HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - AMEND PERSONNEL SYSTEM (2)CONSENT CALENDAR
DATE:
SUBJECT:
DEPARTMENT
Agenda Item: 3
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
City Manager Approval
Item to be presented by:
October 11, 2011
Jennifer Curtis
SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA,
CALIFORNIA AMENDING THE PERSONNEL ORDINANCE OF
THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA. ADOPTION OF
RESOLUTIONS AMENDING AND ADOPTING PERSONNEL
RULES AND ESTABLISHING RULES AND REGULATIONS
GOVERNING EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
City Manager's Office
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1) Conduct a second reading of and adopt an ordinance entitled: "AN ORDINANCE OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA AMENDING A
PERSONNEL SYSTEM OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA."
2) Adopt a resolution amending and adopting the Personnel Rules providing for the
establishment of regulations governing the personnel system.
3) Adopt a resolution establishing rules and regulations governing Employer -Employee
Relations.
BACKGROUND
The introduction and first reading of this ordinance occurred at the regular City Council meeting
on September 27, 2011. The Personnel Ordinance establishes the personnel system and is
needed in order to create an equitable and uniform system for dealing with personnel matters and
to comply with applicable laws relating to the administration of the personnel process. The
Personnel Ordinance provides definitions for key personnel matters and terms.
Adop lied: o 4 1 �- I (Q ,.;1,I,:;d
Gam• �
The current Personnel Ordinance was adopted by the City Council on January 10, 1989. The
proposed Personnel Ordinance includes updated terms to reflect changes to federal and/or state
law and which more closely match the City of Santa Clarita's existing practices. The proposed
Personnel Ordinance must be adopted in order to implement changes to the City's Personnel
Rules, which are also before Council for consideration along with a new Employer -Employee
Relations resolution.
While sections of the City's Personnel Rules have been amended several times since original
implementation in 1989, the City recently completed a comprehensive review of the Personnel
Rules. Revisions to the rules reflect changes in state and federal law and more accurately
describe the City's current practices and terminology. The City met and conferred with Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721, and the union accepted the changes to the
rules that fall within the scope of representation. Information sessions were held with
unrepresented employees earlier this month to share the proposed rules changes.
The Employer -Employee Relations item was previously part of the Personnel Rules as Rule XX.
For clarity purposes, this provision is being made a separate resolution. The resolution
implements the Meyers-Millias-Brown Act, Government Code section 3500 et seq. by providing
orderly procedures for the administration of employer-employee relations between the City and
its employee organizations as well as the ability of non -represented employees to become
represented. Changes made to the Employer -Employee Resolution reflect changes to state law
and City practices. The City consulted with SEIU Local 721 on this resolution, which they
approved.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
ATTACHMENTS
Ordinance - Amending a Personnel System
Resolution - Amending and Adopting Personnel Rules
Personnel Rules
Resolution - Establishing Rules and Regulations Governing Employer -Employee Relations
ORDINANCE NO. I I -
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING A PERSONNEL SYSTEM
OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SEC. 1. Adoption of personnels sem: In order to establish an equitable and uniform
system for dealing with personnel matters, and to comply with applicable laws
relating to the administration of the personnel process, the following personnel
system is hereby adopted.
SEC. 2. Definitions: The terms used to administer the personnel system shall be defined
in the personnel rules.
SEC. 3. Administration: The City Manager shall administer the City personnel system,
and, shall serve as Personnel Officer. The City Manager shall:
a. Act as the appointing authority for the City, except for the City Attorney
who shall be appointed by the City Council.
b. Administer all the provisions of this ordinance and of the personnel rules
not specifically reserved to the City Council.
C. Prepare and recommend to the City Council, personnel rules and revisions
and amendments to such rules.
d. Prepare or cause to be prepared a position classification plan, including
class specifications, and revisions of the plan.
e. Have the authority to discipline employees in accordance with this
ordinance and the personnel rules of the City.
f. Provide for the publishing or posting of notices of tests for positions in the
competitive service; the receiving of applications therefore; the conducting
and grading of tests; the certification of a list of all persons eligible for
appointment to the appropriate position in the competitive service; and
performing any other duty that may be required to administer the personnel
system.
g. The City Manager may delegate those portions of his/her responsibilities
which he/she deems appropriate.
SEC. 4. Competitive Service: The provisions of the ordinance shall apply to all offices,
positions and employments in the service of the City, except:
s
a. Elective officers.
b. The City Manager and any assistants to the City Manager.
The City Attorney and any assistant or deputy city attorneys.
d. Members of appointive boards, commissions, and committees.
e. All department directors, and division managers.
f. Persons engaged under contract to supply expert, professional, technical or
any other services.
g. Volunteer personnel.
h. Emergency employees who are hired to meet the immediate requirements
of any emergency condition, such as extraordinary fire, flood, or
earthquake which threatens life or property.
i. Employees, other than those listed elsewhere in this section, who are not
employed in regular positions. "Employed in regular positions" means an
employee hired for an indefinite term into a budgeted position, who is
regularly scheduled to work no less than one thousand and forty (1040)
hours per year, and has successfully completed the probationary period and
been retained as provided in this ordinance and the personnel rules.
Any position primarily funded under a state or federal employment
program.
k. Any newly created position, which is designated at the time of its creation
as being exempt from the classified service.
Employees not included in the competitive service under this section shall
serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority. They may be
terminated or disciplined at will by the City Manager at any time, without
any right of appeal.
SEC. 5. Adoption and Amendment of Rules: Personnel rules shall be adopted by
resolution of the City Council. The rules may establish regulations governing the
personnel system, including, but not limited to:
a. Preparation, installation, revision, and maintenance of a position
classification plan covering all positions in the competitive service,
including employment standards and qualifications for each class.
b. Appropriate announcement of the selection process and acceptance of
2
r
119
applications for employment.
Preparation and conduct of tests and the establishment and use of resulting
employment lists containing names of persons eligible for appointment.
d. Certification and appointment of persons from employment lists, and the
making of provisional appointments.
Evaluation of employees during the probationary testing period and
thereafter.
f. Transfer, promotion, demotion, reinstatement, disciplinary action and
layoff of employees in the competitive service.
g. Separation of employees from the City service.
h. The establishment and maintenance of adequate personnel records for
purposes of accounting and legal requirements.
i. The establishment of any necessary appeal procedures.
SEC. 6. Appointments: Appointments to vacant positions in the competitive service shall
be made in accordance with the personnel rules. Appointments and promotions
shall be based on merit and fitness to be ascertained so far as practicable by
competitive examination. The probationary period shall be considered an
extension of the examination process. Physical and medical tests may be given as
a part of any examination in accordance with the applicable provisions of state
and federal law. All appointments and promotions in the City service shall be
made without regard to race; religious creed; color; national origin; ancestry;
marital status; sex; gender; sexual orientation; medical condition; pregnancy,
childbirth, or related medical condition; physical or mental disability; political
affiliation; or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.
SEC. 7. Probationary Period: All regular full-time appointments, including promotional
appointments, shall be for a probationary period of not less than one year. All
regular part-time appointments, including promotional appointments, shall be
subject to a probationary period of not less than 2,080 hours of non -overtime work
performed. The appointing authority may extend such probationary period up to
six additional months for full-time employees or 1,040 hours for part-time
employees. The probationary period shall commence from the date of
appointment. In the event any absence from work lasting longer than 14
consecutive days, the number of days absent shall be added to the length of the
probationary period.
During the probationary period, the employee may be rejected at any time without
the right of appeal, hearing or any grievance procedure.
5
Prior to the end of the probationary period, the appointing authority shall notify
the Personnel Officer whether the probationary employee has performed
satisfactorily and whether the retention of such employee in the service is desired.
This notification may be made in conjunction with the completion of the
probationary employee's performance evaluation.
An employee rejected during the probationary period from a position to which
he/she has been promoted shall be reinstated to a position in the class from which
he/she was promoted, if available, unless he/she is discharged from the City
service as provided in the personnel rules. If no vacancy exists in such
classification, he/she shall be placed on a reemployment list as provided in the
personnel rules.
SEC. 8. Demotion, Dismissal, Reduction in Pay, Suspension, Reprimand: The City
Manager shall have the authority to demote, discharge, reprimand, reduce in pay,
or suspend, any regular employee for cause in accordance with procedures
included in the personnel rules.
SEC. 9. Right of Appeal: Any regular employee in the competitive service shall have the
right to appeal a demotion, reduction in pay, suspension of five or more days, or
discharge for disciplinary or medical reasons, except in those instances where the
right of appeal is specifically prohibited by this ordinance or the personnel rules
adopted thereunder.
All appeals shall be processed in accordance with the requirements and
procedures as set forth in the personnel rules adopted pursuant to this ordinance.
SEC. 10. Lay -Off and Re -Employment: Lay-off and re-employment actions shall follow
the process outlined in the personnel rules.
SEC. 11. Political Activity: The political activities of City employees shall confirm to
pertinent provisions of state law and any local provision adopted pursuant to state
law.
SEC. 12. Contracts for Special Service: The City may contract with any qualified person or
public or private agency for the performance of any or all of the following
services:
a. The preparation of personnel rules and subsequent revisions and
amendments thereof.
b. The preparation of a position classification plan, and subsequent revisions
and amendments thereof.
The preparation, conduct and grading of competitive tests.
4
d. The conduct of employee training programs.
e. Special and technical services of advisory or informational character on
matters relating to personnel administration\
The City Manager shall have the authority to contract for these services unless the
cost thereof exceeds the limits set by the City's Purchasing Ordinance. In those
instances, the City Manager shall make recommendations to the City Council
regarding the contracting for the services required.
SEC. 13. Effective Date. Publication:
The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and cause it to be
published in the manner required by law.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this day of , 2011.
Attest:
CITY CLERK
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of 2011.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
DATE:
MAYOR
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA )
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Ordinance 11- was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at a
regular meeting of the City Council on the day of 2011. That thereafter, said
Ordinance was duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the day
of 2011, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
AND I FURTHER CERTIFY that the foregoing is the original of Ordinance and
was published in The Signal newspaper in accordance with State Law (G.C. 40806).
CITY CLERK
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA )
CERTIFICATION OF
CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE
I, , City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby
certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Ordinance 11- , adopted by the City
Council of the City of Santa Clarita, CA on , 2011, which is now on file in my office.
Witness my hand and seal of the City of Santa Clarita, California, this day of
2011.
City Clerk
By
Deputy City Clerk
RESOLUTION II-
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA,
AMENDING AND ADOPTING THE PERSONNEL RULES
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF REGULATIONS
GOVERNING THE PERSONNEL SYSTEM
WHEREAS, Section 5 of the Personnel Ordinance of the City of Santa Clarita
requires the City Council to adopt and amend as necessary Personnel Rules; and
WHEREAS, Section 5 of the Personnel Ordinance of the City of Santa Clarita
requires that these rules establish regulations governing the personnel system;
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita does hereby
resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. The attached Personnel Rules are hereby adopted and amended.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of 2011.
TM0"
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
DATE:
to
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA)
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the'City of Santa Clarita at a
regular meeting thereof, held on the day of 2011, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
2
CITY CLERK
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA )
CERTIFICATION OF
CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION
I, , City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby
certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Resolution 11- adopted by the City
Council of the City of Santa Clarita, California on , 2011, which is now on file in my
office.
Witness my hand and seal of the City of Santa Clarita, California, this _ day of
2011.
City Clerk
By
Deputy City Clerk
3 1 �I
d,
City of Santa Clarita
Personnel Rules
Revised September 2011
1-3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RULE I.
DEFINITION OF TERMS.................................................................................... 1
RULE II.
GENERAL PROVISIONS....................................................................................
5
RULE III.
NONDISCRIMINATION......................................................................................
6
RULE IV.
CLASSIFICATION...............................................................................................
7
RULE V.
APPLICATIONS AND APPLICANTS................................................................
8
RULE VI.
SELECTION PROCESS AND RECRUITMENT ................................................
9
RULE VII.
EMPLOYMENT LISTS......................................................................................
10
RULE VIII.
METHOD OF FILLING VACANCIES..............................................................
10
RULE IX.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD...............................................................................
11
RULE X.
TRANSFER, DEMOTION, AND REINSTATEMENT .....................................
12
RULE XI.
DISCIPLINARY ACTION..................................................................................
14
RULE XII.
DISCIPLINARY APPEAL PROCEDURES.......................................................
18
RULE XIII.
LAYOFF POLICY AND PROCEDURE............................................................
20
RULE XIV.
SEPARATION FROM SERVICE.......................................................................
21
RULE XV.
ATTENDANCE AND LEAVES OF ABSENCE ...............................................
22
RULE XVI.
REPORTS AND RECORDS...............................................................................
32
RULE XVII.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES...........................................................................
33
RULE XVIII.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCEDURE ............................................
35
RULEXIX.
SALARY PLAN..................................................................................................
36
RULE XX.
OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT AND OTHER EMPLOYEE
OBLIGATIONS..................................................................................:................
37
RULE XXI.
VIOLENCE FREE WORKPLACE.....................................................................
39
[q.
PERSONNEL RULES
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
RULE I. DEFINITION OF TERMS
SEC. 1. Allocation: The assignment of a single position to its proper class in accordance
with the duties performed, and the authority and responsibilities exercised.
SEC. 2. Appointing Authority: The officers of the City who have the final authority to
make the appointment to a position to be filled. The Director is the appointing
authority for all employees in his/her department. For Directors, the appointing
authority is the City Manager.
SEC. 3. At -Will Employ: An employee of the City who is not in the competitive
service, as defined herein. All at -will employment may be terminated by the City
or the employee at any time without notice and without cause.
SEC. 4. Class: All positions sufficiently similar in duties, authority, and responsibility, to
permit grouping under a common title in the application with equity of common
standards of selection, transfer, demotion, and salary.
SEC. 5. Competitive Service: All offices, positions, and employment in the service of the
City except the following:
A. Elective officers;
B. The City Manager, Assistant or Deputy City Managers, and Assistants to
the City Manager;
C. The City Attorney and any Assistant or Deputy City Attorneys;
D. Members of appointive boards, commissions, and committees;
E. All Directors and Division Managers;
F. Persons engaged under contract to supply expert, professional, technical,
or any other services;
G. Volunteer personnel;
H. All Council appointed officers;
I. Emergency employees who are hired to meet the immediate requirements
of any emergency condition, such as extraordinary fire, flood, or
earthquake which threatens life or property;
Employees, other than those listed elsewhere in this definition, who are
not regularly employed in regular positions. "Regularly employed in
1,5
regular positions" means an employee hired for an indefinite term into a
budgeted position, who is regularly scheduled to work no less than 1,040
hours per year, and has successfully completed the probationary period
and has been retained as provided in the Personnel Ordinance and these
Personnel Rules; and
K. Any positions primarily funded under a state or federal employment
program.
SEC. 6. Date of Hire: The date an employee was first appointed to a regular position with
the City of Santa Clarita.
SEC. 7. Day or Days: Calendar days unless expressly stated otherwise.
SEC. 8. Demotion: The movement of an employee from one class to another class having
a lower pay grade.
SEC. 9. Disciplinary Action: The written reprimand, reduction in pay, suspension,
demotion, or termination of a regular employee for corrective reasons.
SEC. 10. Domestic Partner: A person who has filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership
with the California Secretary of State pursuant to Division 2.5 of the Family Code
and has been recognized as a registered domestic partner by the Secretary of
State.
