Employees of McLean County may be eligible for certain benefits of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) upon retirement or separation from the County. Employees should refer to the IMRF website or contact the County Administrator's Office for special information regarding their benefit status.
A. 
An employee may resign from County employment by presenting a resignation, in writing, to the department head. To resign in good standing, an employee must give the department head at least 14 calendar days' notice. A resigning employee will be eligible for compensation for any earned but unused vacation leave accrual. Additionally, employees shall receive payment for any leave time accrued in the TOPS program, if applicable. Upon receipt of the resignation notice, the department head will notify the Treasurer's Office and such unused benefit time payment will be included in the final paycheck. An employee desiring to take vacation prior to termination should include such request in the resignation notice, and a termination date should be clearly established. The last compensated day for all fiscal reports shall be the date certain stated on the notice of termination. The department head may choose to set the date for actual termination prior to the end of 14 calendar days.
B. 
In order to establish a uniform policy regarding resignation, the following procedure will be used:
(1) 
When an employee notifies a department head or designated staff member of the intent to resign, an exit interview should be conducted.
(2) 
An appointment for the resigning employee should be arranged with the County Administrator's Office. The department head should make sure that all County property and equipment in the possession of the employee, including keys, tools, uniforms, insurance cards, etc., are returned to the department prior to the employee's departure.
(3) 
An employee leaving in good standing is eligible for re-employment at a later date, provided that the last performance evaluation was satisfactory or better. Unless a release form is signed by an employee allowing additional information to be given out, only his or her date of hire, date of termination and rehire eligibility status may be released.
A. 
An employee shall be regarded as having resigned a position if able to notify the immediate supervisor of the reason for an absence, but fails to do so for three consecutive working days. Involuntary resignation shall also apply to employees who have notified their immediate supervisor within the necessary time period, but have exhausted all available leave time. Compensation owed to the employee during the pay period including the resignation will be paid on the appropriate payday.
B. 
Notwithstanding the three-day period articulated in § 108-82A, a County department may adopt more restrictive policies regarding the period for involuntary resignation when:
(1) 
A department demonstrates a functional staffing requirement that is incompatible with the general involuntary resignation policy; and
(2) 
Employees of the affected department receive notice of the alternative policy.
A. 
Employees in an initial evaluation period may be dismissed at any time at the discretion of the department head. This policy does not apply to an employee serving an evaluation period following a transfer or promotion.
B. 
No employee who has completed the initial evaluation period shall be dismissed except for just cause. "Just cause" shall be defined as an employee violation of a stated policy, where the employee's conduct adversely affects his or her job performance, and the infraction is sufficiently serious to warrant firing. An employee who has been dismissed shall not be deemed to have severed employment in good standing. The employee shall be furnished with a statement, in writing, from the department head setting forth the reason(s). A copy of the statement and any reply from the employee shall be filed with the County Administrator. Dismissal shall be only for just cause as follows:
(1) 
Just cause is a violation of established work rules or action on the part of the employee which impairs the effectiveness, efficiency or reputation of the County. (See § 108-66, General rules of conduct, for examples of such action and procedures to follow prior to dismissal.)
(2) 
An employee dismissed for just cause shall be paid all compensation due at the time of termination.
(3) 
An employee may grieve a dismissal in accordance with Article X.
Department heads, in consultation with the McLean County Board and applicable oversight committee, may reduce the work force in their respective departments by terminating an employee, or group of employees, by reason of abolition of a position(s), shortage of work or funds, or other reasons outside the employee's control and which do not reflect discredit on the work performance of the employee. The duties formerly performed by the terminated employee(s) may be assigned, in whole or in part, to other employees. To ensure that employees are given adequate notice and are treated in a fair and consistent manner:
A. 
The order of the terminations shall be established by the department head, in consultation with the McLean County Board and applicable oversight committee, on the basis of the needs of the County, and is subject to the provisions of any applicable collective bargaining agreements.
B. 
Factors such as relative merit and seniority of the persons shall be considered for termination but are not solely determinative.
C. 
Employees who have not completed the evaluation period in a class of positions shall be terminated before other persons in the class are terminated. Also, consideration shall be given to full-time employees before part-time and temporary employees.
D. 
The affected employees shall be notified as quickly as possible, and in no event less than seven days before the action takes place.
E. 
Employees terminated under this section have the same rights and privileges to re-employment as employees on a granted leave of absence without pay.
F. 
Employees affected by action under this section are eligible for all compensation due in the same manner as an employee resigning under favorable conditions.
G. 
A copy of the circumstances shall be retained in the employee's personnel file.