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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Commissioners - Minutes - 06/17/1999• • • MINUTES OF THE OTTER TAIL COUNTY LABOR/MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Public Health Building Lower Level Conference Room Thursday, June 17, 1999 1 :00 p.m. Call to Order Todd Smedstad called the Labor/Management Committee meeting to order at 1 :08 p.m. Attendance: Al Anderson, Brooks Andersen, Leon Anderson, Steve Andrews, Pauline Barry, Joanne Derby, Sandi Gundberg, Mike Hanan, David Hauser, Cheryl Jones, Larry Krohn, Wendy Metcalf, Mark Morris, Kathy Ouren, Michele Petterson, Bud Pierce, Vicki Schwanke, Todd Smedstad, Rick Sytsma, and Rick West. Excused Absence: The following individuals notified the Coordinator's Office of their planned absence: Sharon Bjork, Cheri Schultz, Jack Dawkins, Merle King, Chuck Kitzman, Malcolm Lee, Lane Magnusson, Lori Morrell, Virginia Partmann, Dennis Soderstrom, Doug Walvatne, and Gary Waskosky. Unexcused Absence: None . Larry Krohn announced that the Labor/Management Committee will hold all meetings as scheduled, regardless or whether a quorum is met, per term policy; the only difference would be that no actions could be officially taken at meetings lacking a quorum. Discussion followed. Mick McCormick will be replacing Gary Waskosky's labor position on this committee. Gary Waskosky will be replacing Mark Morris soon. Review of Mission and/or Norms of Behavior Group reviewed the Norms of Behavior List. Review of Minutes Committee members approved, as presented the minutes of May 20, 1999 with the following change: Cheryl Jones not Joanne Derby presented Paid Time Off. Review of Agenda Committee members approved, as presented the agenda of June 17, 1999 with the following addition: Sexual harassment under training opportunities. Subcommittee Reports Training Issues Discussed supervisor meetings that will be scheduled in the near future. Discussion Items A. Replacement of committee member of expiring terms -Committee members need to fulfill two- year terms initially; after one-year has passed, half of group would need to continue on for one additional year. Discussion followed about a variety of options. Consensus was made to select one additional year members out of a hat at the next meeting. otter Tall county Labor/Management committee June 17, 1999 Page2 B. Paid Time Off -Cheryl Jones presented an overview. "The Beltrami County plan appears to be the best plan -you would want to tailor this for your own needs", if you have any questions, she C urged members to get the message to Larry, and he will pass them onto her. C. Training Opportunities -Sexual Harassment Prevention Training will be provided by MCIT next Friday, June 25, 1999. This training will be video taped for future viewing. Information Sharing/Announcements A request was passed on to our committee from the Personnel Board regarding employees being paid semi-monthly vs. monthly. A survey will be going out to monthly paid employees. Adjournment At 2:27 p.m., Todd Smedstad declared the meeting of the Otter Tail County Labor/Management Committee adjourned until 1 :00 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, 1999. /srb Attachment C n OTTER TAIL COUNTY COORDINATOR LARRY S. KROHN -121 WEST JUNIUS AVENUE . FERGUS FALLS, MN 56537·2544 218-739-2271 OR 218·739-3721 FAX I • Date: June 10, 1999 To: Otter Tail County Department Heads, Supervisors & All Employees of Otter Tail County From: Larry Krohn Re: Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust: Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Sessions Otter Tail County will be conducting Sexual Harassment Prevention training at the Fergus Falls Community College Waage (Fine Arts Center) Auditorium on Friday, June 25. The program is being provided by our insurer, the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust through efforts of the Labor Management Committee, and is required training for each employee/department head. Therese Pautz of Neu Vest will be the presenter. One two-hour training session will be held for department heads and supervisors, and two one-hour sessions will be offered for all other employees. Department heads and supervisors should plan to schedule approximately half of their employees at each of the two one-hour employee sessions. Department heads are expected to report any members of their staff not in attendance so a future makeup video session can be planned. The program will be videotaped for employees who are unable to attend to make arrangements to view the training at a later date. Employees at the New York Mills location who are unable to attend the training session, will have a future video session scheduled at their location. Employee Session I: Employee Session II: Department Head/Supervisor: 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m. One