SEC. 11. Eligible: A person whose name is on an employment list.
SEC. 12. Employee Organization: An organization that has been designated as the
exclusively recognized employee organization under Resolution No. 94-105.
SEC. 13. Employment List: A list of names of persons who have completed either an open -
competitive recruitment or an internal recruitment for a class in the competitive
service and have been recommended to the hiring manager as finalists. The
employment list may remain active for up to 12 months.
SEC. 14. Exempt Employee: An employee who is not entitled to overtime compensation
under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
SEC. 15. Full -Time Employ: An employee of the City whose normal work schedule is a
minimum of 40 hours in a week.
SEC. 16. Immediate Family: Unless otherwise specified, immediate family means: spouse;
natural,,step, or legal children; parent, including parents-in-law; brother or sister,
including brother-in-law and sister-in-law; grandparents; grandchildren; State of
California registered domestic partners; and children of State of California
registered domestic partners.
SEC. 17. Interim Appointment: See "Out -of -Class Appointment."
-2-
1�
SEC. 18. Layoff: The separation of employees from the active work force due to lack of
work or funds, or to the elimination of positions by the City Council, or due to
organizational changes.
SEC. 19. Non -Exempt Employee: An employee who is entitled to overtime compensation
under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
SEC. 20. Out -of -Class Appointment: A temporary appointment of a regular or
probationary employee to another classification.
SEC. 21. Paid Administrative Leave: The temporary assignment of an employee to a status
of leave with pay.
SEC. 22. Part -Time Employ: An employee of the City whose normal work schedule is
less than 40 hours in a week.
SEC. 23. Personnel Officer: The City Manager or his/her duly authorized representative.
SEC. 24. Personnel Ordinance: Ordinance No. 11-_ which establishes a personnel system
for the City.
SEC. 25. Position: A group of duties and responsibilities assigned or delegated by the City
Manager and City Council, the performance of which requires the full-time or
part-time employment of one person, or in the case of job -sharing, more than one
person.
SEC. 26. Probationary Period: A period during which an employee is required to show
his/her fitness for the position to which the employee was appointed. The
probationary period is considered an integral part of the selection process. An
employee is not in the competitive service during his/her probationary period.
SEC. 27. Promotion: The movement of an employee from one class to another class having
a higher pay grade.
SEC. 28. Provisional Appointment: An appointment of a non -regular employee who
possesses the minimum qualifications established for a particular class and who
has been appointed to a position in that class in the absence of available eligibles.
A provisional appointment may not be extended beyond six months without the
approval of the Personnel Officer.
SEC. 29. Recruitment:
A. Open -Competitive Recruitment: The recruitment for a particular class
open to all persons meeting the minimum qualifications for the class. The
selection process may include, but is not limited to the following: written
exam, technical knowledge assessment, competency assessment, and/or
oral interviews.
-3-
11
B. Internal Recruitment: The recruitment for a particular class open only to
regular employees meeting the minimum qualifications for the class. The
selection process may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the
following: written exam, technical knowledge assessment, competency
assessment, and/or oral interviews.
C. Continuous Recruitment: An open competitive recruitment administered
periodically and as a result of which names are placed on an employment
list for a period of not more than 12 months.
SEC. 30. Regular Employee: An employee in the competitive service who has successfully
completed the probationary period. A regular employee may be part-time or full-
time.
SEC. 31. Reinstatement: The restoration of a former regular employee without engaging in
the recruitment process to a classification in which the employee formerly served
as a regular employee.
SEC. 32. Seniority: The amount of time spent in paid status in a regular City position.
Seniority is accrued for full months (first day of a month through the last day of
the same month) of City service. Individuals serving in part-time positions shall
have their seniority calculated proportionately. Unless otherwise required by law,
an employee shall lose all seniority and seniority -related benefits upon his/her
termination of employment.
SEC. 33. Supervisory Employ: Any individual having the authority to hire, transfer,
suspend, layoff, recall, promote, terminate, assign, reward, or discipline other
employees, or the responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or to
effectively recommend such action, if the exercise of that authority is not of a
merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.
Not all supervisory employees will have the authority to engage in these actions,
and the exercise of these actions must be consistent with the authority granted
under these Rules or in the employee's job description.
SEC. 34. Suspension: The temporary separation from service of an employee without pay
for disciplinary purposes.
SEC. 35. Temporary or Seasonal Employee: An employee who is appointed to a non -
regular position for a limited period of time. Temporary or seasonal employees
may not work more than 1,000 hours per fiscal year or for longer than six months
of continuous full-time employment without express prior approval of the
Personnel Officer. Temporary or seasonal employees are not part of the
competitive service. Temporary or seasonal employees who work, or are required
to work, in excess of 1,000 hours per fiscal year or for longer than six months of
continuous full-time employment upon express prior approval of the Personnel
Officer are eligible for CalPERS benefits. Temporary or seasonal employees are
not entitled to any other benefits and do not accrue any paid leave.
-4-
I�
SEC. 36. Termination: The separation of an employee from City service.
SEC. 37. Transfer: A change of an employee from one position to another position with the
same pay grade.
SEC. 38. Y -Rate: A salary paid above the maximum established salary range for the
incumbent's classification. Y -rating may occur when a position is reclassified to
a lower pay grade or an employee is demoted from his/her class to a lower class.
An employee whose salary is Y -rated will retain his/her current rate of pay until
such time that the class has a higher maximum salary rate.
RULE II. GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 1. Purpose of the Personnel Rules: These Personnel Rules establish the policies and
procedures for the administration of the City's personnel system. Except as
otherwise provided, the Personnel Rules shall apply to those employees
occupying positions in classifications in the competitive service. The following
Personnel Rules shall also apply to employees who are not in the competitive
service:
A. Rule I — Definitions
B. Rule II — General Provisions
C. Rule III —Nondiscrimination
D. Rule XXII — Outside Employment and Other Employee Obligations
E. Rule XXIII — Violence Free Workplace
In no event shall Rules XII — Disciplinary Appeal Procedures, and XIII — Layoff
Policy and Procedure be construed to apply to individuals not in the competitive
service.
SEC. 2. Delegation of Authority: Except as otherwise provided, any duties,
responsibilities, powers, and authority granted by these Personnel Rules or the
Personnel Ordinance to the appointing authority, Personnel Officer, Directors, or
any other person may be delegated, in writing, to another employee at the
discretion of the delegating individual.
SEC. 3. Not an Employment Contract: None of these Personnel Rules shall be deemed to
create a vested contractual right for any employee.
SEC. 4. Amendment or Revision of the Personnel Rules: Amendments and revisions shall
become effective upon adoption by the City Council.
SEC. 5. Conflicts: In the event of a conflict between these Personnel Rules and an
Administrative Policy or a Department's policy or procedure, the Personnel Rules
shall control. In the event of a conflict between these Personnel Rules and a
Memorandum of Understanding, the Memorandum of Understanding shall
control.
SEC. 6. Changes to the Law: When any local, state, or federal ordinance, regulation, or
law that is incorporated in the Personnel Rules or upon which the Personnel Rules
rely is amended, the Personnel Rules shall be deemed amended in conformance
with those amendments.
SEC. 7. Severability: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of the
Personnel Rules is found to be illegal by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
findings shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the Personnel
Rules.
RULE III. NONDISCRIMINATION
SEC. 1. Equal Employment Opportunity: It is the City's policy to ensure equal
employment opportunity for all persons seeking employment or promotion to
assure equal employment opportunity based upon ability and fitness to. all persons
regardless of race, religion, color, creed, national origin, gender, sex, sexual
orientation, marital status, age, medical condition, mental or physical disability,
and/or any other category protected by federal and/or state law.
SEC. 2. Disabled Applicants and Employees: The City has a commitment to ensure equal
opportunities for disabled applicants and City employees. Every reasonable effort
will be made to provide an accessible work environment for such employees and
applicants. Employment practices (e.g., hiring, training, testing, transfer,
promotion, compensation, benefits, and disciplinary action) will not discriminate
against disabled employees.
The City will engage in the interactive process, as defined by the Americans with
Disabilities Act ("ADA") and the Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"),
to determine whether an applicant or employee is able to perform his/her essential
functions. During this process, the City will examine possible reasonable
accommodations that will make it possible for the employee or applicant to so
perform. Such interactive process will include a meeting with the employee or
applicant, the City, and, if necessary, the employee or applicant's health care
provider.
Reasonable accommodation can include, but is not limited to, job restructuring or
reassignment to a vacant position for which the employee is qualified. Examples
of accommodations that are considered unreasonable include, but are not limited
to promotion, the creation of a new position, or the reassignment of essential
functions of the position.
While the City is engaged in the interactive process with an employee, the City
may require that the employee be placed on a fitness for duty leave in accordance
with Rule XV — Attendance and Leaves of Absence, Section 12.
-6-
SEC. 3. Prohibition Against Unlawful Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation: City
policy prohibits unlawful harassment and discrimination based on an employee's
race, religion, color, creed, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital
status, age, mental or physical disability, and/or any other category protected by
federal and/or state law. In addition, City policy prohibits retaliation because of
the employee's opposition to a practice the employee reasonably believes to
constitute employment discrimination or harassment or because of the employee's
participation in an employment investigation, proceeding, or hearing. See the
City's policy against harassment, discrimination, and retaliation for additional
information.
RULE IV. CLASSIFICATION
SEC. 1. Preparation of Plan: The Personnel Officer, or a person or agency employed for
that purpose, shall ascertain and record the duties and responsibilities of all
positions in the competitive service and shall recommend a classification plan and
amendments thereto for such positions. The classification plan shall consist of a
separate position description, containing position title, general statement of duties,
typical tasks, and minimum qualifications for each class of position.
SEC. 2. Adoption, Amendment, and Revision of Plan: The classification plan shall be
adopted and/or amended by the City Manager. However, if salary will be affected
by the classification plan, then it shall be adopted and/or amended by the City
Council.
SEC. 3. Allocation of Positions: Following the adoption of the classification plan and
consultation with any recognized employee organization affected, the Personnel
Officer shall allocate every position in the competitive service to one of the
classes established by the plan.
SEC. 4. New Positions: A new position shall not be created and filled until the
classification plan has been amended to provide for such positions.
SEC. 5. Reclassification: Revision of position descriptions and reallocations within the
classification plan will be made from time to time. It shall be the responsibility of
the Personnel Officer to examine the nature of all.positions and to allocate them to
existing or newly created classes. Position reclassification does not go through
the competitive recruitment and selection process.
Employees in a position classification that is upgraded or downgraded in salary to
reflect change in market conditions or job duties being performed shall have a
new salary anniversary date, which shall be the date the employee's new salary
became effective. The employee's performance evaluation date also will be
adjusted to coincide with the new salary anniversary date. As a result of
reclassification, an employee's salary may be Y -rated. If an employee is in a
probationary period at the time of reclassification, he/she must complete the
previously established probationary period.
-7-
RULE V. APPLICATIONS AND APPLICANTS
SEC. 1. Announcement: All positions in the competitive service shall be publicized by
such methods as the Personnel Officer deems appropriate. The announcements
shall specify the title and pay range of the class; the nature of the work to be
performed; the experience and education requirements; the knowledge, skills, and
abilities desirable for the performance of the work; how to apply; the application
deadline date; that a post -offer, pre-employment physical examination is required,
which may include a drug test; and other relevant information.
SEC. 2. Application Forms: Applications must be submitted using the appropriate form
and following the advertised application process. Application forms shall require
information covering education, work history, training, references, and other
pertinent information. All applications must be signed by the person applying.
SEC. 3. Disqualification: The Personnel Officer may reject any application which
indicates on its face that the applicant does not possess the minimum
qualifications required for the position, has failed to fully complete the application
or submit all required materials, or for any other valid reason as determined by the
Personnel Officer.
SEC. 4. Ineligibility for Employ:
A. Further examination or consideration for employment of any applicant
may be discontinued, and any temporary or probationary employment of
any person may be terminated, when any of the following has been
determined to the satisfaction of the Personnel Officer:
1. That the applicant has been convicted of a felony and such felony
conviction, in the opinion of the Personnel Officer, is contrary to
the qualifications for the functions and duties of the position for
which the employment application is made;
That the applicant has been convicted of a misdemeanor involving
moral turpitude, dishonesty, fraud, or deceit; or
That the applicant has lied on his/her application for employment
or the accompanying documentation.
SEC. 5. Background Investigations: The City, or a person or entity hired by the City, may
conduct a background investigation of any applicant for employment. Such a
background investigation may include, but is not limited to reference checks,
employment history, criminal history, and public records. When the City
conducts such an investigation, it will comply with all requirements of the federal
Fair Credit and Reporting Act and the California Investigative. Consumer
Reporting Agencies Act, as well as all other applicable state and federal laws.
-s-
RULE VI. SELECTION PROCESS AND RECRUITMENT
SEC. 1. Selection Process: The selection process shall be impartial and relate to those
subjects which, in the opinion of the Personnel Officer, fairly measure the relative
capacities of the applicants to execute the duties and responsibilities of the class
to which they seek to be appointed. The selection process may include but is not
necessarily limited to achievement, aptitude, and other written tests, personal
interview, performance tests, physical agility tests, evaluation of daily work
performance, work samples, medical tests (including drug tests), successful
completion of prescribed training, or other selection techniques as determined by
the Personnel Officer. The probationary period shall be considered a portion of
the selection process. The selection process shall be designed to provide equal
opportunity to all candidates by being based on an analysis of the essential
requirements of the class, covering only factors related to such requirements.
The Personnel Officer shall ensure that reasonable accommodations are made in
the selection process for persons with disabilities under the ADA and/or FEHA.
All medical examinations (including drug tests) shall only be administered after
the conclusion of all other portions of the selection process, except the
probationary period, and after a conditional offer of employment has been made
by the City.
SEC. 2. Internal Recruitment: Internal recruitment may be conducted when, in the
opinion of the Personnel Officer, the needs of the City so require. The selection
process for internal recruitment may include any of the techniques mentioned in
Section 1 of this Rule, or any combination of them. Only regular or probationary
employees who meet the requirements set forth in the internal job announcements
may compete.
SEC. 3. Continuous Recruitment: Open -competitive recruitments may be administered
periodically, as the needs require. Qualified applicants shall be placed on
employment lists and shall remain on such lists as prescribed in Rule VII.
SEC. 4. Applicant Testing: The Personnel Officer may enter into a contract with any
competent agency or individual for the preparing and/or administering portions of
the selection process. If the Personnel Officer does not contract these duties to an
agency or individual, then the Personnel Officer shall ensure that such duties are
performed.
SEC. 5. Notification of Recruitment Results: Each candidate in the recruitment process
shall be given notice of the results. Except as stated above and as required by
law, recruitment results and recruitment files are considered confidential
documents and shall not be disclosed.
-9-
RULE VII. EMPLOYMENT LISTS
SEC. 1. Employment Lists: As soon as possible after the completion of a recruitment, the
Personnel Officer shall prepare and maintain an employment list consisting of the
names of candidates who qualified as finalists.
SEC. 2. Duration of Lists: Employment lists shall remain in effect for up to 12 months
unless the Personnel Officer abolishes the employment list after determining that
the abolition of the list is in the best interest of the City.
SEC. 3. Removal of Names from List: The name of any person appearing on an
employment list shall be removed by the Personnel Officer if the person requests
in writing that his/her name be removed or if the person fails to respond to a
notice of certification mailed to the last designated address. Persons on
employment lists as a result of an internal recruitment who leave the service of the
City for any reason shall automatically be dropped from such lists.
