BRAZORIA COUNTY SALARY ADMINISTRATION POLICY

Transcription

1 BRAZORIA COUNTY SALARY ADMINISTRATION POLICY NOTICE: The County reserves the right to amend, change or delete this policy at any time, with or without prior notice. Furthermore, this policy does not grant a right or benefit to any employee, either expressed or implied, that in any way alters the at will basis of employment that is intended. Revised July 23, 2013

2 BRAZORIA COUNTY SALARY ADMINISTRATION POLICY (Revised July 23, 2013) TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS OF POLICY Equal Employment Opportunity...5 Employment at Will...5 Eligibility Rules FLSA (Exempt/Nonexempt)...5 Job Description/Job Evaluations...6 External/Internal Equity Determinations Salary Structure/Pay Grades...7 Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)...8 Job Performance Appraisals NEW HIRE SALARY DETERMINATIONS AND FIRST YEAR REVIEW SCHEDULE (INCLUDES SUPERVISORY LAW ENFORCEMENT JOBS) 4. PROMOTIONS (INCLUDING SUPERVISORY LAW ENFORCEMENT JOBS) 5. DEMOTIONS LATERAL TRANSFERS/REASSIGNMENTS JOB RECLASSIFICATIONS/REGRADES LEAVES OF ABSENCE WORKERS COMPENSATION

3 10. POSITION MANAGEMENT/BUDGETING OVERTIME (NONEXEMPT EMPLOYEES) EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE EXHIBITS a. Job description Questionnaire b. Job Description (example) c. Step and Grade Salary Structure d. Exempt Employee Performance Appraisal Form e. Nonexempt Employee Performance Appraisal Form f. Nonexempt Employee Preauthorization to Work Overtime 3

4 1. INTRODUCTION At Brazoria County (County) the concept of total compensation is observed. This means it is the County s policy to provide its regular full-time employees who are eligible (see Eligibility Rules at Section 2), with base salaries (direct compensation) and benefits (indirect compensation) that are comparable in value to those offered by other counties of similar size and locality and by the larger municipal governments located within Brazoria County. A complete list of the public employers that comprise the County s survey group is shown at External/Internal Equity Determinations, Section 2. By adhering to this policy, the County expects to retain (and attract other) qualified employees who will effectively and efficiently serve the governing needs of its growing population. This policy principally addresses the administration of base salaries. The County s excellent employee benefit programs and its personnel policies are described elsewhere in summary plan booklets and/or the County s employee policy manual. Those documents are issued to eligible employees at the time of hire and on subsequent occasions when changes and/or updates are made. In addition, eligible employees receive biweekly pay statements that provide pay period and year-to-date cost information on certain County-paid benefits. The County also provides a personalized Annual Benefit Statement to every eligible employee following the completion of each calendar year. This brief but highly informative document lists the County-paid benefits received by the employee during the year, the actual cost of each item to the County, the total cost of all items, and the percent they were of the employee s base annual salary. This allows eligible employees to have a better understanding of and appreciation for the actual value of their total compensation. In order to maintain fair and equitable salaries for all its jobs, both externally and internally, upon adoption of this policy the County assigned every job to a pay grade that consists of a pay range (minimum and maximum rates of pay) that is comparable to the average rates being paid by its survey group (external). Since that time, the County has periodically increased the pay range for each pay grade in order to maintain the comparability. For the same purpose, the County may reassign jobs to different pay grades wherever there has been a significant movement in the average rates being paid by its survey group. When warranted and approved by the Court, these revisions are made at budget time. In addition, the County makes comparisons between its different jobs (internal) based on an assessment of relevant job factors. Those factors typically include the requisite job skills required (the level of education, training, and experience), the mental and physical efforts required, the level of responsibility, and in some jobs where extreme working conditions are prevalent, that factor is also considered. 4

