Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 1
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE CITY OF FULLERTON AND
THE FULLERTON MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES FEDERATION
FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 202119 THROUGH JUNE 30, 20231
ARTICLE 1: INTRODUCTION
This Agreement is made and entered into by the City of Fullerton (hereinafter referred to as the “City”) and the Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation (herein after referred to as the "Federation"). The Fullerton Munici pal Employees Federation is the recognized majority representative of the General Empl oyee bargaining unit (i.e., employees in classifications listed on Appendix A, hereinafte r collectively referred to as affected employees).
Pursuant to City Council Resolution 5145 (which pertains to employer-employee relations) and California Government Code §3500, et seq., authorized representatives of the City and the Federation have met and conferred in good faith concerning compensation, hours and other terms and cond itions of employment of affected employees, and have reached an Agreement which shall be submitted to the City Council for approval. Following approval, it shall be implemented by action of the Council or City Manager by appropriate ordinances, resolutions or other directives.
Therefore, the City and the Federation agree that upon approval by the City Council, the compensation, hours and other terms and condi tions of employment for affected employees shall be as follows:
ARTICLE 2: MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
The City retains all rights of management incl uding but not limited to the exclusive right to determine the mission of its constituent departments, commissions and boards; to contract and subcontract; set standards of services; determine the procedures and standards of selection for em ployment and promotion; dire ct its employees; take disciplinary action; relieve its employees from duty because of lack of work or for other legitimate reasons; maintain the efficien cy of governmental operations; determine the methods, means and personnel by which gover nment operations are to be conducted; determine the content of job cl assifications; take all necessa ry actions to carry out its mission in emergencies; and exercise co mplete control and discretion over its organization and the technology of performing its work; provided, however, that the exercise of such City rights shall not conf lict with the express provisions of this Agreement.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 2
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
ARTICLE 3: PEACEFUL PERFORMANCE
The parties recognize the obligation of the a ffected employees to continue to faithfully perform their duties for the City in accordance with the highest professional standards.
No affected employee shall engage in, i nduce or encourage any concerted action against the City including, but not limited to, strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns, speedups, "sick-ins", “sick-outs", or withholding of services to the City.
The Federation agrees that neither it, nor any of its officers or agents will call, institute, authorize, participate in, sanction or ratify any concerted action against the City as specified above. In the event of any concerted acti on as enumerated above, the Federation, its officers, agents and representat ives shall do everything within their power to end or avert same.
ARTICLE 4: FEDERATION – CITY MEETINGS
A. The City Manager and the Director of Human Resources shall meet with the Federation President and at least tw o Federation representatives on a semiannual basis. Other persons may at tend these meetings if both parties consent. More frequent meetings may be held by mutual agreement.
B. The basic purpose of thes e meetings is to discuss issues of common interest and to solve mutual problems in a constructive fashion.
C. Grievances or disciplinary action s in progress may be discussed at these meetings only by mutual consent, and discussion of such topics does not preclude subsequent resolution via the grievance procedure.
D. Meet-and-confer subjects may be discussed by mutual consent, but this does not preclude exercise of further meet-and-confer options by either party.
ARTICLE 5: TERM - EFFECTIVE DATES
The term of this Agreement shall be from July 1, 202119 to June 30, 202123.
The effective date of each Article is July 1, 2021 unless otherwise stated herein.
ARTICLE 6: MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING BENEFITS
Except as provided herein, all compensati on, hours and other terms and conditions of employment within the lawful scope of r epresentation of the Federation presently enjoyed by affected employees shall remain in full force and effect during the term of this Agreement.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 3
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
ARTICLE 7: SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT
Either party may initiate negotiations for a successor agreement by serving a written request to bargain on the other party no sooner than February 1, 202123, but no later than April 30, 202123. The parties agree to meet within the thirty days after receipt of an initial request to bargain.
ARTICLE 8: SEPARABILITY
If any part or provision of th is Agreement is rendered or declared invalid by any existing or subsequently enacted state or federal legislation, or by any decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining portions shall continue in full force and effect.
ARTICLE 9: CITY REVENUES
The Federation shall encourage its members to shop in Fullerton in an effort to increase the revenue available to the City.
ARTICLE 10: REASONABLE TIME OFF TO MEET AND CONFER
The Federation may select no more than six employee members to attend scheduled meetings with the City on subjects within the scope of representation during regular City Hall business hours without loss of compensation. None of these employee members shall be from the same budget division. T he Federation shall, whenever practicable, submit the names of all such employee representatives to the City in writing at least two working days in advance of such meetings. It is further provided:
A. That no employee represent ative shall leave his/her duty or work station or assignment without approval of his/her department head or other authorized City management official.
B. That any such meeting is subject to scheduling by City management in a manner consistent with operating needs and work schedules.
Nothing provided herein, however, shall limit or restrict City management from scheduling such meetings before or after regular duty or work hours under appropriate circumstances.
ARTICLE 11: ACCESS TO WORK LOCATIONS
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 4
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
Officers of the Federation and their officially designated representatives shall be granted reasonable access to employee work locati ons for the purpose of processing grievances or contacting members of the organization concerning business within the scope of representation. Such non-employee officers or representatives shall not enter any work location without the consent of the department head or the City Manager.
Access may be restricted so as not to inte rfere with the normal operations of the department or with established safety or security requirements.
Solicitation of membership and activities concerned with the internal management of the Federation, such as collecting dues, holdi ng membership meetings, campaigning for office, conducting elections and distributi ng literature, will not be permitted during working hours without prior appr oval by the City Manager or designee. Such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
ARTICLE 12: USE OF CITY FACILITIES
A. The Federation may, with the prior approval of the City Manager or designee, use City facilities for meetings. All such requests shall be in writing and shall state the purposes of the meeting. The City reserves the right to assess reasonable charges for the use of such facilities.
B. The use of City equipment other than items normally used in the conduct of business meetings (e.g., desks, chairs, and writing boards) is strictly prohibited, the presence of such equipment in approved City facilities notwithstanding.
C. The Federation may, with the prior approval of the City Manager, continue to use the City mail and e-mail service for the distribution of a regularly published employee newsletter.
ARTICLE 13: USE OF BULLETIN BOARDS
The Federation may use portions of City bulletin boards under the following conditions:
A. All materials must receive the approval of the Director of Human Resources or designee.
B. All materials must be dated and must i dentify the Federation as the publisher.
C. The actual posting of materials will be done as soon as possi ble after they have been approved. Unless special arrangements are made, materials posted will be removed 31 days after the publication date.
D. The City reserves the right to determi ne where bulletin boards shall be placed and what portion of them is to be allocated to Federation materials.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 5
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
ARTICLE 14: ALLOCATION OF CLASSES TO SALARY RANGES
A. The allocation of classes to salary ranges is contained in Appendix A.
B. The City shall extend the opportunity to meet concerning the pay level of new classifications no later than seven cal endar days before Staff's recommendation is considered by the City Council. If the Federation does not accept this invitation within four calendar days, the opportunity to meet will be waived.
ARTICLE 15: BASE SALARY RATES
The schedule of base salary rates is contained in Appendix A.
Effective the first pay period after ratifi cation and approval of this Agreement, the base salary rates shall be adjusted by an across-the-board increase of 5.25%.
Effective upon ratification of this agr eement, Range 207 through Range 210 shall be deleted. In addition, Steps 1 and 2 of Range 215 and 220 shall be deleted to ensure that no employee shall be placed on a range or step that is below the California Minimum Wage during the term of this agreement.
ARTICLE 16: INCREMENT PAY
A. Shift Differential Pay
1. Non-Library Employees
With the exception of Library pers onnel, an employee shall receive Shift Differential Pay in the amount shown if the requirements of the following schedule are met:
a. Swing Shift - 50% of the wo rking 2.5% of his/her base hours per pay period are between salary rate
3:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
b. Graveyard Shift - 50% of t he 5% of his/her base salary working hours per pay period rate
are between 11:00 p.m. and
7:00 a.m.
c. Non-Day Shift - when neither a. 2.5% of his/her base nor b. above apply, but 50% of salary rate
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 6
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
the working hours per pay period
occur in a combination of the Swing
and Graveyard shifts.
2. Library Employees
a. An eligible Library employee s hall receive, in addition to regular pay, Shift Differential Pay equal to 5% of his/her base hourly rate for any hours worked after 5:00 p.m., except that no one shall receive shift differential solely be cause he/she is on an alternate work schedule and works after 5:00 p.m.
b. Library shift pay is a vest ed benefit for employees regularly appointed to any Library position effective on or before June 30, 1984 as well as for those regularly appointed to any full-time Library position after that date. A pers on regularly appointed to a Library position on less than a full time basis effective on or after July 1, 1984 shall not be eligible for this benefit, except that if he/ she converts to full-time for a mini mum of ten consecutive workdays, he/she shall be eligible to receive Library shift pay for the duration of that full-time status.
B. Bilingual Pay
An employee shall be eligible to rece ive an additional $60 per pay period if the following conditions are met:
1. The employee must on a frequent and recurring basis speak and/or translate by reading/writing one or more languages other than English in the performance of his/her public contact duties with the City.
2. The employee must pass a language ski lls test approved or administered by the City.
C. Night Emergency Response Pay
An employee permanently assigned to t he Night Emergency Response Unit shall receive an additional 2.5% of his/her base salary. An employee assigned to this Unit on an acting basis shall receive th is additional pay beginning after 80 consecutive working hours of such assignment.
ARTICLE 17: OVERTIME PAY
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 7
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
A. FLSA exempt classifications are designated in Appendix A with an “X”. All other affected employees are designated non-exempt for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 8
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
B. Work Period
For employees on the standard workweek, the FLSA work period shall be seven days in length commencing at 12:01 a.m. ea ch Saturday. For employees on an alternate work schedule (e.g., a 9/80 work schedule), the City shall adjust the FLSA work period to ensure the empl oyee’s regular schedule does not exceed 40 hours of work in any seven-day work period. (See Appendix C.)
C. Time Worked
In determining eligibility for overtime, paid leaves of absence shall be regarded as time worked and shall be included in calc ulating the total hours worked. Paid leaves of absence include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Vacation 6. Workers' Compensation Leave
2. Holiday Leave 7. Jury Duty
3. Sick Leave 8. Bereavement Leave
4. Administrative Leave 9. Military Leave
5. Compensatory Time off
In calculating hours actually worked for overtime purposes, the following time will be excluded:
1. Voluntary non-pay time
2. Leaves of absence without pay
3. Suspensions with and without pay
4. Standby Duty
There shall be no pyramiding of overtime . Hours worked by an employee in any workday, workweek or payroll period on which premium rates have once been allowed shall not be used again in any other overtime computation. For example, if an employee receives overtime compens ation for work performed in excess of the employee’s regularly scheduled workday , those hours paid at the overtime rate will not be counted in determining overtime compensation for hours in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.