RULE VIII. METHOD OF FILLING VACANCIES
SEC. 1. Types of Appointment: All vacancies in the competitive service shall be filled by
transfer, promotion, demotion, reemployment, reinstatement, or from an available
employment list by the Personnel Officer. In the absence of persons eligible for
appointments as specified above, provisional appointments may be made in
accordance with these Personnel Rules.
SEC. 2. Notice to Personnel Officer: If a vacancy in the competitive service is to be filled,
the appointing authority shall notify the Personnel Officer. If there is no
reemployment list available for the class, the appointing authority shall have the
right to decide whether to fill the vacancy by reinstatement, transfer, demotion, or
appointment from an employment list. The appointing authority may select the
method he/she believes is in the best interests of the City and the Department for
filling the vacancy.
SEC. 3. Certification of Eligibles: If the appointing authority does not consider it in the
City's best interest to fill the vacancy by reinstatement, transfer, or demotion, or if
it is not possible to fill the vacancy by reemployment, certification shall be made
from an appropriate employment list, provided eligibles are available. When the
appointing authority requests a vacancy be filled by appointment from an
employment list, the Human Resources Division shall confirm the existence of an
active employment list and provide that information to the appointing authority.
SEC. 4. Appointment: After an interview and background investigation, the appointing
authority shall make a job offer to a certified candidate and immediately notify
the Personnel Officer of the appointment. The person accepting the job offer shall
report to the Personnel Officer, or the Personnel Officer's designated
representative, on or before the date of appointment to complete the hire process.
If the applicant accepts the job offer and reports for employment on the date and
time agreed, the applicant shall be deemed to be appointed. Failure of an
1 o -
X1
applicant to report to work shall be deemed that the applicant has declined the
appointment.
SEC. 5. Provisional Appointment: In the absence of there being names of individuals
willing to accept appointment from appropriate employment lists, a provisional
appointment may be made by the appointing authority of a non-employee meeting
the minimum training and experience qualifications for the position. A
provisional employee may be removed at any time without the right of appeal or
hearing. No provisional appointment shall exceed six months, without the
approval of the Personnel Officer.
A provisional appointee shall accrue the same benefits as probationary
employees. If a provisional appointee is selected for a full-time position with the
City, the time served as a provisional appointee shall not be counted as time
toward the fulfillment of the required probationary period or toward City service
including the eligibility and accrual for benefits. The time in the provisional
appointment will count toward PERS service time, provided that the time spent in
the provisional appointment qualifies under PERS rules and regulations.
No special credit shall be allowed in meeting any qualifications or in the giving of
any test or the establishment of any open -competitive promotional lists, for
service rendered under a provisional appointment.
RULE IX. PROBATIONARY PERIOD
SEC. 1. Regular Appointment Following Probationary Period:
A. All regular and promotional full-time appointments within the competitive
service shall be subject to a probationary period of not less than one year
actual service. However, the appointing authority may extend an
employee's probationary period for up to six months.
B. All regular and promotional part-time appointments shall be subject to a
probationary period of not less than 2,080 hours of non -overtime work
performed. However, the appointing authority may extend an employee's
probationary period for up to 1,040 hours.
Prior to the end of the probationary period, the appointing authority shall notify
the Personnel Officer whether the probationary employee has performed
satisfactorily and whether the retention of such employee in the service is desired.
This notification shall be made in conjunction with the completion of the
probationary employee's performance evaluation, as set forth in Section 2.A of
Rule XVIII, Performance Evaluation Procedure. If retention is not desired, the
probationer will be rejected in accordance with Section 4 of this Rule.
SEC, 2. Objective of Probationary Period: The probationary period shall be regarded as a
part of the selection process and shall be used for closely observing the
employee's work, to determine if he/she can successfully perform the assigned
�5
duties of his/her position and adhere to City rules and policies, and for helping to
ensure the employee effectively adjusts to his/her position.
SEC. 3. Extension of Probationary Period while on a Leave of Absence: An employee's
probationary period shall be extended when the employee takes one or more
leaves of absence that total more than 14 days. The employee's probationary
period shall be extended by the same period of time that the employee was absent.
SEC. 4. Rejection of Probationer: During the probationary period, an employee may be
rejected at any time by the appointing authority without cause and without the
right of appeal. Notification of rejection by the appointing authority shall be
served on the probationer and shall occur prior to the end of the probationary
period.
SEC. 5. Rejection Following Promotion, Reassignment, or Transfer: Any employee in
good standing who is rejected during or at the conclusion of the probationary
period following a promotional appointment, reassignment, or transfer, shall be
reinstated to the position from which he/she was appointed if it is vacant. If there
is no such vacancy, the employee may request to be placed on a reemployment
list. Employees who have charges filed against them as outlined in Rule XI,
Disciplinary Action, may be considered in bad standing and may be terminated
and have no right to be reinstated or placed on a reemployment list.
RULE X. TRANSFER, DEMOTION, AND REINSTATEMENT
SEC. 1. Transfer: No person shall be transferred to a position for which that person does
not possess the minimum qualifications. Upon notice to the Personnel Officer, an
employee may be transferred by the Director at any time from one position to
another position in a comparable class. For transfer purposes, a comparable class
is one with the same pay grade, involves the performance of similar duties and
requires substantially the same basic qualifications. If the transfer involves a
change from one department to another, both Directors must consent unless the
Personnel Officer orders the transfer. Transfer shall not be used to accomplish a
promotion or demotion each of which may be accomplished only as provided in
the Personnel Ordinance or the Personnel Rules. An employee who transfers to a
position in a different classification and in which they have not previously
completed a probationary period, may be required to serve a probationary period
in his/her new position, as determined by the Director in consultation with the
Personnel Officer and with final approval of the Personnel Officer.
SEC. 2. Involuntary Demotion: The Director may demote an employee whose ability to
perform the required duties falls to an unacceptable level and/or for disciplinary
purposes. An employee only shall be demoted to a'position for which he/she
possesses the minimum qualifications. A disciplinary demotion shall be in
accordance with Rule XI, Disciplinary Action. An involuntarily demoted
employee may receive a reduction in pay commensurate with the involuntary
demotion as determined by the Director in consultation with and final approval of
-12-
'In
the Personnel Officer. An involuntarily demoted employee may also be required
to serve a probationary period in his/her new position, as determined by the
Director in consultation with and final approval of the Personnel Officer.
SEC. 3. Voluntary Demotion: Upon written request of an employee and with the approval
of the Director, an employee may voluntarily demote to a classification with a
lower pay grade and for which he/she is qualified. A voluntarily demoted
employee may be assigned a reduction in pay commensurate with the voluntary
demotion as determined by the Director in consultation with the Personnel Officer
and with the final approval of the Personnel Officer. A voluntarily demoted
employee may also be required to serve a probationary period in his/her new
position, as determined by the Director in consultation with the Personnel Officer
and with final approval of the Personnel Officer.
SEC. 4. Reinstatement: With the approval of the Personnel Officer, a regular employee or
probationary employee who has completed at least six months of probationary
service and who has resigned with a good record may be reinstated within one
year of the effective date of resignation to a vacant position in the same or
comparable class.- For purposes of reinstatement, "good record" shall mean that
the employee was not terminated for cause under these Personnel Rules, did not
resign in lieu of termination, provided the required amount of notice of
resignation, and was evaluated at least as "successful/fully meets job standards"
or an equivalent rating on his/her last performance evaluation. Upon
reinstatement, the employee shall be subject to the probationary period prescribed
for the class. No credit for former employment shall be granted in computing
salary, vacation, sick leave, city -provided retirement benefits, or other benefits
except on the specific written direction of the Personnel Officer at the time of
reinstatement.
SEC. 5. Out -of -Class Assignment: With the approval of the Personnel Officer, regular or
probationary employees may be assigned to a higher level classification in the
case of unusual extended leaves and/or vacancies of 15 consecutive calendar days
or more as a professional growth and developmental opportunity. The employee
must meet the minimum qualifications to hold the higher position in order to
qualify for an out -of -class assignment. The assignment must last for a minimum
of 15 consecutive calendar days to a maximum of six consecutive months. The
Personnel Officer may approve extending the length of an Out -of -Class
Assignment. All requests for an Out -of -Class Assignment must be presented to
the Personnel Officer by the Director in advance and be approved by the
Personnel Officer in advance.
Employees appointed to an Out -of -Class Assignment will be compensated, at the
Personnel Officer's discretion, at not less than a 5% increase over their current
salary, to a maximum of "E" step of the higher level classification. Benefit levels
will remain unchanged for the duration of the Out -of -Class Assignment.
Compensation changes will be effective with the first day of the Out -of -Class
Assignment and continue through the end of the assignment.
-13-
�q
RULE XI. DISCIPLINARY ACTION
SEC. 1. Types of Disciplinary Action: Disciplinary action consists of written reprimands,
termination, involuntary demotion, suspension, transfer because of misconduct, or
reduction in salary. While the City maintains a progressive disciplinary system,
the City may impose discipline at any level that is appropriate for the employee's
action up to and including termination. The following are not disciplinary actions
and are not subject to the provisions of this Rule:
A. Deferred merit salary increases;
B. Negative performance evaluations;
C. Demotion or termination due to layoff,
D. Verbal counseling; and
E. Transfer to another position without a loss of pay.
SEC. 2. Reasons for Disciplinary Action: Discipline of non -probationary regular
employees in the competitive service will not be imposed except upon a showing
of good cause which may include but shall not be limited to the following:
A. Violation of City Personnel Rules, ordinances, and/or administrative
policies and procedures;
B. Failure to properly perform assigned duties;
C. Theft, failure to properly care for, or causing harm to City property or the
property of another;
D. Insubordination;
E. Dishonesty;
F. Falsification of records, including information provided on an application
for employment;
G. Conviction of a felony, or conviction of a misdemeanor relating to the
employee's fitness to perform assigned duties;
H. Assault, battery, or fighting while on duty or under the appearance of
office;
1. Acceptance of bribes or extortion;
-14-
M
J. Unauthorized absence from employment, leaving the job without
authorization, or excessive absenteeism;
K. Tardiness;
L. Abuse of or inappropriate use of paid leaves;
M. Discourteous treatment of or failure to maintain satisfactory working
relationships with employees, contractors, or the public;
N. Reporting for work, or being at work, under the influence of or in
possession of alcohol or non -prescribed controlled substances;
O. Gambling on City property or during working hours;
P. Unauthorized or improper use of City property or funds, unauthorized
access, unauthorized disclosure, and/or misuse of proprietary or
confidential City information;
Q. Acceptance of any gift, reward, or other form of compensation in addition
to regular compensation for performance of official duties other than as
provided for by written City policy or state laws;
R. Laziness, carelessness, or negligence;
S. Sleeping on the job;
T. Failure to maintain any employment qualification;
U. Failure to comply with safety standards;
V. Interfering with the work performance of others; and/or
W. Other failure of good behavior either during or outside of employment
such that the employee's conduct causes discredit to the City.
SEC. 3. Disciplining Authority:
A. Directors and/or Division Managers shall have the authority to impose
discipline up to a suspension of four working days. When a Director or
Division Manager imposes discipline of a severity equal to or lesser than
four working days, the Director or Division Manager is not required to
adhere to Sections 5 or 6 of this Rule, and the employee shall have no
right of appeal under Rule XII, Disciplinary Appeal Procedures.
B. Directors shall have the responsibility to institute disciplinary action, to
schedule and conduct any predisciplinary conference, and to make
recommendations to the Personnel Officer regarding the imposition of
disciplinary action of a severity equivalent to a suspension of five working
-15-
days or more. If the Personnel Officer concurs with the Director's
recommendation of discipline, either the Personnel Officer or the Director
shall have the authority to impose such discipline.
SEC. 4. Delegation of Authority: If a Director, Division Manager, or the Personnel
Officer delegates his/her authority in accordance with Section 2 of Rule II of
these Personnel Rules, he/she must commit the delegation to writing. Further, if
an individual is unable to delegate his/her authority due to absence, incapacity, or
other reason, the Human Resources Manager has the authority to act in that
individual's capacity without a written delegation of authority.
SEC. 5. Notice of Intent: Prior to recommending the imposition of any disciplinary action
of a severity equal to a suspension of five working days or more, the Director
shall issue a Notice of Intent to the employee setting forth the nature of the
proposed disciplinary action and any specific charges against the employee. The
Notice of Intent shall also inform the employee of his/her right to receive copies
of the written documents and materials upon which the proposed disciplinary
action is based and of his/her right to respond either verbally or in writing within
five working days from the date of the issuance of the Notice of Intent. 'A copy of
the Notice of Intent, and any written response by the employee, shall be placed in
the employee's personnel file.
SEC. 6. Predisciplinary Conference: An employee may request, or the Director may
require, that the employee meet with the Director prior to the imposition of
discipline. The predisciplinary meeting must occur within five working days
from the date of issuance of the Notice of Intent, unless the City and the employee
mutually agree to extend the time to respond to the Notice of Intent. If an
employee, who is represented by an Employee Organization, requests or is
required to meet with a Director and such meeting involves the possible
imposition of disciplinary action against the employee, the employee, upon
request, shall be entitled to have a representative from the Employee Organization
present at such meeting.
SEC. 7. Notice of Imposition of Discipline: Within five working days after the later of the
employee's verbal or written response, the date of the predisciplinary meeting, or
the expiration of the employee's time to respond to the Notice of Intent, the
Director shall take one of the following actions: (1) dismiss the Notice of Intent
and take no disciplinary action against the employee; (2) modify the intended
disciplinary notice; or (3) prepare and serve upon the employee a Notice of
Imposition of Discipline. The Notice of Imposition of Discipline shall include the
following:
A. The disciplinary action taken;
B. The effective date of the disciplinary action taken;
C. Specific charges upon which the action is based;
-16-
30
D. A summary of the facts upon which the charges are based; and
E. The employee's right to appeal.
SEC. 8. Untimeliness: An employee's failure at any step of the process described above
to respond to a disciplinary action within specified time limits shall be deemed
acceptance of the decision rendered and a waiver of any further appeal steps.
SEC. 9. Paid Administrative Leave:. An employee may be placed on a Paid
Administrative Leave to allow the City time to fully investigate the facts of an
alleged violation, while the disciplinary action is in process, or when the
Personnel Officer determines that it is in the best interest of the City. The
employee shall be considered to be on duty at his/her own home. The employee
must be available by telephone during his/her normal working hours. The
employee may leave his/her home, so long as the employee is available by
telephone, and available to report to work within a reasonable time following a
request by the City. When an employee is placed on Paid Administrative Leave
during this investigation, he/she shall not discuss the alleged violation or the
disciplinary action with anyone, except a representative of his/her choice. Failure
to remain reachable by telephone shall be considered insubordination and could
result in additional disciplinary action. The employee shall be informed that
communicating with others, except a representative of his/her choice, about a
pending investigation constitutes insubordination and is a separate and
independent ground for discipline. This section is not intended to prevent the
employee from communicating with his/her legal counsel or with his/her union
representative.
