Full Text
Section III, Page 1 of 10 SECTION III – PAY PRACTICES PAY PROCEDURES POLICY STATEMENT It is the policy of the County to pay employees by direct deposit on a regular basis and in a manner so that the amount, method, and timing of such payments comply with any applicable laws or regulations. A. TIME SHEETS Employees are required to complete and sign their payroll time sheets or enter their time into the County’s time tracking program. Supervisors will check the accuracy of the entries on a biweekly basis prior to signing approval. When changes are required to be made by a supervisor, a copy of the approved changed timesheet will be provided to the employee. Time sheets are to be submitted to the payroll coordinator and time entry is to be completed no later than 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday after completion of a two-week pay period, unless specific arrangements have been made with the payroll coordinator. If a holiday falls on a Monday, time sheets should be submitted on the previous Friday, by the end of the workday. A non-supervisory employee is not allowed to enter any information on another employee’s time sheet, or to falsify information on his/her own time sheet. Employees found to violate this policy will be terminated. Payroll errors found after submission by the person completing the time sheet will be adjusted on the next payroll. Under unusual circumstances exceptions to this policy may be authorized by the Human Resources department. B. PAYDAY Payday will be every two weeks on Friday, recording time worked from Sunday 12:00 a.m. through the end of the work day on Saturday. Checks will be available for pick up in the Treasurer’s Office department 8:00 a.m. Friday. If payday falls on a holiday, employees will receive notification regarding check distribution. C. PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS There are two types of deductions from an employee’s gross pay period earnings: mandatory and voluntary. ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 2 of 10 1. Mandatory Mandatory deductions are those required by law, court order, or other legally compelling influences on payroll. Mandatory deductions in accordance with applicable legal requirements will be made automatically by the County. 2. Voluntary Voluntary deductions are those requested by employees to be made on their behalf, and may include such items as the employee’s contributions to health care, pension or retirement plans, optional insurance plans offered by the County, savings accounts, United Way contributions, etc. Voluntary deductions will be made only with the employee's written request or authorization. (County Board Resolution #61-09, 7/16/09; #103-10, 12/16/10.) ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 3 of 10 INTERIM PAY POLICY STATEMENT Douglas County shall provide interim pay to employees who are temporarily designated to fill a department manager (managerial) vacancy. A. DESIGNATION The County Administrator shall officially designate an employee to temporarily act as a department manager when the department manager is out of work due to a leave of absence or during a vacancy. B. PAY PROCEDURES Step Place for Acting Appointments An employee appointed to an acting position will be placed on the first step of the salary range or at the step that is the next higher rate to their current wage. During the acting appointment the employee will retain the benefits of the bargaining unit of their original class except for the wage rate. (Resolution 97-03 8/21/03, 62-05, 6/16/05.) Interim pay will be calculated by the Human Resources Department and shall include regular wages and not longevity or any other special pay. (County Board Resolution #61-09, 7/16/09) ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 4 of 10 NON-REPRESENTED COMPENSATION PLAN Effective January 1, 2000 Douglas County implemented a Non-Represented Performance Evaluation System consisting of a pay plan structure and a method of performance evaluation defined follows: A. Salary for new hires is always negotiable based on the need to recruit qualified individuals. Upon recommendation of the Department Manager and the Human Resources Manager and approval by the County Administrator, a newly appointed employee may be placed above the first step of the salary range considering the following criteria: 1. The position is difficult to fill; 2. The employee would take a cut in pay if appointed at the first step; 3. The employee’s qualifications, considering minimum qualifications of the position, would have placed them on the step had all of their experience been with the County in the position. No employee can be appointed to the top two steps of the salary range through being newly appointed under the advanced step provision. B. Steps 1-3 are considered entry-level steps. Step placement should be based on the individual’s qualifications considering the minimum qualifications to be set at Step 1. C. Steps 4-6 are considered mid-range steps. Promoted employees and new hires should be placed here when the individual’s qualifications exceed the minimum qualifications, current salary and recruitment needs for the position. D. Steps 7 –8 are considered a market range and the employee should progress to these steps. E. Beyond Step 8 is subject to the Performance Evaluation Process (See I, Pay for Performance below). F. All employees will be eligible for the annual general salary increase as determined by the County Board at budget time. G. All employees in Steps 1-8 are subject to the Performance Evaluation process. Upon a satisfactory evaluation they will progress one step. Upon a non-satisfactory review they will not progress to the next step, nor will they receive the general salary increase. Within six months and if the employee improves and meets the required performance standards, they will then receive the general salary increase and any recommended step advancement to be effective the date of the re-evaluation (see policy on performance evaluations). For those not meeting the performance standards within six months, appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken. ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 5 of 10 H. Employees who are in the progression steps 1-6 and display exemplary performance will be allowed to double step on the progression scale. (The goal is to get all employees to Step 8, the identified market rate for the position.) I. Pay for Performance: Employees at Step 8 and beyond are subject to Pay for Performance, which rewards employees and provides an incentive to create higher performance standards for employees. The end result will be higher productivity levels and more responsible, accountable employees. Employees who receive an exceeds standards evaluation are eligible for pay for performance salary adjustments as funded on a year-to- year basis. (Resolution 80-99 5/20/99; 96-03 8/21/03, revised resolution 61-09 7/16/09) ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 6 of 10 COMPENSATORY TIME - NON-REPRESENTED - NON-EXEMPT AND EXEMPT EMPLOYEES POLICY STATEMENT Non-represented non-exempt employees shall be paid one and one-half times for the hours worked beyond 40 hours in a week. For employees whose workweek is 37.5 hours per week, hours worked beyond 37.5 to 40 hours will be paid at straight time. Hours taken off for vacation, sick leave, or personal leave do not count toward the accumulation of 40 hours to receive one and one-half time overtime pay. There will be no compensatory time accrued in lieu of cash overtime for non-represented non-exempt employees. Non-represented exempt employees as defined by the FLSA and designated as such in the Douglas County Compensation Plan shall not earn overtime or compensatory time for hours worked in excess of the regular established work week. The County Board does acknowledge that exempt frequently work in excess of the normal work week and should be given flexibility and the option to use discretion for conducting personal business during normal business hours. Guidelines The following guidelines should be used for absences from work by exempt employees: 1. Exempt employees are expected to work the hours necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of their positions. 2. Exempt employees who are not department managers should request time off to conduct personal business from their immediate supervisor. 3. Departments may require exempt employees to record all actual hours worked, including those in excess of 40 hours a week to meet reporting requirements for reimbursement programs (coded as 958 hours). If hours are recorded, they should be recorded on a straight hour for hour basis. Exempt employees should not expect to be paid for these hours. All hours coded as 958 will be zeroed out on 12/31 of every year. 4. All exempt employees who work in excess of at least 8 hours (or 7.5 hours for 1950 employees) (Code 958) beyond the employee’s 40 hour work week documented for the month, will have 8 administrative hours (Code 16) to use every month. This time can be taken in a block of a full day or partial days totaling 8 hours. 5. Absences of more than one full day should be taken as sick leave, vacation or as personal leave days. (County Board Resolution #61-09, 7/16/09) ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 7 of 10 LONGEVITY POLICY STATEMENT Longevity is additional compensation awarded to employees, including elected officials (Clerk of Courts, County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Sheriff and Treasurer) for length of service as follows: A. $10 per month after 5 years of service. B. $20 per month after 10 years of service. C. $25 per month after 15 years of service. D. $30 per month after 20 years of service. (County Board Resolution #61-09, 7/16/09) ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 8 of 10 TRAINING PROCEDURES POLICY STATEMENT Douglas County encourages its employees to seek educational opportunities to improve and enhance their current skills and abilities that apply directly to their area of work in order to better perform their job duties and prepare the individual employee for job promotions within the County structure. A. Categories of training - Training falls into two categories: 1. Mandatory training Mandatory training is that training required by law, license or certification or by County/departmental requirement. There are three categories to mandatory certification - a. Training to attain the certification; b. Training to maintain the certification; c. Training to meet County or departmental standards. Departments will pay for tuition, materials and the incidental costs of travel, provide vehicle and pay for gasoline mileage if vehicle is not available. Meals and lodging will also be covered in accordance with County guidelines. 