5 Another important feature of the County s policy is its Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) provision. When approved by the Commissioners Court (Court), usually to be effective at the beginning of each fiscal year (October 1), eligible employees may receive a pay increase based on the change in the COLA index (CPI-U) that occurred during the trailing 12-month period (normally May 1 through April 30) that preceded the County s annual budgeting process. (See Cost of Living Adjustments at Section 2.) 2. PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS OF POLICY Equal Employment Opportunity - It is the County s policy to provide equal employment opportunity by selecting, promoting, or transferring the most qualified person available for each job opening without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex or age. Furthermore, the County prohibits discrimination in employment against persons with qualified disabilities that are otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation. The County s policy also extends to demotions, pay adjustments, and terminations. Employment at Will - Except for elected officials, all employment with the County is at will employment. This means that no contract of employment exists between any employee and the County for any duration, either specified or unspecified, except as may be provided by law. Furthermore, this policy is not intended to imply any contract or contractual rights to anyone, and it may be revised, modified, or terminated by the County at any time, with or without prior notice. Eligibility Rules - Except where otherwise stated, all regular full-time employees of the County are covered by this policy (including law enforcement employees). Temporary employees, including temporary part-time, are not eligible, but regular part-time employees are eligible. CSCD, WIC, and other personnel whose pay is derived entirely from state and/or grant funds are not covered by this policy. Likewise, independent contractors, third-party (agency) temporaries and reserves (volunteers) are not covered by this policy because they are not employees of the County. Certain other regular full-time employees that receive at least a portion of their pay from the County s General Fund, such as county extension agents, are covered but only for the County s portion of their pay. FLSA (Exempt/Nonexempt) - The Human Resources Department (HR) shall determine which jobs are exempt or nonexempt from the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In making these determinations HR shall use current job descriptions (see Job Descriptions/Job Evaluations, this section). It shall also consider the prevailing practices for each job among its survey group, as applicable, as well as any Texas Attorney General opinion letters. 5

6 Job Descriptions - HR is available to assist department heads with the preparation and maintenance of current job descriptions. A Position Questionnaire form (see Exhibit A at Section 14) shall be completed on every job using information derived from an interview with the supervisor and at least one incumbent employee who shall be designated by the applicable department head. Whenever a material change in the essential functions or other aspects of a job occurs, the department head shall notify HR so that an update of the job description can be made. Both the department head and the HR Director shall approve all job descriptions. Job Evaluations - Job descriptions have many uses including the initial evaluation and grading of new jobs as well as the regrading of existing jobs. Both terms have the same meaning and that is to determine the appropriate pay grade assignment of a job based on an evaluation of its essential functions, plus other factors and considerations that are relevant to the job. That is, early in the budgeting process for the next fiscal year HR shall accept requests for new jobs and the reevaluation and regrading of existing jobs from elected officials and appointed department heads. The purpose of this process is to determine the appropriate pay grade assignment for each employee (see Exhibit B at Section 14). Once a job description has been approved by the department head and HR, an evaluation of the job shall be conducted by the Compensation Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC shall make a pay grade recommendation to the Court for its consideration and approval. A simple majority vote of four members of the CAC shall be required for a referral to be made to the Court. However, in the event the CAC votes not to refer a request by an elected official or appointed department head to the Court this action would not preempt the right of the elected official or appointed department head to bring the matter directly before the Court. The CAC shall consist of seven voting positions with each member appointed by the Court and four nonvoting members as appointed by the County Judge. The Court shall appoint two of its own members to fill Positions 1 and 2; two other elected officials (non-court members) to fill Positions 3 and 4; and one appointed department head to fill Position 5. The County Auditor shall fill position 6 and the HR Director shall fill Position 7. The County Auditor and the HR Director shall be permanent members of the CAC. Other members shall each serve 5-year terms. All terms shall begin on February 1 of the appropriate year and end on January 31 of the appropriate year. The HR Director shall serve as the CAC s chairperson or in the event of their absence from a meeting, the County Auditor shall serve in that capacity. In formulating its recommendation with regard to the pay grade assignment for every job, the CAC shall consider market survey data where matching data is available (see External/Internal Equity Determinations, this section). Once the job evaluation has been completed for a given job and an appropriate pay 6