D. Payment - Non-Exempt Employees
1. Each non-exempt employee (includi ng those employed part-time) required to work in excess of 40 hours in a wo rk period shall receive compensation at the premium rate of time and one-half his/her regular rate of pay for the excess hours, except that Police Depar tment employees shall be paid at the premium rate for work performed in excess of the employee’s regularly scheduled workday or regularly scheduled workweek.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 9
Resolution No. 20220-XX17
A Jailer who, when solicited by the City, volunteers to work hours beyond his/her regular schedule shall be deemed to have been required to work by the City. A lack of congruity between an employee's work schedule and the time involved in a pay period shall not cause an employee to be ineligible for the premium rate for hours worked, when such hours are otherwise eligible therefore under the terms of this Agreement.
2. The regular rate of pay shall incl ude those items of compensation required to be included under the FLSA, includi ng but not limited to the following types of pay in addition to base salary:
a. Increment Pay, as set forth in Article 16.
b. Education Incentive Pay ( but not tuition reimbursement).
E. Payment-Exempt Employees
Each exempt employee required to work in excess of his/her regular work schedule in a work period shall be paid at his/her straight time base salary rate or receive compensatory time off at straight time for the excess hours.
F. Compensatory Time
Compensatory Time
Employees working overtime shall receive either pay or compensatory time at the department head’s discretion. Employees can accumulate up to 160 100 hours of compensatory time. Once an employee has 100160 hours of accumulated compensatory time, he/she cannot accumulate any additional compensatory time until his/her bank is below 160 100 hours.
Compensatory Time Usage
The time during which an employee ma y use accrued compensatory time is subject to approval by the department head or his/her designee with due regard for the wishes of the empl oyee and the need to provide se rvice. However, an employee wishing to use his/her accrued compensatory time shall provide the City with reasonable notice of such request. If reasonable notice is provided, the employee’s request may not be denied unless it is unduly disruptive to the department to grant the request. A request to use compensatory time without reasonable notice may still be granted within the discreti on of the supervisor or manager responsible for considering the request.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 10 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
Compensatory Time Payoff
All compensatory time on the books at t he end of each payroll year shall be paid off unless used by the end of the followi ng March in accordance with established practice. In addition, compensatory time balances shall be paid in full prior to the effective date of any across-the-board sa lary increase. At the time an employee separates from employment, the employee will be cashed out of any accumulated compensatory time at their current regular rate of pay or their average regular rate of pay during their last three year s of employment with the City, whichever is greater.
G. Authorization for Overtime
All overtime requests shall have the autho rization of a supervisor prior to the commencement of such overtime work. Where prior written authorization is not feasible, explicit verbal authorizati on must be obtained. Where verbal authorization is obtained, written authorization must be obtained as soon thereafter as practicable. Dispatc hed calls beyond the end of duty time are considered as authorized.
An employee who performs overtime work without obtaining prior written approval or explicit verbal authorization followed by written authorization may be subject to discipline.
H. Clothes Changing
Employees are not authorized to wear t heir uniforms or any part thereof that is distinguishable as su ch unless on-duty. Employees may be provided with a locker for his/her own personal conveni ence. An employee may or may not utilize the locker for storage and changing purposes at his/her own discretion.
Nothing herein prevents an employee from wearing his/her uniform to and/or from his/her residence to work.
Time spent in changing clothes before or after a shift, or during lunch, is not considered time worked and is not compensable in any manner whatsoever.
I. Shift Trades
The practice of shift trading shall be voluntary on behalf of each employee involved in the trade. The trade must be due to the employee's desire or need to attend to a personal matter, and not due to the department's operations. The employee providing the trade shall not have his/ her compensable hours increased as a result of the trade; nor shall the employee receiving the trade have his/her compensable hours decreased as a result of the trade. Neither employee involved shall be entitled to the other employee's increment pay, if any.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 11 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
Any hours worked beyond the normal work sh ift will be credited to the individual actually doing the work.
"Paybacks" of shift trades are the obligat ion of the employees involved in the trade. Paybacks are to be completed within one calendar year of the date of the initial shift trade. Any dispute as to pay backs is to be resolved by the involved employees, and under no circumstances will the City be obligated for any further compensation whatsoever to any of th e involved employees. The City is not responsible in any manner for hours owed to employees by other employees who leave the employment of the City or are assigned other duties.
If one individual fails to appear for t he other, the person who has assumed responsibility for the duty assignment will either be charged with a paid leave of absence as appropriate, or will be list ed as absent without leave and may be subject to discipline.
J. Early Relief
The practice of early shift relief sha ll be voluntary on behalf of each employee involved in the relief. The employee prov iding the early relief shall not have his/her compensable hours increased as a resu lt of the early relief; nor shall the employee relieved early have his/her com pensable hours decreased as a result of the early relief. "Paybacks" of early re lief hours are the sole obligation of the two employees involved in the early relief. Any dispute is to be resolved by the involved employees, and under no circumstanc es will the City be obligated for any further compensation whatsoever to any of the involved employees. The City is not responsible in any manner for hours owed to employees by other employees who leave City employment or are assigned other duties.
K. Training Time
Training time outside normally scheduled work hours shall be compensated pursuant to applicable law.
L. Travel Time
Travel time outside normally schedul ed work hours shall be compensated pursuant to applicable law.
M. Athletic Activity
The City provides a gym facility for the vo luntary use of certain employees during their off-duty hours. Time spent by employees in work ing out at the gym facility and any other off-duty athletic activity shall not be considered time worked and shall not be compensated in any manner.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 12 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
N. Call-Back Pay
Call-back duty occurs when an employee is ordered to return to duty on a non- regularly scheduled work shift. Call-ba ck does not occur when an employee is held over from his/her prior shift or is working prior to his/her regularly scheduled shift. Call-back duty does not apply to prescheduled work during employee's regular time off.
1. When required to return to work on other than a regular work schedule, employees (except as noted in Secti on 3 below) shall be compensated at the overtime rate or in compensatory time, as determined by the employee as follows:
a. If the actual hours worked after reporting to the place of duty is 2.67 or less, the employee shall be credited with a minimum of 2.67 hours.
b. If the actual hours worked, after reporting to the place of duty, is more than 2.67 hours the employee sha ll be credited for all actual time worked.
c. The employee shall be compensated for all travel time to the location of the call-back duty beginn ing from the time the employee leaves his/her home or other location up through the time the employee arrives at the site of the call-back duty. Travel time from the location of the call-back duty back to the employee’s home or other non-work location shall not be compensated.
2. An employee shall be credited with not more than one minimum 2.67 - hour guarantee for work performed duri ng any four consecutive hour period.
3. Police Department empl oyees shall receive call-back pay in cash, at the time and one-half rate, with a two-hour minimum.
4. Call-back pay shall apply regardless of the number of hours worked by the employee in the affected work period. Call-back pay shall not be granted to employees who continue on duty for their regular work shift.
This provision is to be distinguis hed from "Court Appearance" pay in subparagraph Q, which is to be used when an employee is called back to court.
O. Standby Pay
An employee assigned to standby duty dur ing the employee's regular time off shall be compensated in the following manner:
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 13 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
1. 1.5 hours straight time for weekdays from end of regular shift to start of next regular shift or any part thereof.
2. 3 hours straight time for Saturday, Sunday or Holiday, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. or any part thereof.
Standby duty requires the employee to:
1. Leave a telephone number wher e he/she can be contacted;
2. Answer his/her telephone when it rings;
3. Be ready to respond immediately to calls for service;
4. Respond immediately when called;
5. Remain within a reasonable commuti ng distance from t he work station; and
6. Refrain from activities which might impair his/her ability to respond or perform assigned duties in a satisfactory manner.
The City will provide cellphones, and will make standby assignments voluntary when possible.
P. Court Standby Pay
An off-duty employee may leave a te lephone number where he/she may be reached while on court standby. Such time is not considered time worked under the FLSA and will not be compensated, except as set forth below:
An employee who is required by the City, or other lawful autho rity, to remain on "standby" while otherwise off duty pursuant to a lawful subpoena relating to events occurring during the course and sc ope of his/her employment, shall be paid therefore based upon an hourly rate equal to the then-current minimum wage as established by the FLSA. Effe ctive December 2, 2006, this amount shall be increased by $.50 per hour. In th e event any such employee is required to appear in court at a time when he/s he has been in such "standby" status, and actually does appear in court while other wise off duty on that day, the employee shall not receive Court Standby Pay but shall be entitled to Court Appearance Pay for such actual attendance in court wh ile off duty. The court meal period shall be considered time worked for pur poses of this paragraph only if the employee is on standby from the morni ng court session to the afternoon court session.
This payment is made pursuant to this Agreement, not pursuant to the FLSA.
Time compensated in the above manner shall not constitute time worked for Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 14 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
purposes of the FLSA. Police Department employees do not ha ve the option of taking compensatory time off for court standby.
Q. Court Appearance Pay
For court appearances while off-duty pursuant to a lawful subpoena relating to events occurring during the course and sc ope of an employee’s employment, an employee shall be credited on an hour-for-hour basis for the time actually spent in court.
An employee shall be credited with a minimum of two hours for the court appearance. Where two or more court appearances ar e required on the same date for different cases, and are separated by a period of at least two hours, a two-hour minimum payment shall apply to each such court appearance. The court meal period shall not be consider ed time worked for purposes of this paragraph unless the court is ac tually in session during the meal period. Travel time shall not be considered time work ed and shall not be compensated in any manner whatsoever, except t hat Police Department empl oyees shall be paid for travel time for cases involving all civil subpoenas, and criminal appearances outside of Orange County.
Police Department employees do not have the option of taking compensatory time off for court appearances.
R. Facility Dog Handler Assignment
The Facility Dog Handler shall be compensated at the rate of 30 minutes for each calendar day for the care, feedi ng, grooming, exercise, training and companionship of his/her assigned dog. The compensation shall be in the form of a workday reduced by 30 minut es at the beginning or end of the shift, as determined by the City. For example, a Facility Dog Handler who works a 4/10 schedule will work four sh ifts of 9.5 hours each per week and, when used, paid leave for said employee will be charged at the rate of 9.5 hours per shift. On non-work days, dog handlers shall be paid for 30 minutes of time for the care, feedi ng, grooming, exerci se, training and companionship of his/her assigned dog at a rate equal to two/thirds (2/3) of his/her regular rate of p ay. This payment shall be made at time and one- half. If the FLSA is inva lidated, set aside or other wise held inapplicable to local governments, the overtime provisions contained in the paragraph above shall be null and void. Em ployees assigned to Facility Dog duty shall not be compensated in any manner whatsoever for time spent traveling to and from work because they have been provided a City vehicle.
ARTICLE 18: ACTING PAY
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 15 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
The pay provisions of the City's Acting Pay program (cont ained in Resolution 8485) are modified to provide that an employee 1) sha ll receive Acting Pay begi nning at the start of the first full shift following 80 consecutive hours actually worked (not paid leave) of an Acting assignment, and 2) shall be paid for all time served in a subsequent Acting position if the employee has re ceived Acting Pay for the same temporary classification within the preceding 12 months, and there are at least 40 c onsecutive hours actually worked (not paid leave) in the second Acting assignment.
ARTICLE 19: EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE PAY
All affected employees are eligible for t he City's Exceptional Performance Pay program, as set forth in Appendix B.
ARTICLE 20: TUITION REIMBURSEMENT
A. Objective
The tuition reimbursement program is designed to encourage employees to continue their self-development by enr olling in approved classroom courses which will:
1. Educate them in new concepts and me thods in their occupational field and prepare them to meet the changing demands of their job.