Hour One Hour Two Hours Harassment (whether based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, etc.) is not only illegal, it greatly affects morale, efficiency, and productivity in the workplace. It is the ongoing commitment of Otter Tail County to have a positive work environment that does not tolerate harassment. If there are questions about the presentation, feel free to call our staff for assistance . an equal opportunity employer ARTICLE 7 PAID TIME OFF Section A. Implementation Time off with pay that was previously accrued for vacation, holidays, sick time and bonus hours has now become available as Paid Time Off (P.T.O.). This time may be used at the employee's option for time off for personal reasons in accordance with the procedures set forth below. The purpose of P.T.O. is to provide the employee with greater flexibility in using time off while assuring the Employer that most absences will be planned in advance and for adequate coverage to be a=anged. In some instances the employer will be unable to arrange coverage for all those wishing to be away at a particular time and· some requests for P.T.O. will have to be denied. The needs of the Employer will be the prime consideration in the decision to grant or deny a request for P.T.O. This is not intended to change any of the existing policies and procedures regarding notification, approval or scheduling, except as noted. Section B. Eligibility 1. Regular full-time employees are eligible to accrue, and will accrue annually one of four P.T.O. allowances, depending on the length of service and employment status. 2. Employees who are regular part-time would accrue at a pro-rated amount based upon regular hours of work. 3. All regular hours worked will go towards the accumulation of P.T.O. 4. Temporary and casual employees do not accrue P.T.O. Section C. Probationary Period During the first 360 regular hours of employment, employees.will accrue P.T.O., but they will not be able to use it. Following the completion of their probationary period, employees will be eligible to use accrued P.T.O. hours. Section D. Accrual of Paid Time Off Earned P.T.O. shall be determined by length of service and the number of regular hours an employee has worked. Regular hours worked shall be defined as: 1. Worked hours, up to.2080 hours in a year. 2. P.T.O. hours taken or cashed in. 3. Benefit hours credited for. -7 - Employees Shall Earn Paid Time Off as Follows: Amount of Continuous Service O through 3 years Beginning of 4th year Beginning of 8th year Beginning of 15th year Beginning of 20th year Maximum Yearly Paid Time Off Earned 23 days = 184 hours 30 days = 240 hours 37 days = 296 hours 40 days = 320 hours 42 days = 336 hours Section E. Usage of Paid Time Off A. General Hourly Rate .0885 .1154 .1423 .1538 .1615 Once the employee has worked the initial 360 hours, he/she may use accumulated time as P.T.O. Time available for use will be based on time available at the completion of the previous pay period. P.T.O. may be requested any time. (Note: Accumulated P.T.O. is also insurance against loss of income during unscheduled emergencies: for example, sickness.) B. Sickness Employees may use any amount of accumulated P.T.O. for illness or accident. However, to be eligible for such use, an employee shall notify the designated person as far in advance.as possible of his absence. An employee who gives less than one hour's notice shall incur a reduction in P.T.O. pay by an amount equal to one hour's pay. Employees with an accrued sick leave bank will first use all their sick leave before going to P.T.O. hours. The Employer may requi~e a physician's certificate as evidence that such an emPloyee was ill whenever it deems such certificate necessary. C. Worker Compensation Injuries If any employee of the Employer shall receive a compensable injury and have accrued benefits under the P.T.O. plan, the employer shall, at the employee's request, pay the employee the difference between.the compe~.sation received by him/her and his/her regular pay, the same to be deducted from accrued P.T.O. benefits. It is understood that the additional payments made to the employee over and above that paid by Worker's Compensation shall not exceed the amount of credits which an employee is entitled to from such accrued P.T.O. benefits. Employees with an accrued sick leave bank will first use all their sick leave before going to P.T.O. hours. D. Holidays The following days shall be designated as holidays: •New Year's Day Independence Day •Christmas Day •••Floating Holiday Labor Day ••Employee's Birthday Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day •For purposes of this section, the New Year's holiday shall commence on December 31, at 3:00 p.