RULE XII. DISCIPLINARY APPEAL PROCEDURES
SEC. 1. Requests for Disciplinary Hearings: Employees shall have the right to appeal the
imposition of disciplinary action of a severity equal to a suspension of five
working days or more. When an employee requests a disciplinary hearing, the
request shall be in writing, signed by the employee and presented to the City
Manager within 10 working days after the date of the Notice of Imposition of
Discipline if personally served and 15 working days if served by mail. Any such
requests shall be addressed to the City Manager and shall identify the subject
matter of the appeal, the grounds for the appeal, and the relief desired by the
employee. All disciplinary hearings shall be conducted in private unless the
employee requests a public hearing in writing.
If the employee fails to request a disciplinary hearing within the prescribed time
and manner, the employee shall have waived the right to a hearing and all rights
to further appeal of the disciplinary action.
SEC. 2. Scheduling of Disciplinary Hearing: The City Manager shall schedule any
disciplinary hearing within a reasonable time after the filing of the employee's
1 7-
31
request, considering the availability of a Hearing Officer and the availability of
the employee and witnesses.
SEC. 3. Hearing Officer: The City Manager shall be the Hearing Officer for disciplinary
hearings or the City Manager may designate a third party as the Hearing Officer
for any disciplinary hearing.
SEC. 4. Representation at Disciplinary Hearing: At the disciplinary hearing, the employee
may appear personally and may be represented by counsel or other representative.
SEC. 5. Employee'sppearance at Disciplinary Hearing: An employee who requests an
appeal of discipline imposed under Rule XI, Disciplinary Action, must be present
during his/her appeal hearing. Failure of the employee to be present shall
constitute a waiver of the employee's right to an appeal. Waiver will not occur if
the employee can demonstrate good cause for his/her failure to be present within
three working days from the date the employee fails to appear.
SEC. 6. Subpoenas for Witnesses and Documents: The Hearing Officer shall have the
authority to issue subpoenas, to compel the attendance of witnesses, and to require
the production of documents.
SEC. 7. Conduct of Disciplinary Hearing: The proceedings before the Hearing Officer
shall be conducted as follows:
A. All interested parties shall have the following rights:
To call and examine witnesses;
2. To introduce exhibits;
To cross-examine opposing witnesses on any matter relevant to the
issue, even if the matter is not covered in the direct examination;
4. To impeach any witness regardless of which party first called
him/her to testify;
5. To rebut the evidence against them; and
6. To present oral and written arguments.
B. The City shall have the burden of proof, and the burden shall be by the
preponderance of the evidence.
C. The hearing need not be conducted in accordance with the technical rules
relating to evidence and witnesses, but shall be conducted in a manner
most conducive to the determination of the truth. Any relevant evidence
may be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons
are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the
_ 18_
b)
existence of any common law or statutory rules which might make
improper admission of such evidence over objection in a court of law.
Decisions made by the Hearing Officer shall not be invalidated by any
informality in the proceedings.
D. The Hearing Officer shall not take testimony from one party outside the
presence of the other.
E. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of explaining any direct
evidence, but shall not be sufficient to support a finding, unless it would
be admissible over objections in civil actions.
F. The rules of privilege shall be effective to the same extent that they are
now or hereafter may be recognized in civil actions.
G. The Hearing Officer shall determine the relevancy, weight, and credibility
of testimony and evidence.
H. Irrelevant evidence and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.
I. The Hearing Officer shall have the power to exclude any witnesses.
SEC. 8. Hearing Officer's Decision: The Hearing Officer shall base his/her findings on
the preponderance of the evidence. Within 30 days after the disciplinary hearing,
the Hearing Officer shall issue a written decision containing findings of fact and
conclusions of law. The Hearing officer shall have the authority to affirm,
revoke, or reduce the disciplinary action imposed against the employee. The
Hearing Officer may not provide for discipline more stringent than that imposed
by the City. The Hearing Officer's decision constitutes a final resolution of any
disciplinary action and no further appeal shall be permitted within the City's
administrative process. A copy of the Hearing Officer's decision shall be
provided to the charged employee, and may be placed in the employee's
personnel file.
Notwithstanding the above, the Hearing Officer shall not have binding authority
to add, modify, or subtract from applicable Memoranda of Understanding, the
Personnel Rules, or any resolutions, ordinances, or policies adopted by the City.
Further, the Hearing Officer shall not have the authority or power to render a
binding decision that requires the City to expend additional funds, to hire
additional personnel, to buy additional equipment or supplies, or to pay wages or
benefits not specifically provided for in applicable Memoranda of Understanding,
the Personnel Rules, or any resolutions, ordinances, or policies adopted by the
City. The Hearing Officer shall not have the authority to require the City to
perform any other action that would violate state or federal laws.
SEC. 9. Cost Allocation: If an outside Hearing Officer presides over the appeal, the
Hearing Officer's fees shall be borne entirely by the City.
-19-
35
RULE XIII. LAYOFF POLICY AND PROCEDURE
SEC. 1. Statement of Intent: Whenever, in the judgment of the City Council, it becomes
necessary to abolish any position or employment, the employee holding such
position or employment, may be laid off or demoted without disciplinary action
and without the right of appeal.
SEC. 2. Notification: Employees to be laid off shall be given, whenever possible, at least
14 days prior notice.
SEC. 3. Vacancy and Demotion: Except as otherwise provided, whenever there is layoff,
the Director shall first demote employees who are scheduled to be laid off to an
existing and open position in a class with a lower pay grade for which the
employee is qualified. All persons so demoted shall have their names placed on
the reemployment list for the classification from which they were laid off.
SEC. 4. Order of Layoff: In each class of position, employees shall be laid off according
to employment status in the following order: temporary, provisional,
probationary, and regular. Temporary, provisional, and probationary employees
shall be laid off according to the needs of the service as determined by the
Director. In cases where there are two or more regular employees in the class
from which the layoff is to be made, such employees shall be laid off inverse
order of seniority in City service, so that the employee with the least amount of
seniority will be laid off first. For purposes of calculating seniority for this
Section 4, all continuous service of the employee in a probationary or regular
position shall be counted. However, if an employee has had a break in service,
the time spent in service of the City prior to that break in service shall not be
included in the calculation of seniority. Further, except as otherwise required by
law, the calculation of seniority will not include any time spent on an unpaid
leave of absence.
SEC. 5. Employee Bumping Rights:
A. A laid off employee shall have the right to displace an employee in the
same department who has less seniority in a class with a lower pay grade
in the same class series or in a classification with a lower pay grade in
which the affected employee once had regular status. For the purpose of
this Section and Section 6, seniority includes all periods of full-time
service at or above the classification pay grade where layoff is to occur.
B. In order to retreat to a former classification or a classification with a lower
pay grade, an employee must have more seniority than at least one of the
incumbents in the retreat class and request displacement action in writing
to the Personnel Officer within five working days of receipt of notice of
layoff.
C. Employees retreating to a lower or similar class shall be placed at the
salary step representing the least loss of pay. In no case shall the salary be
3q
increased above that received in the class from which the employee was
laid off nor will the salary exceed the maximum salary range for the new
position. Employees retreating to a lower or similar class shall serve a
probationary period in the new class unless they have previously
successfully completed a probationary period in the class or a class in the
class series.
SEC. 6. Reemployment List: The names of persons laid off or demoted in accordance
with these Personnel Rules shall be entered upon a reemployment list. Lists from
different departments or at different times for the same class of position shall be
combined into a single list. Such list shall be used by every Director when a
vacancy arises in the same or lower class of position before certification is made
from an eligible list or starting a recruitment.
SEC. 7. Duration of Reemployment List: Names of persons laid off shall be carried on a
reemployment list for one year, except that persons appointed to regular positions
of the same level as that which laid off, shall, upon such appointment, be dropped
from the list. Persons who refuse reemployment shall be dropped from the list.
Persons reemployed in a lower class, or on a temporary basis, shall be continued
on the list for the higher position for one year.
RULE XIV. SEPARATION FROM SERVICE
SEC. 1. Termination: An employee in the competitive service may be terminated for
cause at any time by the Director. Whenever it is the intention of the Director to
terminate an employee in the competitive service, the Personnel Officer shall be
notified prior to the termination. Disciplinary termination action shall be taken in
accordance with Rules XI, Disciplinary Action, and Rule XII, Disciplinary
Appeal Procedures. At -will employees and employees who are not in the
competitive service, may be terminated at any time without cause, without notice,
and without the right to appeal said termination.
SEC. 2. Resignation: Any employee electing to leave the competitive service in, good
standing shall file with the Director a written resignation. stating the effective date
and reasons for leaving at least 14 days before leaving the service, unless such
time limit is waived by the Director or the Personnel Officer. Failure to give
notice, as required by this Rule, shall be cause for denying future employment by
the City.
SEC. 3. Retirement:
A. Service Retirement: An employee may voluntary terminate his/her
employment with the City after having satisfied the age and length of
employment requirements of the Public Employees Retirement System
("PERS") procedures for applying for retirement benefits.
B. Disability Retirement: An employee may terminate his/her employment
in accordance with PERS standards and procedures when it is necessitated
3s
by an injury or illness that renders the employee incapable of performing
his/her essential functions, as defined in the class specifications.
SEC. 4. References for Employ: Only the Personnel Officer and the Human Resources
Manager or their designees are authorized to provide references for former or
current employees on behalf of the City of Santa Clarita. No other employee is
authorized to provide written or verbal references or recommendations for former
or current employees. No other employee is authorized to respond to questions
about former or current employees regarding their work performance. As such,
any employee who receives a request for a reference is required to forward that
request to the Human Resources Manager.
RULE XV. ATTENDANCE AND LEAVES OF ABSENCE
SEC. 1. Attendance: Attendance is considered an essential function of every position in
the City's service. Employees shall be in attendance at their work station or
location in accordance with their established work schedule. All departments
shall keep daily attendance records of employees which shall be reported using
the designated time card and procedure as specified by the City.
SEC. 2. Unauthorized Absence: If an employee is absent from work without having
requested and obtained supervisory approval for his/her absence or if an employee
fails to return at the conclusion of an approved leave of absence, the absence shall
be considered unauthorized.
Failure of an employee to return to duty within 24 hours after the City sends
notice to the employee ordering him/her to return to work shall be considered a
voluntary resignation, and the employee automatically waives all rights under the
Personnel Ordinance and these Personnel Rules. The notice to the employee shall
be delivered either by (a) personal service to the employee; or (b) depositing in
the mail of a certified overnight delivery, postage paid, return receipt requested,
addressed to the employee's last known address.
However, the employee shall be given 48 hours to present good cause for his/her
failure to return to duty. The 48-hour period shall begin at the conclusion of the
24-hour period that the employee has to return to work. The employee may
present his/her good cause verbally or in writing to the Personnel Officer. The
Personnel Officer shall then have 48 hours to determine whether he/she accepts
the employee's proof of good cause.
If the time limits specified in this Section include non -work days, those non -work
days shall not be included in the calculation of said time limits. For example, if
an employee is ordered to return to work at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, the employee
must return to work by 8:00 a.m. on Friday. The employee would then have until
8:00 a.m. on Tuesday to present good cause for his/her failure to return to duty as
ordered because Saturday and Sunday are typically non -work days.
-22-
t36
If an employee returns to work after receiving said notice, the City reserves the
right to discipline the employee under Rules XI, Disciplinary Action, and XII,
Disciplinary Appeal Procedures, for any violations of City Personnel Rules and
regulations that the employee may have committed by being absent without
authorization.
SEC. 3. Effect of Leave of Absence:
A. Effect of Leave of Absence on Employment Benefits:
1. Fully Paid Leave: Unless otherwise required by law, an employee
on a leave of absence who continues to receive full compensation
through the use of his/her accrued leave banks will continue to
receive full employment benefits. Such employment benefits, may
include, but are not limited to, the accrual of paid leaves, accrual of
seniority, and cafeteria contributions, which remain at the rate the
employee would receive if he/she was working his/her normal
work schedule.
2. Partially Paid Leave: Unless otherwise required by law, an
employee on a paid leave of absence who is receiving less than full
compensation from the City through the use of his/her accrued paid
leaves shall receive a pro -rated share of his/her employment
benefits, including, but not limited to, the accrual of paid leaves,
accrual of seniority, cafeteria contributions, or supplemental pay.
In accordance with Section 10, Administrative Leave, of this Rule,
full-time exempt employees who are on a partially paid leave shall
not accrue Administrative Leave during that pay period.
Unpaid Leave: Unless otherwise required by law, an employee on
an unpaid leave of absence shall not accrue any employment
benefits, including, but not limited to, the accrual of paid leaves,
accrual of seniority, cafeteria contributions, and supplemental pay.
B. Effect of Leave on Probationary Periods, Performance Evaluations. and
Merit Increases: An employee on one or more leaves of absence lasting
longer than 14 days shall have his/her probationary period, performance
evaluation, and merit increase, if relevant, postponed by an amount equal
to the amount of leave taken.
SEC. 4. Leave of Absence Without Pay:
A. Mandatory Exhaustion of Paid Leaves:
Medical Leave: If an employee is requesting a leave of absence
for medical reasons, the employee is required to fully exhaust all of
his/her paid leaves in order to be eligible to receive a leave of
absence without pay.
-23-
3%
2. Personal Leave: If an employee is requesting a leave of absence
for personal reasons, the employee is required to fully exhaust all
of his/her paid leaves, except sick leave, in order to be eligible to
receive a leave of absence without pay.
B. Length of Leave of Absence Without Pay: The Personnel Officer, in
his/her discretion, may grant a regular or probationary employee leave of
absence without pay for up to three months. The Personnel Officer may,
in his/her discretion, extend the leave in three-month increments; however,
unless otherwise required by law, in no circumstances shall the total
amount of unpaid leave be longer than 12 months.
Upon receipt of a written request, Directors may grant a regular or
probationary employee leave of absence without pay not to exceed 40
hours within the last 12 months. All leaves granted by Directors shall be
immediately reported to the Personnel Officer and the Human Resources
Division.
C. Process for Requesting Leave of Absence Without Pay: An employee
requesting a leave of absence without pay must submit his/her request to
the Personnel Officer (or the Director in cases where the employee has
requested 40 or fewer unpaid hours off in the last 12 months) in writing at
least 14 days in advance and must set forth the reason(s) for the request.
The employee must also attach documentary evidence supporting his/her
need for the leave of absence. When such advance notice is not
practicable, the request must be submitted as soon as is practicable under
the circumstances. The Personnel Officer or the Director.may request
reasonable documentation, in addition to any documents attached to the
employee's request, supporting the employee's reason for requesting the
leave. The approval or denial of such leaves of absence shall be in
writing.
D. Returning from Leave of Absence Without Pay: An employee who fails
to report promptly back to work at the expiration of the Leave of Absence
without Pay, or within a reasonable time after notice to return to duty,
shall be designated on an unauthorized absence under Section 2 and those
procedures shall apply.
E. Revocation of Leave of Absence Without Pay: The Personnel Officer or
Director shall have the right to revoke a previously granted unpaid leave
of absence upon a determination that the leave is not being used for the
purpose for which it was granted or the needs of the City change, and the
employee may be subject to discipline in accordance with Rule XI,
Disciplinary Action.
SEC. 5. Military Leave: Military leave shall be granted in accordance with the provisions
of federal, state, and local law. During active military campaigns, employees who
-24-
3�
are called to serve shall be entitled to a continuation of their City pay, offset by
military pay for a total of 180 days for the period of active duty. The 180 days
provided by the City runs concurrently with any federal, state, or local military
leave laws. If the employee is entitled to benefits under the provisions of federal
or state law, the offset City pay shall be reduced by such federal or state mandated
benefits.
