STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date:
June 9, 2026
CONSENT
14 SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION (1) AMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL TO ADD A NEW CITY COUNCIL POLICY 4.1 REGARDING
UNPAID LEAVES OF ABSENCE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES, AND AMENDING EXISTING CITY COUNCIL POLICIES 1.1 AND 1.3 RELATING TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS; (2) RESCINDING PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS INCONSISTENT WITH POLICY 4.1; AND (3) FINDING THAT SUCH ACTION
DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A PROJECT UNDER CEQA
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Adopt the attached Resolution titled, “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADDING POLICY 4.1 REGARDING LEAVES OF ABSENCE TO, AND AMENDING POLICIES 1.1 AND 1.3 RELATING TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS FOR,
THE CITY COUNCIL POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL, RESCINDING ANY PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL ACTION INCONSISTENT WITH POLICY 4.1, AND FINDING
SUCH ACTION IS NOT A PROJECT UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT”; and
2. Find that the recommended action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378 as the recommended action does not constitute a “project” for purpose of CEQA.
SUMMARY OF THE MATTER
This report requests that the City Council (1) add Policy 4.1 to the City Council Policy and Procedures Manual, relating to unpaid leaves of absence for City employees, and (2) amend Policies 1.1 and 1.3 of the City Council Policy and Procedures Manual, relating to City Council meetings procedures and scheduling.
These proposed additions and amendments are part of the City’s ongoing effort to develop and consolidate a clear, transparent, and comprehensive City Council Policy and Procedures Manual.
Currently, Personnel Rule 8.16 and Administrative Policy Manual Policy 2-15 provide guidelines on unpaid leaves of absence for City employee. In short, these documents posit that department heads are authorized to grant unpaid leaves of absence for up to one week, the City Manager is authorized to grant unpaid leaves of absence for up to four months, and the City Council must approve any leaves of absence for more than four months via an agenda item at a public meeting.
Practically, such City Council review and action to grant a leave of absence is untenable as requiring a City employee to publicly disclose the reason for a leave of absence request and then have the City Council deliberate on such request during a public meeting is rife with potential pitfalls. Privacy concerns, disclosure of protected medical information, and the City Council opining on personnel issues – which is the purview of the City Manager – are just a few of the possible issues.
AMENDMENT TO CITY COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
June 9, 2026
In order to rectify this problem, and place the personnel function of unpaid leaves of absence back into the purview of the City Manager, staff is recommending the adoption of Policy 4.1 to the City Council Policy Procedure Manual and rescinding any previous City Council action inconsistent with the goal of the proposed Policy 4.1, in order to allow the City Manager to determine the personnel decision on leaves of absence by City employees. (Policy 4.1 is attached as Attachment A to the Resolution attached hereto as Attachment 1.)
With respect to the proposed amendments for City Council Policy 1.1 and 1.3, staff is recommending (1) a small addition in Policy 1.1 to confirm, consistent with the Brown Act’s terms and the City’s Municipal Code that the City Council consider only municipal matters, that non-agendized public comments at City Council meetings shall be within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council; and (2) a clarification to Policy 1.3 that regular City Council meetings shall be held on either the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, or as otherwise set by the City Council through its annual meeting schedule, and that such meetings shall commence at 3:00 p.m., and while typically closed session and workshops will be held between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., sporadically, the City Council may commence its regular business meeting at 3:00 p.m. in order to accommodate the City Council’s schedule and in the event of a particularly burdened agenda. (Amended Policies 1.1 and 1.3 are attached as Attachments B and C, respectively, to the Resolution attached hereto as Attachment 1. Redlines reflecting the proposed changes to Policies 1.1 and
1.3 are attached as Attachments 2 and 3 hereto.)
DISCUSSION
New Policy 4.1
Various State and Federal laws pertain to leaves of absence without pay. These laws are not the subject of the proposed actions and remain unchanged and in effect. Laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Pregnancy Disability Leave, and the California Family Rights Act will all remain applicable to City staff and the City will adhere to all relevant provisions depending on the employee/situation.
