Policy 010 DEFINITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT STATUS PLEASE NOTE: This manual describes the personnel policies and procedures of the City of Fredericksburg. This manual provides guidelines for personnel in the administration of their employment with the City. This manual is not a contract and can be amended at any time. All City employees are at will employees and subject to termination from their employment with the City at any time, with or without cause, except those employees who have formal employment contracts with the City. This manual should be a constantly-used reference and all personnel should be familiar with its contents. Since the manual is not bound, it can be easily updated as new policies are introduced or existing policies are modified. I. PURPOSE To help provide consistency and equity in applying personnel policies and benefits.
II. SCOPE These definitions apply to all City employees.
III. POLICY The City maintains standard definitions of employment status and classifies employees for purposes of personnel administration and related payroll transactions. The City reserves the right to tailor any requirement to suit the needs of a specific situation.
IV. DEFINITIONS Exempt Employees whose positions meet specific tests established by the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) and state law and who are exempt from overtime pay. Non-exempt Employees whose positions do not meet FLSA exemptions tests and who are compensated at time-and-a half rate of pay for overtime, as required by federal and state law. Regular Full-time Employees regularly scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week. Regular Part-time Employees regularly scheduled to work less than 30 hours per week, are paid on an hourly basis, and are limited to a maximum of 1,000 hours in a calendar year. Temporarily Seasonal Employees who are hired for a pre-established period and often during annual peak workload periods. They may work up to 40 hours per week for a specific task or project. Temporary On-Call Employees who are hired to work on temporary assignments as needed. They are on an on-call basis and may work as many hours as needed in a work week.
Policy 020 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY I. PURPOSE To preserve an employment environment free from illegal discrimination and demonstrate our commitment to diversity.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all applicants for employment and all City employees.
III. POLICY The City of Fredericksburg is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants and employees are hired and promoted without regard to race, color, gender, religion, age, national origin, or disability. Any employee who feels he/she has been discriminated against must file a grievance.
IV. PROCEDURE See Grievance Procedure #520
Policy 021 EMPLOYMENT OF RELATIVES I. PURPOSE To prevent problems of supervision, safety, security and morale, and maintain our high level of trust and accountability.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to regular full-time and regular part-time employees.
III. POLICY Nepotism is the showing of favoritism toward a relative. The practice of nepotism in personnel matters is prohibited. A. Relatives of Local Elected Officials 1. No person related to the Mayor, member of the City Council or City Manager within the second degree by affinity (marriage) or within the third degree by consanguinity (blood) shall be appointed to any office, position, or other service of the City. 2. This prohibition shall not apply to officers or employees who have been employed by the City prior to and at the time of the election of the council member or the appointment of the City Manager so related to him or her.
B. Relatives of City Employees 1. No regular employee may be related within the 1st degree by affinity (marriage) or consanguinity (blood) to another City employee of the same department. 2. Any relationships already established from the date this policy takes effect will be grandfathered to the following guidelines: a. No employee may directly or indirectly supervise or be supervised by a member of his/her family within the second degree by affinity (marriage) or within the 1st degree by consanguinity (blood). b. If the relationship is pre-existing, one employee should be transferred to another department. | RELATIONSHIP CHARTS | | | | | | Relationship To: | 1ST DEGREE | 2ND DEGREE | 3RD DEGREE | | | | | | | | | | Employee/Officer | Spouse | Uncle | Great Uncle | | (Consanguinity | Father | Aunt | Great Aunt | | Kinship - Blood) | Mother | 1st Cousin | 2nd Cousin | | Brother | Niece | Great Niece | | Sister | Nephew | Great Nephew | | Daughter | Grandfather | Great Grandfather | | Son | Grandmother | Great Grandmother | | | Granddaughter | Great Granddaughter | | | Grandson | Great Grandson | | | | | | | | | | Employee’s Spouse | Father | Uncle | Great Uncle | | (Affinity Kinship - | Mother | Aunt | Great Aunt | | Marriage) | Brother | 1st Cousin | 2nd Cousin | | Sister | Niece | Great Niece | | Daughter | Nephew | Great Nephew | | Son | Grandfather | Great Grandfather | | | Grandmother | Great Grandmother | | | Granddaughter | Great Granddaughter | | | Grandson | Great Grandson |
Policy 030 NEW POSITION ORIENTATION PERIOD I. PURPOSE To complete the new employee selection process by providing an orientation period of on-the-job work experience by which the new employee and the supervisor may evaluate employment suitability.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all regular employees.
III. POLICY Regular employees hired by the City will be placed in an orientation period of no less than six months. The new position orientation period may be extended at any time during the initial 6 months in writing by the Department Head for approval by the City Manager. Superintendents and supervisors should be responsible for monitoring all aspects of the performance of new employees. Superintendents and Department Heads will also be responsible if they retain an employee performing below standards.