2. Help prepare them for advancement to positions of greater responsibility with the City.
B. General Guidelines
The Director of Human Resources or his/her appointed representative shall:
1. Review written pre-enrollment applications submitted by employees through their department heads and render a decision within 60 days of receipt thereof by Human Resources.
2. Consult with department heads and school authorities on the development and establishment of crit eria and standards to determine the acceptability of majors, courses and expenditures which will qualify the employee for tuition reimbursement.
3. Render a decision on tuition re imbursement request forms within 60 days of receipt by Human Resources.
C. Eligibility
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 16 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
1. All regularly appointed employees w ho have passed their initial probation period are eligible to receive tuit ion reimbursement. Courses must commence after the employee passes t he initial probation period; be in excess of the educational standards for the classification (as noted in the class specification); and not be taken to acquire skills, knowledge and abilities which the employee was deemed to have when appointed to the classification. An example of th is would be job-related college or university courses when the specificatio n for the classification calls for high school graduation.
2. Courses must be (except where noted below in paragraphs C6 and C7) approved by one of the regional accredita tion associations recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accredi tation (CHEA). Credits given for non-classroom assignments such as lif e experience, military training, and professional training are not reimbursable.
3. Courses must be: 1) related to the employee's current occupation; 2) related to a City classification to which the employee may reasonably expect promotion within five years of completion of his/her educational objective; or 3) required for the completion of the pre-approved job-related major. An example of the third requirement would be general education or elective requirements for the major as stated in the school catalog.
4. Courses shall not duplicate training which the employee has already had or which is to be provided in-hou se unless approval has been granted by the department head and the Human Resources Department.
5. Completed engineering review courses taken at accredited institutions for which an academic grade or units of academic credit are not given are eligible for reimbursement. These c ourses must prepare candidates for a certificate, license or registration i ssued by the California Board of Registration for Professional Engineer s. The employee must receive the certificate or license from this Board to be eligible for reimbursement, which will be granted for a maximum of two courses per certificate, license or registration.
6. Courses needed to maintain or leadi ng to a City-approved certificate, license or registration are eligible for reimbursement, as are any examination fees required to succe ssfully maintain or obtain the certificate, license or r egistration. Reimbursement for eligible expenses will be made after obtaining or proof of renewal of the license, certificate or registration.
7. Courses related to the use of City-approved com puter equipment purchased by the employee ma y be authorized under the tuition reimbursement program.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 17 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
8. Courses cannot be taken on City time. The employee must certify that all courses submitted for approval were taken on his/her off-duty time.
9. To certify eligibility, a fully comp leted pre-approval form shall be submitted to the department head and to Human Resources before the course begins.
D. Reimbursement
1. A tuition reimbursement request fo rm must be submitted within three months of the completi on of the approved course(s). A minimum final grade of “C” or its equivalent is r equired for reimbursement. A pass in a pass/fail course will be considered equiva lent to a “C” for reimbursement purposes only. No reimbursement shall be made for audited or incomplete courses.
2. Employees shall be reimbursed fo r tuition and any fees and reading materials required by the academic instit ution for the eligible course(s).
Expenses for parking, travel, lodging, meals, transcript fees, materials and any other costs are not reimbursable.
3. Employees shall be reimbursed up to the dollar amount charged for the same number of units per term by Ca lifornia State University, Fullerton, with a maximum of $2,500 per fiscal y ear for courses taken during that fiscal year. The difference between t he City's maximum obligation during any fiscal year and the total amount of actual reimbursement received by the employee during that fiscal year shall not be carried over or be available for use by the employee in any subsequent fiscal year.
4. Employees must submit a bona fide ce rtification of major, fees paid and grade achieved from the attendant institution in order to have their request for reimbursement considered. T hese documents must accompany the reimbursement request form in order to be processed.
5. Upon separation from employment, em ployees shall reimburse the City for any funds received under this program for courses completed during the last 12 months of employment. Th is payback provision does not apply to employees who receive a service or di sability retirement (as defined in Article 27B), who are laid off by the Cit y, or who separate as a result of a City/departmental reorganization.
ARTICLE 21: UNIFORMS
A. Police Employees
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 18 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
1. For Police employees required to wear an d maintain uniforms, the City shall determine and provide the "first issue" of uniforms upon initial appointment, as well as a biweekly allowance of $17.32.
2. Employees shall return to the City the same amount of uniforms initially received when they separate from the City.
B. Field Maintenance Employees
1. Field Maintenance employees who ar e required to wear a City uniform on the job shall be eligible to receive si x sets of the shirt/pant uniforms from the City for wear on the job and to and from the job. Em ployees shall be responsible for laundering such uniforms.
2. Employees in the classifications listed here shall have the option of choosing eleven sets of the shirt/pant uniform or eleven sets of cloth coveralls. The City will provide laundr y services for either option. An employee who wears a City T-shirt shall be responsible for laundering such shirts.
Equipment Mechanic Lead Worker
Equipment Service Worker
Fleet Maintenance Technician
Mechanic I, II, III
3. The Director of Public Works ma y issue cloth coveralls on an as-needed basis to other maintenance employees fo r their occasional daily use. The City will launder coveralls used under such circumstances.
C. Work Boots
1. City-approved work boots shall be worn by field employees of the Airport and Public Works Department/Maintenance Services division, each of whom shall receive $7.70 biweekly toward the purchase thereof.
Effective the first pay period after ratification and approval of this Agreement, the biweekly rate will increase to $9.62.
2. Each Building Inspector Trainee, I, II and III, Constr uction Inspector, Construction Inspector – Water, and Housing and& Community Development Rehabilitation Inspector and Water Service Worker shall wear City-approved work boots. The City may make exceptions to this rule for employees who request it for bona fide safety or medical reasons.
Such decisions shall be made annually. Said employees shall receive $7.70 biweekly toward the purchase of the boots. Effective the first pay Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 19 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
period after ratification and approval of this Agreement, the biweekly rate will increase to $9.62.
3. If steel-toed work boots are requir ed for the employee’s assignment, they shall comply with Cal-OSHA General Industry Safety orders, Section 2285, and American National Safety Standard (ANSI) Z 41 1991.
If steel-toed work boots are not requi red for the employee’s assignment, they shall be of a style and constr uction approved by the City for the assigned duties.
4. The City may determine which, if any, positions should receive an additional allowance.
D. The City may, at its sole discretion, convert the existing uniform purchase and allowance program to an al ternative program such as , but not limited to, the provision of all uniforms or a vouc her system. The uni form purchase and allowance program shall cont inue on a pro-rata basis until the effective date of such change.
ARTICLE 22: TOOL ALLOWANCES / REIMBURSEMENTS
A. Allowances
Employees in the classifications listed bel ow shall receive an allowance for tools used in the course of City employment in accordance with directives established by the City.
Payment shall be made in the following biweekly amounts:
$20.00 - Equipment Mechanic Lead Worker, Mechanic III, and Mechanic II. $13.50 - Mechanic I
$ 7.00 - Equipment Service Worker
B. Reimbursements
Employees in the classifications listed below shall be reimbursed up to $20 per biweekly pay period for the cost of tools broken or damaged in the course of City employment:
E l e c t r i c i a n
Maintenance Electrician
Electrical and HVAC Lead Worker
ARTICLE 23: SURVEYS
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 20 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
In determining what is adequate compensation, the parties s hall use as a guideline the compensation provided to comparable employ ees in the following jurisdictions or any other jurisdictions deemed appropriate: Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Orange and Santa Ana.
ARTICLE 24:
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM (CalPERS)
A. The City's contract wit h CalPERS for affected employees shall include the following options:
1. One-Year Highest Co mpensation (Cal. Gov. Code §20042) for employees hired by the City on or before Dece mber 22, 2012. For all other employees, including “new members” as defined by the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), the final compensation is calculated based on the average of their highest paid 36 consecutive months.
2. Post-Retirement Survivor Allowa nce (Cal. Gov. Code §§21624, 21626).
3. Fourth Level of 1959 Survivor Benefits (Cal. Gov. Code §21574).
4. Military Service Credit as Public Service (Cal. Gov. Code §21024), in which the employee pays the entire cost.
5. 2% @ 55 – Full Formula (Cal. Gov. Code §21354) for employees who are not “new members” as defined by PEPRA. 2% @ 62 formula (Cal. Gov.
Code §7522.20) for employees who ar e “new members” as defined by PEPRA.
6. Pre-Retirement Optional Settlement 2 Death Benefit (Cal. Gov. Code §21548).
7. Credit for Unused Sick Leave (Cal. Gov. Code §20965). An employee who retires on or after October 1, 2011 who is not eligible for benefits under Article 3 89(F) Payment for Unused Sick Leave upon Separation shall receive additional service credi t for his/her unused sick leave upon retirement from the City, converted per the terms of the CalPERS contract.
B. Employer-Paid Member Contributions – Employees Who Are Not “New Members”
For employees who are not “new members” as defined by PEPRA, the City shall pay the CalPERS normal member cont ribution (as defined in §20677 of the California Government Code) into eac h employee's CalPERS account, pursuant Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 21 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
to §20691 of the Californi a Government Code. This payment will be included within the employee's compensation earnabl e that is reported to CalPERS, pursuant to §20636(c)(4) of the California Government Code.
This employer-paid member contribution shall not be considered base salary, and is not taxable income, pursuant to §414(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code.
However, should any state or federal agency alter the current income tax treatment of such payment , the consequences of such action shall be the sole responsibility of the affe cted employees, and shall in no way alter any obligation of the City toward such employees.
“New members” as defined by PEPRA are not eligible for this benefit.
C. Employee Cost Sharing of Employer Contribution Rate – Employees Who Are Not “New Members”
Effective October 29, 2011, employees who are not “n ew members” as defined by PEPRA shall contribute 7% of their compensation earnable (as defined in Government Code §20636) toward the em ployer contribution rate (“cost- sharing”). Effective December 23, 2012, the City amended its contract with CalPERS to implement the provisions of California Government Code 20516(a) to provide that a portion of the 7% contribution shall be made pursuant to Government Code Section §20516(a), with the balance of the 7% contribution made pursuant to Government Code Sect ion §20516(f). In the event of a change in the law or legal determination that any porti on of the 7% employee contribution toward the employer rate is not allowable as agreed, the employer- paid member contributions shall be reduced by whatever portion is not allowable and the parties shall meet and confer to determine the appropriate modifications of benefits to offset this change.
It is further provided that should legi slation be enacted that requires employees pay any portion of the required member contribution, then the City shall take whatever action is necessary to reduce the amount of the employee pick-up of the employer contribution by the am ount of the required payment by the employee of the member contribution.
ARTICLE 25: SOCIAL SECURITY
In the event the City and its em ployees are required to partici pate in the Federal Social Security program, the contribution designated by law to be the responsibility of the employee shall be paid in full by the employee and the City shall not be obligated to pay or "pick up" any portion thereof.
ARTICLE 26: MEDICARE
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 22 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
Employees hired by the City on or after April 1, 1986 shall pay the designated employee contribution to participate in the Medi care Program and the City shall be under no obligation to pay or "pick up" any such contributions.