7 grade approved by the Court, the department head shall provide a copy to every incumbent of the job. Another important use of job descriptions is that they serve as a benchmark for conducting employee job performance appraisals. That is, each job description defines the job s essential functions by which the job performance of every incumbent shall be measured and compared. Annual External/Internal Equity Determination Processes - In order to facilitate the budgeting process each year relating to salaries, HR shall conduct wage and benefit surveys, participate in like surveys, and analyze and report the results to the CAC for its review and recommendations to the Court. These steps represent the external equity determination process. The County currently includes the following primary cities and counties in its wage and benefit comparisons: Cities Alvin, Angleton, Lake Jackson and Pearland; Counties Nueces, Galveston, Williamson, Jefferson, Fort Bend, and Montgomery. The counties that are included have populations that are relatively comparable to that of Brazoria County or compete for the same workforce population as Brazoria County. Data from cities will be used only to determine law enforcement wages. In addition to the annual external equity determination process, the CAC and department heads shall consult annually on any internal equity issues that arise which possibly warrant changes in the department s pay grade hierarchy. The CAC shall review requests by department heads for changes in pay grade and/or step assignments, based on internal equity determinations and where appropriate, make recommendations for approval to the Court. As previously stated, in the event the CAC votes not to recommend approval of a request submitted by an elected official or appointed department head that official has, nevertheless, the right to refer their request to the Court for its consideration and approval. By conducting annually both external and internal comparisons on a continuing basis, the County can expect to keep its salary structure comparable to those offered by its survey group. As a result, employees should feel the County s salary administration policy continues to be both equitable and fair. Salary Structure/Pay Grades - Effective October 1, 2008, the County adopted a Step and Grade salary structure. This structure consists of 35 pay grades beginning with grade 19 and ending with grade 53, the amounts of which are based on 6 percent intervals. Each grade is then divided into 15 steps the amounts of which are set at 3 percent intervals (see Exhibit C at Section 14). As shown, each pay grade includes a minimum (Step 1) and maximum rate of pay (Step 15). These are the absolute parameters of pay. That is, no employee shall be paid below the minimum rate or above the maximum rate of the assigned pay grade for their job. The Step 7 amounts are based on the market rate, i.e. the point of external equity. In other words the market rate represents the approximate average salary that is being paid by the County s survey group of public employers for similar kinds of work. For example, if the salary survey shows an average 7

8 salary for a given job to be $28,000 per year the County will assign the job to Grade 27 because it contains the nearest market rate to $28,000 per year ($28,000 compared to $28,291). A principal benefit of the new salary structure is that individual employees now have an opportunity to advance their salaries through the steps up to the maximum (Step 15) for their respective job and grade. Upon Court approval of a step increase, usually to be effective on October 1 of each year, employees in Steps 1 7 who have satisfactorily performed their jobs may qualify for a step increase. If an employee has not been satisfactorily performing their job at the time a step increase has been authorized, the department head may deny that employee a step increase until next year or delay it until later in the current year, for example after 3 months or 6 months. In either case a current performance appraisal must document the unsatisfactory nature of the employee s job performance. Please note that it is the responsibility of the department head to notify HR if a step increase is being denied or delayed. Otherwise, HR will automatically process a step increase for the employee concerned. Steps 8-15 are restricted to employees whose qualifications and experience, as documented by their job performance appraisals, make them worthy of being paid at a higher than average pay rate in comparison to their peers. Because these rates are higher than the market averages, the cycle for a step increase for these employees is extended to 2-year intervals rather than just 1 year. Since salary surveys seldom cover all jobs in an organization (they typically include so-called benchmark jobs only), it is necessary to assign the nonsurveyed jobs to an appropriate pay grade solely on the basis of internal equity determinations (see External/Internal Equity Determination Processes at Section 2). Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) - First effective on October 1, 2001, the Court approved annual COLA-based pay increases for all regular full-time employees and regular part-time employees. Elected officials are also eligible. Temporary full-time and temporary part-time employees are not eligible. The purpose of COLA adjustments is to restore the equivalent values of salaries and the County s pay structure to current market averages. In future years, the Court may consider granting additional COLA-based pay increases for the same purpose. COLA adjustments apply only to base salaries. They are exclusive of longevity pay, uniform and car allowances, bilingual and law enforcement certification pay, and other supplemental pay, where applicable. When approved by the Court, annual COLA-based pay increases shall be granted to all covered and eligible employees, including elected and appointed department heads. The County shall base its COLA adjustments on the percent of change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for All Urban Consumers (Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX) that occurs during the trailing 12-month period ending with April, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor. 8