All employees entitled to military leave shall, within the limits of military
regulations, give the appointing authority an opportunity to determine when such
leave shall be taken.
SEC. 6. Vacation Leave:
A. Request for Vacation Leave: An employee who wishes to take vacation
leave must submit a request to his/her immediate supervisor in advance of
the intended vacation. The granting and scheduling of vacation is at the
discretion of the supervisor with consideration of (1) the wishes of the
employee, and (2) the needs of the Department.
It is the employee's responsibility to ensure that he/she has a sufficient
amount of leave accumulated to fully cover the requested time off. For
example, if an employee requests 16 hours of vacation leave, the
employee should first determine whether he/she has at least 16 hours of
accumulated vacation, administrative leave, compensatory time off, or
holiday leave time. If the employee does not have sufficient accumulated
paid leaves to cover the requested time off, (1) then he/she may need to
reduce the original leave request, or (2) the employee may request an
unpaid leave of absence for the portion of the leave that would be unpaid
as outlined in Section 4 of this Rule. An employee who falls into an
unpaid leave status without having been granted permission under Section
4 of this Rule may be disciplined for the inappropriate use of leave.
B. Accrual: Regular and probationary employees who work full-time shall
accrue vacation leave each pay period at the rates designated by the City.
Regular and probationary employees who work part-time shall accumulate
vacation leave at a rate proportionate to a full-time employee in the same
class, according to the number of hours scheduled to work.
An employee who works less than his/her regularly scheduled hours in a
pay period shall earn a pro -rated share of vacation based on the number of
hours worked.
SEC. 7. Jury y Leave: Every regular and probationary employee, both full-time and
part-time, of the City who is called or required to serve as a trial juror, upon
notification and appropriate verification submitted to his/her supervisor,' shall be
entitled to paid leave during the period of such service or while necessarily being
present in court as a result of such call. The amount of paid leave shall be based
on the number of regularly scheduled work hours for the employee during the
period of required service. Employees must obtain a form from the court that
certifies the times and dates served as jurors.
SEC. 8. Sick Leave:
A. Accrual: Regular and probationary employees who work full-time shall
accrue sick leave each pay period at the rates specified by the City.
Regular and probationary employees who work part-time shall accrue sick
leave at a rate proportionate to a full-time employee in the same class,
according to the number of hours scheduled to work.
An employee who works less than his/her regularly scheduled hours in a
pay period shall earn a prorated share of sick leave based on the number of
hours worked.
B. Usage: Sick leave may only be taken for absences from duty made
necessary by:
Personal illness or physical incapacity caused by factors over
which the employee has no reasonable or immediate control.
2. Injury, either job or non job related. When an injury is job-related,
the employee shall be charged with sick leave usage only to the
extent that their salary is not covered by Workers' Compensation.
Medical, dental or eye examination or treatment for which
appointment cannot be made outside of working hours.
4. When the employee's presence is needed to attend to the illness or
injury of a member of his/her immediate family.
Inability to work because of intemperance is not an authorized reason for
sick leave.
C. Verification: A supervisor or Director may require a doctor's verification
for any period of absence when an employee has been absent due to illness
or injury. The doctor's verification must include:
1. The employee's name.
2. The name and address of the doctor.
A statement by the physician that the employee is under the care of
the physician and that the illness/injury prevents the employee
from performing hi's/her duties.
-26-
�-
o
4. Statement of specific dates the doctor recommends the employee
stays off work.
Date(s) employee was seen or will be seen by the doctor.
6. Verification must be signed (not signature stamped) by the
physician.
D. Sick Leave Incentive Program: Employees who have minimal sick leave
usage during the calendar year or large balances of sick leave may be
eligible to participate in the Sick Leave Incentive Program as defined by
the City.
E. Unused Sick Leave: No employee shall be compensated for, or allowed to
exhaust any accrued sick leave upon resignation, including retirement,
termination, layoff, or death.
SEC. 9. Holidays: The City shall observe the holidays designated by the City Council by
resolution or ordinance.
When a holiday falls on Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as a
holiday. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be
observed as a holiday.
A. Holiday Falling on a Regularly Scheduled Day Off: Any regular or
probationary exempt or non-exempt employee whose regularly scheduled
day off falls on a designated City holiday will accrue an additional floating
holiday for that calendar year. Floating holidays accrued in January
through October must be used prior to the end of the same calendar year.
However, a floating holiday earned in November or December will be
carried over to the next calendar year and must be used by June 30. Any
employee who accrues, but does not use a floating holiday under these
restrictions, will be compensated at the employee's current rate of pay in
the first paycheck the employee receives after December 31 or June 30.
B. Compensation for Work Performed on a Holiday: Any regular or
probationary non-exempt employee who is requested by his/her supervisor
to report to work on a designated City holiday will receive time and one
half for the hours worked on the day the City observes the holiday. For
example, if Independence Day is on a Saturday, and the City observes it
on Friday, only employees required to work on Friday would be entitled to
premium pay. Employees who work on Saturday will be entitled their
regular pay.
C. Amount of Holiday Pay: Full-time regular and probationary employees
shall accrue the same number of hours that the employee would otherwise
be regularly scheduled to work. Part-time regular and probationary
_27_
employees shall accrue holiday hours in proportion to their assigned full-
time equivalency.
D. Unused Floating Holidays: No employee shall be compensated for, or
allowed to exhaust any accrued floating holiday upon resignation,
retirement, termination, layoff, or death.
E. Holiday Pay During Leave of Absence: When a holiday occurs during an
employee's approved leave of absence, the employee will receive full
holiday pay only if the employee is in full pay status the working day
immediately preceding the holiday. Unless otherwise required by law, if
the employee is in less than full pay status on the working day
immediately preceding the holiday, the employee's holiday pay will be
prorated based on the number of hours paid during the pay period unless
otherwise required by law.
SEC. 10. Administrative Leave:
A. Eligibility: Certain full-time, exempt employees may be eligible to
receive administrative leave each calendar year in recognition of work
performed outside their normal full-time work schedule such as attending
meetings, events, or being available to address problems or issues.
Part-time exempt employees whose regular work schedule is less than 40
hours per week are not eligible for Administrative Leave.
B. Accrual Rate of Administrative Leave: Eligible exempt employees shall
accrue Administrative Leave each pay period at the rate designated by the
City up to a maximum of 80 hours per calendar year. Executive Team
members accrue up to 96 hours per calendar year. Full-time exempt
employees who are in pay status less than their regularly scheduled hours
shall not accrue Administrative Leave during that pay period.
Administrative Leave may be accrued up to the maximum annual amount
and be carried over into the next calendar year. Once the annual
maximum is reached, no additional Administrative Leave will accrue until
such time as the leave balance drops below the maximum.
C. Separating from the City: Upon separation from the City, any unused
Administrative Leave will be forfeited. Administrative Leave is not
eligible for cash -out.
SEC. IL . Bereavement Leave: Paid Bereavement Leave may be granted by a Director at
rates determined by the City for employee absence from duty as a result of a death
in the employee's immediate family. The City may request documentation to
verify eligibility for bereavement leave.
_28_
0
SEC. 12. Fitness for Duty Examination and Leave:
A. Purpose/Police: Employees are expected to report to work fit for duty,
which means able to perform their job duties in a safe, appropriate, and
effective manner, free from adverse effects of physical, mental, emotional,
and/or personal problems. This Rule is intended to provide a safe
environment and protect the health and welfare of employees and the
public. If an employee feels that he/she is not fit to perform his/her duties,
he/she must notify his/her supervisor immediately.
B. Reasons for Fitness for Duty Leave: A fitness for duty examination may
be ordered in any of the following situations:
An employee returns from a medical leave of absence of more than
five working days.
2. An employee is involved in the interactive process with the City
under Rule I1I, Section 2.
3. Supervisor observes or receives a reliable report of an employee's
possible lack of fitness for duty. Observations and reports may be
based on, but are not limited to, employee's own self-report of
potential unfitness, dexterity, coordination, alertness, speech,
vision acuity, concentration, response to criticism, interactions
with the public, co-workers, and supervisors.
4. Fitness for duty examinations based on a reasonable suspicion that
an employee is under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol shall
be conducted in accordance with the City's Drug -Free Workplace
Policy.
C. Procedures for Ordering a Fitness for Duty Examination: When a
supervisor becomes aware of or observes behavior that makes him/her
reasonably suspect that the employee may not be fit for duty, the
supervisor shall refer the employee to the Human Resources Manager who
will determine whether a fitness for duty examination is necessary and
should be scheduled. If the circumstances warrant it, the Human
Resources Manager, after conferring with the employee's Director, may
place the employee on a paid or unpaid leave pending the results of the
employee's fitness for duty examination. The examination shall be paid
for by the City.
D. Procedure Following Receipt of Examination Results: The doctor
examining the employee shall be limited to finding the employee "fit for
duty" or "fit for duty with restrictions" or "unfit for duty." In the case of
finding an employee fit for duty, the doctor may issue work restrictions.
In no case shall the doctor reveal the underlying cause of the fit or
unfitness for duty without the employee's permission.
-29-
q3
Fit for Duty: If the doctor finds the employee is fit for duty, the
employee shall return to work immediately and perform all duties
of his/her position.
2. Fit for Duty with Restrictions: If the doctor finds the employee is
fit for duty with restrictions, the doctor shall specifically list what
restrictions are necessary and for how long those restrictions are
necessary. If the employee's restrictions are based on a disability
as defined by the ADA and/or FEHA, the City shall engage in the
interactive process as set forth in Rule III, Nondiscrimination,
Section 2. The City shall then evaluate those restrictions and
determine if the restrictions can be reasonably accommodated.
Unfit for Duty: If the employee is found to be unfit for duty,
he/she shall not be permitted to work. He/She may request a leave
of absence in accordance with the'appropriate subsection of this
Rule. If the employee can provide certification of fitness for duty
prior to the exhaustion of all paid and unpaid leave that he/she is
entitled to under these Personnel Rules, the employee shall be
returned to work. However, if such certification is from the
employee's own health care provider, the City may request a
second opinion from a doctor of its choosing and at its cost to
evaluate the employee under the requirements of this section. If
the two certifications conflict, a third opinion will be sought from a
doctor chosen. by the City and the employee, at the expense of the
City. The opinion of fit or unfit rendered by the third doctor shall
be binding. If the employee's restrictions are based on a disability
as defined by the ADA and/or FEHA, the City shall engage in the
interactive process as set forth in Rule III, Nondiscrimination,
Section 2.
SEC. 13. Workers' Compensation Leave: The City will comply with all relevant laws
when handling an employee's workers' compensation claim for an on-the-job
injury or illness. Any questions about employees' rights under the California
workers' compensation system can be directed to the Human Resources Division.
A. Treating Physician: The City will choose the employee's primary treating
physician for the first 30 days after an injury is reported unless the
employee has pre -designated a personal physician in accordance with this
Rule. The employee must pre -designate, prior to the date of injury or
illness, a medical doctor or osteopath who previously directed his/her
medical treatment and who has the employee's medical records. The
employee's designation must be in writing and must contain the following
information:
Name of the physician;
-30-
9q
Physician's address;
Physician's telephone and facsimile numbers;
4. Physician tax ID number; and
5. Physician's signature agreeing to provide medical services in
accordance with California Workers' Compensation statutes and
regulations.
The employee should sign and date the document and submit the
completed form to the Human Resources Division. It is the employee's
responsibility to keep this information current.
In the case of an emergency, the employee may not be able to immediately
see his/her pre -designated physician.
B. Reporting Injuries: All injuries sustained in the course of employment
shall be immediately reported by the injured employee to his/her
immediate supervisor. If the immediate supervisor is not available, the
injured employee shall immediately notify one of the following persons in
the order listed here: the employee's supervisor, Director, Human
Resources, or the Personnel Officer or their designees. All accidents and
injuries, no matter how minor, must be reported, and all required
documentation completed within the time limits set forth in Workers'
Compensation statutes and regulations.
C. Workers' Compensation Leave and Benefits: Employees shall receive
disability benefits according to Labor Code section 4650.
An employee who is required to be off work because of his/her workers'
compensation injury or illness shall be designated as being on workers'
compensation leave. Such workers' compensation leave shall be unpaid
except as otherwise required by law. The employee is required to exhaust
his/her paid leave banks, in coordination with any workers' compensation
benefits he/she is receiving. The City will exhaust the employee's paid
leaves in the following order, unless another order is more beneficial to
the employee or the employee requests a different order within 14 days of
the date of injury: sick leave, compensatory time off, holiday,
administrative leave, and vacation. The combination of workers'
compensation benefits and payments from the City can never exceed the
employee's regular salary.
Unless otherwise required by law, if an employee falls into a City unpaid
leave status, he/she will not accrue any employment benefits, including,
but not limited to, the accrual of paid leaves, cafeteria contributions, and
supplemental pay as set forth in Rule XV, Attendance and Leaves of
Absence, Section 3.
-31-
`/5
An employee on workers' compensation leave may also qualify for leave
under the FMLA/CFRA. The City will inform the employee if he/she
qualifies under the FMLA/CFRA in accordance with City policy.
RULE XVI. REPORTS AND RECORDS
SEC. 1. Personnel Records: The Personnel Officer shall maintain a confidential personnel
record for each employee in the service of the City showing the name, title of
position held, the department to which assigned, salary, changes in employment
status, and other information as may be considered pertinent by the Personnel
Officer.
Employees shall have the right to access their official personnel files at reasonable
intervals. The employee shall not be permitted to remove items from his/her
personnel files. However, the employee shall have the right to a copy of
documents in his/her official personnel file. Employees wishing to access their
personnel file should notify their Director or the Human Resources Division of
their desire to access their personnel file, and the Human Resources Division will
schedule a time for this viewing. A Human Resources representative shall be
present during the employee's review of his/her personnel file.
Letters of reference and reports regarding ongoing investigations concerning the
employee shall be excluded from the provisions of this Rule.
SEC. 2. Chane of Status Report: Every appointment, transfer, promotion, demotion,
change of salary rate or any other temporary or regular change in status of
employees shall be reported to the Personnel Officer in such manner as he/she
may prescribe.
SEC. 3. Current Address: Each employee is required to inform the City of his/her home
street address, and to keep the City apprised of any changes to his/her home street
address.
RULE XVII. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
SEC. 1. Purpose of Grievance Procedure: The grievance procedure shall be used to
resolve employee complaints regarding an alleged violation or interpretation of
any memorandum of understanding ("MOU"), the City's Personnel Ordinance, or
these Personnel Rules.
Specifically excluded from the grievance procedure are:
A. Performance evaluations;
B. Deferred merit salary increases;
C. Verbal counseling;
-32-
D. Any disciplinary action under Rules XI, Disciplinary Action, and XII,
Disciplinary Appeal Procedures;
E. Policy decisions of the City Council;
F. Transfer to another position without a loss of pay; and
G. Matters for which there is a separate appeal, including, but not limited to,
disciplinary action.
SEC. 2. Informal Discussion of Grievance: When an employee has a complaint, the
employee shall first informally discuss the matter with his/her immediate
supervisor within 15 working days from the date of the incident or decision giving
rise to the grievance. If, after discussion, the complaint has not been satisfactorily
resolved, the employee shall have the right to file a formal grievance under
Section 3. The grievance shall be considered resolved and no further review of
the subject matter of the grievance shall be permitted under this Rule when the
employee does not seek further review of the grievance within five working days
from the date of the immediate supervisor's decision.