Instead, the topic of the item is the City’s discretionary determination as to whether to grant additional leaves of absence without pay for City employees. This is entirely up to the discretion of the City and is not legally mandated. However, certain situations may arise where the City desires to maintain the employment status of an employee despite extended period of absence. This could be due to medical issues, familial responsibilities, or any other case-by-case basis where an employee requests an unpaid leave of absence.
Financially, while unpaid leaves of absence are of course “unpaid,” there could still be a financial impact on the City due to the cost of hiring a temporary replacement worker, ongoing pension obligations, employer benefit contributions, etc. Because of the financial ramifications of an extended unpaid leave of absence, City Council direction and formal action is sought.
Below is a summary of the City’s current policies and rules. Existing Personnel Rules, Rule 8.16 states:
“Leave of Absence Without Pay: Based on the department head's recommendation, the City Manager may grant a regular or probationary employee leave of absence without pay or seniority for a period not to exceed four months. After four months, the leave of absence may be extended if authorized by City Council. No such leave shall be granted except upon written request of the employee, setting forth the reason for the request. The approval, if granted, will be issued in writing.
AMENDMENT TO CITY COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
June 9, 2026
Upon expiration of a regularly approved leave or within a reasonable period of time after notice to return to duty, the employee shall be reinstated in the position held at the time leave was granted.
Failure on the part of an employee on leave to report promptly at its expiration, or within a reasonable time after notice to return to duty shall be cause for discharge. The depositing in the United States mail of a first class letter, postage paid, addressed to the employee's last known place of address shall be reasonable notice.
The granting of any leave of absence without pay exceeding fourteen (14) calendar days shall result in a new salary anniversary for the employee. Such date shall be based on his/her original salary date plus the number of calendar days of his/her leave in excess of fourteen (14) calendar days. In cases of leave of absence for which the cause is a job related injury, the employer-paid premiums for medical, dental, long term disability, and life insurance will continue to be paid by the City until the employee either returns to work or terminates employment. Department heads may grant a regular or probationary employee leave of absence without pay for not to exceed one calendar week.
Such leaves shall be reported to the Personnel Services Manager.” Administrative Policy Manual, Personnel Policy 2-15, is an 8-page administrative policy that provides greater detail as to the City’s regulations of unpaid leaves of absence. This policy describes the various justifications, reasons, pertinent State and Federal laws dealing with unpaid leaves of absences and, in pertinent, states in its “PROVISIONS” section, the following:
“4. Approval shall be granted via the application form and shall be for a specified period of time.
Leave without pay shall not be granted until all applicable paid leave benefits have been exhausted.
5. Leaves of absence without pay which do not exceed one week may be granted by the department head. Such approvals shall be documented by a Personnel Action Form.
6. The City Manager may grant a leave of absence without pay for up to four months. A department head recommendation for such a leave should be transmitted to the City Manager on the application form via Personnel along with a Personnel Action Form.
7. Leaves of absence exceeding four months may only be granted by the City Council. Such actions shall be placed on the City Council agenda. If approved, the action shall be documented by a Personnel Action Form.”
As it relates to the City Council’s role in this process, under the Brown Act, the City Council can only take action as to items listed on its agenda at publicly-noticed meetings. While the City Council can take actions relative to certain employment issues in a closed session, those actions are limited to the expressly-identified topics in the Brown Act—none of which are fitting for these types of requests. As a result, the City Council’s consideration of such unpaid requests (for employees that are not under the direct authority of the City Council) must occur as part of the Council’s public meeting.
As explained above, the public airing and deliberation of a request for an unpaid leave of absence is not tenable. As personnel issues such as the hiring, management, and retention of City staff is the purview of
AMENDMENT TO CITY COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
June 9, 2026
the City Manager, it logically follows that the City Manager should review these kind of requests consistent with the City Manager’s designated process. Thus, the proposed Policy 4.1 to be added to the City Council Policy Procedure Manual will vest the City Manager with the discretion to grant or deny unpaid leaves of absence. This is a separate and distinct request than leave of absence authorized by existing State or Federal law. Specifically, the proposed Policy 4.1 explains that:
“The City Manager may grant a regular or probationary employee a leave of absence without pay or seniority for any amount of time determined to be beneficial to the City. The approval, if granted, shall be issued in writing and shall provide an expiration date for the leave of absence. The City Manager may promulgate rules and regulations related to leaves of absence, including eligibility criteria and use of other leave benefits prior to requesting unpaid leave.” The proposed language will allow the City Manager flexibility in dealing with requests for unpaid leaves of absences from City employees and removes the risk/issues associated with the City Council weighing in on these sensitive and possibly confidential personnel matters at public City Council meetings.