ARTICLE 27: HEALTH INSURANCE
A. City Contributions - Employees
1. The City shall contribute the following monthly amounts toward the payment of premiums for employ ees and their dependents under the existing programs (or a new program providing substantially similar coverage and benefits mutually agr eed upon between the City and the Federation):
For employees enrolled in the Kaiser HMO plan:
Single $460
Two-Party $920
Family $1,300
For employees hired on or after J une 29, 1996 enrolled in the HSA PPO plan:
Single $460
Two-Party $920
Family $1,300
For employees enrolled in CIGNA HMO plans and employees hired before June 9, 1996 enrolled in the HSA PPO plan:
Single $500
Two-Party $1,050
Family $1,500
Any increases to these monthly contri butions shall be subject to future negotiations.
2. If at any time during the term of th is agreement, it is determined that the City’s contribution toward medical in surance is less than required for minimum affordable coverage under t he Affordable Care Act, the City shall, at its own discretion, incr ease any contribution by the amount necessary to meet the affordability requirements
B. City Contributions - Retirees
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 23 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
For each person regularly employed for 20 cumulative calendar years or more who retires from the City subsequent to September 30, 1995 the City shall pay the same contribution provided to active employees for employee-only coverage under the City health plan chosen by the retiree, provided, however, for persons hired by the City on or after January 1, 2012, the maximum monthly contribution paid under this paragraph shall be Two Hund red Dollars ($200.00). With respect to any such employee who retired between June 28, 1986 and September 30, 1995 the City shall pay 100% of the employee-only premium.
For each person regularly employed for t en or more cumulative calendar years but less than 20, and who retires subs equent to September 30, 1995 the City shall pay 50% of the contribution provided to active employees for employee-only coverage under the City health plan chosen by the retiree, provided, however, for persons hired by the City on or after January 1, 2012, the maximum monthly contribution paid under this paragraph shall be One Hundr ed Dollars ($100.00).
With respect to any such employee who retired between June 28, 1986 and September 30, 1995 the City shall pay 50% of the employee-only premium.
A "retiree” shall mean only those fo rmer employees who receive a CalPERS retirement allowance that has been in effect since the day after official separation from City of Fullerton employment.
This obligation to pay health insurance premiums shall end at such time as the retiree reaches age 65 or becomes eligible to enroll, automatically or voluntarily, in Medi-Cal or Medicare, whichever occu rs first. Prior to such time, this obligation shall be suspended for any period during which the retiree is receiving or is eligible to receive similar health insurance coverage at the expense of another employer (either pub lic or private). The Cit y shall have the right to require any retiree covered by this paragraph to certify annually that he/she is not receiving nor is eligible to receive any such paid health insurance benefits from another employer.
A retiree desiring to have health insur ance coverage for dependents shall remit to the City a check for the amount of dependent coverage no later than the 15th of the month preceding the effective month of coverage.
C. Opt-Out
1. An employee may "opt-out" of the City's medical plan under these conditions:
a. The employee is not receiving Medicare or Medi-Cal.
b. The employee must sign a document stating his/her desire to waive medical insurance.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 24 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
c. The employee must provide proof of other group health insurance coverage that is compliant with the Affordable Care Act, which shall be confirmed by the City each year prior to open enrollment.
d. The employee may only re-enr oll during 1) annual open enrollment, or 2) upon loss of coverage in accordance with the underwriting guidelines for each of the City's health plans.
2. Payment
a. Full-time employees shall re ceive a cash payment of $50 per pay period.
b. Part-time employees shall receive a cash payment as follows:
Cumulative Hours Worked Payment Per Pay Period
< 3,120 $0
≥ 3,120 $30.00
D. All employees on City payroll effectiv e December 27, 2019 sh all receive a one- time lump sum reimbursement of ex penditures towards health insurance and expenses in the amount of $3,000. This reimbursement shall be issued through the City’s payroll system as soon as pr actical following ratification of this Agreement. Eligible employees who se parated from the City prior to the disbursement of this reimbursement must file a claim to request payment of the reimbursement.
E. The Parties agree that the $60,000 Welln ess Program credit negotiated in the 2018 Side Letter Agreement to the prior MOU between the Parties shall be distributed equally to only t he members of the bargaini ng unit employed by the City as of January 1, 2021. The total credit shall be equally divided by the number of eligible members and sha ll be rounded down to the nearest penny.
The distribution shall be made on January 1, 2021 to the Section 125 Plans for eligible employees for their use on any of the available plan options.
DF. The City will implement a “fle x credit” credit contribution in the amount of $50 per month paid in $25 increment s for the first two pay periods of each month beginning January 2021. These “flex credi ts” shall be paid through a revised Section 125 Plan. The City and the FMEF will meet and agree regarding the scope of the Section 125 Plan options for employee use of the “flex credits.”
EG. Effective April 1, 2020, or as soon ther eafter as practical, the City will implement a voluntary benefits plan through The Standard Insurance Company. Employees Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 25 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
may opt in to plans providing supplement al benefits for Accident, Hospital and Critical Illness covered in cidents. Premiums for empl oyee selections shall be deducted from the employee’s pay on a post-tax basis.
ARTICLE 28: REIMBURSEMENT ACCOUNT PROGRAM
The City’s Reimbursement A ccount Program shall be made available to affected employees.
Pursuant to said program, an employee may request that eligible expenses be paid or reimbursed by the City out of his/her account, with the em ployee's base salary being reduced by the amount of any such payments or reimbursements.
Each employee with a payroll deduction for medical and dental insurance premiums shall have his/her salary r educed by the amount of thos e deductions, on a before-tax basis.
ARTICLE 29: LONG-TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE
A. The City shall pay 100% of the premium for a Cit y-owned Long-Term Disability insurance policy affording coverage to each active employee.
B. The policy shall have an elimination per iod of 55 calendar days of continuous disability. Anytime after the expiration of the elimination period, the employee may apply for Long-Term Disability insuranc e or may continue to use accrued leave pursuant to the City’s policy thereon.
C. The maximum benefit shall be 50% of the eligible employ ee’s PRE-DISABILITY EARNINGS as defined in the policy document, or $6,000 per month, whichever is less. This maximum benefit shall be calc ulated in accordance with policy definitions.
ARTICLE 30: LIFE INSURANCE
The City shall provide $25,000 group term life insurance for affected employees. In compliance with the City's current life insur ance contract, employees at age 70 shall have benefits reduced by 35%, and employees at age 75 shall have benefits reduced by 50%. Each employee may purchase additional City group term life insurance.
ARTICLE 31: DENTAL INSURANCE
The City shall pay the employee-only premium (but no more than $25 per month) under any group dental insurance plan administered or approved by the City.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 26 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
A retiree (as defined in Article 27B) and hi s/her eligible dependents may subscribe to a City dental plan by paying the full premium for the coverage chosen.
ARTICLE 32: VISION INSURANCE
The City shall provide vision care insurance to employees on the City sponsored Cigna medical plans, and pay an amount equal to t he employee-only premium in effect on January 1, 1991, i.e., $7.30 per month. Effective as soon as practical following ratification of this agreement, Eemployees enrolled in the City sponsored Kaiser medical plan shall be enrolled in the vision plan with the same City contribution for employee- only coverage.
Employees eligible for vision insurance may enroll eligible family members in the City sponsored vision plan at their own option and cost, payable through a payroll deduction.
Eligibility and enrollment of such family members is subject to the standard plan rules.
ARTICLE 33: SELF-INSURANCE/OTHER
The City shall have the right to provide all or any portion of the benefits presently available under any existing health, long-term di sability, dental, or vision plan through a self-insurance program or, in the case of vision insurance, via a contract with a direct provider; however, the election of such opt ion shall not cause affected employees to suffer any loss of benefits or coverage.
A medical advisory committee, to include representatives of the four major employee organizations, has been established. The committee shall meet with City representatives at least four times per year . This committee's functions shall include analysis of plan coverage and cost containment opportunities, the review of alternative approaches to medical insur ance, and communications to and from employees for the purpose of providing reasonably priced medical care. Committee recommendations shall be developed with a view toward including them in this Agreement.
ARTICLE 34: CONSOLIDATED OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILIATION ACT
Employees who are allowed to remain on a City health or dental insurance plan following separation from employment purs uant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) may be charged the maximum rate permissible by law for such coverage (presently 102% of the premium for an active employee.)
ARTICLE 35: DISCRETIONARY PERSONAL LEAVE
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 27 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
Discretionary personal leave accumulated and not used prior to the term of this Agreement will be available for employee us e until such time as the employee separates from the City. Th is discretionary personal leave will have no cash value and its use must be approved by the Department Head and not require overtime backfill.
Employees on discretionary personal leav e will be on paid status. No additional Discretionary Personal Leave will be provided during the term of this Agreement. This leave is separate and distinct from Discretionary Holiday Leave referenced in Article 367.
ARTICLE 36: HOLIDAYS
The provisions in this Article shall be in effect through June 30, 2020 except as provided in Article 43 - Work Schedules. Effective July 1, 2020, this Article shall be replaced in its entirety by Article 37:
A. Each regular full-time employee who wo rks or is absent from work with the approval of his/her department head on the work shift both before and after any such holiday shall receive the following paid holidays of eight hours each:
1. January 1, New Year's Day
2. The third Monday in February, Presidents' Day
3. The last Monday in May, Memorial Day
4. July 4, Independence Day
5. The first Monday in September, Labor Day
6. November 11, Veteran's Day
7. Thanksgiving Day
8. The Friday following Thanksgiving Day
9. December 24, Christmas Eve (if a Saturday or Sunday, the following Tuesday shall be observed)
10. December 25, Christmas Day
11. December 31, New Year's Eve
B. No other day shall be such a holiday unless it is a non-recurring holiday designated specifically by the President of the United States and/or the Governor of California, and approved by the City Council.
C. Employees Working With Regard to Holidays:
1. When a holiday falls on a Saturday an employee on a traditional Monday - Friday schedule shall, in lieu of said holiday, be permitted an absence from work with eight hours pay on the Friday immediately before said holiday.
2. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, su ch employee, in lieu of pay for said holiday, shall be permitted an absence fr om work with eight hours pay on the Monday immediately following said holiday.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 28 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
3. An employee with a workweek other than Monday through Friday shall be permitted a corresponding absence from work when a holiday falls on his/her regular shift off. That absence from work must be taken immediately preceding or following said holiday, as designated by his/her department head. If an employee’s regular work schedule precludes such absence in order to provide the usual continuous services of his/her department, the employee shall be compensated in the form of compensatory time of eight hours to be used in accordance with existing holiday comp time payoff policies.
4. When an employee is absent from work under circumstances which entitle him/her to receive sick leave benefits for any of said holidays, there shall be no double payment; instead, he/she shall be paid the holiday benefit hereunder, and shall not be charged or pai d for the sick leave benefits for such time that he/she received holiday pay.
D. Employees Working Without Regard To Holidays:
1. As an alternative to receiving holiday pay as the holidays occur, an employee who works without regard to ho lidays (e.g., Airport) may elect, at the beginning of each payroll year, to defer receipt of holiday pay until the end of that payroll year.
