City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JANUARY 11, 2022 FROM: HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL SUBJECT: REVISIONS TO THE CITY’S HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ISSUE:
The issue for City Council consideration is to adopt the attached revisions to the City’s personnel policies, contained in the Human Resources Policy and Procedure Manual.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council adopts the proposed revisions to the City’s personnel policies, contained in the Human Resources Policy and Procedure Manual.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
The Human Resources Board reviewed and unanimously approved the revised policies. The dates each policy was reviewed and approved by the Human Resources Board are noted next to each policy summary set forth in the discussion section. The Human Resources Board conducted a public hearing on December 6, 2021, voting unanimously to recommend the attached policies to Council for approval.
BACKGROUND:
The Human Resources Department routinely reviews and revises the City’s personnel policies, contained in the Human Resources Policy and Procedure Manual. Policy revisions are often made as a result of changes to the law, to reflect current practice, or following discussions with the City’s labor groups. The policies that are presented for the Council’s consideration have been reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office, each of the affected labor groups, in addition to the Human Resources Board.
DISCUSSION:
Below are the proposed policy revisions, with a brief description of the new content:
Policy II-10 – Tardiness - The updated Tardiness Policy includes revisions to establish guidelines for all regular employees reporting to work on time and adhering to their work schedule and establishing a system to enforce these guidelines. The revisions to the policy clarify that an employee is considered tardy if they are not at their workstation within the first ten minutes of the employee’s work shift or not on duty ten minutes prior to the end of the employee’s work shift. A new section was added to the policy to allow supervisors to approve the use of “emergency” leave (vacation, sick, or compensatory time) on a case-by-case basis. If no leave bank is available, the employee’s time will be coded as no pay. Supervisors are responsible for documenting and maintaining records of tardiness for subordinate employees. Additionally, the revisions specify that employees with excessive tardiness will be subject to disciplinary action and follow disciplinary guidelines as set forth in Policy (III-1) Discipline. (Approved 12/6/21) Policy V-3 – Employee Leave Donation - The updated Employee Leave Donation Policy includes revisions to establish a procedure to allow City employees to donate their own accrued vacation leave to another employee who has exhausted all paid leave because of a serious non-job-related medical emergency. IBEW units may donate their compensatory time bank in the same manner as the donation of accrued vacation leave for all other employees.
The policy defines the application process for employees who request donated leave time from their co-workers and specifies how the plan will be administered and how the donated hours will be used. A new section was added to the policy to inform donors that the value of all donated leave hours are taxable income and will be included on the donor’s W2 for the tax year in which the hours were utilized per IRS general law taxation rules. Furthermore, all policies also include administrative changes to reflect process changes and to conform to a citywide format. (Approved 12/6/21)
The Human Resources Department confirms that these updates include all required elements as required by law.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority No. 5 – High Performing Government and Goal No. 5.3 – Enhance communication and collaboration with community members to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – All policies contained within this report were reviewed and approved in collaboration with the Human Resources Board, various bargaining units, and a Public Hearing to receive public input and build community trust.
Equity – Policies and procedures reflect the City’s vision, values and culture and ensures equality for all employees.
Fiscal Responsibility – There is no funding associated with this report. However, updated policies and procedures ensure that quality services are provided to all.
Innovation – A collaborative and innovative approach was used to revise these policies and procedures to meet the City’s current and changing needs while ensuring compliance with various rules and regulations.
Sustainability & Resiliency – To maintain a sustainable and resilient workforce it is important to keep all policies and procedures up-to-date to ensure equitable applicability of personnel rules.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Prepared by: Rene Goldman, Human Resources Director
Certified as to availability
Of funds: Edward Enriquez, Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney Attachments:
Tardiness (II-10)
Employee Leave Donations (V-3)
Revisions to the City’s Personnel Policies ● Page 2