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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD-1999-021 Personnel Ordinance Revision - Shared Leave Orange County Board of Commissioners Action Agenda Item Abstract Meeting Date: December 7, 1999 Action Agenda Item No. Subject: Personnel Ordinance Revision—Shared Leave Department: Personnel Public Hearing: Yes No X Budget Amendment Needed: Yes No X Attachment(s): Information Contact: Elaine Holmes, Personnel Director Draft Revision Orange County Extension 2550 Personnel Ordinance—Article IV, Telephone Number: Shared Leave Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 227-2031 Purpose: To consider updating the County's Shared Leave policy effective January 1, 2000 to take account of the addition of Personal Leave Days and of feedback from the County's Employee Relations Consortium. Background: The attached draft Personnel Ordinance revision takes account of the addition of Personal Leave Days and feedback from the County's Employee Relations Consortium. Personal Leave Days Effective July 1, 1999 the Board adopted a policy providing for Personal Leave Days for County employees. In that policy the Board provided that an employee who wishes to donate Personal Leave Days to an employee requesting Shared Leave may do so under the Shared Leave policy. The attached draft Personnel Ordinance revision updates the Shared Leave policy to take account of the addition of Personal Leave Days. Employee Relations Consortium Feedback During the past year, the County's Employee Relations Consortium has reviewed and discussed the Shared Leave policy to consider any needed changes following the first years of implementation of this program. As a result of this review and discussion, the Employee Relations Consortium has recommended that the use of the policy be extended to cover the instance of an employee who needs time off from work to care for a member of the employee's immediate family (spouse, parent, or child) who has a serious health condition. The attached draft Personnel Ordinance revision makes this change in Item 22.2 "Eligibility." 2 This use of Shared Leave to care for an ill member of the employee's immediate family is a provision commonly found in Shared Leave policies. It was not proposed in the initial Shared Leave policy because of the desire on the part of the employees as expressed through the Consortium to first get some experience with the-policy. For information, the County implemented the Shared Leave program in 1996. The current policy provides that an eligible employee requesting Shared Leave may receive up to 80 hours of donated leave for time off required by the employee's own serious health condition. Since the program began, 25 employees have requested Shared Leave. Approximately 140 employees have donated a total of about 1,500 hours of leave through the program. Financial Impact: There is no direct cost associated with the program. There potentially could be additional cost incurred if necessary to provide additional staffing coverage in the employee's absence. $ecause the amount of Shared Leave is limited to 80 hours, this effect is limited. Recommendation: The Manager recommends the Board adopt the attached Personnel Ordinance revision effective January 1, 2000. 3 Draft Revision to the Orange County Personnel Ordinance Article IV, Section 22, Shared Leave (Changes marked in bold) 22.0 Shared Leave 22.1 General 22.1.1 Shared Leave provides an employee the opportunity to donate a specified number of Vacation Leave hours and/or Personal Leave hours to help another employee who has exhausted all Sick, Vacation and Personal Leave and is in need of leave to cover periods of missed work time due to a serious medieal health condition or to care for a member of his or her immediate family who has a serious health condition. 22.1.2 An employee donating leave may elect to donate a minimum of four hours of • Vacation Leave up to the amount that would not drop his or her Vacation Leave balance below 80 hours of leave. • Personal Leave hours up to the total amount of Personal Leave Days available for the calendar year. 22.2 Eli igibiliV 22.2.1 Any permanent employee with one year of Orange County service as a permanent employee is eligible to donate or request leave. 22.2.2 Following are situations wherein an employee can request to participate in the Shared Leave program upon documentation of the need for leave by a physician: • An employee who is unable to work due to a serious health ea condition. is e4igible 4& This includes an employee who is unable to work due to pregnancy related disability. • An employee who needs to be away from work to care for a member of the employee's immediate family(spouse,child,or parent)who has a serious health condition. The following situations are not eligible for Shared Leave: • Elective surgery • An employee receiving Workers' Compensation benefits. 4 22.2.3 An employee requesting leave through the Shared Leave program must first exhaust all earned, unused Sick,and Vacation and Personal Leave. 22.2.4 An employee may receive a maximum of 80 hours of donated leave each calendar year through the Shared Leave program. Shared Leave may not be used to extend an employee's time in leave status beyond one year from the last date worked. 