A.
Purpose. The Compensation and Classification Plan provides a systematic
method to inventory and classify all positions into approved salary
ranges, based on the list of duties, responsibilities, and the level
of work performed. This plan ensures position classification is based
on a proven system of evaluation that is up to date and reflective
of the values of McLean County.
B.
Responsibility. The County Administrator shall establish and maintain
a Position Classification Plan that provides the basis for compensation
of County employees and shall apply the methodology outlined by the
plan to interpret appropriate position classification for new and
reclassified positions. The County Administrator will use this methodology
to maintain the Position Classification List, which includes all active
County positions and the job grades to which they have been assigned.
C.
Allocation of positions.
(1)
Classification is determined by the established Position Classification
Plan methodology as stated in the General Compensation Plan. It is
the responsibility of the County Administrator to interpret the analysis
of all positions using this plan.
(2)
Classification is based on the majority of the position's duties
included in the position description.
(3)
Positions with salary requirements determined by state or federal
laws, ordinances, and/or funded grants will be placed in the job grade
that includes the adequate range to meet the salary requirements.
D.
Maintenance of the classification plan.
(1)
The County Administrator will periodically review the methodology
used in the plan to determine if it continues to align with the values
of McLean County and allows the County to offer competitive salaries.
(2)
Any substantial change to classification methodology is subject to
approval by the County Board.
E.
Maintenance of the position classification list.
(1)
The County Administrator may periodically review any or all positions
on the Position Classification List and report recommended changes
to the Finance Committee and the affected departments.
(2)
Except in extraordinary circumstances, new positions and position
reclassifications are normally approved as part of the annual budget
process and must be approved by the Finance Committee.
(a)
Newly requested position classification and existing position
reclassifications outside of the annual budget process must follow
established procedures maintained by the County Administrator.
(b)
All requests outside of the annual budget process require review
by the oversight committee, and approval by the County Administrator,
the Finance Committee, and the County Board.
(c)
Employees in existing positions that are reclassified into a
higher job grade will stay in the same step in the job grade as in
the previous classification. This should result in approximately a
7% increase per job grade level.
(d)
Employees in existing positions that are reclassified into a
lower job grade will remain at their current rate of pay, in the closest
possible step, without reducing the rate of pay. If the reclassification
places the position into a job grade in which the maximum rate is
lower than the employee's current rate, the employee's rate
will be placed at the maximum rate of the new grade.
F.
Position descriptions. The County Administrator shall maintain written
procedures for the creation, amendment, and maintenance of job descriptions.
Departments must follow these procedures when creating new positions
or in order to make substantive changes to existing job descriptions.
G.
Location of position descriptions. A complete inventory of all position
descriptions shall be on file in the County Administrator's office.
A.
Classification structure. Each position with unique duties shall
have a unique position description that will include details which
are considered in the determination of the appropriate classification
of the position.
B.
Classification. This section indicates which job grade in which the
position has been classified.
C.
Summary. This section consists of a one-paragraph brief of the position.
(1)
It describes the kind of work performed, as well as the general area
of work, responsibility level, and whether or not the position has
supervisory duties.
(2)
This summary should indicate whether the supervision is direct or
indirect (through intermediary supervisors) and the size of the staff
supervised in terms of small, medium, large-sized, etc.
(3)
This summary should include a description of the classes of employees
supervised, or by characterizing supervised employees by functional
types.
D.
Essential duties and responsibilities. This section gives specific
examples of tasks which illustrate the kind of work performed described
in previous sections.
(1)
The examples should be somewhat common in most of the positions of
that class, as well as show a range of different duties.
(2)
While not every duty will be listed, the important or major assignments
should be listed along with those most frequently performed.
(3)
Various types of equipment and machinery used should be described
if they are an essential part of the duties. Other information stated
includes how this class is different from classes closely related,
any lead responsibilities or supervision provided, and the nature
in which assignments are received and work is reviewed.
E.
Qualifications.
(1)
Education and experience. This section specifies the type and amount
of previous work experience and the type and amount of previous formal
education required (if any) which a candidate should possess. Such
requirements are used as basic screening devices. Education should
be listed first, identifying the type of relevant education required.
Experience should be listed second and identify the length and type
of experience required.
