Township of Mount Laurel, NJ Employee Regulations

When there is a major change in the duties or responsibilities of a job title resulting in its reallocation to a higher classification, the job title shall be considered vacant and subject to filling under promotional procedures.

Procedure.

Where practical, promotions will be made from within the ranks of the staff of the Township employees, provided that there are qualified employees available capable of performing the required duties in a satisfactory manner. Promotions from within the ranks will be based on merit, character, qualifications and work habits as determined by an impartial review of all available facts.

Recommendations for promotions will be processed by the department head within the department and the Township Manager before transmittal to the Township Council for consideration and action.

When required by civil service, examinations for eligibility for promotion must be taken and the eligibility of the employee certified to the Township before final appointment can be made by the Township Council.

Employees may request transfer to another position or department without prejudice or loss of any seniority rights. Such requests will be considered on their merits, and any action taken will be without establishing a precedent in any case, and said request shall be processed in light of civil service requirements.

Permanent promotions.

Vacancies shall be filled by utilizing competitive promotional examinations in accordance with the Civil Service Rules of the State of New Jersey.

Where the Township Council, after consultation with the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, finds that no employee is qualified for promotion to the vacancy, it may order an open competitive examination, open to candidates outside the Township's employ. In postexamination selection, promotions shall give appropriate consideration to the applicant's qualifications, record of past performance and the length and quality of his service.

In making promotions, the Township Council shall receive the recommendations of the Municipal Manager, although it shall not be bound by such recommendations.

Selection shall be made from the top three eligible candidates certified for the position from the results of the examination process.

Temporary promotions. Pending the availability of a suitable eligibility list, the Township Council, upon the recommendation of the Municipal Manager, may fill vacancies by a temporary promotion. Such temporary promotions shall have a maximum duration of two months and may be extended once for a similar period.

§ 40-10 Deductions for leave without pay.

Deductions in salary for leave without pay shall be computed on the basis of salary and pay periods as prescribed in the Salary Ordinance[1] in effect in the Township at the time of leave.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 53, Salaries and Compensation.

§ 40-11 Salary increments.

Salary increments may be granted to each employee effective January 1 of each year until the employee's salary shall have reached the maximum salary provided for his position title by the Township ordinance. No employee, however, shall be granted an annual salary increment until his department head has certified in writing to the Municipal Manager that during the past year the employee's performance and services were such as to make him deserving of an increase, setting forth the basis for such conclusion. In the case of employees who will have served less than one full year as of January 1, the increment shall be in compliance with the Salary Ordinance.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 53, Salaries and Compensation.

§ 40-12 Hours of work.

All Township employees will be at their assigned posts or point of duty 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each working day, unless on vacation, ill, absent or on leave, except when their assigned tour of duty requires some other starting hour, such as the Police Division, which works on three shifts: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight and 12:00 midnight to 8:00 a.m. Police are entitled to a one-hour break as long as one man remains on patrol or as outlined by departmental policy by resolution of the Township Council.

A complete time and attendance record will be maintained by the Township Manager for all employees.

Lateness and the reason for it will be noted on the time report. Recurring tardiness or unexplained absences from post of duty will be the basis for disciplinary action against the offending employee under Civil Service Rules and Regulations.

A one-hour lunch period is authorized during a normal work period, the time to be assigned to each employee by the department head. Tardiness in returning from lunch, unless specifically authorized in advance by the department head, who shall notify the Township Manager, will be noted on the time report. An office shall not be closed during lunch if there is more than one employee, unless authorized by the Municipal Manager.

The regular closing hour for the Township offices (other than those requiring tours of duty ending at some other time) is 4:00 p.m. on weekdays, Monday through Friday. Employees are expected to complete their assigned tour of duty unless excused by the department head and a notation to that effect is made on the time report.

Any change in the approved Township office hours must be authorized in advance by the Township Council, except in case of emergency, and then the Township Manager may authorize the change in time.