9 Job Performance Appraisals - All regular employees shall receive an annual job performance appraisal. While HR provides standard appraisal forms for different categories of jobs (see Exhibits E, F, G and H at Section 14), department heads preferring to use a form of their own design and past practice may do so provided that the form measures only relevant job factors and otherwise conforms to law. In either case, the same appraisal form shall be used with all similarly situated employees in order to ensure overall consistency in how their job performances are measured and compared. Once completed for each employee, the supervisor shall submit the appraisal form to the department head for review and approval. Because job performance appraisals are intended to be an employee development tool as well as a means of identifying employees who qualify for a step increase, it is essential that supervisors and department heads diligently and objectively appraise each and every employee. Furthermore, it is imperative that supervisors take care in conducting the appraisals in order to dispel any employee perceptions of unfair favoritism or bias. After the department head has reviewed the appraisal form on each employee, they shall converse with the employee s supervisor on any differences that might exist between their ratings. Then the department head shall finalize and approve each appraisal form and return it to the appropriate supervisor for a private appraisal review meeting with the employee concerned. During the appraisal review meeting, the employee shall be given an opportunity to make written comments on the appraisal form in the space provided including noting any disagreement with the ratings given by the supervisor and/or department head, and to document any other views that are relevant to the appraisal process. In all cases, the employee shall be required to sign the appraisal form not necessarily to agree with the ratings but simply to acknowledge that the review has taken place. Upon completion of the review, the supervisor shall provide a copy of the appraisal form to the employee. Also, a copy of the form shall be forwarded to HR for inclusion in the employee s official personnel file. Department heads may complete performance appraisals on all or selected employees more often than annually if they feel that circumstances warrant such consideration. For example, if an employee s job performance has been unsatisfactory the supervisor may reevaluate that employee after 90 days or every 90 days thereafter, until such time that the needed improvements have been made. 3. NEW HIRE SALARY DETERMINATIONS When determining what beginning salary amount is appropriate for a prospective new hire, the department head shall consider the following qualification factors: a. The candidate s education credentials and their relevancy to the job; 9

10 b. The amount of the candidate s relevant work experience measured in months or years. If the person s past experience is less than 100 percent relevant to the job; i.e., say it s approximately 80 percent, then multiply the total number of months or years by that percentage amount in order to determine an equivalent value in months or years that are relevant to the job. Similarly, if all or any part of the person s relevant work experience was of a part-time nature, it should be equated to a full-time amount by dividing the number of months or years by the appropriate denominator. For example, if the person worked 20 hours per week rather than the usual 40 hours, for 4 years, they would have the full-time equivalent of 2 years of experience; i.e., 4 years divided by 2 equals 2 years; c. Any special skills, qualifications or certifications that the person possesses that are relevant to the job; d. The quality of the person s work references; e. A comparison of the person s qualifications to that of all present incumbents in the job and/or that of other similarly situated employees. This is the process of determining internal equity; or which step is the best fit for the person within the department s present salary hierarchy. Department heads should consider current salaries within that job and the department so as not to create any pay inequities as a result of the new hire s starting salary. Otherwise, the following general guidelines shall be used: Step 1 An applicant who meets the minimum requirements of the job description and has less than 6 months of directly related experience or education. Step 2 An applicant who meets the minimum requirements of the job description and has an additional 6 months to 1 year of directly related experience or education. Step 3 An applicant who meets the minimum requirements of the job description and has an additional 2 years of directly related experience or education. Step 4 An applicant who meets the minimum requirements of the job description and has an additional 3 years of directly related experience or education. Step 5 An applicant who meets the minimum requirements of the job description and has an additional 4 years of directly related experience or education. Step 6 An applicant who meets the minimum requirements of the job description and has an additional 5 years of directly related experience or education. Step 7 (Market) An applicant who meets the minimum requirements of the job description and has an additional 6 or more years of directly related experience or education. Steps 8-15 are generally not available to new hires because this is the merit range. They are generally restricted to employees whose job performance appraisal makes them worthy of being paid at a step that is higher than the market average for their respective jobs. Any exceptions to this rule require approval by the Court. f. If lateral move creates an open position, then department head must stay within salary budget when determining step for the new hire. g. The present or last salary and how long the new hire has or had been at that salary; and, 10