IV. PROCEDURE A. During this period, supervisors should closely monitor employees and perform frequent and informal counseling and evaluations at least once per month. B. All employees, prior to the end of their orientation period, must be reviewed in accordance with the City's Performance Appraisal System. C. Failure of orientation. 1. Failure of orientation may occur at any time within the orientation period. 2. Superintendents are required to document all cases of failure of orientation as well as counseling and other efforts to help employees during the orientation period. 3. An employee shall fail orientation when, in the judgement of the superintendent, the employee's fitness or quality of work is not adequate to merit continuation of employment. 4. The Department Head will recommend to the City Manager either an extension of the orientation period or termination. The City Manager may grant such an extension, however it shall not exceed ninety (90) days. The employee has no right to request continued orientation, and the City has no obligation to extend the orientation period beyond the standard six-month period.
Policy 040 PERSONNEL RECORDS & PRIVACY I. PURPOSE To establish standards by which information contained in personnel records will be managed with integrity to achieve accuracy, privacy and legal compliance.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all departments and employees of the City.
III. POLICY The City Manager or his designee will maintain the official personnel records containing information on each City employee to meet state and federal legal requirements and to assure efficient personnel administration.
IV. PROCEDURE A. Notification of Changes Changes of address, telephone number and/or family status (births, marriage, death, divorce, legal separation, etc.) must be reported in writing immediately to the City Manager or his designee, as an employee's income tax status and group insurance may be affected by these changes. B. Status Changes Superintendents, through the City Manager or his designee, shall report changes in the official and personal status of their employees in accordance with Finance Department procedures for payroll and insurance purposes. C. File Access Personnel files and information, except if required by the Open Records Act, may not be used or divulged for purposes not connected with the City personnel management system except with the permission of the employees involved. Access to an individual employee's personnel file is restricted to the employee, authorized employees as designated by the City Manager and Department Heads or superintendents on a strictly "need to know" basis. Personnel files may not be removed from the Finance Department and can only be reviewed in the Finance Department with a representative designated by the City Manager present. D. Information Requests and Employment References Requests for information from employee files received from other departments and inquiries from outside the City, including requests for references on former employees, will be directed to the City Manager or Department Head. All other employees are prohibited from providing personal or employment references on ex-employees or current employees.
V. PERSONNEL FILES A. Regular Personnel Files When an employee is hired, a personnel file will be established generally containing the following information: 1. Application for employment and related hiring documents, such as resumes and course transcripts. 2. Personal information changes and personnel action notices of pay and employment status changes. 3. Performance documents including performance appraisals. 4. Tuition reimbursement documentation. 5. Pay advance requests. 6. Employee history updating information submitted by employees including recent education, records of outside achievements, changes affecting withholding tax, etc. 7. Other documents pertaining to employment such as appreciation letters, corrective action reports, employment contracts, record of automobile insurance, employment verifications, training records, and references from previous employers.
B. Confidential Personnel Files 1. Medical records. 2. Documents necessary for the administration of City's benefit programs. 3. Employment references.
C. Separate Personnel Files These files may be examined only by appropriate officials with authority to conduct an investigation. 1. Any investigatory information will be kept in a separate confidential file. 2. I-9 forms are also kept in a separate file.
VI. PROCEDURES FOR EXAMINATION OF EMPLOYEE'S PERSONNEL FILE Inspection of an employee's personnel file may be accomplished at reasonable times during office hours under the following conditions: A. Employee Employees may examine their files at any reasonable time, and for a reasonable length of time. No prior notice or appointment is necessary. Employees may obtain a copy of any and all documents in the file. B. Management Staff Management staff may examine active and separated employee files on a "need to know" basis. An appointment to review the file should be made with the City Manager or his designee. C. Government Inquiries The City will cooperate with federal, state and local government agencies investigating an employee if the investigators furnish proper identification and proof of legal authority to investigate. However, the City may first seek advice from the City Attorney. The City may permit a government investigator to review a personnel file on company premises, but the investigator will not be allowed to remove or reproduce this information without consent from the City Manager and/or the City Attorney. D. Freedom of Information Request All information in the personnel files is subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Records Act, except for: - medical records
- dependents
- home address and phone number
- social security number
The public (other than a City employee or a peace officer) must fill out a request for public information specifically stating the information they are requesting. E. Employment Verification/References 1. If employees wish the City to verify information requested by outside sources for credit or other purposes, a release form with the employee's signature must accompany the request. 2. Employment references on current and former employees will be provided by the City Manager or his designee only, as follows: a. References with Written Approval All references will be made through written inquiries and release from the employee or ex-employee in writing. Without employee’s written release, the City will provide date of hire and date of separation, job title(s), salary history, eligibility for rehire, and job chronology. This information will be released in writing and a copy retained in the employee's personnel file.
F. File Retention Originals of personnel records will be maintained and retained by the Finance Department.
Policy 050 RESIDENCY I. PURPOSE To improve the quality of life by maintaining an equitable balance between work and family.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all positions.
III. POLICY There shall be no absolute residence requirement for City employment except as may be required by Charter or to reside within a reasonable response time of an employee's place of work as determined by a specific department’s Department Head, subject to the approval of the City Manager.
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