SEC. 3. Formal Grievance Procedure: The formal grievance procedure shall be used to
resolve an employee's complaint not satisfactorily resolved by an informal
discussion. All formal grievances shall be set forth on a form provided by the
City, and the employee is required to provide all information requested on the
grievance form, including, but not limited to, a statement of the event causing the
grievance; the provision of the MOU, Personnel Rule, or Personnel Ordinance
alleged to have been violated; the relief sought by the employee; and any potential
witnesses. Failure to fully complete the grievance form may result in a delay in
processing the grievance.
A. Step One: The employee shall present the formal grievance to his/her
Director within five working days from the date of the immediate
supervisor's decision. Within ten working days of receiving the formal
grievance, the Director shall schedule a meeting and discuss the grievance
with the employee and, if elected by the employee, the employee's
representative. Within ten working days after meeting with the employee,
the Director shall render a written decision regarding the grievance.
Failure of the Director to render a written decision on the grievance within
ten working days after meeting with the employee constitutes a denial of
the grievance, and the employee may proceed to Step Two.
If the Director's decision does not satisfactorily resolve the complaint, the
employee may present the formal written grievance to the Personnel
Officer within five working days after receipt of the decision of the
Director. The grievance shall be considered resolved and no further
review of the subject matter of the grievance shall be permitted under this
Rule when the employee does not seek further review of the grievance to
-33-
'17
the Personnel Officer within five working days after receipt of the
decision of the Director.
B. Step Two: The employee shall present the formal grievance to the
Personnel Officer within five working days from the date of the Director's
decision. Within 15 working days of receiving the formal grievance, the
Personnel Officer shall schedule a meeting and discuss the grievance with
the employee and, if elected by the employee, the employee's
representative. Within 15 working days after meeting with the employee,
the Personnel Officer.shall render a written decision regarding the
grievance. Failure of the Personnel Officer to render a written decision on
the grievance within 15 working days after meeting with the employee
constitutes a denial of the grievance. The decision of the Personnel
Officer shall resolve the grievance, and no further review of the subject
matter of the grievance shall be permitted within the City's administrative
process.
SEC. 4. General Grievance Provisions:
A. Non -Retaliation: The City shall not retaliate against any employee or any
representative resulting from the good faith use of the grievance
procedure.
B. Extension of Time: The time limits set forth in this Rule may be altered
by mutual agreement of the employee and the City.
C. Representation: Employees are entitled to have a representative present
during grievance proceedings.
D. Preparation Time: Reasonable time off without loss of pay shall be given
to an employee who has a grievance and to his/her representative in order
to participate in the grievance hearings. However, employees and their
representatives shall not be entitled to prepare for grievance hearings
while on duty.
RULE XVIII. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCEDURE
SEC. 1. Purpose of Performance Evaluation: The purpose of a performance evaluation is
to evaluate an employee's work performance. The immediate supervisor shall be
responsible for the evaluation of the work performance of an employee. The
performance evaluation may be used to promote or train an employee or as a basis
for disciplinary action. However, a performance evaluation is not disciplinary in
nature. The supervisor shall use only job-related factors to evaluate an
employee's work performance.
SEC. 2. Preparation of Performance Evaluation:
-34-
A. Probationary Employee Evaluations: During the probationary period, the
probationary employee (including employees serving a probationary
period due to promotion, transfer, demotion, or reassignment) must be
evaluated after three, six, and twelve months of service. Evaluation after
nine months is optional and left to the discretion of the supervisor. The
supervisor shall make certain that the probationary employee or
promotional appointee's 12 -month evaluation is completed prior to the
end of his/her probationary period, and the evaluating supervisor shall
make one of the following recommendations:
1. Retention of the employee is not desired, and the employee shall
be dismissed from his/her probationary period;
2. Retention of the employee is desired, and the employee shall
become a regular employee; or
3. The employee's probationary period shall be extended.
When the supervisor recommends a probationary period be extended,
he/she shall indicate the amount of time that the probationary period is to
be extended, but in no event shall the supervisor extend the probationary
period for more than six months (or 1,040 hours for part-time employees).
This action must be approved by the appointing authority as well as by the
Personnel Officer.
B. Regular Employee Evaluations:
Full -Time Regular Employees: Except as otherwise stated herein,
every employee should be evaluated every 12 months. An
employee may be evaluated more frequently at the discretion of the
supervisor.
2. Part -Time Regular Employ: Employees who work less than 40
hours per week will be evaluated based on the number of hours of
work completed. Supervisors are required to evaluate part-time
employees according to the following schedule: three-month
evaluation after completing 520 hours of work; six-month
evaluation after completing 1,040 hours of work; nine-month
evaluation (optional) after completing 1,560 hours of work; and a
12 -month evaluation after completing 2,080 hours of work. An
employee may be evaluated more frequently at the discretion of the
supervisor.
C. Non Appealable: Employees may attach a reasonable amount of rebuttal
material to any evaluation. Evaluations are not subject to any form of
appeal.
-35-
4�
SEC. 3. Postponement of Performance Evaluation: An employee's performance
evaluation due date shall be extended when the employee takes one or more
leaves of absence totaling more than 14 days. The employee's performance
evaluation due date shall be extended by the same period of time that the
employee was absent.
SEC. 4. Change in Performance Evaluation Date: The date of the employee's performance
evaluation may change multiple times during the employee's employment with
the City. For example, any time an employee is appointed to a new classification,
his/her annual performance evaluation will be revised to the date of appointment.
RULE XIX. SALARY PLAN
SEC. 1. Step Increases: Each job classification shall be assigned to a five-step salary
range which shall operate as follows:
A. The first step will be granted on the employee's date of hire, unless
otherwise determined by the appointing authority.
B. The second, third, fourth, and fifth steps may be granted to employees
after 12 months (2,080 hours for part-time employees) of fully satisfactory
service at the previous step upon the recommendation of the Director and
the approval of the Personnel Officer.
SEC. 2. Grantin: of Increases: Salary step increases shall be granted for merit only.
There shall be no appeal for the denial of a salary step increase.
SEC. 3. Salary Anniversary Date: An employee's salary anniversary date shall be the date
the employee begins employment with the City in a regular position. When a
change in classification occurs, the employee's salary anniversary date shall be
changed to the date the new classification becomes effective. The employee's
salary anniversary date shall also be changed if he/she receives an early merit
increase.
The employee's salary anniversary date shall be the date that an employee's
annual performance evaluation is due, as set forth in Rule XVIII, Performance
Evaluation Procedure. The employee's salary anniversary date may be adjusted
when he/she is absent from work in accordance with Rule XVIII, Performance
Evaluation Procedure, Section 3.
RULE XX. OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT AND OTHER EMPLOYEE OBLIGATIONS
SEC. 1. Outside Employment, Enterprise, or Activity: In accordance with California
Government Code Title 1, Division 4, Chapter 1, Article 4.7, no employees may
engage in any outside employment, enterprise, or activity that is inconsistent,
incompatible, in conflict with, or adverse to his/her employment, their ability to
-36-
perform their duties and responsibilities, including performance of overtime work
and emergency duties, or any other aspect of City operations. Employees are
required to notify their Director in writing of all outside employment in which
they are engaged, regardless of when that outside employment began, so that the
City may assess whether such outside employment conflicts with the employee's
City employment.
An employee's outside employment, enterprise, or activity will be prohibited
when any of the following are present:
A. It involves the use for private gain or advantage of his/her City time,
facilities, equipment and/or supplies; or the badge, uniform, prestige, or
influence of his/her City employment;
B. It involves the receipt or acceptance by the employee of any money or
other consideration from anyone other than the City for the performance
of an act which the employee, if not performing such act, would be
required or expected to render in the regular course or hours of his/her
City employment or as part of his/her duties as a City employee;
C. It involves the performance of an act, in other than his/her capacity as a
City employee, which may later be subject directly or indirectly to the
control, inspection, review, audit, or enforcement of any other officer or
employee of the City; or
D. It involves the time demands as would render performance of his/her
duties as a City employee less efficient.
When outside employment is reported to a Director, the Director shall, in
consultation with the Human Resources Manager, review all pertinent details of
the outside employment and determine whether the employee's outside
employment conflicts with the performance of his/her duties. The Director shall
advise the employee of his/her determination either verbally or in writing. An
employee who is unsatisfied with the decision of the Director may appeal the
decision to the Personnel Officer. An employee wishing to appeal the
determination must file a written appeal to the Personnel Officer within ten days
of receipt of the Director's decision. The Personnel Officer shall meet with the
employee and determine whether the employee's outside employment conflicts
with the performance of his/her duties. The Personnel Officer shall advise the
employee and the Director of his/her determination in writing within 15 days of
meeting with the employee. The Personnel Officer's decision shall be final with
no other right of appeal.
SEC. 2. Conduct During the Workday: During the workday, employees are expected to
devote their full time in the performance of their assigned duties. Any approved
outside work, part-time job, hobbies, or personal business must be performed
during off duty hours. Off duty hours include unpaid lunch break periods, but do
-37-'
151
not include other rest or break periods during which the employee continues to
receive pay.
SEC. 3. Ethical Obli atg ions: City employees have certain ethical obligations and are
required to adhere to the City's ethical standards, as set forth in City policy.
SEC. 4. Employees with Access to Confidential Information: In performing their duties,
employees may have access to confidential information, including employees'
personnel files and the personal or financial information of other City employees
or persons who do business with the City. In addition, some City employees will
be involved in communications with the City Attorney's Office, which can be
protected by the attorney-client privilege. All employees are required to maintain
the confidentiality of such information. Confidential information shall not be
disclosed to any person outside the City of Santa Clarita without authorization by
the Human Resources Manager in the case of personnel -related information, or by
the City Clerk, in the case of all other information. Internal disclosure of such
confidential information shall be made on a strict "need -to -know" basis, and if
personnel -related information is involved, employees should contact Human
Resources for guidance in advance of disclosing the information.
RULE XXL VIOLENCE FREE WORKPLACE
SEC. 1. Objective: The City is strongly committed to ensuring the safety of all City
employees. Consistent with this policy, acts or threats of violence, including
intimidation, harassment, and/or coercion which involve or affect City employees
will not be tolerated and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action up to
and including termination. The following are the objectives of the City:
A. To assure all workplace threats and violent behavior are addressed
promptly.
B. To assure the level of physical and facility security in City workplaces is
sufficient to protect the health and safety of City employees.
C. To ensure that all disciplinary action taken for behavior prohibited under
this Rule is reviewed, evaluated, and administered consistently and
equitably throughout the City and done so in a timely manner.
SEC. 2. Threats or Acts of Violence Defined: A credible threat of violence is a knowing
and willful statement or course of conduct that would place a reasonable person in
fear for his/her safety, or the safety of his/her immediate family, and that serves
no legitimate purpose. General examples of prohibited workplace violence
include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. Threatening to harm or harming an individual or his/her family, friends,
associates, or their property.
B. Fighting or challenging another individual to a fight.
-38-
5
C. Intimidation through direct or veiled verbal threats, or through physical
threats, such as obscene gestures, grabbing, and pushing.
D. Making harassing or threatening telephone calls, sending harassing or
threatening letters, emails, text messages, or other correspondence.
E. Intimidating or attempting to coerce an employee to do wrongful acts that
would affect the business interests of the City.
F. Harassing surveillance or stalking, which is engaging in a pattern of
conduct with the intent to follow, alarm, or harass another individual,
which presents a credible threat to the individual and causes the individual
to fear for his/her safety, or the safety of his/her immediate family, as
defined in Civil Code section 1708.7.
G. Making a suggestion or otherwise intimating that an act to injure persons
or property is appropriate behavior.
H. Possession of firearms (loaded or unloaded), weapons, or any other
dangerous devices on City property. This includes "look-alike" weapons,
such as toy guns. Weapons and dangerous devices may include, but are
not limited to the following: blackjacks, slingshots, metal knuckles,
explosive substances, dirks, daggers, gas- or spring -operated guns, knives,
including folding knives having a blade that locks into place, razor blades,
and clubs.
Use of a personal or City -issued tool in a threatening manner toward
another.
SEC. 3. Reporting Workplace Violence: Any employee who is the victim of a threat or
act of violence, or any employee who witnesses such conduct, must immediately
report the incident to his/her supervisor or other appropriate person in the chain of
command. Should the employee perceive that he/she is in immediate danger of a
violent act, or has just been victimized by a violent act, or is a witness of a violent
act, he/she shall whenever possible:
A. Place themselves in a safe location.
B. If appropriate, call the Police Department or 911.
C. Inform a supervisor, Director, or the Human Resources Division of the
circumstances.
D. Complete a written report as soon' as possible and submit the original to
the Personnel Officer.
E. Cooperate fully in any administrative or criminal investigation, which
shall be conducted within existing policy and laws.
-39-
j3
SEC. 4. Reporting Future Workplace Violence: Employees who have reason to believe
they or any City employee may be the subject of a violent act in the workplace or
as a result of their City employment, should immediately notify their supervisor,
Director, or the Personnel Officer.
SEC. 5. Violation of Rule: The City's prohibition against threats and acts of violence
applies to all persons in the City operation, including but not limited to City
personnel, contract and temporary workers, customers, and anyone else on City
property. Violations of this Rule by any individual may be followed by legal
action as appropriate, which may include, seeking a temporary restraining order
and/or injunction on behalf of City employees, if the situation warrants such
action.
In addition to appropriate legal action, violations of this Rule by employees,
including making a false report under this Rule, may lead to appropriate
disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
5q
. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF PERSONNEL RULES
I acknowledge that I have received my copy of the City of Santa Clarita Personnel Rules. I
recognize that the Personnel Rules supersedes any related and prior Personnel Rules, policy
statements, manuals, memorandums, and/or administrative policies previously issued by the City
of Santa Clarita. I will read and abide by all Personnel Rules and regulations set forth in the
Personnel Rules.
I understand that these Personnel Rules do not create a vested contractual right in the execution
of the duties and responsibilities relating to these Personnel Rules. I also understand that these
Personnel Rules can be changed by the City, with or without notice, as permitted by law.
I further understand that the City shall maintain an updated version of these Personnel Rules on
rNet.
Print Name
Date
-a1-
Signature
5-5
RESOLUTION II-
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA,. CALIFORNIA,
ESTABLISHING RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING
EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 3507 empowers a political subdivision of
the State of California to adopt reasonable rules and regulations after consultation in good faith
with representatives of its employee organizations for the administration of employer-employee
relations;
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Clarita desires to adopt such reasonable rules and
regulations as authorized by law; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Clarita intends to supersede the prior Employee
Relations Policy which was set forth in Rule XX of the City's Personnel Rules, which was
adopted by Resolution 94-105.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED as follows:
ARTICLE I — GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Title of Resolution: This Resolution shall be known as the Employer -Employee
Relations Resolution of the City of Santa Clarita.
Section 2. Statement of Purpose: This Resolution implements Chapter 10, Division 4, Title I
of the Government Code of the State of California (Sections 3500 et seq.)
captioned "Local Public Employee Organizations," by providing orderly
procedures for the administration of employer-employee relations between the
City and its employee organizations. This Resolution is further intended to
establish uniform and orderly methods of communication among employees,
employee organizations, and the City.
However, nothing contained herein will supersede the provisions of state law, City
ordinances, resolutions, and rules which establish and regulate the merit and civil
service system, or which provide for other methods of administering
employer-employee relations. This Resolution is intended, instead, to strengthen
merit, civil services, and other methods of administering relations by establishing
uniform and orderly methods of communications between employees, employee
organizations, and the City.