11 h. The person s requested/required salary, if stated. Given all the factors that must be considered when making a decision as to an appropriate starting salary for a new hire, department heads are encouraged to consult with HR before finalizing their decision. In all cases, beginning salaries are subject to the availability of funds provided for within each department s Salaries budget. Past experience has shown, however, that this is usually not a problem in that the beginning salaries of new hires are generally less than the salaries paid to the employees that they replaced. 4. PROMOTIONS It is the policy of the County to promote from within whenever a qualified employee is available. In determining if an employee is qualified, the department head shall compare the employee s qualifications to the requisite requirements of the job, as defined in the job description. The department head shall also consider an evaluation of the employee s current job performance in their present job. In other words, an employee shall be considered to be qualified for promotion when they possess the required job qualifications and are performing their present job in a satisfactory manner. In the event there are two or more qualified employees available for any one promotion, the department head shall select the more qualified employee. In this regard, the department head may choose to have HR post the job around the County in order to allow for and encourage any other qualified employees to apply and be considered. The County defines promotion to mean a bona-fide advancement of a qualified employee to a budgeted, vacant, and higher graded job. An employee receiving a promotion shall be eligible for a pay review at the time the employee starts the new job if the department head believes that a pay increase is warranted at that time or if a pay increase is necessary in order to bring the employee s pay up to at least the minimum pay rate of the new job s assigned pay grade. However, in general the amount of pay increase to be granted shall be based on the degree of job qualifications the employee possesses as compared to the requirements of the job. Only rarely should the employee s new salary be made equal to or greater than that of the previous incumbent. This would especially be true when the previous incumbent had satisfactorily performed the job for many years, in which case the promoted employee s beginning salary in that job should be less than that of the previous incumbent. The department head shall determine at what step within the pay range for the higher graded job the newly promoted employee s salary should be established. If applicable, careful consideration shall be given to the assigned steps of all current incumbents in the job so that no pay inequities are created between them and the newly promoted employee. The department head may grant promotional pay increases up to Step 7 of the new pay grade as long as said amount is currently in the department head s salaries budget. No promotional increases may be 11

12 granted that exceed the department s current salaries budget without prior Court approval.. When a promoted employee has little or no relevant experience to the job, the department head shall consider postponing the promotional pay increase until such time as the employee actually demonstrates that they have acquired the minimum qualifications required to perform the essential functions of the job in a satisfactory manner. Again, an exception to this rule would be where the promoted employee is being paid at a pay rate that is less than the minimum pay rate (Step 1) for the new pay grade, in which case the employee s pay rate shall be increased at least to that minimum pay rate. Promotion-based pay increases shall become effective on the beginning of the biweekly pay period next following the required approvals. In all cases, promotion-based pay increases are subject to the availability of funds provided for within each department s Salaries budget. 5. DEMOTIONS There are basically two types of demotions. One type is when an employee is either voluntarily or involuntarily reassigned to a lower-graded job than their present job. Even though pay grades are 6 percent apart, if the demotion is only by one pay grade, sometimes it is not necessary to reduce the employee s salary. Instead, the employee s salary can be frozen until the pay range of that pay grade catches up with the employee s salary. This is, however, an issue that has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by both the department head concerned and HR with both approving in order to ensure the fair and consistent treatment of all similarly affected employees. If the demotion is to a job that is two or more pay grades lower, a reduction in the employee s salary will generally be appropriate. Here again, in these situations, both the department head concerned and the HR Director shall decide the appropriate amounts of reductions, if any, based upon a careful evaluation of each case. Any time an employee s salary would be in excess of the maximum salary (Step 15) of the pay grade that the employee is being demoted to; the employee s salary shall be reduced, at a minimum, to that maximum salary. The other type of demotion occurs when an employee s salary is reduced within a pay grade due to a decline in the employee s job performance rating rather than because they were reassigned to a different and lower-graded job. All such salary reductions shall be supported by a current performance appraisal form that fully documents the job performance factor(s) experiencing a decline. As before, both the department head concerned and HR shall approve all demotionbased salary reductions and in each event, the salary reduction shall be made effective with the biweekly pay period next following the required approvals. 6. LATERAL TRANSFERS/REASSIGNMENTS 12