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. on January l; Christmas Day holiday shall commence at 3:00 p.m. on December 24 and end at 3:00 p.m. on December 25. -8 - ••Employees shall be allowed a day off at their own discretion, within the thirty-day period following the employee's birthday. •••The floating holiday will be granted to individual employees by mutual agreement between the department director and the employee. Employees will submit a written request for the floating holiday to the Hospital at least one week prior to the start of the pay period in which the requested floating holiday is to occur. The department director will approve requests in writing to the employee. Requests by employees for the floating holiday shall not be withheld unreasonablo/ by the Hospital. Some departments will be able to close on these days; others, because of the necessity of seven day a week operation, will not be able to close. 1. If the employee's department is closed, and the employee would have worked, the employee will be paid one (l) day at a straight time wage from the P.T.O. accumulation, provided of course, that the employee has at least one (l) day of P.T.O. accumulated and is eligible to take P.T.O. 2. If an employee's normal day off falls on a legal holiday, a P.·T.O. day will not be granted for that day, unless requested by the employee (subject to the provisions of #5 below). 3. If the department must conduct business and the employee is scheduled by the department director not to work the holiday, the employee will be paid one normal shift at straight time wage from the P.T.O. accumulation if they have it. ~-If the employee is scheduled by the department director to work on the holiday, the employee shall be paid at the rate of time and one-half (l-l/2) their regular rate of pay and will retain the earned P.T.O. for future use. Employees with 15 or more years of service shall receive two times (2X) their regular rate of pay for work on a holiday. 5. Eligible employees will be allowed to use a P.T.O. day or days, provided that they are not paid for more than eighty (80) hours in the pay period. (Does not apply to those employees who work a holiday and receive time and one-half (l-1/2) or two times (2X) their regular pay or to full-time employees who are called in on a non-scheduled shift.) 6. The decision as to the staffing required and the scheduling of particular employees on a holiday is the re.sponsibility of the department director. If a holiday occurs during the employee's first 360 hours of continuous employment and the department closes completely or closes partially with the employee scheduled not to work, the employee will not be paid for time off. The employees scheduled to work on the holiday during their first 360 hours of employment will receive normal pay. E. Vacations Department directors will consult with all employees entitled to P.T.O. for vacations and establish a working schedule for vacation periods. In determining vacation schedules, seniority of employees by classification will prevail in the selection of vacation time to the extent that the needs of the Employer will permit and when the employee has applied for the vacation at least twenty (20) days prior to the desired starting date of the vacation. -9 - F. Low Need Days Employees shall be allowed to use P.T.O. accumulations to fill in for days lost because of low need days. Section F. Required Mini.mum Time Off All employees shall be required to take a minimum of 100 hours (pro-rated on regular hours of work during the benefit year) of their earned P.T.O. each accrual year (providing the hours are available). No time off is required during an employee's first benefit year. The difference between the minimum time off required per year and the amount of time used that is less than the required minimum shall be lost. (Example: Required to use 100 hours, only use 78 hours -employee would lose 22 hours.) Administration may grant exceptions to this rule based upon extenuating circumstances. It i_s the employee's responsibility to monitor these hours. Section G. Cash In No hours may be cashed in during the employee's first year in the program. Following the first year, the employee may cash in any number of hours he/she has accrued, but not taken, from previous years. An employee may request cash a maximum of three (3) times during the year. Notification must be in writing and turned into their department director at least two (2) weeks prior to the start date of the pay period in which payment is to be received. (Note: Taxes will be deducted from the money requested.) Section H. Conversion Policy All employees as of February 29, 1966 shall have their vacation, sick and bonus hours converted as follows: l. Earned vacation time shall be calculated for all employees as of the above date. Total unused accrued vacation time and bonus hours shall then be rolled over into P.T.O. hours. These hours are not subject to the minimum time off requirement.. 