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7. Staff Report-Leave of AbsenceSCANDIA Staff Report Date of Meeting: May 6, 2015 To: City Council From: Kristina Handt, Administrator Re: Leave of Absence Background: Applicable Personnel Policy sections: Section 4. 10) Parenting Leave (a) Employees who work twenty (20) hours or more per week and have been employed more than one year are entitled to take an unpaid leave of absence in connection with the birth or adoption of a child. The leave may not exceed six weeks, and must begin within six (6) weeks after the birth or adoption of the child. (b) Employees are not required to use accumulated PTO during Parenting Leave but may do so at their option. (c) The employee is entitled to return to work in the same position and at the same rate of pay the employee was receiving prior to commencement of the leave. Any group insurance coverage in which the employee participates will remain in effect during the six (6) week Parenting Leave. Section 4.2) Administration of Paid Time Off (PTO) (f) PTO will take two forms: • planned time off which will be scheduled in advance with the supervisor's approval; • unplanned time off which will require notification of the supervisor within 30 minutes of the employee's scheduled work day if the employee is not at work, or notification of the supervisor before leaving work. Section 6.d)4. from Employment Agreement 8/28/12: Just cause for termination includes: Employee's inability to perform her duties hereunder for a continuous period of six (6) weeks or for an aggregate period of three (3) months during any consecutive twelve (12) month period without an approved leave of absence from Employer. Issue: Should the City Council approve three additional weeks of leave for the administrator following maternity leave? Proposal Details: I'm requesting the Council approve 9 weeks of leave following the birth of my baby in late August/early September. Tentative dates of leave would be August 31, 2015 -October 30, 2015. 1 will plan to come into the office one day sometime prior to the October 20th Council meeting in order to administer an annual review to the Deputy Clerk and Office Assistant. The Treasurer will be attending the budget meetings in my absence to work with the Council on any further changes to the budget that you may have after our August 19th meeting. I will be back more than a month before the budget is finalized if discussions are needed prior to adoption in December. The main budget item that may come up during my absence will be the health insurance renewal rates. The Treasurer will also be increasing her hours to 12 hours a week (currently 8 but budgeted at 12-16) to help cover the office since the Deputy Clerk will be handling more planning and zoning related questions. Building projects begin to slow down in the fall but the Planner would also be a resource to handle planning and zoning questions. Citizen complaints would be directed to the staff or consultant best able to address them. There are not typically any hiring activities during this time though authorization to begin seasonal hiring in November will be on the October agenda consistent with past practice. There are typical contract renewals (Safe Assure and LAYSB) this time of the year I am confident the Deputy Clerk and/or Public Works Director can handle. A draft of the fall newsletter would be completed before my leave. The Office Assistant and Deputy Clerk are familiar with the program and process for printing/mailing if any updates are needed after Council review. The City Engineer can coordinate the payments on road projects with the Deputy Clerk after approval by the Council. Lastly, the other item that traditionally occurs this time of year is the LMCIT insurance renewal. That is a relatively simple process and staff would be aided by our insurance agent. EDA activities still have to be discussed but will be determined before the leave begins. If union negotiations aren't complete by this time, Attorney Mike McCain will need to attend meetings. I'll be bringing the laptop home so I'll be available by email but response time won't be immediate. Fiscal Impact: I am not requesting any additional pay for the leave. I will be using earned PTO. The only increase in hours would be for the Treasurer which is already included in the budget. Options: 1. Direct staff to put approval of 9 weeks leave for administrator on the consent agenda 2. Direct staff to put approval of another amount of time for administrator on the consent agenda 3. Do not approve any additional leave. Recommendation: Option 1.