13 A lateral transfer occurs when an employee is being reassigned to a different job that is graded the same as the employee s previous job. Although lateral transfers usually do not result in a salary reduction or increase, in some cases it may be appropriate to change the employee s salary if the employee is either less or more qualified in the new job than they were in the previous job. It is important that department heads and HR review and approve these cases to ensure that no pay inequities are created by these transfers. For example, if an employee is reassigned to a different job where they are less qualified than a current incumbent in the job, the salary of the transferring employee shall be set below the level of the more qualified employee. On the other hand, as a further example, if an employee is reassigned to a different job where they are more qualified than a current incumbent in the job, the salary of the transferring employee may be set above the salary of the lesser-qualified employee. Any salary change resulting from a lateral transfer/reassignment shall be made effective with the biweekly pay period next following the required approvals. A department head may also provide a Step increase, not to exceed Step 7, to an employee when a position with the same grade becomes available that is budgeted at a higher Step and the department head determines that the employee has gained sufficient experience to receive a higher Step and said funds are available in the department heads current salaries budget. For example, if an employee retires or resigns at a Step 7 or higher and a current employee at Step 3 performs the exact same function, the department head may transfer that employee to the higher budgeted position and may provide a Step increase not to exceed Step 7 or the current budgeted amount, and then hire in a new employee at a lower Step so as not to exceed the department head s salaries budget. See Section 3.f. All inter-departmental transfers shall require the prior approval of both department heads concerned as well as HR. (NOTE: Although the County is made up of many departments, it is, nevertheless, a single employer. Accordingly, all departments are subject to the County s personnel policies and practices, including this policy, except where otherwise stated and/or specified by law). 7. JOB RECLASSIFICATIONS/REGRADES At budget time when one or more of the essential functions of an existing job has materially changed, the department head and the Committee shall reevaluate the job in order to determine if it should be reclassified and/or regraded (see Job Descriptions/Job Evaluations at Section 2). It is the responsibility of the department head concerned to notify HR at budget time when an existing job materially changes. The Court shall approve all reclassifications and regrades in conjunction with its adoption of the new budget. 8. LEAVES OF ABSENCES 13

14 Whenever a regular full-time or regular part-time employee is off work on an approved leave of absence other than military leave (see below), including FMLA leave where applicable, paid or unpaid, during the time of a COLA increase, usually on October 1, they will be eligible for that pay increase. However, they will not be eligible for a step increase until having returned to work for at least a minimum period of time that is equal to the period of time they were off work on the approved leave of absence. Employees who are off work by reason of service in the uniformed services may be entitled to reemployment rights and benefits under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Department heads should confer with HR whenever an employee who has been off work on a military leave of absence seeks reinstatement of employment. 9. WORKERS COMPENSATION When an employee except for law enforcement personnel (see below) is off work on workers compensation, including the initial 7-day waiting period provided by state law, the employee shall not receive their regular wages. However, the employee may request accrued sick leave, vacation, and/or compensatory/comparable time off pay for those days. If the employee is off work for more than the initial waiting period, they may be entitled to receive weekly Temporary Income Benefits (TIBs) under workers compensation. (NOTE: TIBs are 70 percent of the difference between an employee s average weekly wage and the employee s post injury earnings, after they have lost all regular wages for more than 1 week.) Law enforcement personnel, however, are entitled by law to receive their regular wages during the initial 7-day waiting period under workers compensation. Furthermore, if they continue to be off work after the initial waiting period under workers compensation, they could be entitled to receive weekly TIBs under workers compensation plus the difference between that amount and their regular weekly wages. For example, if a Jailer is injured on the job and unable to work for 6 weeks, the County shall pay their regular wages for the initial 7-day waiting period. For weeks 2 through 6, the employee would receive weekly TIBs under workers compensation plus the amount from the County that would be required to make up the difference between that amount and their regular wages. Employees who are off work on workers compensation shall receive any COLA- based pay increases and step increases occurring during that time. 10. POSITION MANAGEMENT/BUDGETING 14