Unless a department or certain positions within a department are regularly assigned a greater number of hours per week, the total hours of work for full-time Township employees is 35, except hourly employees, police and detective forces, public works employees and during an emergency. The head of each department may vary the work hours as necessity dictates. The regular workweek or normal workweek is considered to start Monday and end Sunday and normally consists of five working days of seven hours each, Monday through Sunday, except as aforesaid.

[Amended 6-2-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-18]

§ 40-13 Overtime pay.

Road Department. Employees in the Road Division of the Township shall be paid overtime when their working time exceeds the required weekly working time and shall be paid for said overtime at their normal hourly wage rate. Work on legal holidays, as designated hereinafter, shall be compensated as double time, calculated by paying the employee for the regular hours worked plus pay for the holiday.

Sanitation Department. Employees in the Sanitation Division shall be paid per day based upon a ten-hour working day for a four-day workweek, designated as being Monday through Thursday. Overtime for employees in the Sanitation Division shall be paid only when working time exceeds the required weekly working time, and said overtime shall be paid at the employee's normal hourly wage rate.

Police Department. Employees in the Police Department of the Township shall be paid overtime only when their working time is above and beyond the normal working time required for a member of the Department to complete his regularly assigned duties. The "completion of regularly assigned duties" refers to completion of any duties incurred on the regularly assigned shifts of duty. Overtime work shall be paid at the employee's normal hourly wage rate.

Administrative Department. Employees in the Administrative Department of the Township shall be compensated for overtime by the award of compensatory time off. "Overtime" is defined as that working time which exceeds the required weekly working time. Compensatory time shall be granted at the discretion of the Township Manager, and no more than 35 hours of compensatory time shall be granted to any employee in one year, and all such compensatory time must be taken within the current calendar year. Overtime pay shall be granted on an emergency basis only by the Township Manager, upon recommendation from the respective department heads, for those offices designated as administrative which have peak work demands.

Department heads. Department heads in all departments of the Township shall not be entitled to overtime pay or to compensatory time off.

§ 40-14 Holidays.

Number.

[Amended 12-20-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-41; 2-3-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-6; 5-4-1987 by Ord. No. 1987-8; 4-22-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-6]

The following paid holidays shall be observed by the Township:

(a)

Standard holidays.

	New Year's Day
	Martin Luther King Day
	Presidents Day
	Good Friday
	Memorial Day
	Independence Day
	Labor Day
	Columbus Day
	Veterans Day
	Thanksgiving Day
	Friday after Thanksgiving Day
	Christmas Eve Day
	Christmas Day

(b)

Floating holiday.

[1]

In addition, there will be one floating holiday for each employee, to be taken by the employee upon his request and upon the approval of the Township Manager.

In the event a legal holiday, as designated hereinbefore, falls on a Saturday, it shall be observed on the preceding Friday, and if it falls on a Sunday, it shall be observed on the following Monday.

Pay.

Members of the Police Division shall work according to their regularly assigned duty schedule. If they work on a holiday, they shall be paid their regular shift duty pay and, in addition, their rightful holiday pay.

Where it is necessary to maintain service requiring an employee to work on an official holiday, such employee shall be compensated by being permitted to take an equal amount of time off with pay on a regular working day at a time approved by the Municipal Manager.

In the event that an official holiday is observed during an employee's vacation, he shall be entitled to an additional vacation day, and should an official holiday occur while an employee is on sick leave, he shall not have that holiday charged against his sick leave.

§ 40-15 Vacations, leaves of absence and sick leave.

Vacation for full-time classified and full-time unclassified employees.

Employees of the Township shall be entitled to an annual vacation as follows: one working day's vacation for each month of service during the first year of appointment; 12 working days for employees with one year to seven years of service; 15 working days for those with eight years to 16 years of service; and 20 working days for employees with 17 or more years of service.

[Amended 10-29-1970 by Ord. No. 1970-21; 2-3-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-6]

In the case of heads of departments of the Township, the Township Council may extend such annual vacation to a maximum period of one calendar month in any one calendar year. When in any calendar year the annual vacation leave or any part thereof is not granted and taken by reason of the pressure of work, such annual vacation leave or part thereof not granted and taken shall accumulate to the credit of the individual employee and shall be granted and may be taken during the next succeeding calendar year only.