2. Accrued sick hours shall be calculated for all employees as of the above date. Total unused accrued· sick hours shall then be placed in a separate account and can only be used when an employee is sick. Once this account is depleted, an employee can use regular P.T.O. hours for all sick time. An employee who terminates without having used his/her total accumulation of sick leave shall, after proper notice, receive 25% of the amounc remaining as a cash pay out. Section I. Termination Upon termination, a covered employee is entitled to receive pay for any time he/she has accumulated providing he/she gives proper notice. Those employed for less than 360 hours shall receive pay only for time worked until termination. When an employee resigns, he/she is expected to work-through the date of resignation. P.T.0. can not be used as a substitute for working the total required time of their notice. Administration may make exceptions co this under extenuating circumstances. P.T.O. paym"eri.ts will be normally granted on the last regular pay check. -10 - \ :_ • r • • BELTRAMI COUNTY Paid Time Off Detailed Plan Provisions Final Plan -10/3/95 Table of Contents Introduction 2 Policy 3 Accrual Rates 4 Use of PTO 5 Conversion Option 6 Termination Benefits 7 Eligibility 8 Participation 9 Current Vacation/Sick Leave Balances 10 Extended Sick Leave Bank 11 , 1 Final Plan -10/3/95 Introduction It has been a continuing objective of Beltrami County to provide equity, consistency and flexibility in the delivery of benefits alternatives to County Staff. Where appropriate, certain benefits have also been designed to incorporate employee tenure so as to recognize and regard loyal service to the County. These considerations are particularly significant in the accrual, utilization and administration of paid time off. While traditional paid vacation, sick leave, and medical appointments have been in place for many years, those programs are highly structured, with extensive rules being applied to the actual use of the benefit. With sick leave in particular, these rules often inject the employer into employees' personal lives and require supervisors to make highly subjective judgments. Utilization of sick leave also varies greatly within the employee population and it is, therefore, virtually impossible to achieve equity across the work force in the provision of this particular benefit. The Paid Time Off (PTO) Plan replaces County policies on vacation, sick leave, and medical appointments and combines these benefits into a single plan. All eligible employees accrue PTO based on tenure. Plan provisions discourage unnecessary utilization by providing cash and savings incentives. -~ With the adoption of this plan, Beltrami County firmly accepts and endorses the principles of equity, consistency, flexibility and the recognition of tenure in the delivery of th is benefit. 2 Final Plan -10/3/95 Policy It is the policy of Beltrami County to provide employees necessary paid time away from work. This policy is implemented by means of the PTO Plan, which covers all paid leave previously available under the County's vacation, sick leave, and medical appointments leave policies. Leaves such as funeral leave and military leave are not included in the PTO Plan. PTO can be utilized for any purpose, subject only to necessary request/approval procedures consistent with policy and labor contracts. 3 Final Plan -10/3/95 Accrual Rates -Employees Hired On/Aher January 1, 1997 Employees hired prior to January 1, 1997 will accrue PTO at the rate established under previous vacation and sick leave policies until such time as the PTO provisions are equal to or greater than the previous combined vacation and sick leave provisions. Years of Service 0 -S Years After 5 Years After 10 Years After 1 5 Years After 20 Years Accrual Rate 14 hours I month = 21 days I year 16 hours/ month = 24 days I year 18 hours/ month = 27 days I year 20 hours/ month = 30 days I year 22 hours I month = 33 days I year 4 Final Plan -10/3/95 Use of PTO • • • 0 • • • • • • PTO is accrued on a per month basis and may be used subsequent to the month in which it was earned. Non-scheduled use must be requested prior to the beginning of a shift or per departmental practices. Non-scheduled PTO requests may be denied depending on staffing needs. Probationary employees may use PTO as it is earned . Maximum PTO accrual is 50 days I 400 hours. PTO may be used subsequent to the month in which it was earned in increments of not less than 15 minutes (¼ hour). During the first fifteen years of employment employees shall be required to take 80 hours of PTO annually as time off. After fifteen years of employment employees shall be required to take 120 hours of PTO annually as time off. The required usage for part-time employees will be pro-rated based on the number of hours worked. The difference