March 27, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins City Hall – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Rawlins governing body is working to update the city’s 25-year-old employee policy handbook.
The rules governing city employees were written in 1998 and last updated 15 years ago. The city’s Human Resources Director Stefanie Paulson is engaged in modernizing the employee handbook. The council needs to approve any alterations before the new manual is officially adopted.
At a workshop session held before last Tuesday’s city council meeting, Paulson prepared to go through the first batch of proposed revisions. She acknowledged the changes were numerous and said she didn’t want to overwhelm the council members.
Paulson said most of the employee handbook was rewritten to make it easier to understand. To move the workshop session along, Vice-mayor Steve Sanger instructed Paulson to focus on brand new policies. Paulson said the employee manual now contains a section defining who qualifies as a seasonal employee.
Another addition to the employee handbook is a section expanding the definition of harassment to include threats made by the public. Paulson said she also updated workplace violence guidelines in the same way. Under the new policies, city employees would be protected from being harassed or threatened by members of the public.
Paulson said the city will offer Occupational Safety and Health Administration training to help prevent injuries. Paulson said the manual now contains clear instructions on how an employee can safely return to work after being hurt on the job.
Vice-mayor Sanger said each department has different definitions of what light duty consists of. The HR Director said every request will be handled on a case-by-case basis using a doctor’s recommendation.
Councilman Chris Weisenburg said the policy needs to clearly state that light duty isn’t guaranteed. Some departments aren’t able to offer easier labor positions. Paulson said she will double-check the handbook to ensure it contains that stipulation.
Paulson moved into the city’s new drug and alcohol policy. If a city employee is suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol during their shift, the employee handbook states the city manager must have a trained police officer perform an impairment test. Councilman Weisenburg asked why the suspected offender wouldn’t immediately be required to submit a drug test without having another city employee involved. He said it shouldn’t be up to the police department to determine if someone is drunk or high on the job.
Councilman Weisenburg said the policy might create a future problem. He said a time could come when a police officer would be expected to determine if a fellow officer was violating the rule.
Weisenberg said to avoid conflict, the city manager should go right to a testing facility if they suspect an employee of a drug or alcohol violation.
Mayor Terry Weickum said the Board of Carbon County Commissioners has a well-defined drug and alcohol policy. He suggested Paulson incorporate the county’s rules into the Rawlins employee handbook.
Paulson moved on to the city’s stance on remote and teleworkers. She said remote work is a new work concept. The manual needed a section specifically addressing who would be offered off-site employment and when it was appropriate to do so.
Paulson said requests for remote work would be evaluated by the city manager. Mayor Weickum asked what would happen if a city employee were injured at home while on the clock. Paulson said she was waiting to see how related court cases went before putting anything in the policy handbook.
Next, the HR Director explained the city’s proposed vacation buyback program. Paulson said city workers were saving too much vacation time. The new policy will allow the city to pay employees for unused time off if the employee agrees to take a vacation later in the year.
Paulson said vacation buyout requests need to be submitted by the end of the year. At the time the employee requests a buyout, they would need to schedule time off, equal to or greater than what they’re asking to be paid for.
In January, the city would cut a check for the accrued time off with the taxes removed. The employee would also have to have a remaining 80 hours of vacation time to be eligible for a buyout.
The discussion of time off continued. Paulson said police officers and dispatchers accrue vacation time at a different rate than other city employees because they must work on holidays.
Police Chief Mike Ward said officers and dispatchers do not receive holiday pay. Instead, they are offered a different day off as a substitute. Chief Ward said it didn’t seem like an equal trade off. Councilman Weisenburg said when he works on a holiday, he receives extra pay and not extra vacation time.
The Councilman asked if other departments receive extra pay when crews are called out to work during a holiday. City Manager Tom Sarvey said overtime would be paid only if they exceed a 40-hour work week. Councilman Weisenburg said another day off is not a fair alternative for missing that special time with family. He suggested instituting a city-wide holiday pay schedule.
Chief Ward said other police departments around the country usually pay time and a half for holidays. The council members instructed Paulson to revise the city’s holiday compensation policies.
Paulson said the council had gone through about half of the proposed changes by the end of the work session. The HR Director will meet with the council members again to discuss more updates to the city’s employee policies.
