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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1018 - Amend Employee Handbook-Military TrainingBILL NO. 2010- 042 ORDINANCE NO. ~D/ g AN ORDINANCE APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK OF THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI TO PROVIDE FOR EXTENDED MILITARY TRAINING LEAVE WHEREAS, the City of Riverside, Missouri has evaluated the Military Leave provisions of its personnel policies set forth in the Employee Handbook; and WHEREAS, the City has created amendments to the current version of the Employee Handbook to allow an employee under certain circumstances to utilize '/Z of such employee's available sick leave balance for extended military training leave associated with an involuntary overseas assignment anticipated to last over 365 days; and WHEREAS, the Board of Aldermen have reviewed, examined and deemed adoption of the amendments to be advisable and in the City's best interests for the promotion of the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1 -APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT. Section 1000.7 of The City of Riverside Employee Handbook relating to Military Leave is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as set forth in Exhibit A, attached hereto. SECTION 2 - SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. The sections, paragraphs, clauses, and phrases of the Employee Handbook are severable and if any portion of the Employee Handbook is declared unlawful by the valid judgment, decree, or injunction order of a court of competent jurisdiction, such ruling shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections of the Employee Handbook and all provisions of the Employee Handbook not specifically declared to be unlawful shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 3 -EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage and approval. BE IT REMEMBERED that the above was read two times by heading only, PASSED AND APPROVED by a majority of thgg,,Board of d rmen and APPROVED by the Mayor of the City of Riverside, Missouri, this ~~-day of , 2010. ~, ~ ~,~~ ' Mayor Kathleen L. Rose ATTEST: r 9 Robin Liftrell, City' Clerk as to form: City Attorney iooo.~ MILITARY LEAVE Military Leave of Absence. The City supports those who serve in the armed forces to protect our country and its citizens. Consistent with this commitment, and in accordance with state and federal law, an Employees who must be absent for military service is~e entitled to take an unpaid military leave of absence. An Employees taking unpaid military leaves of absence may use accrued vacation and compensatory time while on military leave. The time period in which an individual has to make application for reemployment, or report back to work, after military service is based on time spent in military duty. For service of less than thirty one (3i) days, the individual must return at the beginning of the next regularly scheduled work period on the first full day after release from service, taking into account safe travel home plus an eight-hour rest period. For service of more than thirty (30) days but less than one hundred eighty one (i8i) days, the individual must submit an application for reemployment within fourteen (i4) days of release from service. For service of more than one hundred eighty (i8o) days, an application for reemployment must be submitted within ninety (90) days of release from service. In order to return to work or be considered for reemployment following a military leave of absence, an individual must not have been separated from military service due to a disqualifying discharge or other than honorable conditions. When an Employee's military leave ends, and the Employee has met all of the conditions set forth above for returning to work, the Employee will be reinstated to the Position he or she formerly held, or to a Position that is equivalent, or comparable, to the Position the Employee would have attained in the absence of the military leave, as long as the Employee is qualified and otherwise meets all of the requirements of state and federal law. An Employees called to military service must advise the Employee's tkerr Department Heads, in writing when possible, as soon as practicable regarding thei-~ need for military leave. An Employees whose military leave has ended must return to work, or inform the City that such Employees wants to be reinstated, as required by state and federal law. Every reasonable effort will be made to return eligible employees to their previous position. Annual Military Training Leave. Under Missouri law, Employees of the State and any municipality in the State, who are, or may become, members of the National Guard or of any Armed Forces reserves, shall be entitled to a leave of absence from their respective duties without loss of time, pay, regular leave, impairment or efficiency rating, or of any other right or benefit to which otherwise entitled, for all periods of military service; except that an Employees, while on leave, shall be paid his or her salary or compensation for a period not to exceed a total of fifteen (i5) working days in any calendar year. three hundred sixty-five (S65) dam, and is required to attend additional specialized training in connection with such assignment prior to overseas deployment, may utilize up to one-half (i/2) of accrued sick leave in lieu of utilizing accrued vacation leave, compensatory time, or unpaid military leave of absence for such training: CiiT OF RIV Upstream from ordinary. 2950 NW Vivion Road Riverside, Missouri 64150 MEMO DATE: June 2, 2010 AGENDA DATE: June I5, 2010 TO: Mayor and Board of Aldermen FROM: Nancy Thompson, City Attorney RE: Employee Handbook -Extended Military Training Leave BACKGROUND: Public Safety Director Greg Mills presented a proposed amendment to the Employee Handbook to the Board of Aldermen at the June I, 2010 meeting. The proposed amendment would provide Extended Military Training Leave to employees under specific circumstances. Staff was requested to bring the amendment back to the Board for consideration and adoption. Currently, the City provides 15 days of paid Military Training Leave per calendar year to employees who are members of the Armed Forces or National Guard. This leave complies with the requirements of State and Federal law; however, it provides only for the basic annual training requirements of military service members. In situations where a military service member is called to active duty, the employee is currently required to exhaust vacation leave or take an unpaid leave of absence to attend any additional training which may be required. The proposed amendment would allow an employee to utilize up to 50% of the employee's available sick leave in the event the employee received an involuntary overseas assignment for military service of more than 365 days. Under the existing personnel policies of the City, sick leave is forfeited upon termination of city service (with the exception of employees who retire to a city sponsored pension plan) and an employee may only accumulate up to I %Z times his/her annual accrual of vacation leave. Excess vacation leave is forfeited on an annual basis. As such, an employee who faces the unknown contingency of being called to active service in the military does not have any planning tools, other than personal savings, available to ensure his/her expenses will be provided for during such involuntary absence. Allowing the employee to use 50% of accumulated sick leave for extended military training recognizes the service provided by the employee and the benefits to the City of such military training while providing some financial security to the employee. Feel free to contact me or Public Safety Director Greg Mills with any questions you may have regarding the policy change prior to Tuesday evening's Board of Aldermen meeting.