No person shall be appointed, employed or paid as a Town employee
in any position under the Classification Plan and Compensation Plan
under any title other than that of the class of which position is
allocated.
A.
The Personnel Board may allocate each position subject to the provisions
of the Classification and Compensation Plans to its appropriate class
and pay grade.
B.
Whenever a new position is established, appointing authorities proposing
the creation of new positions shall provide the Personnel Board with
a description of the duties, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other
work performance requirements of the proposed position in sufficient
detail to enable the Personnel Board to appropriately classify the
position.
C.
When the duties of an existing position are so changed that, in effect,
a new position of a different class is substituted for the old position,
and whenever such action appears warranted by reason of error in the
allocation then in effect, or as a result of additional duties and
changes in the job content of the class, the Personnel Board may allocate
such position to an appropriate class and pay grade.
D.
Positions may not be reclassified without a review and approval of
the Personnel Board.
E.
The Personnel Board shall afford reasonable opportunity to be heard
to any employee or any department head affected by such a new position
or change in classification.
A.
The following procedure shall be used when hiring employees in filling
regular full-time and regular part-time positions covered by this
bylaw.
(1)
A job description agreed to by both the hiring department head or
Board Chairman and the Personnel Board must be completed prior to
the announcement of the job opening.
(2)
The hiring rate and pay rate for the job must be in accord with the
Classification and Compensation Plans or be developed with and agreed
to by the Personnel Board prior to the announcement of the job opening.
(3)
The job opening must be advertised in appropriate publications for
at least two days and must be posted on the Town Hall Bulletin Board
at least 10 days prior to the job being filled. The announcement will
include:
(4)
Job applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of
race, veteran, color, sex, age, religious creed, disability, national
origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, ex-offender
status, physical and/or mental handicap, prior psychiatric treatment
or military status.
(6)
A payroll hiring authorization must be submitted to the Personnel
Board along with copies of the employment application, resume, and
proposed letter of employment offer prior to offering the position
to the employee. Upon approval from the Personnel Board, the letter
of employment offer will be given to the applicant.
[Amended 5-3-2010 ATM by Art. 16]
(7)
All persons selected for employment shall be notified in writing
that the offer is conditional pending a physical certification by
the Town's physician. The applicant shall undergo a medical examination
and drug test prior to setting a start date or a date can be set but
the start date cannot be prior to the results of the physical. The
examination shall be at the expense of the Town and by a physician
or medical institution selected by the Personnel Board. The examining
physician shall advise as to whether or not, in the opinion of the
physician, the applicant can perform the essential functions of the
job. If deemed unfit to perform the duties of the position for which
application has been made, the appointing authority shall withdraw
the offer of employment.
[Amended 5-3-2010 ATM by Art. 16]
(8)
A payroll hiring authorization with the required approvals will be
submitted to the Town Accountant by the Personnel Board prior to his/her
issuance of a voucher for a new employee. Copies of the approval will
also be placed in the employee's personnel file by the Personnel
Board.
[Added 5-3-2010 ATM by Art. 16[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This article also redesignated former
Subsection A(8) as Subsection A(9).
(9)
An applicant who accepts an appointment and fails to report to work
on the date set by the appointing authority, shall, unless excused
by the appointing authority, be deemed to have declined the appointment,
and the offer of employment shall be withdrawn.
B.
No employee may be reclassified to a position in another group, either
higher or lower, until the Personnel Board determines that such a
reclassification will be consistent with the provisions of the Compensation
Plan. The following procedure shall be used when reclassifying an
employee to either a higher or lower position or a transfer from one
position to another:
(1)
A payroll change form shall be submitted to the Personnel Board requesting
the change prior to the change taking place.
(2)
The Personnel Board shall send approval to the department as well
as the Town Accountant that this is consistent with the provisions
of the Compensation Plan.
(3)
Copies of the payroll change will be placed in the employee's
personnel file by the Personnel Board.
A.