(a)
Some experience: implies a small amount of experience sufficient
to enable persons to have general familiarity with methods and terminology
in common work situations of the occupational field. (This may be
in the general range of no experience to two years of experience but
will vary depending on how relevant and how recent it is.)
(b)
Experience: implies sufficient experience to perform independently
the standard duties usually found in the particular type of work.
(This experience may be in the range of two years to four years.)
(c)
Considerable experience: implies sufficient experience to provide
familiarity with principles and practices applicable to a wide variety
of work characteristics of the class, including unusual as well as
commonplace work situations. (This experience may be in the range
of four years to six years.)
(2)
Licenses or certifications. This section is for listing any legal
requirements, certifications, and/or regulations that limit the practice
of a profession or occupation to persons who possess a specific requirement.
There may also be very specific prerequisites to certain classes that
must be met before otherwise qualifying.
(3)
Special requirements. This section includes any requirements that
are specific to this position and not included in other requirement
sections. This may include types of previous experience or specific
education, training, or required access.
(4)
Knowledge, skills, and abilities.
(a)
Knowledge. Information needed to perform adequately in the job
at an acceptable level, usually obtained through formal education
and on-the-job experience.
(b)
Skills. Abilities or techniques acquired by special training.
(c)
Abilities. Competencies which represent the employees'
proficiencies or current stage of development.
F.
Physical demands. This section describes the physical demands of
the job and the physical attributes required to perform the essential
duties and responsibilities. The physical activities required of the
job should be listed, as well as the frequency with which they are
done. If physical activities such as carrying or moving are required,
describe the type of objects carried or moved and the approximate
range of weight of items carried. Describe required operation of equipment
in this section and the frequency.
G.
Work environment. This section should describe the work environment
or setting of the job. Describe the environment or setting in which
the job is primarily performed, any secondary setting and the frequency.
Indicate elements or hazards an employee performing this job will
typically be exposed to, protective equipment required and the frequency
of such conditions.
A.
Philosophy. It is the policy of the County to maintain labor market
competitiveness within the boundaries of fiscal feasibility. The County
is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce of high-performing
employees with the knowledge, experience, skills, and dedication needed
to consistently provide County services and continue to grow a better
McLean County.
B.
Composition. The Pay Plan shall consist of the Position Classification
List and Job Grade Table for the fiscal year and the narrative document
entitled, "General Compensation Plan for Non-Union Employees."
(1)
The General Compensation Plan may include, but will not necessarily
be limited to the following sections:
(a)
Annual salary adjustments. This section includes details related
to any approved across-the-board adjustments or other adjustments
to be made to all general employee salary rates. If there is an across-the-board
adjustment for the fiscal year, details will be included in this section.
(b)
Establishing salaries. This section includes the considerations
approved for establishing salaries for employees who are newly hired,
rehired, promoted, demoted, or transferred.
(c)
Merit increases. This section includes the merit increase methodology,
eligibility, ranges, and the General Merit Increase Schedule for General
Employees for All Pay Grades.
C.
Adoption of pay plan. The County Administrator shall annually present
the General Compensation Plan to the County Board for approval, after
the adoption of the annual budget.
D.
Establishing salaries. The following factors are used when determining
position classification into salary ranges.
(1)
Leadership: degree to which a position receives direction or provides
direction to others.
(2)
Working conditions: degree to which a position operates in an environment
of change or risk to oneself or others.
(3)
Complexity: degree to which higher level educational knowledge, or
analytical abilities must be utilized.
(4)
Decision making: degree to which a position acts autonomously and
oversees the actions of others.
(5)
Relationships: degree to which the position interacts with others.
E.
Policy review.
A.
Compensation ranges are linked directly to the plan of position classifications
and shall be determined with due regard to ranges in pay for other
classes, relative difficulty and responsibility of positions in the
class, availability of employees in certain occupational categories,
rates of pay in other jurisdictions, cost-of-living factors, the financial
policies of the County and other economic considerations.
B.
Prior to the preparation of each annual budget, the County Administrator
shall present a proposed compensation schedule to the Finance Committee
for approval.
A.
FLSA requirements. The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires
that all employees who are not exempt from overtime payment and who
are not salaried be compensated at the rate of 1.5 times their regular
hourly rate for all hours actually worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek.
The County's workweek begins at 12:01 a.m. Sunday (12:00 midnight
of Saturday night) and ends at that same time the following weekend.
