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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-08-11 City Council (24)City of Palo Manager’s Repq TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER ¯ DEPARTMENT: Human Resources AGENDA DATE: August 11, 1997 CMR:360:97 SUBJECT:RESOLUTION AMENDING SECTION 1401 OF THE MERIT SYSTEM RULES AND REGULATIONS RE MODIFICATION TO OVERTIME PROVISIONS -- SERVICE EMPLOYEES’ INTERNATIONAL UNION (SEIU) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT 1996-98 REQUEST This is a request for modification of the SEIU Memorandum of Agreement to provide for double-time premium pay for emergency overtime as defined, and to provide for overtime premium pay as defined for Electric System Operators who are called in during their relief duties week. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends that the Council approve the attached Resolution Amending Section 1401 of the Merit System Rules and Regulations to reference the amended Memorandum of Agreement. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The recommended action will modify City policy regarding overtime premium payment for certain emergency overtime work as defined. The emergency overtime provision is an amendment to the City’s Memorandum of Agreement with the Service Employees’ International Union (SEIU, Local 715). This interim amendment will be subject to renegotiation at the expiration of the current Agreement as of April 30, 1998. CMR:37’0:97 Page 1 of 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recently the City has experienced recruitment and retention problems involving the Line Person/Cable Splicer classification. Over the past twelve months, seven of 14 Line Persons have left the City for other positions. In some cases, these incumbents have retumed to positions with other utilities from which they were previously laid off. Cited as one of the reasons for leaving the City is the disparity in overtime pay practices between the City and other utilities. Under current agreement provisions, the City pays time-and-one-half for emergency overtime. By contacting other utilities, staff has confirmed that the prevailing utility industry practice is to pay double time for emergency overtime. While this is not a new situation, it has come dramatically into focus during the past two winters when storm damage has caused extensive service loss. During these periods, City employees have worked emergency overtime alongside PG&E employees who are paid double time. As authorized by the Council, staff has discussed this issue with SEIU, Local 715 representatives who have agreed to interim modifications of the current agreement, which will provide for payment of double time for emergency overtime. Emergency overtime is defined as unplanned overtime work arising out of situations involving real or potential loss of service, or property or personal danger. Emergency overtime does not include overtime work resulting from minimum staffmg replacement, overtime work which is planned in advance, or overtime work resulting from regular shift holdover for up to four hours. A second but unrelated overtime modification, which has the Concurrence of SEIU, authorizes payment of overtime premium to five Electric System Operators when called in during the employee’s relief duties week. This modification is also for the purpose of adjusting to prevailing industry practices, in this case for Operators working 12-hour shifts. The interim modifications as agreed are attached, and when approved by Council resolution, will be effective until the end of the current agreement, April 30, 1998. At that time, the provisions will be subject to review and may be modified or continued in successor agreements. Staff believes that these modifications will assist the City in retaining and recruiting skilled utility service positions by compensating emergency overtime according to industry standards. FISCAL IMPACT The overtime premium modifications proposed in this report are for the most part triggered by weather conditions, accidents and emergency system failures. Staff estimates the annual impact on overtime payment to be $76,500 in Utility operations and $27,000 in Public Works operations. No additional funding is requested at this time. Additional appropriations may be necessary if weather conditions are severe. CMR:370:97 Page 2 of 3 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Environmental assessment is not required. ATTACHMENTS Resolution Amending Section 1401 of the Merit System Rules and Regulations Letter from Service Workers Local 715 dated July 16, 1997 Letter dated June 26, 1997 from Jay Rounds to Mary Lee, Field Representative, SEIU PREPARED BY: Jay Rounds DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: JAY RO[ Director oi ~uman Resources CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: FLEMING Manager CMR:370:97 Page 3 of 3 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING SECTION 1401 OF THEMERIT SYSTEM RULES AND REGULATIONS WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution No. 7620, adopted September 9, 1996, the City Council amended the Merit System Rules and Regulations ("Merit Rules") to incorporate by reference the memorandum of agreement ("MOA") between the City and SEIU, dated April 30, 1996; and WHEREAS, the City and SEIU have agreed to amend the MOA on a trial basis to provide for increased pay for emergency overtime under certain conditions and to amend the provisions relating to overtime pay for Electric System Dispatchers; and WHEREAS, the amendment necessitates a further modification to the Merit Rules. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Palo Alto does RESOLVE as follows: SECTION I. Section 1401 of the Merit System Rules and Regulations is hereby amended to read as follows: "1401. Memorandum" of agreement incorporated by reference. That certain memorandum of agreement dated April 30, 1996, and amended August Ii, 1997, by and between the City of Palo Alto and Local 715A, SEIU, AFL- CIO, CLC, consisting of a Preamble and Articles I through XXVII with seven appendices attached thereto and incorporated therein, for a term commencing May i, 1996, and expiring April 30, 1998, is hereby incorporated into these Merit System Rules and Regulations by reference as though fully set forth herein. Said memorandum, as amended, shall apply to all employees in classifications represented by said Local 715A, SEIU, AFL-CIO, CLC, except where specifically provided otherwise herein. In the case of conflict with this chapter and any other, provisions of the Merit System Rules and Regulations, this chapter will prevail over such other provisions as to employees represented by said Local 715A, SEIU, AFL- CIO, CLC." SECTION 2. ~ The changes provided for in this resolution shall not affect any right established or accrued, or any offense or act committed, or any penalty of forfeiture incurred, or any prosecution, suit, or proceeding pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this resolution. II II II 1 970806 lac~ 0031817 / SECTION 3. The Council finds that this is-not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act and, therefore, no environmental impact assessment is necessary. INTRODUCED AND PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTENTIONS: ATTEST:APPROVED: City Clerk Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Manager Senior Asst. City Attorney Director of Human Resources 2 970806 lac 0031817 SERVICE WORKERS July 16, 1997 715 Service Employees International Union AFL-CIO/CLC Jay Rounds Director of Human Resources City of Palo Alto P.O. Box 10250 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Dear Jay: We have reviewed the proposed modifications to our current M.O.A., Article VIII - Hours of Work, Overtime, Premium pay, Section 2 - Overtime Work and Appendix D Overtime. The modified overtime language is acceptable. We also agree thatthis is an interim solution, and that by mutual agreement these changes could continue or be modified during our next negotiatio,ns. -, ’Sincerely, Mary L.~_ee, Senior Field Representative / Dan Serna, SEIU Vice Chapter Chair Angel~Lambardo, SEIU Chapter Chair Bert Charlesworth, SEIU Chief Steward MLL:pv opeiu 29/afl-cio San Jose:Office: 2960 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95134-2021 ¯(408) 954-8715 . Fax (40_8) 954-i,538 -" Redwood-City’ Office: 891 Marshall Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 ¯(415)’365-8715 ¯Fax (415) 365-7956 - Stanford Office: P..O.,Box 7152, Stanford, CA 94309 ¯ (415) 723-3680 ¯ Fax (415) 723-3650 - Cityof PaloAlto Department of Human Resources June 26,1997 Administration EmployeeBenefi~ RiskManagement Mary Lee, Field Representative SEIU, Local 715 891 Marshall Street Redwood City, CA 94063 Dear Mary: Recently I spoke with you about recruitment and retention problems we are having with some classifications within the SEIU representation unit. Some of these problems appear to stem from overtime provisions in our current agreement. Specifically, many utilities offer double-time for emergency overtime under certain conditions. We are paying time and one- half. Our line person/cable splicers and other utility field workers have cited these differences. Recently we have lost several employees to other utilities where overtime pay practices are superior to ours. We are also experiencing difficulty in recruiting some utility positions where overtime is a consideration. In order to address these problem on a timely basis, we are proposing interim modifications to our current agreement which would be effective on a trial basis for the remaining term ending April 30, 1998. By mutual agreement during our next negotiations, these modifications could be continued or changed as the parties see fit. The specific changes that we propose are attached. We are also planning to put into effect an employee referral incentive program relating to certain specified hard to fill positions. The details of this program are currently under development. Please review the attached overtime changes and give me your response as soon as possible. We are hoping to implement these changes within the next 30 days so as to immediately improve our position with regard to retention and recruitment. & ounds Director of Human Resources P.O.Box10250 PaloAlto, CAg&303 415.329.2401 415.329.2696Fax APPENDIX D (THIRD PAGE) Overtime Under the 2080 Plan, the City will pay o,vertime for all hours worked in excess of 12 in any workday, 56 in any work week, or 2080 in 52 weeks, as the case may be. Overtime will also be paid for hours worked when an employee is called in to work other than their regularly-scheduled shift.,u,~,,, ~, ~,, ......... ,,.