2. Each employee who defers cash payment for holidays shall accrue holiday leave on a biweekly basis. This leave shall be added to the employee's existing vacation balance. The employee's vacation balance shall then be reduced by t he number of hours act ually absent from work for vacation or holiday purposes. At the end of each payroll year, such employees may elect to convert up to the previous year's maximum vacation accrual for holidays into a ca sh payment at the base salary rate then in effect.
E. December 26, 2019
December 26, 2019 shall be considered a s pecial paid day off. Employees who used accrued leave balances or leave with out pay shall be eligible for a prior period leave adjustment, substituting Holiday Discretionary Leave hours as described in Article 37 for accrued leave hours or leave without pay used for the day. Employees who worked on December 26, 2019 shall be eligible for holiday discretionary paid leave time in the am ount of 9 hours or the length of the employee’s work shift, whichever is less. Employees must be on City payroll at the time the adjustment is made to be elig ible. No post separation adjustments will be made.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 29 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
ARTICLE 367: HOLIDAY LEAVE PROGRAM
Effective July 1, 2020, the Holiday provisi ons in Articles 36 and 43 shall be replaced with the following:
A. The following days shall be recogniz ed Holidays for employees of this unit:
1. January 1, New Year's Day
2. The third Monday in February, Presidents' Day
3. The last Monday in May, Memorial Day
4. July 4, Independence Day
5. The first Monday in September, Labor Day
6. November 11, Veteran's Day
7. Thanksgiving Day
8. The Friday following Thanksgiving Day
9. December 24, Christmas Eve
10. December 25, Christmas Day
11. December 31, New Year's Eve
B. No other day shall be such a holiday unless it is a non-recurring holiday designated specifically by the President of the United States and/or the Governor of California, and approved by the City Council.
C. For employees working with regard to holidays:
1. An employee who works with regard to holidays will receive holiday leave time in the amount of 9 hours or the l ength of the employee’s work shift, whichever is less, to be used when a designated City holiday occurs and employee works in a location, facility or program that is closed on the holiday, and the holiday falls on the employee’s regular work day, and the employee is not required to work. The hours will be paid on the day the holiday occurs except as provided in Article 3 67, C. 2 and 3 below. There shall be no additional cash value for holiday leave hours.
2. An employee who works with regard to holidays and is required to work on a holiday will receive in addition to his/her normal pay for the day, holiday discretionary paid leave time in the amount of 9 hours or the length of the employee’s work shift, whichever is less, to be used at a later time in accordance with rules set forth herein.
3. An employee who works with regar d to holidays will receive holiday discretionary paid leave time in the amount of 9 hours or the length of the employee’s work shift, whichever is less, when a City designated holiday falls on a day that is not a regular work day for the employee. These hours may be used at a later time in accordance with rules set forth herein.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 30 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
D. For employees working without regard to holidays:
1. Employees who are assigned to a divi sion that operates without regard to holidays (e.g., Police Records Divisi on and Airport) sha ll be entitled to be paid eight hours at their regular rate of pay for each recognized holiday.
2. As an alternative to receiving hol iday pay as the holidays occur, an employee who works wit hout regard to holida ys may elect, at the beginning of each payroll year, to defer receipt of holiday pay until the end of that payroll year. Each employee who defers cash payment for holidays shall accrue holiday leave on a b iweekly basis. These hours shall be available for employee use for paid ti me off subject to the same rules a vacation hours. At the end of each payroll year, any remaining holiday hours shall be converted into a cash pay ment at the base salary rate then in effect.
3. In addition to the 88 hours of holid ay pay an employee working without regard to holidays is entitled to re ceive in accordance with D.1. and 2. above, the employee shall receive 11 hour s of holiday discretionary leave to be used at a later time in accordance with rules set forth herein.
E. Holiday discretionary leave time receiv ed under this Article must be used during the fiscal year in which it is received. Hours not used will expire. There will be no cash value associated with the holiday discretionary leave hours received under this provision.
ARTICLE 378: VACATION
A. Accrual
1. Each employee shall accrue vacati on credit with pay in accordance with the following table:
Number of Hours
Amount of Current Serv ice Annually Biweekly
< 5 years 104 4.00
≥ 5 years 120 4.62
≥ 10 years 128 4.93
≥ 11 years 136 5.24
≥ 12 years 144 5.54
≥ 13 years 152 5.85
≥ 14 years 160 6.16
2. Vacation credit shall accrue each pay period in which the employee has worked or used paid leave except sick leave for at least one full regular Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 31 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
work shift. An employee absent on si ck leave or unpaid leave of absence for an entire pay period shall not re ceive vacation credit for that pay period.
B. Usage
1. First Vacation: A new employee ’s first vacation may not be taken until he/she has worked for 13 pay periods. Absences such as sick leave or unpaid leave for an entire pay period shall not be considered time worked for this purpose.
2. Employees hired on or after June 1, 1981 shall accrue, but not be paid for, unused vacation credits until completion of their initial probation period with the City.
3. Department Head Approval: No vacation absence with pay may be taken without approval by the department head or designee. The department head shall schedule and approve vacation for his/her employees as requested or at such other time as will achieve the most efficient functioning of the departm ent and to avoid any loss of vacation by reason of the accumulation limit provided herein.
4. Vacation may not be used when an employee is absent for personal medical reasons and has sick leave available.
C. Accumulation Limit
An employee may accumulate vacation credits in an amount up to twice his/her annual vacation allowance. Vacati on credit earned beyond the maximum is forfeited, with the following exception:
When any written request by an employee to take a vacation is refused or not acted upon by the department head, and the employee is not allowed other vacation time off to prevent a loss of va cation credits, the employee shall then be paid at the straight time salary rate then in effect not only for the time worked, but also for the vacation time that would have been credited to him/her for so working were it not for said accumulation limit. This payment shall continue until such time as the employee is permitted to take a vacation.
D. Annual Conversion
1. At the end of each payroll year, an e ligible employee may convert up to 40 hours of unused vacation time into cash, payable at the base salary rate in effect at the time of conversion. Such conversions shall be made concurrently with the annual conversion of sick leave.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 32 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
2. To be eligible, an employee must have completed his/her initial probation period; must have actually taken (not converted) at least 80 hours of vacation in the preceding payroll year ; and must have at least 80 hours of vacation remaining after such conversion.
E. Separation From Employment
An employee, except one on his/her init ial probation period with the City, who separates from employment by resignation, layoff, or otherwise, shall be paid the balance of his/her accumulated vacation cred its at the base salary rate in effect on the date of separation. In the case of the employee's death, the balance shall be paid to the employee's designee or, if no designee, to the employee's estate.
ARTICLE 389: SICK LEAVE
A. Each regular full-time employee (40 hours per workweek) shall earn and accumulate 3.69 hours of sick leave for each pay period in which the employee has worked at least one full regular work shift. An employee absent on vacation shall receive sick leave credit, but an em ployee absent on sick leave or unpaid leave of absence for an entire pay period shall not receive sick leave credit for that pay period.
Effective July 1, 2015, Eeach employee regularly scheduled to work less than 40 hours per workweek shall accrue sick leav e at the rate of three hours per pay period, up to a maximum accrual of 48 hours at any one time. For employees who were eligible to accrue sick leave wi thout limit prior to July 1, 2015, the 48 hour cap shall not apply. Any employee who converts from a regular forty-hour workweek to a workweek of less than forty hours, shall retain for use all of his/her accrued sick leave balances at the time of the workweek reduction.
B. Sick Leave Usage
Sick leave is provided so that empl oyees will not suffer financially because of inability to work due to bona fide illness or injury. The City may compel an employee who is unable to perform the dutie s of his/her position to submit to a medical examination on City time and at the City’s expense.
An employee shall be allowed to use his/her accumulated sick leave as follows:
1. Absences relating to the health or welfare of the employee:
a. Personal illness or physical incapacity;
b. Medical or dental appointments;
c. Forced quarantine in a ccordance with community health regulations.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 33 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
d. For the purposes under Labor Code section 230 and section 230.1 to make necessary arrangements for the safety and welfare of the employee in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
2. Absences relating to the health of the employee’s family:
a. Health conditions of or medical or dental appointments for the employee’s family members as required by law in a total amount not to exceed 48 hours in a payroll year.
b. The care of an employee’s new born child/children or the placement with an employee of a son or daught er for adoption or foster care within the first 12 months after bi rth or placement, for up to 96 hours.
c. The serious health condition of a family member which qualifies under the FMLA, provided that t he employee has submitted all necessary documentation to the Human Resources Department certifying the condition qualifies for FMLA.
In no event shall the total time tak en pursuant to 2a, 2b and 2c exceed 480 hours in any 12-month period. This maximum limit of 480 hours shall be reduced by any time taken purs uant to the employee’s own FMLA qualifying condition(s) within such rolling 12-month period except as otherwise required by law.
C. Approval of Sick Leave
1. Sick leave may be taken only when an employee has sick leave credits.
The first sick leave with pay may not be taken until the 90th day of City employment. No payment for si ck leave shall be made without the approval of the department head.
2. Appointments for medical, dental or vision care shall be made on the employee’s day off when practicable. Sick leave shall only be authorized for such purposes when an employee is unable to take care of such appointments on his/her day off.
3. Prior to resuming work after taking three or more consecutive shifts of sick leave, an employee shall su bmit a physician's writte n certification of the medical necessity for his/her absence from work and a written release stating that he/she is able to perform his/her normal or modified job duties.
For example, an employee absent on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday must provide this release before resuming work on Thursday.
If the absence of three or more cons ecutive shifts is for family illness (See B2 above), the employee shall submit certification from the family member’s attending physician of the medical condition during the length of Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 34 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
absence for which paid leave is request ed. The physician’s certification shall verify that the family member had an illness, injury or medical procedure during the period of time fo r which paid leave is requested.
However, the certification shall not be required to include a diagnosis or description of injury or treatment.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 35 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
D. Bereavement Leave
The death of a member of the employee' s immediate family shall entitle the affected employee to be absent for three sh ifts (not to exceed 27 hours) and such absence shall not be charged to sick leave. An employee may also use two shifts (not to exceed 18 hours) of accumulated sick leave per incident for bereavement purposes, and t he City Manager may authoriz e up to an additional five shifts (not to exceed 45 hours) of sick leave usage for bereavement purposes when appropriate.
The definition of "immediate family" fo r the purpose of bereav ement leave shall include the employee's spouse, parents, children, stepch ildren, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandpar ent, grandchild, stepparent, legal guardian and others as required by law.
E. Annual Optional Conversion of Sick Leave
Employees hired on or after June 29, 1996 are not eligible for this conversion program.
1. A person who has been regularly employed by the City for the full preceding calendar year and has at least 24 hours of unused sick leave remaining from the preceding payroll year, may convert a fixed percentage of the unused portion of those credits to either of the following:
a. Up to 50% to vacation credits; or
b. Up to 50% to cash to be paid at the employee's base salary rate.
2. An eligible employee who does not use sick leave during the preceding payroll year may convert up to 60% to cash or up to 50% vacation and up to 10% cash to be paid at the employee's base salary rate.