between the minimum time off required per year and the amount of time used that is less than the required minimum shall be lost. This requirement does not apply during the first year of employment. Employees receiving Worker's Compensation may use accrued PTO hours to return to 100% of their net salary. Accrued extended sick leave hours must be used prior to beginning an unpaid leave of absence for medical reasons. An employee taking an unpaid leave for medical reasons may retain up to forty hours of PTO time for use after returning from the leave of absence. An employee who is taking an unpaid leave of absence for other than medical reasons must use all accrued PTO hours before beginning the unpaid leave. PTO hours shall count toward the calculation of overtime . , 5 Final Plan -10/3/95 Conversion Option Employees may convert a portion of their carryover PTO balance from the end of the previous year to cash as follows: Years of Service After 5 Years After 1 0 Years After 1 5 Years After 20 Years Convert to Cash 40 hours / year 60 hours / year 80 hours / year 100 hours / year Conversions may be made in the April, August, and December payrolls. Notification must be made in writing and submitted to the employee's supervisor and payroll by the first of the month when payment is requested. Taxes will be deducted. 6 Final Plan -10/3/95 Termination Benefits Upon termination of employment with Beltrami County, the dollar value of PTO paid out, will be the dollar value of the employees wage rate x 100% of balance up to 400 hours. - Severance benefits will be paid to employees with Extended Sick Leave Banks in accordance with provisions in the appropriate bargaining agreements or Personnel Rules. Termination pay cannot be used to extend the employee's date of termination beyond the last scheduled work day. 7 Final Plan -10/3/95 Eligibility All regular full-time and part-time Beltrami County employees who are eligible for benefits are eligible to participate in the PTO program beginning January 1, 1997. Eligible part-time employees accrue PTO on a pro-rata basis. , 8 Final Plan -10/3/95 Participation. All Beltrami County employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement will participate upon Board approval after consultation with employees. Employee groups covered by collective bargaining agreements must negotiate participation in the PTO program through the collective bargaining process. 9 Final Plan -10/3/95 Current Vacation/Sick Leave Balances Existing vacation and sick leave balances shall be converted to the PTO program in the following manner. Unused vacation balances shall be converted to PTO accounts of participating employees. New PTO hours, as accrued, shall be added to the converted vacation balance. Sick leave hours will be converted to the Extended Sick Leave Bank hours. , 10 Final Plan -10/3/95 .. . Extended Sick Leave Bank For employees hired before January 1; 1997 total unused sick leave hours shall be frozen and shall become the Extended Sick Leave Bank which may be used for future illness, injury or disability of the employee, the· employee's spouse, child, ward, parent, and siblings. In the event of each illness, injury or disability, time off may be taken from the Extended Sick Leave Bank or the PTO account, at the employee's choice. Employees receiving Worker's Compensation may use the Extended Sick Leave Bank to return to 100% of their current net salary. , 11 Final Plan -10/3/95 PTO PLAN FACTS AND FIGURES August 1995 BACKGROUND FACTS Countywide average daily wage= $88.25 ($11.03/hr. or $22,942/yr.) Average annual sick leave usage= 8 days (1994numbers) Average cost of sick leave/employee= $706 Number of employees eligible for benefits= 276 Countywide cost of sick leave/day= $24,357 ACCRUAL RATE Current Sick & Vacation 0-5 years 16hr/mo = 24 days/yr After 5 years 18hr/mo = 27 days/yr After 10 years 20hr/mo = 30 days/yr After 15 years 22hr/mo = 33 days/yr After 20 years 24hr/mo = 36 days/yr • I_ Proposed PTO Plan 14hr/mo = 21 days/yr ' 16hr/mo = 24dqys/yr · 18hr/mo = 27days/yr: 20hr/mo = 30days/yr 22hr/mo = 33days/yr · '/ COMPARISON OF MAXIMUM ACCRUAL RATES *Current vacation and sick leave combined AFSCME Human Services= 160 days/1280 hours ( $14, 120) All Others= 150 days/1200 hours ($13,238) *Proposed PTO Plan All participating employees= 50 days/400 hours ( $4413) CURRENT MAXIMUM ANNUAL COST Sick leave 12 days x 24,357 = $292,284 Vacation leave 24 days x 24,357 = $584,586 TOTAL= $876,852 CURRENT AVERAGE ANNUAL COST: Based on average vacation and sick leave usage Sick leave 8 days x 24,357 = $194,856 Vacation leave 14 days x 24,357 = $340,998 TOTAL= $535,854 MAXIMUM SEVERANCE PAY POSSIBLE PER EMPLOYEE *Current plan maximum AFSCME Human Services= 100 days_/ 800 hours ($8825) All others= 90 days/ 720hours ($7943) *PTO plan maximum= 50 days/400 hours ($4413) PROJECTED PTO ANNUAL MAXIMUM