Vacation leave for members of Police Division. Due to the emergency nature of the work of the Police Department and the fact that members cannot be given normal holiday allowance, each member of the Police Department shall be entitled to 10 working days' vacation leave per year with pay over and above the amount of vacation leave with pay provided for in Subsection A(1) hereof. Police officers with less than one year of service are entitled to the additional working days' vacation on a pro rata basis. The additional vacation pay provided for herein shall be paid the first pay week in December of each year or as stipulated by the current Salary Ordinance.

Basis for vacation leave.

The extent of a vacation leave shall be computed on a calendar year basis.

Full-time and permanent part-time employees shall not be eligible for vacation leave unless they have been in the employ of the Township for six consecutive months or more. Permanent part-time employees are eligible for vacation leave on a pro rata basis. Temporary part-time employees shall not be eligible for vacation leave. If any vacation leave is to be given to full-time temporary employees, it shall be negotiated at the time of employment. New probationary employees shall be entitled to one working day of vacation leave for each month of the first year up to a maximum of 10 working days.

Accumulation of vacation leave beyond that earned in a twelve-month period shall be permitted only with the consent of the Municipal Manager.

Vacation leave, subject to the approval of the department head and Municipal Manager, may be taken from time to time in units of full days.

(5)

At the time of separation from service, an employee shall be entitled to any full day's vacation pay accumulated and not previously used.

(6)

Employees may not be paid for vacation leave earned and not used, except with the permission of the Municipal Manager.

Sick leave.

As used in this section, "sick leave" means paid leave that may be granted to each full-time classified and full-time unclassified Township employee who through sickness or injury becomes incapacitated to a degree that makes it impossible for him to perform the duties of his position, or who is quarantined by a physician because he has been exposed to a contagious disease.

Part-time permanent employees are eligible for sick leave on a pro rata basis. Part-time and full-time temporary employees are not eligible for sick leave.

A certificate from the Township Physician or the employee's own physician may be required as sufficient proof of the need for sick leave. In case of sick leave due to a contagious disease or exposure to same, a certificate from the Department of Health may be required.

Full-time employees shall be entitled to 15 days of sick leave per year. In the first year of employment, employees shall be entitled to one day of sick leave for each month of employment.

(5)

Sick leave may be accumulated without limit during each employee's length of service.

(6)

Accumulated sick leave may be used by an employee for personal illness, illness in his immediate family which requires his attendance upon the ill person, death in the immediate family, quarantine restrictions, pregnancy or disabling injuries. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "immediate family" shall mean and refer only to the employee's spouse, child, foster child, parent, sister or brother of the employee and shall include relatives of the employee residing in the employee's household.

[Amended 10-29-1970 by 1970-21]

(7)

The Municipal Manager may schedule medical examinations for all Township employees annually or more frequently if required.

(8)

No employee, while on sick leave from the Township, shall be elsewhere or otherwise employed or engaged in any outside work or employment whatsoever.

Leave of absence as a result of injury in line of duty.

When a full-time Township employee is injured in the line of duty, the Committee shall, pursuant to. N.J.S.A. 40:11-8, pass a resolution giving the employee up to one year's leave of absence with pay, said pay to be his annual salary less any amount which he is receiving as benefits under workmen's compensation laws. When such action is taken, the employee shall not be charged any sick leave time for time lost due to such particular injury.

Prior to the passage of a resolution referred to in Subsection E(1) hereof, a contract shall be executed between the employee and the Township, setting forth that the employee shall reimburse the Township for the moneys he may receive as workmen's compensation, temporary benefits or from possible legal settlement from or judgment against the person or persons responsible for the injury, to the extent said benefits, payment or judgment is specifically awarded for loss of wages.