2. Voluntary or optional training Voluntary training is training not required to perform the duties of the employee’s position. This may enhance the individual’s skill levels even for options of future promotion, but is not job related or mandated to attend. Voluntary training may be during work hours or outside of work hours and it is purely voluntary on the employee’s part. No travel time or overtime will be paid for voluntary or optional training. B. Approval Requirements for Conferences and Seminars: Employees may attend conferences and seminars that are job-related on work time if required by management and receive full pay for their regularly scheduled hours. Conferences or seminars requiring travel beyond Wisconsin, Minnesota or Illinois will be noted during budget review by the department’s governing committee. Deviations from travel approved by the governing committee during budget review must be approved by the County Administrator. Employees voluntarily requesting to attend job-related conferences and seminars require management approval and may be subject to unpaid time, unless the employee substitutes compensatory time, personal or vacation for paid time. ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 9 of 10 C. Tuition Reimbursement Program: 1. Approval for participation in the County’s Tuition Reimbursement Program is subject to the needs of the Department. Participation in this program is considered to be voluntary/optional training as described above. 2. Tuition reimbursement is subject to the department funding and appropriate approvals. Employees may apply for reimbursement of tuition to attend educational training classes at a vocational or university facility on their own time. Attendance at classes or enrollment in degree or certification programs on their own time meeting criteria as outlined in D.1., D.2., or D.3. of the policy below, may be reimbursed at 75% of tuition paid by the employee. Attendance at classes or enrollment in degree or certification programs on their own time meeting criteria as outlined in D.4, and D.5. may be reimbursed at 66% of tuition paid by the employee. Employees are responsible for books and other expenses under this subsection. Reimbursement of employee paid tuition is capped at 50% of the prevailing IRS cap in any calendar year, per employee, and may not exceed amounts allocated within department budgets for this purpose. Should requests exceed budgeted allocations at any given time reimbursements will be processed in order of initial Request for Training Form approval. Reimbursements for employee paid tuition will only be paid following evidence of attaining a grade of or higher, status as a student in good standing with the respective institution and payment to the educational institution. Employees requesting reimbursement will be required to sign a promissory note authorizing the County to deduct reimbursements received from their final paycheck if they voluntarily separate from service (for non-medical reasons) for a period of three years following receipt of reimbursement. 3. Employees should receive approval for flexing their schedule before signing up for training under this program and applying for tuition reimbursement. An approved schedule should be included with the submission for approval of the course. D. All proposed course work under this program must be related to the employee's present position or to a position the employee aspires to within the County based on the following criteria: 1. The course content has a direct affect on the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to keep pace with the performance and requirements of the employee’s current job. 2. Attendance at such course will enhance the employee's effectiveness in his/her current position. ---PAGE BREAK--- Section III, Page 10 of 10 3. Attendance at such course will benefit the department in which the employee is assigned. 4. It would enable the employee to meet the minimum qualification standards or desirable training of the position the employee aspires to within the County. 5. It would enable the employee to acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to meet the performance requirements of the position the employee aspires to within the County. E. Additional course criteria: 1. The course must be attended on the employee’s time. 2. The course will be limited to those providing knowledge and skills that cannot be acquired through available in-service training. 3. The course must be taken for college credit or meet other criteria approved by the County Administrator. Educational training paid for or reimbursed by Douglas County should be pursued locally when possible. Reimbursement pursuant to this program will only be provided following demonstration that the employee has sought local institutions for their education needs and will only be granted (for local or non-local) institutions that are appropriately accredited. F. Employee/Employer Responsibility The employee must submit the request to the department manager for his/her signature. In the instance of training directed by the employer, the form will be prepared by the appropriate supervisor. Upon receipt of a form, the immediate manager/supervisor will: 1. Review the request. 2. Ensure it is complete either recommend its approval or disapproval, and forward the form to his/her immediate supervisor. 3. Request for Training Forms will proceed up the chain of command until they reach the County Administrator who will typically approve or disapprove the request. The County Administrator will inform the department manager of his/her decision and refer the form back to the department manager for processing of a payment authorization at the appropriate time. The Human Resources Department will maintain a log of all requests and provide reports to the County Board or Committees as directed. (County Board Resolution #61-09, 7/16/09)