It is the purpose of this Resolution to provide procedures for meeting and
conferring in good faith with recognized employee organizations regarding
matters that directly and significantly affect and primarily involve the wages,
hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of employees in appropriate
5�
units and that are not preempted by federal or state law. However, nothing herein
will restrict any legal or inherent exclusive City rights with respect to matters of
general legislative or managerial policy.
Section 3. Definitions: Unless the contrary is stated or clearly appears from the context, the
definitions set forth below will govern the construction of the words and phrases
used in this Resolution:
A. Appropriate Unit: A unit of employee classes or positions, established
pursuant to Article II, below.
B. Com: The City of Santa Clarita, and, where appropriate, refers to the City
Council or any duly authorized City representative as herein defined.
C. Confidential Employee: An employee, who, in the course of his/her
duties, has access to confidential information relating to the City's
administration of employer-employee relations; or who is required to
develop or present management positions with respect to
employer-employee relations. The City Council shall designate
confidential employees by resolution.
D. Consult/Consultation in Good Faith: Oral or written communication with
any or all exclusively recognized employee organizations for the purpose
of presenting and obtaining views or advising of intended actions; and, as
distinguished from meeting and conferring in good faith regarding matters
within the required scope of such meet and confer process, does not
involve an exchange of proposals and counterproposals with an
exclusively recognized employee organization in an endeavor to reach
agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding, nor is it
subject to the impasse procedures set forth in Article IV, below.
E. Day: Calendar day unless expressly stated otherwise.
F. Employee: Any person regularly employed by the City except those
persons elected by popular vote.
G. Employee Organization: Any organization that includes employees of the
City and has as one of its primary purposes representing such employees in.
their employment relations with the City or any organization that seeks to
represent employees in their relations with the City.
H. Employee Relations Officer: The City Manager or his/her designee.
Employer -Employee Relations: The relationship between the City and its
employees and their employee organization(s), or, when used in a general
sense, the relationship between City management and employees or
employee organizations.
57
J. Exclusively Recognized Employeeganization: An employee
organization that has been formally acknowledged by, the Employee
Relations Officer as the sole employee organization representing the
majority of employees in an appropriate unit pursuant to Article II, having
the exclusive right to meet and confer in good faith concerning statutorily
required subjects pertaining to unit employees, and thereby assuming the
corresponding obligation of fairly representing such employees.
K. Impasse: The point in time when the representatives of the City and a
exclusively recognized employee organization have reached a point in
their meeting and conferring in good faith where their differences on
matters to be included in a Memorandum of Understanding, and
concerning which they are required to meet and confer, remain so
substantial and prolonged that further meeting and conferring would be
futile.
L. Management Employee: An employee having responsibility for
formulating, administering, or managing the implementation of City
policies or programs. The City Council shall designate management
employees by resolution.
M. Meet and Confer in Good Faith: The exchange of proposals and
counterproposals -between representatives of the City and an exclusively
recognized employee organization regarding matters within the required
scope of the "meet and confer" process in an endeavor to reach agreement
in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding on either of the following
issues:
Those matters within the authority of such representatives; or
2. What will be recommended to the City Council with respect to
those matters within the decision making authority of the City
Council.
This process does not require either party to agree to a proposal or to make
a concession.
"Meet and confer in good faith" may also be referred to herein as "meet
and confer" or "meeting and conferring."
N. Professional Employ: Any employee engaged in work requiring
specialized knowledge and skills attained through completion of a
recognized course of instruction, including, but not limited to, attorneys,
engineers, librarians, accountants, and planners. The City Council shall
designate professional employees by resolution.
O. Proof of Employee Support: (1) an authorization card recently signed and
personally dated by an employee, or (2) a verified authorization Petition or
Petitions recently signed and personally dated by an employee, or (3)
employee dues deduction authorization, using the payroll register for the
period immediately prior to the date a Petition is filed hereunder, except
that dues deduction authorizations for more than one employee
organization for the account of any one employee is not proof of employee
support for any employee organization. The other authorization, which is
considered as proof of employee support hereunder is the authorization
last signed by an employee. The words "recently signed" means within
ninety (90) days before filing a Petition.
P. Proposed Unit: A unit that the Employee Relations Officer has not yet
designated as an appropriate unit.
Q. Resolution: Unless otherwise indicated, this Employer -Employee
Relations Resolution of the City of Santa Clarita.
R. Scope of Representation: All matters relating to employment conditions
and employer-employee relations, including, but not limited to, wages,
hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. However, the scope
of representation shall not include consideration of the merits, necessity, or
organization of any service or activity provided by law or executive order.
City rights, as set forth in Article I, Section 5, are excluded from the scope
of representation.
S. Supervisory Employee: Any employee having authority, in the interest of
the City, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge,
assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct
them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such
action, if, in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of such authority
is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of
independent judgment.
Section 4. Employeeghts: Employees shall have the right to form, join, and participate in
the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of
representation on all matters of employer-employee relations, including, but not
limited to, wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Employees of the City also shall have the right to refuse to join or participate in
the activities of employee organizations and shall also have the right to represent
themselves individually in their employment relations with the City.
A. The right to self representation does not confer rights to bargain wages or
employment terms and conditions with the City.
4 5q
B. No employee shall be interfered with, intimidated, restrained, coerced, or
discriminated against by the City or by any employee organization because
of his/her exercise of these rights, or by his/her decision to abstain from
the exercise of these rights.
Section 5. City Rights: The rights of the City include, but are not limited to: the exclusive
right to determine the mission of its constituent departments, commissions, and
boards; set standards of service; determine the procedures and standards of
selection for employment; direct its employees; take disciplinary action; relieve its
employees from duty because of lack of work or other lawful reasons; determine
the content of job classifications; subcontract work and transfer work out of a
bargaining unit; maintain the efficiency of government operations; determine the
methods, means, and personnel by which government operations are to be
conducted; take all necessary actions to carry out its mission in emergencies; and
exercise complete control and discretion over its organization and the technology
of performing its work.
ARTICLE II — REPRESENTATION PROCEEDINGS
Section 6. Filing of Recognition Petition by Employeeganization: An employee
organization that seeks to be formally acknowledged as the exclusively recognized
employee organization representing the employees in an appropriate unit shall file
a Petition with the Employee Relations Officer containing the following
information and documentation:
A. , Name and address of the employee organization.
B. Names and titles of its officers.
C. Names of employee organization representatives who are authorized to
speak on behalf of the organization.
D. A statement that the employee organization has, as one of its primary
purposes, representing employees in their employment relations with the
City.
E. A statement whether the employee organization is a chapter of, or
affiliated directly or indirectly in any manner, with a local, regional, state,
national or international organization, and, if so, the name and address of
each such other organization.
F. Certified copies of the employee organization'.s constitution and by-laws
or articles of incorporation.
G. A designation of those persons, not exceeding two (2) in number, and their
addresses, to whom notice sent by regular United States mail will be
U®
deemed sufficient notice on the employee organization for any purpose.
14. A statement that the employee organization has no restriction on
membership based on race, color, creed, religion, sex (including
pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin,
ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, legally protected medical
condition, family care status, veteran status, marital status, sexual
orientation, or any other basis protected by state or federal laws.
The job classifications or titles of employees in the unit claimed to be
appropriate and the approximate number of member employees therein.
A petition for certification must be accompanied by proof of employee
approval equal to at least thirty percent (30%) of the employees within the
proposed unit. Proof may be shown by payroll dues deductions,
membership cards, signed authorization cards, petitions, or statements of
intent signed by the employees.
K. A request that the Employee Relations Officer formally acknowledge the
petitioner as the exclusively recognized employee organization
representing the employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate for the
purpose of meeting and conferring in good faith.
The Recognition Petition, including the proof of employee support and all
accompanying documentation, shall be declared to be true, correct, and complete,
under penalty of perjury, by the duly authorized officer(s) of the employee
organization executing it.
Section 7. Cily Response to Recognition Petition: Upon receipt of the Recognition Petition,
the Employee Relations Officer shall determine whether:
A. There has been compliance with the requirements of the Recognition
Petition, and;
B. The proposed representation unit is an appropriate unit in accordance with
Section 12 of this Article.
If an affirmative determination is made by the Employee Relations Officer
on these matters, he/she shall so inform the petitioning employee
organization, shall give written notice of such request for recognition to
the employees in the unit and shall take no action on said request for thirty
(30) days thereafter. If either of these matters are not affirmatively
determined, the Employee Relations Officer shall offer to consult thereon
with such petitioning employee organization, and if the determination
remains unchanged, shall inform that organization of the reasons for the
denial in writing. The petitioning employee organization may appeal such
determination in accordance with Section 14 of this Resolution.
Section 8. Alternative Recognition Procedures: Unless another labor organization has
previously been recognized as the exclusively recognized employee organization
of all or part of the same proposed unit, the following procedures can be used as
an alternative to Section 7.
The City shall grant exclusive recognition to an employee organization based on a
signed petition, authorization cards, or union membership cards showing that a
majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, as defined in Section
12 of this Article) desire the representation. An employee organization
proceeding under this Section 8 must present the City with a Recognition Petition
that meets all of the requirements of Section 6, except that instead of showing that
there is employee approval equal to at least thirty percent (30%) of the employees
within the proposed unit under Section 6:J, the employee organization must
present a signed petition, authorization cards, or union membership cards showing
that a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.
Exclusive representation shall be determined by a neutral third party selected by
the City and the employee organization. The neutral third party shall review the
signed petition, authorization cards, or union membership cards to verify the
exclusive status of the employee organization. In the event that the City and the
employee organization cannot agree on a neutral third party, the Division of
Conciliation of the Department of Industrial Relations shall be the neutral third
party, and shall verify the exclusive status of the employee organization.
In the event that the neutral third party determines, based on a signed petition,
authorization cards, or union membership cards, that a second employee
organization has the support of at least thirty percent (30%) of the employees in
the unit in which recognition is sought, the neutral third party shall order an
election to establish which labor organization, if any, has majority status. Such
election shall be conducted in accordance with Section 10 of this Article.
Section 9. Open Period for Filing Challenging Petition: Within thirty (30) days of the date
written notice was given to affected employees that a valid recognition petition for
an appropriate unit has been filed, any other employee organization may file a c
competing request to be formally acknowledged as the exclusively recognized
employee organization of the employees in the same or an overlapping unit (one
which corresponds with respect to some but not all the classifications or positions
set forth in the recognition petition being challenged), by filing a petition
evidencing proof of employee support in the unit claimed to be appropriate of at
least 30 percent (30%) and otherwise in the same form and manner as set forth in
Section 6 of this Article. If such challenging petition seeks establishment of an
overlapping unit, the Employee Relations Officer shall call for a hearing on such
overlapping petitions for the purpose of ascertaining the more appropriate unit, at
which time the petitioning employee organizations shall be heard. Thereafter, the
Employee Relations Officer shall determine the appropriate unit or units in
accordance with the standards in Section 12 of this Article. The petitioning
employee organizations shall have fifteen (15) days from the date notice of such
unit determination is communicated to them by the Employee Relations Officer to
amend their petitions to conform to such determination or to appeal such
determination pursuant to Section 14 of this Article.
Section 10. Election Procedure: The Employee Relations Officer shall arrange for a secret
ballot election to be conducted. All employee organizations who have submitted
petitions which have been determined to be in conformance with these rules shall
be included on the ballot. The choice of "no organization" shall be included on
the ballot. Employees entitled to vote in such election shall be those persons
employed in regular positions (as defined in the personnel rules) within the
designated appropriate unit who were employed during the pay period
immediately prior to the date which ended at least fifteen (15) days before the date
the election commences, including those who did not work during such period
because of authorized leaves of absence, and who are employed by the City in the
same unit on the date of the election. An employee organization shall be formally
acknowledged as the exclusively recognized employee organization for the
designated appropriate unit following an election or run-off election if it received
votes equaling a numerical majority of all eligible voters.
A. Runoff Election: In an election involving three (3) or more choices, where
none of the choices receives a majority of the eligible voters the two (2)
choices receiving the. largest number of valid votes shall proceed to a
runoff election. The rules governing an initial election shall apply. There
shall be no more than one (1) valid election under this Resolution pursuant
to any petition in a twelve (12) month period affecting the same unit. Costs
of conducting elections shall be borne in equal shares by the City and by
each employee organization appearing on the ballot.
Section 11. Procedure for Decertification of Recognized Employee Organization: A
decertification petition alleging that the incumbent exclusively recognized
employee organization no longer represents a majority of the employees in an
established appropriate unit may be filed with the Employee Relations Officer
only (1) during the month of March of any year following the first twelve (12)
months of recognition or (2) during the thirty (30) day period commencing one
hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the termination date of a Memorandum of
Understanding then having been in effect less than three (3) years, which ever
occurs later. A decertification petition may be filed by two (2) or more employees
or their representative, or an employee organization, and shall contain the
following information and documentation declared by the duly authorized
signatory under penalty of perjury to be true, correct, and complete:
A. The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner and a
designated representative authorized to receive notices or requests for
further information.
8 (�3
B. The name of the established appropriate unit and of the incumbent
exclusively recognized employee organization sought to be decertified as
the representative of that unit.
C. An allegation that the incumbent exclusively recognized employee
organization no longer represents a majority of the employees in that
appropriate unit, and any other relevant and material facts relating thereto.
D. Proof of employee support that at least thirty percent (30%) of the
employees in the established appropriate unit no longer desire to be
represented by the incumbent exclusively recognized employee
organization. Such proof shall be submitted for confirmation to the
Employee Relations Officer, within the time limits specified in the first
paragraph of this Section.
An employee organization may, in satisfaction of the decertification petition
requirements here under, file a petition under this Section in the form of a
Recognition Petition that evidences proof of employee support of at least thirty
percent (30%) and otherwise conforms to the requirements of Section 6 of this
Article.
The Employee Relations Officer shall initially determine whether the Petition has
been filed in compliance with the applicable provision(s) of this Article. If this
determination is in the negative, he/she shall offer to consult thereon with the
representative(s) of such Petitioning employee or employees organization, and, if
such determination thereafter remains unchanged, shall return such Petition to the
employees or employee organization with a statement of the reasons for the denial
in writing. The Petitioning employees or employee organization may appeal such
determination in accordance with Section 14 of this Article. If the determination
of the Employee Relations Officer in the affirmative, or if his/her negative
determination is reversed on appeal, he/she shall give written notice of such
Decertification of Recognition Petition to the incumbent Recognized Employee
Organization and to unit employees.
The Employee Relations Officer must thereupon arrange for a secret ballot
election to be held on or about fifteen (15) days after such notice to determine the
wishes of unit employees as to the question of decertification, and, if a
Recognition Petition was duly filed hereunder, the question of representation.
Such election must be conducted in conformance with Section 10 of this Article.
During the "open period" specified in the first paragraph of this Section 11, the
Employee Relations Officer may on his/her own motion, when he/she has reason
to believe that a majority of unit employees no longer wish to be organized,
inform all unit employees that there will be an election to determine that issue. In
such event any other employee organization may within fifteen (15) day of such
9 U/�
notice file a Recognition Petition in accordance with this Section 11, which the
Employee Relations Officer must act on in accordance with this Section 11.
If, pursuant to this Section 11, a different employee organization is formally
acknowledged by the Employee Relations Officer as the exclusively recognized
employee organization, such organization will be bound by all the terms and
conditions of any Memorandum of Understanding then in effect for its remaining
term.