F. Payment for Unused Sick Leave Upon Separation
Payment for unused sick leave upon separ ation shall be paid to persons regularly appointed to any City classifica tion on or before August 31, 1983 and employed continuously thereafter. All others are ineligible for this benefit.
1. If an eligible employee dies or retires, 55% of the unused sick leave credits accumulated will be paid to t he employee or, in the case of the employee's death, to the employee's designee or, if no designee, to the employee's estate. Such payment will be at the base salary rate in effect at the time of such separation.
2. An eligible employee who separates after ten years of continuous service for any reason other than death or reti rement shall be compensated for Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 36 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
50% of the unused balance of all accumulated sick leave credits in excess of 960 hours, to be paid at the base salary rate in effect at the time of such separation.
G. All sick leave credits not taken as sick leave or otherwise converted shall remain within the employee's accumulated sick leave credits.
ARTICLE 3940: CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS LEAVE BANK
The City shall maintain its Catastrophi c Illness Leave Bank, as provided in Administrative Policy No. 104.
ARTICLE 401: WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROGRAM
A. Supplemental Pay
1. Unless employment is terminated, a regular full-time employee absent due to illness or injury resulting from his/her City employment, for which the employee received temporary total di sability payments under California Workers' Compensation laws , shall be paid his/her fu ll salary only for the first 1,040 cumulative hours of each abs ence. This salary payment period shall not extend beyond the date temp orary disability payments are terminated. The employee's salary sha ll be reduced by the total amount the employee receives as temporary total disability payments, and such supplemental pay shall not be charged against his/her sick leave credits.
Persons employed on a 3/4-time basis shall receive a cumulative total of 780 hours, and persons employed on a ha lf-time basis shall receive a cumulative total of 520 hours.
2. A full-time employee who suffers a te mporary disability as a result of what is interpreted under state Workers' Compensation laws as a separate illness or injury, regardless of whether the illness or injury is to the same or a different part of the body, shall be entitled to an additional 1,040 hours cumulative time of supplemental pay (pro rata time if a part-time employee) for each such separate illness or injury.
3. Once the employee has exhausted all of the benefits described in subparagraphs 1. and 2. abov e, the employee shall be entitled, at his/her request, to use any accumulated sick l eave credits to pay the difference between his/her full salary and any amounts paid him/her under said Workers’ Compensation laws until his/her accumulated sick leave credits are exhausted.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 37 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
4. Employees on injured-on-duty status shall charge absences for doctor, therapy or follow-up visits which occur after July 24, 1995 to injury-on-duty leave - i.e., the supplemental pay program described in this Article.
5. The City may deny supplemental pay during the first three shifts of temporary disability leave to any employee who, in management's opinion, abuses sick leave. In such circumstances, the employee may elect to use sick leave, vacation or leave without pay. The grievance procedure in such cases shall end with the City Manager.
B. The anniversary date of any employee who is absent from work as a result of an illness or injury resulting from the performa nce of duties in the course of his/her employment, shall not be affected as long as he/she is receiving an amount equal to his/her full pay. During such time, the employee shall continue to accrue vacation and sick leave benefits in the sa me manner as though he/she were not absent.
C. Employees shall return to the Cit y all City-funded pay ments whose value exceeds the employee's regular base salary.
ARTICLE 412: JURY DUTY
When an employee is duly summoned to jury dut y, he/she shall receive her/his regular pay for any regularly scheduled working hour s spent in actual performance of such service. If the employee receives $50 or mo re for such service, the employee shall remit to the City, all fees and allowances payable for such service less reimbursements from the court for meals, travel or lodging.
The schedule of an employee w hose regular shift is not 8: 00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. shall be considered to be 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. for each day such an employee is required to attend jury duty. An employee who serves le ss than seven hours of jury duty on any given day may be required to return to work to complete an eight-hour shift.
Employees who have the option to request call-in juror status shall exercise that option.
ARTICLE 423: WORK SCHEDULES
A. Time Worked
Each full-time employee shall work or be on approved leave 40 hours during each FLSA work period, and 80 hours duri ng each City pay period. Part-time employees shall work between 20-39 hours per FLSA work period. Employees shall work such additional time as may, from time to time, be required in the judgment of the City to serve the citizens of the city.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 38 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
B. Work Schedules
The work schedules currently in use are generally as shown on Appendix C. The actual schedule worked by an employee, group of employees, work unit, office, division or department is determined by t he City, and is subject to change or adjustment according to each department's business needs.
1. An employee's schedule may be changed at any time by the City with 14 days notice, except that any change in the work schedule for the year-end holidays (i.e., Winter Closure) shall be announced before Thanksgiving.
2. During an urgent situation (as determined by the department head or his/her designee), the City may direct the employee to temporarily work a different schedule on a 12-hour notice.
3. An employee who believes that hardship will result from his/her assignment to a particular schedule may appeal to the department head.
C. Alternate Work Schedules
For employees on a work schedule othe r than the Traditional schedule (see Appendix C), all existing perso nnel policies, rules and regulations shall continue to apply, except as provided below. If any conflict or pr oblem results from applying these exceptions, the existing policies, rules and regulations as described elsewhere in this Agreement shall prevail.
1. Paid Leave
Employees shall continue to accrue vacation and sick leave in accordance with the current accrual ra tes. When vacation or sick leave is used the employee shall be charged based on actual time taken, calculated hour- for-hour.
2. Holidays
a. An employee on a 9/80, a 4/10 or a 3/12 work schedule shall receive a paid holiday of nine hours for each ho liday (defined in Article 36A) that falls or is observed on the City’s synchronized nine-hour workday, or eight hours if the holiday falls or is obser ved on the City’s synchronized eight- hour workday. When a holiday falls on the City’s synchronized Friday closure day, such employees sha ll not receive any holiday pay or additional time off for that day.
b. Saturday Holidays - When a holiday falls on a Saturday following a synchronized 9/80 closure day, an employee on a 9/80 Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 39 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
schedule shall be permitted an absence from work with nine hours pay if taken on that employee’s regularly scheduled nine-hour workday, or eight hours pay if taken on that employee’s scheduled eight-hour workday. All employees who work a 4/10 or a 3/12 schedule shall be permitted an absence from work with nine hours pay . Such absence shall be taken on any regular workday between the Monday immediately following the holiday and the second working Friday in December of that calendar year.
The specific day off is subject to approval of the department head.
If the Saturday holiday does not follow a 9/80 Friday closure, employees on a 9/80, a 4/10 or a 3/12 schedule shall be permitted an absence from work with eight hours pay within that same pay period.
c. Effective July 1, 2020, this section (Article 43, C, 2) shall no longer be in effect and shall be replaced with Article 37.)
23. Overtime
a. The parties intend that implem entation of an alternate work schedule does not create any addition al overtime obligation under this Agreement or the FLSA.
b. For employees who work without regard to holidays for CalPERS purposes, all briefings, meal periods and breaks are included within the work shift, and are considered time worked for the purpose of calculating eligibility for over time compensation. Any such employee shall not be entitled to ov ertime compensation if his/her duties or responsibilities preclude him/her from taking a meal period or break.
34. Training Conference Leave
a. When an employee attends a seminar, conference or training which requires less time than normally wo rked (e.g., an employee whose shift is nine hours attends a training seminar of eight hours duration) the additional time away fr om the City shall be charged to the employee’s vacation or comp time account or to unpaid leave if no paid leave is available. Alter natively, the employee and his/her supervisor may make a schedul e adjustment to ensure no compensation is lost. Travel ti me shall be compensated pursuant to applicable law.
b. When an employee is scheduled to attend a conferenc e or training program Monday through Friday, hi s/her work hours will be 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., M onday through Friday, so there is no issue that Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 40 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
he/she is eligible for overtime while attending the conference or training.
45. Military Leave
An employee granted military leave s hall not be granted overtime when such leave extends beyond the empl oyee’s regularly scheduled workdays per week to his/her regular day off.
56. Jury Duty
An employee granted jury duty leave s hall not be granted overtime when such leave extends beyond the empl oyee’s regularly scheduled workdays per week to his/her regular day off.
67. Injury on Duty
While an employee is on injury on duty status, his/her work hours will be 8:00 a. m. to 5:00 p. m. , Monday through Friday, so there is no issue that he/she is eligible for overtime wh ile receiving treatment or keeping doctor’s appointments.
78. Employees shall schedul e all nonemergency, nonurgent medical and dental appointments on the employee’s regular day off when practicable.
89. Effective March 24, 2007, employees assigned to the Downtown Cleanup crew who work a 9/80 work schedule and begin their regular workday at 3:00 a.m. shall be entitled to receive Graveyard Shift differential pay as specified in Article 16: Increment Pay, paragraph A.1.b.
D. Daylight Savings Time
The City shall adjust work schedules to avoid any loss or gain in compensation which may result from changing to or from Daylight Savings Time.
ARTICLE 434: WORK SCHEDULE REDUCTION
Where service to the public permits a full-time employee may reduce his/her work schedule. Such reductions must result in cost savings to the City and are subject to approval by the City Manager, the Director of Human Resources, and the affected department head.
A work schedule reduction can take either of two forms:
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 41 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
1. The policy regarding time off will be relaxed to allow employees to take unpaid time off in lieu of vacation; insurance, increment pay, leave accruals and retirement will not be affe cted. This will be subject to the following:
a. Unpaid time must not exceed 10% of any pay period.
b. An employee will not be allowed to exceed his/her vacation maximum. In other words, when the employee is at or near the vacation accumulation limit, vacation must be used and unpaid time will not be authorized.
c. Taking unpaid time shall not re sult in overtime pay or comp time.
2. When an employee wants to take o ff more than 10% of the time, he/she may, at the discretion of the City, reduce his/her schedule to three quarter time or half time. In this catego ry, there is no reduction in insurance benefits but paid leave accruals, incr ement pay and tuition reimbursement are reduced to three-quarter or half- time and CalPERS service credit is reduced accordingly. Sick leave accrual shall be at the rate applicable to less-than-full-time employees under Ar ticle 39, Section A during the work reduction
3. To be eligible for this program , an employee must ha ve passed his/her original probation period.
ARTICLE 445: TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES
Persons temporarily hired into classificati ons represented by the Federation who work equal to or in excess of 80 hours per pay period fo r six consecutive months shall be converted to regular employee status.
ARTICLE 456: BENEFITS FOR PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
A. Persons appointed on a part-time basis after June 30, 1989 shall receive only the benefits listed below:
Event Benefit
Upon appointment Elig ible for the following on a basis proportionate to hours worked - i.e., 50% or 75% of the full-
time rate – under the same rules and practices
which apply to full-time employees:
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 42 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
a. Increment Pay
b. Tuition Reimbursement
c. Uniform Allowance
d. Jury Duty Pay
e. Tool Allow ance/Reimbursement
Eligible to accrue and use vacation credit in
accordance with the following table and existing
rules and practices:
Number of Hours – Biweekly
Amount of 50% 75%
Current Service Employee Employee
< 5 years 2.000 3.000
≥ 5 years 2.310 3.460
≥ 10 years 2.465 3.698
≥ 11 years 2.620 3.930
≥ 12 years 2.770 4.155
≥ 13 years 2.925 4.387
≥ 14 years 3.080 4.620
Vacation credits may be used in accordance with
the provisions of Article 3 78 A2, B1, B3, C and
E.