=.,, ,,.~ p rc,;’i3~c,no,^ ~’^",=,, ,-^’,,.,, pply "^ ^^" : ...... ’ ...... ’ ......... ’:^’ " ’‘~ ....... ’" The overtime rate of pay will be one and one-half times (or current contract overtime rate, if different) of the employee’s regular rate of pay. All overtime worked will be paid to the employee. No compensatory time off for overtime will be allowed. ARTICLE VIII - HOURS OF WORK, OVERTIME, PREMIUM PAY Section 1. Work Week and Work Day. The standard workday for regular employees shall be eight hours to be worked within a maximum of nine hours (five-day work week) or ten hours to be worked within a maximum of eleven (four-day work week) or nine hours to be worked within a maximum of ten for four days with a fifth day of four hours (four and one-half day work week); or, within a fourteen-day period, nine hours to be worked within a maximum of ten hours for eight days and eight hours to be worked within a maximum of nine hours for one day, with the work week scheduled to begin so that forty hours are worked within each seven days of the fourteen-day period (9/80 plan, with forty-hour work weeks). The "9/80 plan" may not be used in any application that requires entitlement to FLSA overtime for working the regular work week. With the exception of the "9/80 plan" as described above, the standard work week shall be forty hours to be worked within five consecutive days. Additional exceptions to the above are listed in Appendix D. The Union shall be notified of any further exceptions to this section in accordance with Article Iil, Section 8. During the term of this agreement, employees, subject to the conditions of their job assignment, may propose an alternate work schedule as listed under this Section. Such proposals must be made to the department head through the immediate supervisor. Serious consideration will be given to the feasibility and productivity of such proposals, however Management retains the right to determine scheduling needs. Section 2. Overtime Work. (a) (b) Overtime work for all unit employees shall be defined as any time worked beyond the standard workday or beyond the standard work week. Emer~gency~o~,e~rti,m~is,~de~,e,d~s !U ~#,l,,a, n~ed ~,0ye~imew ,o,[ki,,,~[!sing,, ~,~ da~ge[. Em-~[gen~y~i,~:do-es,~h~t,~i_~!ud~; (i) i,0y~ime~q,[kl,resulting frOm’personne! t~P!acem6.~t for PU r~p0s~s,,of~.~l!~tai~!ng sched,~!e~sta~g (ii) qvertime wqr~,i~Whi,chis planned,in a~lVance. ¯ (iii).0ye~time Wo[k;~resu!ting ,fr, ombleing he.!d over f~r up:-~p four hourslt0 finish ~ork p~dor~d ~uri.ng Compensation to employees working overtime will be in the form of additional pay at the rate of one and one-half times (two times for billable customer convenience overtime a~d~ e~[ge ~ncy;0~i~,e,i~~n,~,~,d~~su_~§~ig~(a~)ii~) the employee’s basic hourly salary with the exception that an employee may request and, upon approval, be granted compensatory time off at the rate of one and one-half hours for each hour of overtime worked, subject to the limitations of applicable state and federal laws. In the event compensatory time o, ff is used as the method of compensating for overtime, the time off will be taken prior to the end of the quarter following the quarter in which the overtime has been worked. In the event the employee is denied this provision, he/she will be compensated in pay for such time at the appropriate rate specified by these sections, or at the employee’s option, the earned compensatory time will be added to the employee’s vacation balance. (c)All time for which pay is received shall count as hours actually worked for the computation of regular overtime pay; however, non-productive time will not be included in computation of any additional FLSA premiums. (d)When an employee works 14 hours or more in the 24 hour period immediately previous to the employee’s shift starting time, the employee will be allowed an eight-hour rest period before returning to work. Other rest period arrangements may be worked out by mutual agreement of the employee and supervisor. Anyportion of the rest period falling within the employee’s work shift will be considered as hours worked and compensated at the straight time rate. This provision does not apply to conditions of bona fide emergency. Bona fide emergency conditions are- conditions involving real or potential loss of service or property or personal danger. (e)If non-emergency overtime is canceled without at least 40 hours notice, the City shall pay the affected employees two (2) hours’ pay at time and one-half. Employees working overtime who are too fatigued to continue or return to work, for safety reasons will be released from duty without compensation.