Finally, any previously adopted policy or rule by the City Council that is inconsistent with the proposed Policy No. 4.1 is proposed to be rescinded to ensure clarity and authority to the City Manager. Human Resources has drafted updated policies on this topic for the City Manager’s adoption, following this City Council action. Those policies are intended to detail the process for qualifying for unpaid leave (i.e., use of other leaves first), requesting unpaid leaves, and establishing maximum durations for each request.
Amended Policies 1.1 and 1.3
With respect to the proposed amendments to City Council Policies 1.1 and 1.3, staff recommends a few clarifications to the City Council’s current meeting practices.
First, staff recommends a minor amendment to Policy 1.1 to expressly clarify that non-agendized public comments during City Council meetings must concern matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council. This proposed clarification is consistent with the Brown Act and existing provisions of the Municipal Code governing City Council meetings and consideration of municipal matters, respectively.
Second, staff recommends amendments to Policy 1.3 to clarify the City Council’s regular meeting schedule and meeting commencement practices. As amended, the policy would provide that regular City Council meetings shall generally occur on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, unless otherwise established by the City Council through adoption of its annual meeting schedule. Presently, the existing policy sets regular meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays, without the flexibility for the Council to elect alternative Tuesdays through the adoption of its City Council meeting calendar. For example, the City Council meetings in July were scheduled, through the adoption of the City Council meeting calendar, on July 7 and 21st—the first and third Tuesdays. Rather than call a “special meeting” for those dates, this proposed amendment will make clear that those meetings are “regular meetings,” for purposes of the Brown Act.
Finally, the proposed amendments clarify the City’s current practice regarding the timing of closed sessions, workshops, and regular business items. While closed sessions and workshops are generally anticipated to occur between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., the amendments recognize that, from time to time, the City Council
AMENDMENT TO CITY COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
June 9, 2026
may commence the regular business portion of a meeting at or after 3:00 p.m. in order to accommodate scheduling needs, facilitate agenda management, or address particularly lengthy or complex agendas. The posted agenda for each meeting will continue to identify the applicable meeting start times.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
While the subject matter of this item is “unpaid” leaves of absence, possible future financial impacts include the cost of City hiring temporary workers, ongoing pension obligations for those still considered “employees” of the City despite being on unpaid leave, and City benefit contributions. While unpaid leaves of absence in excess of existing State and Federal grants of leave are not very common, any projection would really depend on the employee requesting the leave of absence and the length of time requested.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
This action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 because it does not qualify as a “project” as it constitutes an organizational and administrative activity of government that will not result in either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The addition of Policy 4.1 to, and the amendments to Policies 1.1 and
1.3 of, the City Council Policy Procedure Manual relate solely to the adoption and amendment of internal City Council policies and procedures governing meeting administration and personnel leave procedures.
Accordingly, no further environmental review is required.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Proposed Resolution adding Policy 4.1 regarding leaves of absence to, and amending Policies 1.1 and
1.3 relating to City Council meeting for, the City Council Policy and Procedures Manual, rescinding any previous City Council action inconsistent with the newly adopted Policy 4.1, and finding the action not a project for CEQA (Pgs. 6-19)
2. Redline reflecting proposed changes to Policy 1.1 (Pgs. 20-23)
3. Redline reflecting proposed changes to Policy 1.3 (Pgs. 24-25) Submitted By: Megan Garibaldi Approved: Gavin Curran, for Megan Garibaldi, City Attorney Dave Kiff, City Manager
Report Prepared By: Coordinated With:
Patrick Donegan, Assistant City Attorney Megan Garibaldi, City Attorney