Sick leave shall accrue at the rate applic able to less-than-full-time employees under Article 389, Section A.
Employees who regularly work 30 or mo re hours per week, or assigned to a City position requiring coverage under the Affo rdable Care Act, shall be eligible to receive the same contribution to the Cit y’s health insurance plan as the City contributes for full-time employees.
The City shall have the option to provide greater benefits or to provide the above benefits at an earlier date to a pers on employed in an FLSA exempt classification, as listed in Appendix A.
B. If a part-time employee becomes full- time, the time served as a part-time employee shall be counted for purposes of vacation accrual.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 43 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
ARTICLE 467: PAYROLL SYSTEM
The City shall utilize the biweekly pay syst em. Pay periods sha ll begin at 12:01 a.m. every other Saturday, and end at midnight on the second Friday (i.e., 14 calendar days later) thereafter. Paydays shall occur on the Friday following the conclusion of each pay period. The one exception to this is when that Friday is a City holiday, the payday shall fall on the preceding business day.
Each affected employee shall participate in the City’s direct deposit payroll program.
The payroll year begins on the first day of th e biweekly pay period that is paid in a new calendar year, and ends on the last day of the pay period that is paid within the same calendar year.
ARTICLE 478: VENDING MACHINES
The Federation may use City property and utilities to provide vending machines for use by affected employees, and the Federation shall receive the profits therefrom. The City retains the right to approve any changes in location or number of vending machines.
The Federation shall hold the City harmless fr om the existence of any and all such vending machines and from the use and operation thereof; from the consumption of any product dispensed thereby; and from any malf unction, personal injury, property damage or accidents resulting from the existence, use or operation thereof.
ARTICLE 489: UNIT MEMBERSHIP
A. Dues Check-off
1. Federation membership dues or se rvice fees shall be deducted by the City from each employee’s paycheck. The City shall promptly transmit the dues and fees so deducted to the Feder ation. There shall be only one Federation deduction per pay period per employee.
2. The Federation shall notif y the City, in writing, as to the amount of dues and fees required of all employees. Once per fi scal year, the City will, upon written request of the Federation, change the amount of the Federation deduction to reflect any c hange in Federation dues or fees.
Any other changes in th e Federation deduction am ount(s) shall be made only upon written request of the empl oyee via the City-authorized payroll deduction card.
3. Whenever the Federation notifies t he City that there has been a change in the amount required to be deducted for dues or fees, the Federation shall Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 44 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
provide certification t hat the employees have been notified of such change.
4. The City assumes no responsibi lity for keeping itemized records of deductions.
5. The City shall provid e the Federation a monthly list of regular employees newly hired into classifications represented by the Federation.
6. When a prospective employee w hose position is r epresented by the Federation is checked in by the Human Resources Department, he/she will be given an information packet concerning Federation membership.
The Federation will provide this pa cket to the City. The design and packaging of the information are subject to City approval.
B. New Employee Orientation
The parties acknowledge that the City provides new employee orientation (onboarding) to each new employee hired by the City. The FMEF will be provided with not less than 10 calendar days’ advan ced notice of the time, date, and location of the onboarding of any new em ployee represented by the FMEF. The FMEF will be given 15 minutes at the end of the new employee onboarding in a room designated by the City for no more than one (1) FMEF representative to present FMEF membership informati on to the onboarding employee or employees. Human Resources staff will not be present during the FMEF portion of the onboarding. For th e purpose of training, the FMEF may have two representatives participate in orientation process with prior approval of the City.
The FMEF will maintain a Membership Co mmittee comprised of representatives authorized by the FMEF to present the membership information to new employees. Employees eligible to serve as committee members shall be working in positions that allow the employee to leave his/her work station for the purpose of participating in the onboar ding without disruption or stoppage of City business or without creating a need to reassign or reschedule a City work crew. The FMEF shall notify of the City of em ployees appointed to the Membership Committee.
The City will provide appropria te Release Time not to exceed 30 minutes to the FMEF Membership Committee representat ive presenting the FMEF membership information during a scheduled onboarding. Upon assignment of a member to an onboarding event, the FMEF shall advise the Membership Committee member’s immediate supervisor at least five (5 ) days prior to the onboarding. The FMEF Membership Committee member shall be released for this purpose unless unusual operational needs inte rfere with such release in which case the FMEF representative’s immediate supervisor will provide a wr itten explanation of why release could not be approved. If the FM EF Membership Committee member is Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 45 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
not released due to department operationa l needs and no other Membership Committee member is available for t he onboarding, the FMEF Membership Committee member may arra nge an alternative date and time to meet with the newly hired employee within the first two (2) weeks of employment, subject to the 30-minutes onboarding and FMEF Release Time requirements as stipulated above.
C. Employee Contact Information
The City shall provide the FMEF with Cit y maintained information concerning new employee name, job title, departm ent, work location, work telephone number, home telephone numbe r, personal cellular telephone number, personal email address, and home address within 30 days of hire.
In addition, on a quarterly basis, the City will provide the FMEF wi th a digital file containing the same information for all employees in FMEF represented classifications.
D. Indemnification
The Federation shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City and its officials, representatives and agents against any liability or claim of liability that arises or is claimed to ar ise out of or by reason of action taken or not taken by the City in complying with the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE 4950: PERSONNEL FILES
A. Each department shall keep a personnel file for each affected employee within that department.
B. An employee shall have the right to in spect and review his/her file at reasonable intervals.
C. A copy of any commendations, written warnings or reprim ands, disciplinary action, personnel action forms and performance reviews placed into the employee's personnel file shall be provided to the employee.
D. An employee shall have the right to respond in writing to any information contained in his/her file. This reply shall become a permanent part of the file.
E. Upon written request from the employee, any adverse material and references thereto which resulted in non-Skelly disciplin e (i.e., letters of reprimand, letters of counseling and supervisor action reports, but not performance re views) shall be removed from the file under these conditions:
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 46 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
1. There has been no recurrence of si milar conduct or other documented unacceptable conduct within the subsequent five years.
2. There is no discipli ne currently pending and the employee is not on notice to improve.
ARTICLE 501: SUBSTANCE ABUSE
A. It is the responsibility of all affected employees to cooperate to protect the lives, personal safety and property of coworkers and fellow citizens. The parties hereto and all affected employees shall take a ll reasonable steps to accomplish these goals and to minimize potential dangers.
B. It is in the best intere st of the City, th e Federation, affect ed employees and the public to ensure that affected empl oyees do not appear for work under the influence of drugs or alcoho l or possess illegal substances or alcohol while at work, because such conduct is likely to re sult in reduced productivity, an unsafe working environment, poor morale and incr eased potential liability to the City. "Under the influence of drugs" means the us e of any illegal substance or misuse of a prescribed drug in a manner and to a degree that impairs the employee's work performance or the ability to use City property or equipment safely.
C. The City pays for a counseling servic e for employees who have problems with drugs and/or alcohol. The City and the Federation agree that every effort shall be made by the City and the Federation to refer employees who have such problems to this counseling service for assistance.
D. The City may compel an employee who is unable to perform the duties of his/her position to submit to a medical exam ination on City time and at the City's expense.
E. In addition to the policy descri bed above, a substance screen shall be administered when an employee takes a medical exam for the Department of Motor Vehicles operator's license. This ex am is currently required of employees who must have a Class A, B or C li cense with a Hazardous Materials Endorsement, or a Class C license with Special Certificates.
F. The City shall have the right to implem ent the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations for random drug and alcohol testing of employees who are subject to these regulations.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 47 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
ARTICLE 512: USE OF TOBACCO
In addition to the policy set forth in City directives, affected employees shall not use tobacco products in any form inside City build ings, structures, vehicles, and/or in plain view of the public while on duty.
ARTICLE 523: CONTRACTING OUT
The City shall meet-and-confer with the Federation on the potential impact on affected employees of a “City decision” to "contract out" when such a decision would affect the wages, hours or working cond itions of affected employees in budgeted positions. The meet-and-confer process sha ll commence at such time as the City Council receives a study on the advisability of going out to bi d for this purpose. The study shall be submitted to the FMEF president within 48 hours of Council’s receipt of the study.
This provision shall in no way diminish the City's right to contract and sub-contract as provided in Article 2.
ARTICLE 534: LAYOFFS
If the City decides layoffs are necessary, t he parties shall meet- and-confer to discuss alternatives to layoffs.
Should layoffs cause bumping, the reverse order of the normal line of promotion may be used for the bumping process. The normal line of promot ion is the normal upward promotional path from one position to the next. See “Normal Line of Promotion” Human Resources Department Policy/Procedure, No. 061, which augments the City’s Personnel Rules contained in Resolutions 8485 and 8521.
The City will meet informally with FMEF as early as possible to discuss potential layoffs, prior to making any decision to lay off em ployees. FMEF agrees that this/these meeting(s) are not fo rmal negotiations, and are not subject to impasse procedures or any of the other requirements of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Gov. Code section 3500, et seq.). The parties further agree that if the City decides to lay off employees, the terms of Article 5 34 shall apply. The parties further agree that Article 54 remains in full force and effect and nothing in this agreement im pacts or limits Article 54 in any way whatsoever.
ARTICLE 545: DISCIPLINARY ACTION
In addition to the procedures set forth in cu rrent policy and practice, an employee may elect, when offered by the City, to reduce his/her vacation balance in lieu of suspension.
There shall be no reference to sick leave use in unrelated discipline cases.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 48 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
Appeals:
A. When an employee seeks to appeal discipl inary action (following the provision of all procedural safeguards required to be provided prior to the imposition of discipline) he/she shall initiate the forma l Grievance Procedure by filing a written grievance at the level of the authority which has effectively imposed the discipline. This appeal must be receiv ed by said authority within 14 calendar days after the employee's receipt of the document which imposes such discipline.
B. Should an employee wish to appeal t he consequences of disciplinary action beyond the City Manager stage, he/she shall submit his/ her written request for arbitration to the City's Human Resources Director within 14 calendar days following receipt of the City Manager's written decision.
C. The only discipline cases that ca n go beyond the City M anager level are appeals from disciplinary action where the Ske lly procedure was utiliz ed. Performance appraisals shall not be appealed beyond the City Manager level.
D. Appeals of disci plinary action may be filed only by an employee or the Federation with the employee’s written consent.
ARTICLE 556: GRIEVANCES
A. Purpose: To provide a means by which employee grievances may be considered, discussed and resolved at the cl osest possible level to the point of origin.
B. A grievance is any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of this Memorandum of Agreement, the City’s Personnel Rules, or of departmental rules or regulations governing personnel practice s or working conditions, or of the practical consequences of a City rights decision on wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
A grievant is an employee or the Federat ion. An employee may proceed with or without his/her Federation representative.
Grievances shall be presented in accor dance with the procedures set forth below and as provided in paragraph E. Grievances shall be waived for all purposes if not presented to the supervisor within 14 calendar days from the date the aggrieved employee knew, or by reasonabl e diligence could have known, of the occurrence of the act or omission on which the grievance is based.