15 All positions shall be budgeted positions approved by the Court. For all budgeted positions there shall be a current and approved job description on file with HR. HR shall assign position numbers to all budgeted positions. Only one employee at a time shall be assigned to a position. Any department heads wishing to request funds for additional positions shall do so during the annual budgeting process. They shall also include any reclassifications and regrades of existing budgeted positions (see Job Reclassifications/ Regrades at Section 8). All such requests for funds to add positions or to reclassify and regrade existing budgeted positions shall be explained in writing by the department head and be accompanied by current and approved job descriptions. Department heads wishing to hire seasonal or temporary employees shall budget for Temporary positions. Those wishing to hire regular part-time employees shall budget for Regular Part-Time positions. There are other recurring position management/budget issues that warrant policy clarification. They are as follows: a. When an employee gives notice of retirement or resignation, the head of that department may hire a new employee to replace that employee prior to their actual departure, provided that there is a vacant position in the department that the replacement can be assigned to on a temporary basis, and there are sufficient funds available in the department s overall salary budget to cover any added costs that would be incurred. It is not required that the vacant position itself provide for a budgeted salary equal to or greater than that paid to the temporary incumbent (the replacement employee). This policy provision, where applicable, grants to department heads the flexibility to create temporary overlap for training purposes between a retiring/resigning employee and their replacement. b. When an employee gives notice of retirement or resignation, the head of the department may promote an employee to replace that employee prior to their actual departure and upon doing so, may approve a pay increase provided there are sufficient funds available in the department s overall salary budget to cover the added costs that would be incurred. It is not required that the promoted employee s present position provide for a budgeted salary that is equal to or greater than the new salary. c. When a nonexempt employee is reclassified to an exempt status (see FLSA at Section 2), their unused compensatory time shall be paid out at their current hourly rate. Whenever a nonexempt employee becomes an elected official of the County, they shall be paid for any unused compensatory time, vacation, and holiday pay not taken due to scheduling problems. 11. OVERTIME (NONEXEMPT EMPLOYEES) When nonexempt employees work overtime hours, the County incurs an additional liability or expense. For this reason, department heads shall not, as a general rule, schedule nonexempt employees to work overtime hours. Exceptions to this rule, however, could include emergencies or other unusual and unplanned situations or events that require the immediate services of certain employees. However, whenever necessary and practicable, department heads shall select employees to work overtime hours on the basis of their compensatory time off balances. 15

16 That is, when practicable, they shall schedule those employees whose compensatory time balances are less than the 240-hour maximum to work all necessary overtime hours. That way, the County will be spared the monetary overtime compensation expenses that it would otherwise incur. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Christensen vs. Harris County (May 2000) that public employers may compel nonexempt employees to use their accumulated compensatory time off, meaning that the County has the right to require them to use their accumulated compensatory time off at times that are most advantageous to the County. Law enforcement personnel who work overtime in connection with planned public events such as the annual Brazoria County Fair, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day weekends shall be paid at their respective overtime rates in lieu of compensatory time off. As a general rule, nonexempt employees shall not work overtime unless they have received the prior and specific approval of their supervisor. Since overtime is generally unplanned work time, it is the County policy to budget for estimated overtime as a separate line item expenditure. Therefore, department heads shall recommend to the Court each fiscal year the amount of additional funds, if any, that would be required to fund estimated overtime hours that might be worked by their respective departments. Department heads shall also add to their overtime budget recommendations additional amounts, if any, that they estimate would be required in order to fund the payment of accrued compensatory time due to retirements, resignations, or other nonexempt employee terminations. Department heads shall regularly review the actual overtime costs being incurred by their respective departments to insure that they do not exceed the budgeted amounts. However, in the event that a department s budgeted overtime amount becomes insufficient for its actual needs, the department head shall promptly notify the County Auditor that additional funds are required. The County Auditor and the department head concerned shall then confer and may make a recommendation to the Court for additional overtime funding that they estimate to be required. HR shall report to the Court, as an agenda item each month, a record of overtime hours worked by each department during the previous month. A Nonexempt Employee Preauthorization to Work Overtime form (see Exhibit J at Section 14) may be used by department heads who wish to document all preauthorizations for nonexempt employees to work overtime. 12. EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Any time an employee feels their performance appraisal and/or salary are unfair, they should refer to the policy on grievances that is contained in the County s Personnel Policy Manual. By following that procedure the employee should be able to obtain the answers that they are seeking as well as a solution that is satisfactory both to the employee and the County. 16

17 13. EXHIBITS (A-F) (The exhibits are forms and are not included with this draft for brevity reasons). a. Job description Questionnaire b. Job Description (example) c. Step and Grade Salary Structure d. Exempt Employee Performance Appraisal Form e. Nonexempt Employee Performance Appraisal Form f. Nonexempt Employee Preauthorization to Work Overtime 17