Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Approving Revisions to the Personnel Policies Effective October 19, 2020 RESOLUTION NO. 20-525 RESOLUTION APPROVING REVISIONS TO THE PERSONNEL POLICIES EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 19, 2020 FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS,the City of Ames employs roughly 1,200 individuals in a typical year,including regular employees and those working on a temporary basis; and, WHEREAS,the City's Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual outlines the expectations, rights, obligations, and benefits for all employees; and, WHEREAS,for employees who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement(CBA),the terms of the CBA apply first;the Personnel Policies address any areas where that agreement is silent; and, WHEREAS, in 2018, City staff began a project to comprehensively review and update the Personnel Policies and Procedures,and this document was last updated with minor changes related to the Affordable Care Act compliance in 2015, but staff estimated the Policies have not been comprehensively updated since the 1990s; and, WHEREAS,this recent revision project was intended to 1)clarify and simplify the Policies where possible,2)ensure compliance with current federal and state employment law, and 3)revise out-of-date language and policies to best practices of other cities in the state; and, WHEREAS, staff retained the Brick Gentry law firm to assist in revising the Policies, and a team composed of the Assistant City Managers,Human Resources Director,and an Assistant City Attorney met on numerous occasions to draft new language and review proposals from Brick-Gentry; and, WHEREAS, the existing Personnel Policies are complied into a single 88-page document, and the proposed revised policies are organized into a 39-page "Employee Handbook," and approximately two dozen separate detailed policies; and, WHEREAS,the Handbook describes the basics that employees should know,and references are made to the more detailed separate policies for employees to seek more detailed information should the need arise; and, WHEREAS, to allow time for the proposed Policies to be posted, City staff proposed an effective date for the policy changes of Monday, October 19; and, WHEREAS, upon adoption, the existing Personnel Policies and Procedures will no longer apply, and the only exception to this is regarding the schedule for longevity payments in 2020; and, WHEREAS,because the new Policies adjust the dates of longevity payments for long-term employees, the revised Longevity Pay schedule will not take effect until 2021; and, WHEREAS, once approved, staff intends to house all these documents in an online Public Library;this virtual Policy Library will be accessible to employees and the public, allowing greater self-service for those seeking information. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the Employee Handbook and revised Personnel Policies, effective October 19,2020, is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 13th day of October, 2020. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Betcher Seconded by: Junck Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Martin Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 13th day of October, 2020.