22.3 Process 22.3.1 An employee who wishes to request leave through the Shared Leave program provides to the Personnel Department a letter requesting participation in the Shared Leave program and a physician's statement documenting the need for leave. Personnel reviews ReqHests-fe- Shared Leave requests for eligibility. 22.3.2 Once a Shared Leave request is approved, the Personnel Department communicates to all County employees a description of the employee's request for Shared Leave, releasing only the information authorized in writing by the employee. The Personnel Pinata may elect to release the description first to employees in the requesting employee's department before communicating the request to all County employees. 22.3.3 Any employee's donation of Vacation Leave or Personal Leave to a participant in the Shared Leave program is voluntary. Direct solicitation of employees for Shared Leave donations is not permitted. 22.3.4 An employee who wishes to donate Vacation Leave or Personal Leave to an employee requesting Shared Leave completes a "Shared Leave Donation" form and submits this to the Personnel Department within the time period specified for request. (Sick Leave may not be donated.) 22.3.5 Donations of leave must be a minimum of four hours. 22.3.6 Donated cleave hours up to a total of 80 hours are transferred as to the employee receiving the Shared Leave. Once leave is donated and transferred to the employee receiving the leave, it may not be returned to the donating employee. 22.3.7 During the period an employee is using Shared Leave, the employee continues to be in a leave earning capacity, be entitled to holidays, receive any salary increase for which otherwise eligible, and be eligible to receive benefits offered under the County's group insurance policies. The Board approved changes to their regular meeting schedule adding a joint planning area public hearing February 21, 2000, and a regular meeting March 14, 2000, to its regular meeting schedule. e. Contract Award—Piaayback of Bid for 38-cubic-vard Front Loader Refuse Truck This item was removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. f. Extended Contract with Orange EMS and Rescue to Provide Transportation Services for 90 Days. The Board extended for 90 days the existing contract with Orange EMS and Rescue Squad for ambulance transport services. g Personnel Ordinance Revision—Shared Leave The Board approved updating the County's shared leave policy by extending the present policy to cover the instance of an employee who needs time off from work to care for a member of the employee" immediate family (spouse, parent, or child)who has a serious health condition. h. Petition for Addition—Still Brooke Place,Winter Sweet Place, Meadow Wind Lane in Eno and Hillsborough Townships The Board approved a petition from NCDOT for approval of the addition of Still Brooke Place, Winter Sweet Place and Meadow Wind Lane in Eno Township to the state-maintained secondary road system. i. Petition for Addition—Greystone Lane and Bluestone Court in Chapel Hill Township The Board approved a petition from NCDOT adding Greystone Lane and Bluestone Court in Chapel Hill Township to the state-maintained secondary road system. i Petition for Addition—Jomali Drive—Eno Township The Board approved a petition from NCDOT adding Jomali Drive in Eno Township to the state-maintained secondary road system. k. Petition for Addition—Acorn Ridae Trail (extension of SR 1631). Deerhaven Court, Eno Township The Board approved a petition from NCDOT adding Acorn Ridge Trail and Deerhaven Court in Eno Township to the state-maintained secondary road system. I. Petition for Addition—Mill Pointe Lane,Cedar Grove Township The Board approved a petition from NCDOT adding Millpointe Lane in Cedar Grove Township to the state-maintained secondary road system. m. Late Applications for Homestead Property Tax Exemption This item was removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. n. Application for Property Tax Exemption The Board approved a property tax exemption request in accordance with the resolution that is incorporated herein by reference. o. Property Value Changes The Board approved property value changes in accordance with the resolution that is incorporated herein by reference. p. Property Tax Refunds The Board approved four requests for property tax refunds in accordance with the resolution that is incorporated herein by reference. g Criteria for Parkland Acquisitions The Board approved criteria for evaluating parkland acquisitions as developed by the Joint Recreation and Parks Work Group and revised at the November 22, 1999 Board of County Commissioners meeting. r. School/Park Reserve Report The Board approved the Board's School/Park Reserve Committee findings as updated and revised November 22"d s. Approval of Option to Purchase Land—Cheeks Township The Board approved exercising an option to purchase 62.7 acres in Cheeks Township from Duke University under a grant in the amount of$143,000 from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. t. Oranae County Priority List for the 2002-2008 Transportation Improvement Program DCHC MTIPI This item was removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. u. Disposal of Surplus Computers The Board authorized staff to dispose of 20 surplus computers. v. Dissolution of Orange County Solid Waste Committee The Board approved formally dissolving the Orange County Solid Waste Committee.