. VACATION FOR CLASS B EMPLOYEES EXCEPT FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND AIRPORT EMPLOYEES Once an employee enters an eligible classification (Class B), they begin to accrue vacation time according to the schedule on the following page. Before an employee can take any vacation, he must first accumulate 21 hours (6 months of accrual). Eligible employees must be in pay status at least 15 calendar days in a month to accrue vacation leave for that month. Employees should schedule their vacation with their supervisor as'many days in advance as possible. If the workload in a department is such that it would be disruptive for an employee to be away from work, or if other employees have previously scheduled time off, the Supervisor may refuse a vacation request for a particular period of time. Vacation may be scheduled in 9F;e hGUF (14 one-half (1/2) hour increments and may be scheduled to coincide with holidays. Unused vacation days may not be carried over to the next leave year without a written request from the employee and approved by the Mayor. If employment is terminated, either by the employee or the City of Batesville, the employee will be reimbursed for all accrued vacation time. The amount of time available for accrual depends upon the length of employment with the City of Batesville. Vacation hours are accrued monthly according to the chart below. 15 Firefighters shall accumulate sick leave at the rate of 20 working days (480 hours) per year beginning 1 year after the date of employment. If unused, sick leave shall accumulate to a maximum of 90 days (2160 hours). (14-53-108). Time off may be charged against accumulated sick leave only for such days that a firefighter is scheduled to work. Sick leave may be taken in one-half (1/2) hour increments. No such sick leave as provided in this section, shall be charged against any firefighter during any period of sickness, illness, or injury for any days which he/she is not scheduled to work. A leave request form must be completed as soon as the employee returns to work and forwarded to the City Clerk's office. If, at the end of a term of service, upon retirement or death, whichever occurs first, any firefighter who has any unused accumulated sick leave, he/she shall be paid for this sick leave at the regular rate of pay in effect at the time of retirement or death. Payment for unused sick leave in the case of a firefighter, upon retirement or death, shall not exceed 3 months' salary. 6. SICK LEAVE FOR POLICE Police officers shall accumulate sick leave at the rate of 20 working days (160 or 240-hours, depending on shift) per year beginning 1 year after the date of employment. If unused, sick leave shall accumulate to a maximum of 90 days (720 or 1080 hours, depending on shift), (14-53-108). Time off may be charged against accumulated sick leave only for such days that a police officer is scheduled to work. No such sick leave as provided in this section, shall be charged against any police officer during any period of sickness, illness, or injury for any days which he/she is not scheduled to work. Sick leave may be taken in one-half (1/2) hour increments. A leave request form must be completed as soon as the employee returns to work and forwarded to the City Clerk's office. If, at the end of a term of service, upon retirement or death, whichever occurs first, any police officer who has any unused accumulated sick leave, he/she shall be paid for this sick leave at the regular rate of pay in effect at the time of retirement or death. Payment for unused sick leave in the case of a police officer, upon retirement or death, shall not exceed 3 months' salary. 7. CATASTROPHIC LEAVE The City of Batesville's Catastrophic Leave Donation Program is intended to enable coworkers to provide some level of income protection to fellow employees who have exhausted their paid leave banks due to their own serious illness or injury, or the need to provide care to a seriously ill/injured immediate family 19 1 _- =. -_ __- Years Hours Per Mo. Hours Per Yr. Days Per Yr, Up to 1 Year 3.5 hours 42 hours 5.25 days 1 thru 2 Years 4 hours 48 hours 6 days 3 thru 6 Years 7 hours 84 hours 10.5 days 7 thru 14 Years 10 hours 120 hours 15 days 15 thru 20 Years 14 hours 168 hours 21 days 21 + Years 17 hours 204 hours 25.5 days 2. VACATION FOR FIREFIGHTERS All fire department shift personnel shall accrue vacation hours monthly according to the chart below. Vacation may be taken in one-half (1/2) hour increments. Years Hours Per Month Hours Per Year 0 thru 5 Years 12 hours 144 hours 6 thru 10 Years 15 hours 180 hours 11 thru 20 Years 17 hours 204 hours 21+ Years 20 hours 240 hours All fire department salaried personnel will accrue vacation hours monthly according to the chart below. Vacation may be taken in one-half (1/2) hour increments. Years Hours Per Month Hours Per Year 1 thru 10 Years 10 hours 120 Hours 11 thru 20 Years 13.33 hours 160 hours 21+ Years 16.67 hours 200 hours 3. VACATION FOR POLICE Police offices start accumulating vacation days upon employment and will have 15 working days available on their one-year