An employee who is disabled by injury incurred in the performance of his duty or by illness as a direct result of or arising out of his employment may, on the recommendation of the appointing authority, be granted leave of absence with full pay, with reduced pay or with full pay for a certain period and reduced pay thereafter, for a period not to exceed one year, unless the injury or disability is such as would entitle a person in private employment similarly injured or disabled to disability compensation under the terms of the workmen's compensation laws for a longer period. In such case the same amount which would be authorized and paid to a private employee may be paid to such Township employee for the same period as provided in the statutes as aforesaid. Such leave shall not be approved unless departmental funds are available which may be legally used for the payment of such allowances. A physician's report must accompany an employee's application for disability leave with pay, setting forth the nature of the disability.

Personal days.

[Added 6-2-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-18]

In addition to vacation, employees are entitled to the following personal days schedule:

[Amended 2-3-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-6]

(a)

One day off per year after two years' continuous service with the Township.

(b)

Two days off per year after five years' continuous service with the Township (effective January 1, 1986). The accrual of this benefit will commence on January 1 following the eligible employee's anniversary date.

No personal day which is taken pursuant to this provision shall be cumulative from year to year. Additionally, there shall be no pay in lieu of such personal day. Each and every personal day not taken by an employee during the calendar year will be lost as of January 1 of the following year.

All personal days must be requested and scheduled in advance with the approval of the department head.

Maternity leave. Maternity leave shall be granted up to one year, provided that the request for such leave is made in writing to the department head no later than the fourth month of pregnancy. Requests for maternity leave must be favorably endorsed by the department head and approved by the Municipal Manager before becoming effective. Such leave, if granted, shall be without pay. This leave shall be in addition to the employee's vacation.

[Amended 2-3-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-6]

Military leave.

Any employee who is a member of the National Guard, Naval Militia, Air National Guard or a reserve component of any of the Armed Forces of the United States and is required to engage in field training shall be granted a military leave of absence with pay for the period of such training as is authorized by law. This leave of absence shall be in addition to his vacation. Part-time employees may receive such leave on a pro rata basis.

When an employee not on probation has been called to active duty or induction into the military or naval forces of the United States, he shall automatically be granted an indefinite leave of absence without pay for the duration of such active military service. Such employee must be reinstated without loss of privileges or seniority, provided that he reports for duty with the Township within 60 days following his honorable discharge from military service, and provided that he has notified the Township of his intent to report for duty 30 days prior to his discharge from military service.

Special leave. A full-time employee who is temporarily either mentally or physically incapacitated to perform his duties or who desires to engage in a course of study such as will increase his usefulness on his return to the Township's employ or who, for any reason considered good by the Township Council, upon the recommendation of the Township Manager, desires to secure leave from his regular duties, may, with the approval of the Township Council, be granted special leave of absence without pay for a period not exceeding six months. Said period may be extended by the Township Council for an additional period not exceeding six months. Any employee asking for special leave without pay shall submit his request in writing stating the reasons why, in his opinion, the request should be granted and the date when he desires leave to begin and the probable date of his return to duty.

Jury duty. In the event that an employee is called for jury duty, the employee shall receive an amount from the Township equal to his authorized pay minus the amount of compensation received for said duty. Police officers who testify in Municipal Court shall receive overtime pay, as hereinabove provided, if required to testify while off duty. Police officers who are required to testify in courts outside the municipal jurisdiction shall be paid a flat fee of $10 per court appearance.

Compensatory leave.

In lieu of overtime compensation, any employee, including police officers, may be granted leave with pay as compensation for overtime work. The Municipal Manager shall determine whether overtime shall be compensated by compensatory leave. When compensatory leave is granted, it must be scheduled and used within the calendar year in which the overtime was earned, unless otherwise approved by the Municipal Manager.

Compensatory leave shall be granted on the same basis as overtime compensation, namely, only for that time worked in excess of the regular hours of work in one week.

Leave without pay. Leave without pay may be granted to full-time and part-time permanent employees and to full-time unclassified employees. Normally, it shall be granted only when the employee has used his accumulated sick and vacation leave in the case of illness, or his vacation leave if leave without pay is requested for reasons other than illness. Written request for leave without pay must be initiated by the employee, favorably endorsed by his department head and the Municipal Manager and approved by the Township Council before becoming effective. Such leave, except for military leave without pay, shall not be approved for a period longer than six months at one time. The Township Council may extend leave for an additional six months or any portion thereof.