The overtime payment may either be in wages or in compensatory time
gained (at the same 1.5 rate).
B.
Exempt/nonexempt. Those employees eligible for overtime include all
employees in position classifications listed on the Salary Schedule
as Grade 10 or below, except as specified, as well as those employees
on the Salary Schedule in Grade 11 or higher who are specifically
designated as nonexempt. All elected officials are exempt from overtime
by the nature of their positions.
C.
Continuous/noncontinuous. In conformance with the FLSA, the following
policy for providing overtime payment as wages or compensatory time
shall be utilized for those employees who are eligible for overtime:
(1)
Employees in noncontinuous operations are those employees in position
classifications with schedules which do not generally require overtime
work and which do not require a replacement when they are absent.
These employees shall receive 1.5 times their regular hourly rate,
or compensatory time at the 1.5 rate, for all hours worked over 40
in a workweek, with only those hours actually worked counted toward
the forty-hour requirement.
(2)
Employees in continuous operations are those employees in position
classifications with schedules which normally require overtime work
because the position must be staffed on a twenty-four-hour-per-day
basis, which often requires that a replacement be provided for any
absence. These employees shall receive 1.5 times their regular hourly
rate, or compensatory time at the 1.5 rate, for all hours worked over
40 in a workweek, with only those hours actually worked counted toward
the forty-hour requirement.
D.
Employees eligible for straight-time overtime. Although hours worked
below 40 in a workweek are not regulated by the FLSA except as mandated
by the minimum wage requirement, certain full-time employees are regularly
scheduled to work fewer than 40 hours in a workweek. Generally, such
employees are on a 37.5-hours-per-week schedule. When such employees
exceed their regularly scheduled full-time schedule (actual time worked),
they shall receive straight-time overtime at the rate of 1.0 times
their hourly rate for those additional hours worked below 40.
E.
Compensatory time. All employees who are eligible for overtime, as noted above, may be compensated with the equivalent compensatory time rather than monetary payment. This shall also apply to straight-time overtime (Subsection D). This election of compensatory time or monetary payment shall be made by the employee before such overtime is recorded on the County's time sheets. Compensatory time shall be recorded as the straight-time equivalent, i.e., one hour of overtime at the 1.5 rate shall be reported as 1.5 hours of compensatory time earned; the same hour of overtime at the 1.0 rate shall be reported as 1.0 hour of compensatory time earned, etc.
F.
Compensatory time accrual limits. All such earned compensatory time
must be reported under the proper pay code so that all such employees'
pay stubs will contain their actual balances. Employees who are not
eligible for overtime payment may not report any hours as earned compensatory
time. No employee's actual compensatory time balance shall exceed
40 hours. The County Administrator may suspend this policy when it
is necessary to do so for the general health, safety and welfare of
McLean County employees. Upon declaring the policy suspended, the
County Administrator shall take the following steps:
G.
Compensatory time off. Employees who request compensatory time off,
i.e., to use their earned compensatory time, shall make such requests
in a manner consistent with departmental procedures, and in increments
of 15 minutes. Such requests shall be granted unless there is a negative
impact on the department's operation. Such accrued compensatory
time must be used by employees prior to the termination of their employment,
since the purpose of electing compensatory time is to have time off,
unless this is not possible for operational reasons. Accrued compensatory
time is not eligible for monetary payment, unless such time remains
after the employee's termination.
H.
Professional and administrative employees. Salaried exempt employees
are not eligible for overtime or compensatory time off and shall not
have their pay reduced because of absence during a workweek other
than for disciplinary suspensions in increments of one week, for major
violations of safety rules or lack of benefit time to provide payment
during such an absence. Pay reductions for these reasons shall be
not less than one-day increments.
I.
Authorization and assignment of overtime. All overtime must be authorized
by the department head in advance of being worked. If prior authorization
is not feasible because of conditions, a confirming authorization
must be made on the next regular working day following the date on
which the overtime was worked. Department heads will make every effort
to assign overtime as equitably and evenly as possible.
A.
Administrative adjustments. Upon approval of the Finance Committee,
a salary adjustment may be made when the County Administrator determines
that a salary adjustment may resolve a manifest error or clear an
inequity.
B.