C. Informal procedure: A grievant shall first discuss the issue with the employee’s immediate supervisor without delay. If the problem is not resolved to the Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 49 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
grievant’s satisfaction, he/she shall have the right to discuss the grievance with the supervisor's immediate superior. Ev ery effort shall be made to resolve the problem in this manner.
D. Formal procedure: If informal efforts have not been successful in resolving the grievance, the grievant may submit an appeal in writ ing within seven calendar days of the response given in the informal procedure.
To the best of the employee’s abilit y, the written appeal shall contain an explanation of the issue(s) in dispute as well as a proposed remedy. The appeal shall set forth the date of the informal discussion.
1. First level of appeal: The appeal shal l be submitted to the grievant's immediate supervisor, who shall render a decision and comments in writing within seven calendar days of receipt of the appeal.
Failure of the employee to take fu rther action within seven calendar days after receipt of the first level decision or within a total of 14 calendar days if no decision is rendered will bar further consideration.
2. Department review: Upon receip t of the appeal, t he department head should discuss the grievance with the grievant, his/her r epresentative, if any, the supervisor and the Directo r of Human Resources. The department head shall render his/her decision and comments in writing and return them to the grievant withi n seven calendar days after receiving or hearing the appeal, whichever occurs later.
If the grievant does not agree with t he decision reached, or if no answer has been received within seven calend ar days, he/she may present the appeal in writing to the City Manager. Failure of the employee to take further action within seven calendar da ys after receipt of the decision, or within a total of 14 calendar days if no decision is rendered will bar further consideration of the appeal.
3. City Manager review: The City Manager shall discuss the grievance with the employee, his/her r epresentative, if any, and with other appropriate persons. The City Manager may designat e a committee or officer not in the employee’s normal line of supervi sion to advise him concerning the appeal. The City Manager shall render a decision in writing to the employee within 14 calend ar days after receivin g or hearing the appeal, whichever occurs later.
4. Grievance Mediation - This procedur e is available after the City Manager level of the grievance procedure is completed.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 50 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
a. Either party not satisfied wit h the City Manager's decision may, within 14 calendar days following receipt of the City Manager’s decision, submit a written request to the other party for mediation of the dispute. Mediation shall be voluntary by both the City and the grievant.
b. Grievance mediation is a supplem ent to, and not a substitute for, the steps of the griev ance procedure outlined in this Article. Any deadlines for the grievance procedure shall be tolled to permit the grievance to proceed to arbi tration should mediation be unsuccessful.
c. If the parties agree to mediati on, a request shall be submitted to the California State Mediation and C onciliation Service (“CSMCS”) in writing. If the CSMCS is unable to serve in a timely manner, the parties shall agree on another mediator . Any costs of the mediator or the mediation process shall be divided equally between the City and the grievant.
d. The function of the mediator sha ll be to attempt to assist the parties to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution of the dispute. The mediator has no authority to compel resolution of the grievance.
e. Proceedings before t he mediator shall be info rmal and the Rules of Evidence shall not apply. No record, stenographic or tape recordings of the meetings will be made. The mediator's notes are confidential and their content shall not be revealed. Nothing said or done by the parties or the mediator during the grievance mediation session can be attributed to the other party in any subsequent arbitration, court or government agency proceeding.
f. The mediator may conduct t he conference utilizing all of the customary techniques associated wit h mediation, including the use of separate caucuses.
g. In the event that no settlem ent is reached during the mediation process, the mediator may provide the parties, either in separate or joint session, with an oral advis ory opinion unless both parties agree that no such opinion is necessary.
h. If a satisfactory resolution of the dispute is achieved, the parties shall sign a written statement to t hat effect and thus waive the right of either party to any further appeal
i. If either party does not accept the mediator’s opinion, the matter may then proceed to an arbitrator in the manner and form provided Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 51 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
in this Article. Such arbitrat ion hearings will be held as if the grievance mediation had not taken place. The me diator may not serve as the arbitrator
5. Arbitration - if either party (subjec t to the provisions of E6 below) so requests, a professional arbitrator shall hear the grievance on its merits for the purpose of attempting to resolve the dispute in a satisfactory manner.
Such requests for arbitration must be filed in writing wit h the Director of Human Resources within 14 calendar days following receipt of the City Manager's written decision. Failure to do so will bar consideration by an arbitrator. Selection of the arbitrator sha ll be in accordance with procedures acceptable to both parties.
This paragraph shall not diminish the Cit y Council’s authority to review the arbitration decision.
The City Council shall have the right to refuse arbitration if, in its judgment, the issue to be submitted to arbitrat ion has recently been reviewed by a professional arbitrator.
6. The arbitrator, after hearing all pertinent evidence and testimony, shall make recommendations to the City Manager and the parties involved.
The arbitrator shall limit his/her findings and recommendations strictly to the interpretation or application of this Agreement or of Rules and Regulations governing personnel practi ces or working conditions, or the practicable consequences of a City rights decision on wages, hours and other terms and conditions of em ployment, and shall make no recommendation:
a. Contrary, or inconsistent with or modifying or varying in any way the provisions of the Employer-Employee Relations Resolution.
b. Inconsistent with the City's duties, responsibilities, or obligations as provided by law.
c. Recommending any wage increase or decrease.
d. Recommending the payment of back wages for more than 14 calendar days prior to the date th e grievant knew, or by reasonable diligence could have known, of the occurrence of the act or omission on which the grievance is based.
The arbitrator shall make no recomm endation reversing, overruling, or otherwise modifying any City decision or omission except after finding 1) the City decision violated some express provision of the Resolution or 2) Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 52 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
the City decision or omi ssion was, under the circum stances, arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory or otherwise unreasonable.
7. If either party is still in disagreem ent, it may request that the City Council decide the matter. Such requests must be filed in writing with the Human Resources Director within 35 calendar days from the date that party was served with the arbitrator's recommendations.
The City Council shall be guided by the arbitrator’s recommendations in reaching its decision. The Council shall act upon the arbitrator's recommendations within 91 calendar days of the Director of Human Resource’s receipt of a request for it to do so. The City shall notify the employee of the Council’s action by first class mail. Such notice shall be postmarked no later than three calendar days after the Council action.
E. Conduct of Grievance Procedure:
1. The time limits specified above ma y be extended to a specified date by mutual written agreement of the parti es concerned. Unless so extended, failure to timely process a grievance shall bar further processing of such grievance.
2. The employee may request the assist ance of another person of his/her own choosing in preparing and present ing his/her appeal at any level of review.
3. The grievant and/or his/her representative ma y use a reasonable amount of work time as determined by t he appropriate supervisor or department head in conferring on and presenting the appeal. Ho wever, no employee shall absent him/herself without first being excused by his/her supervisor.
4. Employees shall be assured freedom fr om reprisal for using the grievance procedure.
5. The settlement terms of a grievanc e which is processed by an employee individually or by an informally recognized employee organization shall not conflict with the express provisions of this Agreement.
6. With the exception of any arbitrat or, administrative, and court reporter's appearance fees and the costs of tr anscriptions, the expenses of arbitration shall be borne equally by the City and the Federation. With regard to the arbitrator, administrative, and court reporter appearance fees and the costs of transcriptions, the Cit y shall pay these expenses if the arbitrator sustains the grievance; however, if the arbitrator denies the grievance, the Federation shall pay t hese expenses. In the event there is no prevailing party, the parties shall bear these specific expenses equally.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 53 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
The parties recognize that pursuant to Jones v. Omnitrans (2004) 125 Cal.
App.4th 273; 22 Cal. Rptr.3 rd 706 only the Federation may pursue arbitration on behalf of an employee. As such, the Federation is responsible for the costs of the arbitrator, not t he individual employee. (The parties recognize that the case of Florio v. City of Ontario (2005) 130 Cal. App. 4th 1462; 30 Cal. Rptr. 3rd 841 does not apply to this cost sharing provision.)
7. For purposes of this Article, “recei pt” shall be defined as personal delivery or seven days after deposit in the U.S. mail certified.
ARTICLE 57: STAFFING
The City has the right to convert up to se ven positions to nonregular status following routine attrition. This right is separate and distinct from any staffing changes made as a result of any other managemen t rights decisions to reduce the number of regular employees; e.g., Contracting Out (Articles 2 and 53) or Layoffs (Articles 2 and 54).
ARTICLE 568: PERSONNEL RULES
The City’s Personnel Rules (currently cont ained in Resolution No. 8485) shall be modified as follows, for employees appointed on or after October 12, 2002:
Section 12.A: Probationary Period – Duration
Original: 12 months
Promotional: 6 months
Lateral: N/A
Rehire: 3 months
Extension #1: 2 months
Extension #2: 2 months
Maximum: 16 months
Section 15.C: Advancement of Base Salary Step
A newly appointed employee may be incr eased to the next step upon successful completion of the probation period.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 54 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
ARTICLE 579: SAFETY REST PERIOD
A. An employee shall be granted an author ized safety rest period after being on duty sixteen (16) or more c onsecutive hours, excluding m eal time breaks, if the employee so requests such a rest period.
1. An employee who takes an authorized safety rest period during hours that would be part of his/her regularly schedul ed work shift shall be allowed, at his/her option to go on authorized unpai d status or use accrued vacation leave or compensatory time off for the rest period hours that overlap with the employee’s regular work shift.
2. If the employee is a Class A or Cla ss B licensed driver, the rest period shall be at least 10 hours.
3. If such an authorized safety rest per iod overlaps an employee’s regular work shift, the rest period must be structured such that it encompasses the balance of the impacted work shift, or with management approval, returns the employee to work at for least four hours of the regular work shift.
4. When possible and upon mutual agr eement, an employee may be allowed to alter his/her impacted work shift to begin later in the day, thus eliminating or reducing the impact of the authorized safety rest period.
B. Effective July 1, 2013, an employee may be required to take a safety rest period under any of the following circumstances:
1. If deemed necessary to ensure adequate staffing levels for regular work shifts.
2. If deemed necessary to ensure avai lability of Class A or Class B licensed drivers.
3. If deemed necessary to protect the heal th and safety of the employee or his/her coworkers.
4. As required by law, stat ute, ordinance or regulation.
If an employee is required to take a safety rest period during hour s that are part of his/her regularly scheduled work shift he/she shall be paid at his/her regular rate of pay for those hours of the required safety rest period that overlap his/her regularly scheduled work shift.
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 55 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
Appendix A: Federation Salary Schedule
Appendix B: Exceptional Performance Pay Policy Section 053 Appendix C: Federation Work Schedules
DATE:
FOR THE FULLERTON MUNICIPAL FOR THE CITY OF FULLERTON
EMPLOYEES FEDERATION
________________________________
Ed BargasIan Timmons Eddie ManfroGretchen R. Beatty
FMEF President Interim Director of Human Resources
________________________________
David MalloneeEdward Bargas Ellis Chang
FMEF1st Vice President Directo r of Administrative Services
___________________________________________
Matt Esqueda
FMEF 2nd Vice President
Lindsey Halvorson
FMEF Treasurer
Doug Pickard
Director, Professional
Edgar RosalesDavid Mallonee
FMEF Board MemberDirector, Maintenance
Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation Page 56 Resolution No. 20220-XX17
______________________________
Veronica Rodarte
OCEA, Lead Negotiator