HUDSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. Office of Professional Standards. All Sworn Staff

Transcription

1 CODIFICATION HUDSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS POLICY TITLE: EFFECTIVE DATE: PROMULGATING OFFICE: REVISED: AUTHORITY: NJAC 4A: et. seq N.J.A.C. 10A:31-1 et. seq. APPLICABILITY: BY ORDER OF: Office of Professional Standards All Sworn Staff Director Oscar Aviles *Electronic signature verified through Power DMS ANY ORDER, POLICY, DIRECTIVE OR MEMORANDA IN CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDER IS HEREBY SUPERSEDED.

2 Page 2 of 8 I. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to define sick leave and its proper usage, explain the conditions that establish abuse of sick leave and excessive use of sick leave, and the areas of responsibility associated with the proper reporting and documentation of sick leave. II. POLICY It shall be the policy of the Hudson County Department of Corrections to maintain the work force at the highest possible level of efficiency. All employees are expected to maintain their attendance at a level established and accepted by Hudson County and the Department of Corrections. III. PROCEDURES A. Attendance Good attendance on the part of all HCDOC staff members is imperative in achieving departmental goals and objectives and is therefore expected and considered a condition of continued employment. Attendance-related problems such as chronic or excessive use or abuse of sick leave, unauthorized absences, absent no pay, etc., result in an ineffective allocation of both fiscal and human resources. B. Reporting Sick When an HCDOC employee must be absent from work the following procedures shall be adhered to: 1. If assigned to a 24 hour shift schedule, HCDOC custody and non-custody staff members shall notify the Operations Unit no less than one (1) hour prior to the start of shift or line up with the following information: a. The HCDOC employee s name and shift assignment; b. Reason for absence; c. Expected date of return; d. Current home telephone number; e. Place of confinement and telephone number; f. If a call is made by someone other than the employee, the caller must give his/her name and relationship to the HCDOC employee and state the reason the affected employee is not reporting personally. 2. Nurses are required to call off sick no less than two (2) hour prior to the start of shift. 3. All other employees are required to call in sick no less fifteen (15) minutes prior to the start of work day.

3 Page 3 of 8 4. When reporting during off hours or in the event that an employee is unable to reach the Operations Unit he/she shall contact the Shift O.I.C. via Central Control and report his/her absence following the same procedures as delineated above; 5. Failure to follow sick leave notification and verification procedures may result in a denial of sick leave for that specific absence, be considered an abuse of sick leave and/or constitute cause for disciplinary action. C. Authorized Absences Procedures When an HCDOC employee is absent for five (5) or more consecutive days it is his/her responsibility to contact the Operations Unit no less than one (1) hour prior to the start of line up on the day he/she is to return to work and inform them of their return to duty. The employee must present a note from their doctor confirming their return to duty date. In the event that the HCDOC employee can not contact the Operations Unit he/she shall contact the shift O.I.C. via Central Control and inform him/her of the same. NOTE: Employees who report for duty after failing to follow the proper call-on procedure are subject to discipline, however, such employee shall not be denied the opportunity to work his/her shift. D. Attendance Control Attendance control measures shall include the following areas and appropriate disciplinary action(s) shall be regulated by the HCDOC rules and regulations and Employee Discipline Policy, for violations thereof, excluding any conditions applicable to a legitimate leave of absence: 1. Chronic or Excessive Absenteeism: Chronic or excessive absenteeism is frequent and or repetitive absences, or when an HCDOC employee has depleted all available sick leave balances; 2. Unauthorized Absence: Every employee, who fails to appear for duty at the date, time and place specified and without consent or proper authorization, is "Absent No Pay" (A.N.P.) or "Did not Report" (D.N.R.). This absence must be reported in writing to the Unit Manager and also on a Request for Disciplinary Action Report by the Officer-in-Charge. Five (5) days of being absent without leave or D.N.R. constitutes "Resignation Not in Good Standing" in accordance with N.J.A.C. 4A: Any HCDOC employee who has five (5) consecutive unauthorized absences shall be considered to have abandoned his/her position and shall be documented as resigned not in good standing. Only in documented emergency situations will employees be excused from disciplinary action. Determination of what constitutes an emergency will be made by the department. All employees who are more than fifteen (15) minutes late without having notified the shift O.I.C. in order to secure