Section 12. Policy and Standards for Determination of Appropriate Units: The policy
objectives in determining the appropriateness of units shall be the effect of a
proposed unit on (1) the efficient operations of the City and its compatibility with
the primary responsibility of the City and its employees to effectively and
economically serve the public, and (2) providing employees with effective
representation based on recognized community of interest considerations. These
policy objectives require that the appropriate unit shall be the broadest feasible
grouping of positions that share an identifiable community of interest and that
fragmentation and/or proliferation of unity must be avoided. Factors to be
considered shall be:
A. Similarity of the general kinds of work performed, types of qualifications
required, and the general working conditions.
B. History of representation in the City and similar employment; except
however, that no unit shall be deemed to be an appropriate unit solely on
the basis of the extent to which employees in the proposed unit have
organized.
C. Consistency with the organizational patterns of the City.
D. Number of employees and classifications, and the effect on the
administration of employer-employee relations. There shall be no
fragmentation classifications and/or proliferation of units.
E. Effect on the classification structure and impact on the stability of the
Employer-employee relationship of dividing related classifications among
two or more units. A single classification shall not be divided between
different units under any circumstances.
F. Effect of differing legally mandated impasse resolution procedures.
G. Managerial, supervisory, and confidential responsibilities are determining
factors in establishing appropriate units hereunder, and therefore such
managerial, supervisory and confidential employees may not be included
in units that include non -managerial, non -supervisory, and
non -confidential employees. Managerial, supervisory, and confidential
employees may not represent any employee organization which represents
10 65
other employees on matters within the scope of representation.
The Employee Relations Officer shall, after notice to and consultation with
affected employee organizations, allocate new classifications or positions, delete
eliminated classifications or positions, and retain, reallocate, or delete modified
classifications or positions from units in accordance with the provisions of this
Section and this Article Il where applicable. The Employee Relations Officer may
also propose to modify existing units utilizing the provisions of these rules. The
decision of the Employee Relations Officer is the City's final decision.
Section 13. Procedure for Modification of Established Appropriate Units: Both employee
organizations and the Employee Relations Officer may initiate requests to modify
established units. Individual employees may not initiate a request for unit
modification. This Section 13 applies when the exclusive representative or the
Employee Relations Officer desires to submit any of the following proposals for
unit modification:
A. A proposal by an exclusive representative to add unrepresented
classifications or positions to a unit it represents.
B. A proposal by an exclusive representative to divide a unit it represents into
two (2) or more units.
C. A proposal by an exclusive representative to consolidate two (2) or more
units it represents into one (1) unit.
D. A proposal by an exclusive representative or the Employee Relations
Officer to delete classifications or positions from a unit where, by virtue of
changes in circumstances, the positions are no longer appropriate to the
established unit. A request under this Section 13.1) must also include a
statement of the facts which show a relevant change has taken place in the
duties of the position(s) at issue.
E. A proposal by an exclusive representative or the Employee Relations
Officer to make technical changes to clarify or update the unit description.
F. A proposal by an exclusive representative or the Employee Relations
Officer to resolve a dispute as to unit place or designation of a new
classification or position.
G. A proposal by an exclusive representative or an employer to delete
classification(s) or position(s), in cases where no changes in circumstances
are alleged, on the basis that the classification or position is management,
confidential, supervisory, or professional, is not covered by this resolution
or the MMBA, or is otherwise prohibited by law from inclusion in the
unit.
Requests by employee organizations for modifications of established appropriate
units may be considered by the Employee Relations Officer only (1) during the
month of March of any year following the first twelve (12) months of recognition
or (2) during the thirty (30) day period commencing one hundred and twenty (120)
days prior to the termination date of a Memorandum of Understanding then
having been in effect less than three (3) years, which ever occurs later. Such
requests shall be submitted in the form of a Recognition Petition, and, in addition
to the requirements set forth in Section 6 of this Article, shall include the
following information:
A. The name, address, and telephone number of the exclusive
representative(s) of the unit(s) affected by the petition;
B. A brief description of the title(s) of the established unit(s);
C. A brief description of the modification(s) sought by the petition, including,
but not limited to, a statement of the position(s) or classification(s) that the
petition seeks to include in the unit;
D. The name and address of any other employee organization known to have
an interest in representing the employees covered by the petition; and
E. A statement of the reasons for the modification(s), including a complete
statement of all relevant facts and citations in support of the proposed
modified unit in terms of the policies set forth in Section 12 hereof.
The Employee Relations Officer shall process such Petitions as other Recognition
Petitions under this Article.
The Employee Relations Officer may on his/her own motion propose that an
established unit be modified only (1) during the month of March of any year
following the first twelve (12) months of recognition or (2) during the thirty (3 0)
day period commencing one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the
termination date of a Memorandum of Understanding then having been in effect
less than three (3) years, which ever occurs later. The Employee Relations Officer
shall -give written notice of the proposed modification(s), to any affected employee
organization and shall hold a meeting concerning the proposed modification(s), at
which time all affected employee organizations shall be heard.
Thereafter, the Employee Relations Officer shall determine the composition of the
appropriate unit or units in accordance with Section 12 of this Article, and shall
give written notice of such determination to the affected employee organizations.
In making this determination, the Employee Relations Officer may investigate,
conduct a representation election, or take such other action as deemed necessary
in order to decide any questions raised by the request for unit modification and to
ensure full compliance with the provisions of law and this Resolution.
The Employee Relations Officer's determination may be appealed as provided in
Section 14 of this Article. If a unit is modified pursuant to the motion of the
Employee Relations Officer hereunder, employee organizations may thereafter file
Recognition Petitions seeking to become the Recognized Employee Organization
for such new appropriate unit or units pursuant to Section 6.
Section 14. Appeals: An employee organization aggrieved by an appropriate unit
determination of the Employee Relations Officer under this Article may, within
ten (10) days of notice thereof, request the intervention of the California State
Conciliation Service pursuant to Government Code Sections 3507.1 and 3507.3,
or may, in lieu thereof or thereafter, appeal such determination to the City
Manager for final decision within fifteen (15) days of notice of the Employee
Relations Officer's determination or the termination of proceedings pursuant to
Government Code Section 3507.1 or 3507.3, whichever is later.
An employee organization aggrieved by a determination of the Employee
Relations Officer that a Recognition Petition (Section 6); Challenging Petition
(Section 9); or Decertification Petition (Section 11) or employees aggrieved by
a determination of the Employee Relations Officer that a Decertification Petition
(Section 11) — has not been filed in compliance with the applicable provisions of
this Article, may, within fifteen (15) days of notice of such determination, appeal
the determination to the City Council for final decision. Appeals to the City
Council shall be filed in writing with the City Clerk, and a copy thereof served on
the Employee Relations Officer. The City Council will commence to consider the
matter within thirty (30) days of the filing of the appeal. The City Council may, in
its discretion, but with the consent of the appellant, refer the dispute to a third
party hearing process. However, if the City Council so refers the dispute, the City
Council will determine whether the opinion of the hearing officer will be advisory
or binding. If advisory, the City Council will review the decision of the hearing
officer and determine whether it will adopt, modify, or reject the hearing officer's
decision. Any decision of the City Council determining the substance of the
dispute shall be final and binding.
ARTICLE III - ADMINISTRATION
Section 15. Administrative Rules and Procedures: The Employee Relations Officer is
authorized to promulgate administrative policies and procedures as needed to
implement and administer the provisions of this Resolution after consultation with
affected employee organizations.
Section 16. Submission of Current Information by Recognized Employee Organization: All
changes in the information filed with the City by an exclusively recognized
employee organization under Section 6 of this Resolution must be submitted in
writing within fourteen (14) days of such change.
13 lo&
Section 17. Reasonable Time Off to Meet and Confer: The exclusively recognized employee
organization may select employee members of such organization to attend
scheduled meetings with the Employee Relations Officer or other management
officials on subjects within the scope of representation during regular work hours
without loss of compensation. The number of employee members who may
attend these meetings shall be designated in the exclusively recognized employee
organization's Memorandum of Understanding. If the Memorandum of
Understanding does not so designate, no more than three (3) such employees may
attend meetings under this Section. The exclusively recognized employee
organization must, whenever practicable, submit the names of all such employee
representatives to the Employee Relations Officer at least two (2) working days in
advance of such meetings.
Any such meeting is subject to scheduling by City management in a manner
consistent with operating needs and work schedules. In addition, no employee
representative may abandon or leave his/her duties, work station, or assignment
without specific approval of his/her Supervisor, Director, or other authorized City
management official.
However, nothing provided herein shall limit or restrict the City from scheduling
such meetings before or after regular duty or work hours under appropriate
circumstances.
Section 18. Bulletin Boards: The City will furnish adequate bulletin board space where
available and exclusively recognized employee organization may use portions of
City bulletin boards under the following conditions:
A. No materials shall be defamatory, violate the City's Personnel Rules or
administrative policies, nor shall they advocate election or defeat of
candidates for public office.
B. All materials must be 'dated and must identify the organization that
published them.
C. Unless special arrangements are made, materials will be removed
thirty-one (3 1) days after the posting.
D. The City reserves the right to determine where bulletin boards shall be
placed and what portion of them are to be allocated to exclusively
recognized employee organizations' materials.
An exclusively recognized employee organization that does not abide by these
rules will forfeit its right to have materials posted on City bulletin boards. The
City reserves the right to immediately remove any material posted in a manner
that is not in conformance with this Section.
Section 19. Reasonable Access to Work Locations: Reasonable access to employee work
locations shall be granted to exclusively recognized employee organizations and
their officially designed representatives, for the purpose of processing grievances
or contacting members of the exclusively recognized employee organization
concerning business within the scope of representation.
A. Such officers or representatives shall not enter any work location with the
prior consent of the Department Head or the Employee Relations Officer,
which must be obtained at least one (1) business day in advance of the date
of desired access.
B. Access shall be restricted so as not to interfere with the normal operations
of the department, any of its facilities, or established safety or security
requirements.
C. Officially designated representatives of the exclusively recognized
employee organization must obtain prior permission from his/her
immediate Supervisor to engage, during duty hours, in issues relating to
business within the scope of representation. If permission is denied, an
alternate time will be designated.
D. The Department Head and/or the Employee Relations Officer shall not
arbitrarily or capriciously deny access to officers of exclusively recognized
employee organizations.
Section 20. Solicitation of Membership and Activities: Solicitation of membership and
activities concerned with the internal management of an employee organization,
such as collecting dues, holding membership meetings, campaigning for office,
conducting elections, and distributing literature shall not be conducted during
working hours, unless specifically authorized by the Employee Relations Officer.
Section 21. Use of City Facilities: Employee organizations may, with the prior approval of
the Employee Relations Officer, be granted the use of City facilities during
non -work hours for meetings of City employees, provided space is available, and
provided further that such meetings are not used for organizational activities or
membership drives of City employees.
A. All requests shall be in writing.
B. The City reserves the right to assess reasonable charges for the use of such
facilities.
C. The use of City equipment other than items normally used in the conduct
of business meetings, such as desks and chairs, is strictly prohibited, the
presence of such equipment in approved City facilities notwithstanding.
15 —70
Section 22. Access to Information: The City will make non -confidential employee
information available to exclusively recognized employee organization in
accordance with the requirements of the California Public Records Act
(Government Code §§ 6250 et seq.). Access to this information will be made
during regular business hours and subject to payment for reasonable costs of
copying. In addition, the City will impose additional charges for requests for
records that are produced only periodically or for requests that require
programming, compilation, or extraction of electronic data.
The following types of information are examples of the type of information that is
not subject to disclosure under this Section:
A. Personnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which would cause
the City to violate individual privacy rights;
B. Working papers or memoranda that are not retained in the ordinary course
of business;
C. Records pertaining to pending litigation to which the City is a party;
D. Records pertaining to claims or appeals that the City has not yet settled; or
E. Records for which the public interest served by non -disclosure clearly
outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.
ARTICLE IV — IMPASSE PROCEDURES
Section 23. Initiation of Impasse Procedures: If the meet and confer process has reached
impasse as defined in this Resolution, either party may initiate the impasse
procedures by filing with the other parry a written request for an impasse meeting,
together with a statement of its position on all disputed issues. An impasse
meeting shall then be scheduled promptly by the Employee Relations Officer.
The purpose of such impasse meeting shall be:
A. To identify and specify in writing the issue or issues that remain in
dispute;
B. To review the position of the parties in a final effort to resolve such
Disputed issue or issues; and
C. If the dispute is not resolved, to discuss arrangements for the utilization of
the impasse procedures provided herein.
Section 24. Masse Procedures: Impasse procedures are as follows:
A. Mediation: If the parties agree to submit the dispute to mediation, and
agree on the selection of a mediator, the dispute shall be submitted to
mediation. All mediation proceedings shall be private. The mediator shall
make no public recommendation, nor take any public position at any time
concerning the issues.
B. Determination by the City Council: If the parties failed to agree to submit
the dispute to mediation or failed to agree on the selection of a mediator, .
or failed to resolve the dispute through mediation within fifteen (15) days
after the mediator commenced meeting with the parties, the matter may be
submitted to the City Council. The City Council shall take such action
regarding the impasse as it in its discretion deems appropriate as in the
public interest. Any legislative action by the City Council on the impasse
shall be final and binding.
Section 25. Costs of Impasse Procedures: The costs for the services of a mediator and any
other mediation costs, shall be borne equally by the City and the Recognized
Employee Organization.
ARTICLE IV — MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Section 26. Construction: This Resolution shall be administered and construed as follows:
A. Nothing in this Resolution shall be construed to deny to any person,
employee, organization, the City, or any authorized officer, body or other
representative of the City, the rights, powers and authority granted by
federal or state law.
B. This Resolution shall be interpreted so as to carry out its purposes as set
forth in Article I.
C. Nothing in this Resolution shall be construed as making the provisions of
California Labor Code Section 923 applicable to City employees or
employee organizations, or of giving employees or employee organizations
the right to participate in, support, cooperate or encourage, directly or
indirectly, any strike, sick-out, or other total or partial stoppage or slow
down of work which is contrary to law or court order. In the event
employees engage in such actions, they shall subject themselves to
discipline up to and including termination, and may be deemed to have
abandoned their employment; and employee organizations may thereby
forfeit all rights accorded them under this Resolution and other City law
for a period of up to one (1) year from commencement of such activity.
17 1 °�
Section 27. Severability: If any part of this Resolution or its application is deemed invalid by
a court of competent jurisdiction, the City Council intends that such invalidity will
not effect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions or applications and, to this
end, the provisions of this Resolution are severable.
Section 28. Modifications to the Law: Any changes to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, set forth
in California Government Code section 3500 et seq. that effect the legality or
application of any provision of this Resolution, shall be incorporated herein.
Section 29. Effective Date: This Resolution becomes effective immediately upon adoption.
Section 30. _ The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of 2011.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
DATE:
MAYOR
18 ��
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA)
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita at a
regular meeting thereof, held on the day of 2011, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
19
F
CITY CLERK
Iy
I
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA )
CERTIFICATION OF
CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION
I, , City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby
certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Resolution 11- adopted by the City
Council of the City of Santa Clarita, California on , 2011, which is now on file in my
office.
Witness my hand and seal of the City of Santa Clarita, California, this day of
2011.
City Clerk
By
Deputy City Clerk
20 � 5