03/10/1997 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 10, 1997 Council Member Kuether asked if the current employee realizes she will lose part of her benefits if she goes to part-time. Ms. Vaske said she does and reviewed the anticipated time schedule to hire the other part-time position, if approved. Council Member Bergeson moved to approve the part-time status of the Accountant III position and the hiring of a new position with the reorganization. Council Member Lyden seconded the motion. Council Member Neal indicated support to provide full benefits to these employees even if they are of part-time status. Mr. Schumacher advised the City's benefit policy clearly identifies what full-time and part-time employees receive and it would be difficult to "customize" benefits for a particular employee(s). He noted there are currently other part-time employees where this could also be an issue. Mr. Schumacher noted these positions have been created under the City's current policy. Council Member Neal inquired regarding the actual policy for part-time employees. Mr. Schumacher stated these benefits have been discussed with the affected employees and are agreeable. Mr. Tesch reviewed the part-time benefits which include prorated vacation, sick leave, and holiday accumulation, and the City must follow the insurance carrier's rules regarding hours worked. It was noted part-time employees do not have health insurance coverage. Council Member Lyden stated it appears all parties who are affected understand these issues and are comfortable. Mr. Tesch noted staff has almost completed the employee policy update and this issue can be further addressed when it is presented to the Council. Motion carried with Council Member Neal voting against. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION NO. 97 - 29, REPLACING THE CURRENT HARASSMENT POLICY WITH AN EXPANDED HARASSMENT. POLICY, DAN TESCH Mr. Tesch explained the current harassment policy which the City operates under contains the five areas that a policy of this nature should address: definitions, prohibitions, reporting, investigating, and prohibition from retaliation. The proposed policy also contains those five areas but adds more definition, adds a Human Rights Officer and two alternate Human Rights Officers, and states that a complaint need not be in written form to be investigated. Mr. Tesch explained if this policy is approved, it will be incorporated into the personnel policy along with a number of other policies that the City currently practices. It was noted the City provides annual harassment training for all employees. This training will take place this summer and is mandatory for all employees. A video tape of the training is watched by all new employees and the policy is disseminated at new employee orientation. PAGE 3