Temporary upgrades. When, in the normal course of conducting the
County's business, the function of an office is impaired by an
absence of six weeks or more of personnel with duties vital to the
County's business, the employee assuming the responsibility for
additional duties of a higher job class, outside of his or her normal
job class, may be eligible for a temporary pay upgrade for the length
of time that the employee performs those extra duties.
(1)
Any request for a temporary upgrade must be submitted by the Department
Head, or designee, in writing to the County Administrator's office.
(2)
Compensation for a temporary upgrade will not be increased until
the request has been submitted by the Department Head and approved
by the County Administrator.
(3)
The County Administrator may approve temporary upgrades using the
following criteria:
(a)
The position that is temporarily vacated has duties that cannot
be left unattended for an extended period of time.
(b)
The immediate supervisor of the temporarily vacated position,
if there is a supervisor, is unable to fulfill those duties.
(c)
The absence of the employee is unavoidable, and the department
has no control over the absence.
(d)
The duties and responsibilities of the temporarily vacated position
are such that they cannot be efficiently done when spread among many
employees and can only be efficiently accomplished by upgrading a
single employee.
(e)
The employee will be performing duties and responsibilities
that would normally be done exclusively by an employee in a job grade
of the equivalent of at least three job grades higher, or in the following
circumstances, at least two job grades higher:
[1]
The temporary upgrade involves additional supervisory responsibilities;
and/or
[2]
The temporary upgrade involves financial responsibilities for
which the employee is normally not responsible; and/or
[3]
The temporary upgrade involves making policy decisions for which
the employee is normally not responsible.
(f)
These additional duties will constitute at least 50% of the
employee's workday.
(4)
Appeals. When a request for temporary upgrade is denied by the County
Administrator, or designee, the department head may appeal the decision
to the oversight committee responsible for personnel policies. The
department head shall not be permitted to introduce information to
the committee that was not made available to the County Administrator.
The decision of this committee shall be final.
(5)
Compensation. An employee who receives a temporary upgrade of one
pay grade higher than his or her normal job class shall receive no
additional compensation. An employee who receives a temporary upgrade
of two pay grades higher shall receive a 5% increase to his or her
normal pay. An employee who receives a temporary upgrade of three
or more pay grades shall receive a 10% increase to his or her normal
pay.
A.
Payroll periods. Pay periods shall be no less than two per month.
Paychecks will be issued within seven calendar days of the close of
the reporting period.
B.
Voluntary payroll deductions. Payroll deductions will include the
following:
(1)
All wages, salary amounts, or other compensation paid by McLean County
to any of its employees are not subject to collection under a future
wage assignment. Request for such assignment will be denied.
(2)
Other payroll deductions may be made at the discretion of the employee
if there are sufficient numbers of employees who wish the same type
of deduction (i.e., United Way). Such requests shall be reviewed by
the County Administrator and the Payroll Department, and their recommendations
shall be presented to the County Board for approval.
A.
Departmental use of internal time cards. All County departments shall
use internal time cards providing for the recording of all categories
of time and requiring signature by the employee and the supervisor
in a format as determined by the County Administrator.
B.
Not required for departments with time clocks. Any department having
a time clock and requiring punching at appropriate times is excluded
from this additional documentation.
C.
Description of hours. All nonexempt employees shall record a detailed
description of hours worked and verify these hours by signing their
respective internal time card. All exempt employees shall file a time
report indicating any leave time claimed and shall verify these hours
by signing their timecard. Electronic submission of time cards and
leave time claimed may be required, as determined by the County payroll
system. Certain County operations may require employees to record
time worked by a particular function or from a particular fund. In
these cases, a detailed description of hours worked shall also be
completed. However, these do not constitute time sheets.
A.
Using the task list provided by the department (for new positions)
or the existing job description, the following factors are considered:
(1)
Leadership: degree to which a position receives direction or provides
direction to others.
(2)
Working conditions: degree to which a position operates in an environment
of change or risk to oneself or others.
(3)
Complexity: degree to which higher level educational knowledge, or
analytical abilities must be utilized.
(4)
Decisionmaking: degree to which a position acts autonomously and
oversees the actions of others.
(5)
Relationships: degree to which the position interacts with others.
B.
Market peers are identified through geographic location, similar
demographics, similar economy, or recruitment difficulty.
C.
Position classification analysis and market information combined
determine the ideal classification.