Requests for leave. A request for any type of leave shall be made on a form prescribed by the Municipal Manager. Such request, whenever possible, shall be made far enough in advance to permit approval and, at the same time, to permit coverage for the particular employment so that municipal services shall not suffer. In the case of sick leave, the employee shall notify his department head immediately if he is unable to report for work. When an employee is absent from work because of illness for more than three days, the department head shall require the employee to submit a certificate from his physician relating to his illness. The Municipal Manager, at his discretion, may require the employee to submit a physician's certificate for absences of two or three days. In a case of illness of a chronic or recurring nature causing an employee's periodic or repeated absence for one day or less, the Municipal Manager may require one medical certificate for every six-month period.

Bereavement leave. Bereavement leave up to a maximum of two consecutive days without loss of regular pay shall be granted to employees for death in the immediate family. One of the aforesaid mentioned days shall be the day of the funeral. For purposes of this provision, "immediate family" is defined as spouse, parent, child, brother, sister and parent-in-law.

[Added 6-2-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-18]

§ 40-16 Travel expenses and educational costs.

Expenses for attendance at and travel to and from professional conferences by department heads and the Township Manager shall be paid for by the Township where the Township Council approves the attendance of one or more of the above individuals at a particular conference. All such payments shall be approved as items within the current budget or under an appropriation for such purposes.

Advances or expenses for travel shall be made or paid by the Township to any employee who is required to travel beyond the Township boundaries in the interest of Township affairs.

An application for travel expenses or an advance thereon must be accompanied by a voucher setting forth information as to the date, point traveled to, mileage, fares, lodging, meals and miscellaneous expenses. Said voucher must be submitted to the Township Treasurer within 10 days of the date of the employee's return from the trip for which expenses are being sought.

If any full-time employee enrolls in an accredited college level course, courses or seminars related to the improvement of his job skills and said enrollment is approved by the Township Manager as being related to the improvement of his job skills, the Township shall pay the costs of tuition, additional course fees and expenses for books and other course materials incurred by the employee. In the event that an employee does not complete the course with a passing grade (C or better), said employee shall repay to the Township sums of money advanced on account of his enrollment pursuant to this section. If the employee enrolls for courses in any one semester in excess of three college credit hours per half year, the Township shall not be responsible for paying the costs enumerated hereinbefore for any courses in excess of the three credit hours.

§ 40-17 Political activity prohibited; violations and penalties.

Township employees shall not engage in any political activities during working hours or on municipal property, nor seek or accept nomination or election to any municipal or Board of Education office without first obtaining a leave of absence.

Violation of any provision of Subsection A of this section shall be deemed sufficient cause for suspension or dismissal from the Township service.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent Township employees from becoming or continuing to be members of any political party, club or organization; attending political meetings; expressing their views in private on political matters outside of working hours and off Township premises; or voting with complete freedom in any election.

§ 40-18 Miscellaneous rules and regulations.

Reporting accidents. An employee who is injured in the performance of his duties shall immediately report the accident to his supervisor, who shall complete a form provided for such reports. The completed accident report form shall then be submitted to the Municipal Manager.

Outside employment.

Employees shall not accept outside employment or engage in outside business activities without the prior approval of the Municipal Manager. Applications for permission to accept outside employment shall be made in writing to the Municipal Manager. The application shall set forth pertinent information concerning the type to be engaged in, the name and address of the prospective employer and the hours of such employment.

No application for permission to accept outside employment shall be approved by the Municipal Manager if, in his judgment, there is any reasonable probability that such outside employment will interfere with an employee's performance or compromise an employee's position with the Township through a conflict of interest or if such employment shall exceed a reasonable number of hours.

Departmental rules and regulations.

The Township Council, upon the recommendation of the Municipal Manager, may, from time to time, by resolution, establish, amend and supplement rules and regulations for governing the internal operations of any department and the conduct and deportment of its personnel. Such departmental rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of any statute of this state, this chapter or other pertinent ordinance of the Township.