4 Page 4 of 8 appropriate authorization shall be considered Absent No Pay (A.N.P.) or Did Not Report (D.N.R.). Being absent without leave shall result in disciplinary action. 3. Abuse of Sick Leave Sick leave may be utilized when an employee is unable to work because of personal illness, accident, exposure to contagious disease, care of a seriously ill member of the employee s immediate family for a reasonable period of time or death in the employee s immediate family. Abuse of sick leave constitutes the use of sick leave for any other purpose. E. Employee Counseling Sessions Upon an audit of an HCDOC employee s absenteeism, the Director or his designee may conduct a counseling session with the employee in order to convey the need to maintain or improve his/her attendance. Any applicable disciplinary measures shall be in compliance with disciplinary policies and procedures.. The Director or his designee shall schedule a counseling session to discuss the HCDOC s absenteeism and leave policy. During the counseling session the employee s attendance record and disciplinary record for attendance-related infractions shall be reviewed. Following the counseling session, the Director or designee shall send the employee a notice memorializing the counseling session. F. Leave of Absence Any type of leave with authorization from the Director or his designee shall be considered a legitimate leave of absence and will follow County policy. G. Medical Certification The department may require the HCDOC employee to provide documentation of medical necessity from a licensed healthcare provider for medical certifications and will follow all County of Hudson policy as noted in the Hudson County Employee Handbook. H. Secondary Employment If an HCDOC employee is in violation of any tenet of this policy he/she may be prohibited from working a second job at the discretion of the Director. I. Sick Leave Verification It shall be the duty of the shift commander or his/her designated member of the supervisory staff to conduct sick call verification. Sick call verifications shall be made using the information recorded on the sick call verification form. The Director reserves the right to have the Office of Internal Affairs telephone or visit an HCDOC employee s residence or place of confinement while the HCDOC employee is on sick leave.

5 Page 5 of 8 J. Sick Leave/Emergency Release from Duty The following conditions shall apply to Sick Leave/Emergency Release from Duty: 1. HCDOC employee s with sick leave balances may be released from duty due to illness and/or emergency and shall submit documentation supporting the release upon the employees return to duty. 2. Custody Personnel shall submit all documentation through their Unit Manager to the Personnel Department; 3. Non-custody personnel shall submit their documentation through their immediate supervisor to the Personnel Department; 4. In cases of illness, the medical certification must contain the following information: a. Patient s name and address; b. Date of examination; c. Limitations on activities as set through a fitness for duty examination; d. Period the patient is unable to work; e. Date the patient is able to return to work; f. Practitioner s signature; g. Practitioner s address and phone number. 5. In cases of emergency relevant documentation must be submitted (i.e. police reports, receipts, hospital discharge paper(s)) and is subject to approval by Unit Manager. 6. It is the responsibility of the HCDOC employee to submit any necessary documentation within the appropriate time frame. K. Unexcused Lateness HCDOC hourly exempt employees must report for duty on time and scan in via the authorized time management system. Failure to arrive at one s assigned location or to lineup and at their prescribed time shall result in the employee being deemed late for duty. Documentation to support an HCDOC employee s Unexcused Lateness shall be submitted to the Unit Manager upon return to duty. It is the responsibility of the employee to produce any relevant paperwork and the discretion of the Unit Manager as to what shall be deemed excusable; When an HCDOC employee properly reports an expected lateness for duty it does not absolve them from the lateness infraction. When an employee must be late for work the following procedures shall be adhered to: a. During normal hours of operation the employee shall notify the Operations Unit that he/she shall be late and provide an estimated time of arrival.