COST: If all eligible employees took off every day they could, this is what it would cost. 33 Days x 24,357= $803,781 OTHER NOTES AND PREDICTIONS 1. What is a paid time off (PTO) plan? A PTO plan replaces traditional policies on vacation, sick leave and time off for medical appointments with a single plan that pools paid time off. PTO could be used for any purpose, subject only to normal, non-intrusive request/approval procedures consistent with policy and labor contracts. Traditional paid vacation and sick leave programs are highly structured with extensive rules being applied to the actual use of the benefit. With sick leave in particular, these rules often interject the employer into employee's personal lives and require supervisors to make highly subjective judgments. Utilization of sick leave also varies greatly among employees and it is, therefore, virtually impossible to achieve equity across the work force in the provision of this particular benefit. The PTO plan discourages unnecessary utilization by providing a cash conversion incentive. 2. How would this be implemented? A committee of the Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC) prepared a plan for presentation to the JLMC. The JLMC will decide on the next step. Inclusion in union contracts must be negotiated with the union groups before the plan can be implemented. One of the implementation objectives is to offer the same plan for all county employees. 3. While gaining more options and flexibility for the use of time off, new employees will accrue less time, limiting the future liability for the county. 4. The accrual rate for employees who are grandfathered in will be frozen at their current levels. Increases in accrual rates will be granted when the new PTO accrual rate catches up with the rates they are receiving. The overall county accrual totals will decrease as a result. 5. Cash paid to terminating employees who are grandfathered in may increase because the PTO maximum accrual rate is higher than the existing vacation maximum accrual. Termination pay for new employees who eventually retire will be lower due to the PTO maximum accrual rate being lower than the combined sick and vacation leave maximum accrual rate in place now .. 6. With the provision for cashing in PTO hours, the county will save money by paying off those hours at a lower rate of pay than if .. :. employees held on to them. About 1 /3 of the June survey respondents said they would probably cash in some of their PTO and bank the rest. 7. The requirement to take 80 hours of time off per year will lower the county's liability on the books. 8. Studies indicate that employees who take their earned time off are usually more productive than those who take very little. This plan allows employees to use either blocks of time or days off here and there. · 9. It is possible that employees will take more time off and office coverage could become more difficult as a result. 10. Eventually this plan will reduce the tracking done by payroll staff. 11. The sick leave bank will be eliminated when the grandfathered employees are gone. 12. Funeral leave is not included in the PTO plan and will continue to be granted just as it is now. 13. Olmsted County experienced a decrease in absences'of about 10% in the first year after they implemented their PTO plan. Dave Griffin, the Personnel Director, said that their plan costs no more than their old plan and that they expect significant savings over the long run. They will be adding a provision for cashing in PTO hours next year. 14. Washington County did not implement their plan (due to the unions not accepting it) after hiring a consulting firm to develop it. They used an actuarial firm to cost our their plan. They projected the transition period maximum cost at about $20,000 (worst case scenario) for about 832 employees. 15. The Rapid City Regional Hospital experienced a slight increase (1 %) in benefit dollars paid when they implemented their plan. Summary of Current Plan versus PTO Proposed Plan Years of Service Current Vacation & Sick Accruals Proposed PTO Plan Accruals Conversion to Cash Required PTO Usage 0-5 16 hours / month = 24 days / year 14 hours / month = 21 days / year 0 hours •so hours 192 hours / year 168 hours I year After 5 18 hours/ month = 27 days/ year 16 hours / month = 24 days / year 40 hours 80 hours. 216 hours/ year 192 hours / year After 10 20 hours I month = 30 days I year 18 hours / month = 27 days / year 60 hours 80 hours 240 hours / year 216 hours / year After 15 22 hours / month = 33 days / year 20 hours / month = 30 days / year 80 hours , 120 hours 264 hours / year 240 hours / year ' After 20 ~4 hours / month = 36 days / year 22 hours / month = 33 days / year 100 hours 120 hours 288 hours / year 264 hours / year 'This requirement does not apply during the first year of employment. ... Draft -9/13/95