anniversary. Vacation may be taken in one-half (1/2) hour increments. No more than one year of vacation (15 working days) may be carried over upon your anniversary date. 3.1 VACATION FOR AIRPORT EMPLOYEES Paid vacation for hourly class B airport employees is earned (accrued) monthly throughout the year as they work but is allotted on January 1 st of each year. The amount of vacation time for which you are eligible is based on your length of 16 � � :. service as of December 31 of the previous year. New employees will not be eligible for paid vacation until they have completed 6 months employment. Vacation hours are accrued monthly according to the chart below: Years Hours Per Mo. Hours Per Yr. 0 thru < 1 Year 3.5 Hrs 42 Hrs -1 thru < 3 Years 4 Hrs 48 Hrs 3 thru < 7 Years 7 Hrs 84 Hrs 7 and above Years (max) , 10 Hrs 120 Hrs Employees must use their allotted vacation time during the year or forfeit it after December 31. At the discretion of the Airport Commission up 40 hours of vacation may be paid out per year. Vacation may be taken in one-half (1/2) hour increments. If an employee leaves the company with a negative vacation accrual balance, they may be required to reimburse the company for the unearned vacation. For example; an employee starts their 3rd year on January 1 st and is allotted 84 hours. If that employee uses all 84 hours and leaves the company on July 1 st, the employee would owe the company back 42 hours of vacation which may be garnished from their final paycheck. 4. SICK LEAVE FOR CLASS B EMPLOYEES EXCEPT FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE AND AIRPORT EMPLOYEES The City of Batesville recognizes that inability to work because of illness or injury may cause economic hardships. For this reason, the City of Batesville provides paid sick leave for all Class B employees. Eligible employees accrue eight hours sick leave for each calendar month of service in which they were in pay status for at least 15 calendar days. Sick leave must be earned prior to the time it is taken. Employees may accrue up to 90 days sick leave. Airport Class B employees accrue six hours sick leave per month if at least 15 days were worked in the month. An employee may be eligible for sick leave days for the following reasons: a. Personal illness or physical incapacity. b. Quarantine of an employee by a physician or health officer. C. Illness in the family that would require the employee to take care of the family member(s). d. Medical, dental and optical visits. 17 1 An employee who is unable to report for work due to one of the previously listed sick leave reasons shall report the reason for the absence to the employee's Supervisor before or within 1 hour from the time the employee is expected to report for work. If the employee's Supervisor could not be reached, the employee may report to the City Clerk's office. Sick leave with pay may not be allowed unless such report has been made. A leave request must be completed as soon as the employee returns to work and forwarded to the City Clerk's office. Employees will be allowed to use 24 hours undocumented sick time within a leave year. After the use of 24 hours undocumented sick time, employees must provide a note from a licensed physician or other person legally authorized to treat an illness, disease, or disability in order to receive paid sick leave. Absence for part of a day shall be deducted from the accrued sick leave in amounts of no less than eae(1) one-half (1/2) hour increments. Employees who use all of their accrued sick leave can thereafter be placed on leave of absence without pay unless extenuating circumstances justify exceptional action by the Mayor and reported to the city council. If an employee separates from the City in good standing after completing at least 20 years of continuous service (without a break in employment), they will be paid for all unused sick leave at his/her rate of pay up to 3 months' salary. If an employee separates from the City with less than 20 years, or not in good standing, no accumulated sick days will be paid. Sick leave is considered a privilege that is not to be abused. If the supervisor feels that the privilege is being abused, he or she may require the employee to furnish a doctor's certificate for each period of absence. If an employee falsely repots a sickness as an excuse for absence, the absence will be considered an unauthorized absence and will be documented and filed in his/her personnel file. In an event of illness, the employee is expected to keep the department head informed of the progress, and should the sick leave be in excess of 24 hours, the employee must present the supervisor with a written statement from a physician certifying that the illness prevented the employee from performing his/her duties. Failure to do any of the previous will result in the employee being charged with leave without pay. Sick leave shall not be granted when an injury is incurred while the employee is performing work for compensation for an employer other than the City of Batesville. In such cases, a leave of absence without pay may be given. 5. SICK LEAVE FOR FIREFIGHTERS 18 =