6 Page 6 of 8 b. If the lateness occurs on off hours or if the employee is unable to contact the Operations Unit then he/she shall contact the Shift O.I.C. via Central Control. c. Generally, the progressive discipline of custody staff for lateness should be as follows, if the member has no prior ( Major) disciplinary record: i. First offense -- verbal warning ii. Second offense a written warning. iii. Third offense a two (2) day fine/suspension. iv. Fourth offense an additional two (2) day fine/suspension. v. Fifth offense a five (5) day fine/suspension. vi. Sixth offense is a formal hearing. d. Prior to reaching step v. above, a thirty (30) day incident free period will result in progressive discipline re-starting at step I (verbal warning). This does not apply when step vi.(formal hearing) had been reached previously. IV. PROTOCOL OR GUIDELINES RELATIVE TO CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES The following protocol or guidelines pertain to civilian Employees in the Department of Corrections [ 1199J/Rank and File, Professional unit and non-union employees; excluding the Juvenile Detention Officers and Nurses and Nursing supervisors] PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE AND LATENESS. 1. LATENESS: Lateness is any amount of time (be it 1 minute or more) an individual reports for work after his/her normally scheduled work hours. Punctual, daily attendance is required of each employee. Employees, who are ill, will be late or cannot report to work for any reason, must notify their immediate supervisor no later than 15 minutes after the start of their normal reporting time. If an individual has a valid and reasonable excuse and does not have a chronic or excessive record of lateness, the lateness may be excused at the discretion of the individual s unit manager/ supervisor. The employee may appeal a denial of an excused lateness to the Department Director and/or his designee. However, an employee calling in to advise his/her supervisor that he/she will be late does not excuse the employee from his/her lateness. Reasons that are given for lateness may require verification and excused lateness will be at the recommendation of the Unit manger/ Supervisor based on the reasons, facts, and verification of them.

7 Page 7 of 8 2. Generally, the progressive discipline of civilians for lateness should be as follows, if the civilian has no prior (Major) disciplinary record: A. First offense where a civilian is late without a reasonable excuse the civilian should receive a verbal warning B. Second offense a written warning. C. Third offense a one (1) day suspension. D. Fourth offense a three (3) day suspension. E. Fifth offense a five (5) day suspension. F. Discipline for all other offenses following the fifth offense will be decided at a departmental hearing on the charges of Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee, Neglect of Duty, and Chronic or Excessive Absenteeism or Lateness. G. If an individual has a prior disciplinary a record, their record would contribute to the level of discipline they would receive for their lateness. For example, if an individual already has had a five-day suspension or major discipline in their records they should automatically be scheduled for a departmental hearing. 3. Employees must not utilize the Electronic Time Maintenance System 15 minutes prior to the beginning of your regular scheduled work day: Overtime must be authorized by their supervisors prior the employee scanning out. All employees must scan out within the fifteen (15) minutes at the end of the employee s shift and the employee must then vacate the Department of Corrections premises. 4. INCLEMENT WEATHER AND OTHER EMERGENCIES: In the event of inclement weather or other emergency that affects the hours of work of County work locations, employees will be notified by their supervisor regarding modified work hours or other information. It is the employee s responsibility to notify his/her supervisor of a current telephone number where he or she can be notified. Employees who change their hours of work without the authorization of their supervisor or, who fail to comply with their supervisor s instructions, are subject to discipline. Depending on the circumstances, lateness may be excused at the discretion of the supervisor (see item 1, paragraph 3).

8 Page 8 of 8 1. There will be a one (1) year transitional period of a 5 minute grace period (excuses) for a maximum of 5 times during this period. 2. After two 5-day suspensions within a two (2) year period, a hearing will be convened. 3. If an employee does not commit a lateness infraction beyond Step A and B of section 2. within sixty (60) days following the imposition of a disciplinary penalty, he/she will begin on the first step of the disciplinary schedule, If an employee is on Step C, D, E the employee, and the employees doe not commit a lateness infraction within ninety (90) days following the imposition of a disciplinary penalty, he/she will begin on the first step of the disciplinary schedule, unless the employee s last penalty on the lateness schedule is for more than five (5) days. Cross Reference Documents and Policies Document/Policy Number Title Effective/Revision Date Applicable Forms Form Title Form Number Effective/Revision Date Employee Performance Warning Notice