Performance of all new employees must meet acceptable work standards.
The probationary period shall be utilized to help new and promoted
employees achieve effective performance levels. To insure that new
employees are aware of their duties and responsibilities, appointing
authorities shall inform new employees of their rights, responsibilities,
duties and obligations. The appointing authority will provide the
employee with a copy of the Personnel Bylaw. The employee will sign
the form acknowledging that he/she has reviewed a copy of the Personnel
Bylaw and understands his/her rights, responsibilities, duties and
obligations.
B.
Department heads or boards will provide on-site training and orientations
regarding specific rules, regulations, policies and procedures of
the employee's assigned department, including the safety policies
and procedures.
C.
All newly appointed and promoted employees will be required to successfully
complete a probationary period. The probationary period begins immediately
upon the employee's starting date or promotion date and continues
for a six-month period. The appointing authority and department head
shall observe and evaluate the employee's attitude, conduct and
work habits during the probationary period. A job performance review
and evaluation form must be completed at 90 days by the department
head and reviewed with the employee. Upon completion of the probationary
period, the appointing authority will complete a one-hundred-eighty-day
job performance review and evaluation form. The appointing authority
will notify the employee in writing that the employee's performance
meets satisfactory standards and the individual will be considered
a regular employee in the position; or that the employee's performance,
due to extenuating circumstances, requires additional observation
and that the probationary period will be extended an additional period
of time not to exceed three months; or that the employee's performance,
attitude, conduct was unsatisfactory and the termination will occur.
D.
At any time during the probationary period the employee may be terminated
by an appointing authority if it is revealed that the employee intentionally
falsified information relating to application for employment, was
unable or unwilling to perform the required duties, or displayed conduct,
habits or dependability which did not merit continuing the employee
in the position. The employee may not appeal the termination.
A.
The Personnel Board shall maintain written descriptions of the jobs
or positions in the Classification Plan. These descriptions shall
be written by the department's board, department head, or department
supervisor and approved by the Personnel Board. The descriptions shall
include definitions describing the essential nature of the work, distinguishing
features of the work and such illustrative examples of duties as may
be deemed appropriate. The Personnel Board may, upon the request of
a department or on its own initiative, along with the department's
input, amend such job descriptions.
B.
The heads of departments shall be required to retain copies of the
current job descriptions. They shall be responsible for drafting any
revisions and submitting them to the Personnel Board for approval.
C.
The description of any position shall be construed solely as a means
of identification. It shall not limit the duties and responsibilities
of any position or modify, or in any way affect, the power of any
administrative authority as otherwise existing to assign duties to,
or to direct and control the work of, any employee under the jurisdiction
of such authority. The administrative authority, however, must be
reasonable and cannot assign tasks that are completely out of the
job classification.
The title of each class, as established by the Classification
Plan, shall be the official title of every position allocation to
the class and the official title of each incumbent of a position so
allocated, and shall be used to the exclusion of all others on payrolls,
budget estimates and other official records and reports pertaining
to the position. No administrative authority shall fix the salary
of any employee in a position in the Classification Plan except in
accordance with the Compensation Plan.
A.
The normal week for a regular full-time employee shall be 40 hours.
B.
The normal workweek for a regular part-time employee shall be at
least 20 hours but less than 39 hours. A reduced-hours part-time employee
shall be regularly scheduled hours that are less than 19 hours per
week. The department head, with the approval of the board, committee
or commission responsible for the department, will establish and post
permanently on the department bulletin board the regular working hours
for all employees of that department. The normal lunch period will
not be a paid period.
A.
When performing their assigned duties, Town employees may come into
contact with confidential information.
B.
Confidential information must be retained in a manner that allows
it to remain confidential at all times. It is expected that all Town
employees respect the information they are privy to.
C.
Confidential information is as defined by MGL c. 4, § 7.
It is the policy of the Town of Lancaster that each employee's
dress, grooming and personal hygiene be appropriate to the work situation
and follow the dress code of the Town or department.