[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Coventry 11-12-1991 by Ord. No. 9-91-0181 as Ch. 13, Art.
I, of the 1991 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Personnel
Ordinance."
This chapter shall be exclusive and not run
concurrently with any collective bargaining agreements in force with
the Town. It shall be applicable to all employees; provided, however,
that any employee who is a member of a collective bargaining unit,
which unit is a party to a collective bargaining agreement with the
Town, shall, in the case of a grievance, elect either to proceed under
this chapter or a collective bargaining agreement. An employee's request
for a hearing before the Personnel Board in accordance with this chapter
shall constitute an election by the employee to proceed under this
chapter and waive the provisions contained in the collective bargaining
agreement.
A.
The personnel program established by this chapter
shall be administered by a Director of Records and Personnel appointed
by the Town Manager. The Town Manager may serve as Director of Records
and Personnel.
[Amended 3-23-2009 by Ord. No. 03-09-273]
The Town Council may, on its own initiative
or upon recommendations of the Personnel Board, the Director of Records
and Personnel or the Town Manager, contract with any qualified person
or agency for the performance of such technical services as may be
desired in the operation of the personnel program.
The Director of Records and Personnel shall
maintain adequate records of the proceedings of the Personnel Board
and of his own official acts, the examination record of every candidate,
and the employment record of every employee.
After the Town Council has adopted a comprehensive
plan for recruitment and advancement of employees, and on the basis
of merit and provision of conditions of employment, remuneration and
retirement as required by Article IX of the Charter, if changes are
necessary at a later date, the Director of Records and Personnel shall
draft, in consultation with the Town Manager, such rules as may be
necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Following a
public hearing conducted by the Personnel Board, these rules shall
be submitted for adoption by resolution of the Town Council. The rules
shall have the force and effect of law. Amendments to the rules shall
be made in accordance with the procedure set out in this section.
The class specifications as contained in the
proposed personnel classification and pay plan prepared by the Bureau
of Government Research of the University of Rhode Island, pages 1
to 62 inclusive, and Supplemental Report I, are hereby adopted as
a part of this section to the same extent as if set out at length
in this section, insofar as the plan is not in conflict with the Charter.
The initial classification plan will be reviewed
from time to time as changing conditions require, following a public
hearing conducted by the Personnel Board and upon recommendation of
the Director of Records and Personnel and the Town Manager and approval
of the Town Council. Such revisions may consist of the addition, abolishment,
consolidation, division or amendment of existing classes.
The initial salary administration plan shall
be revised from time to time as circumstances require, either through
adjustment of rates or by reassignment of job classes to different
pay ranges, following a public hearing conducted by the Personnel
Board and upon recommendation of the Director of Records and Personnel
and the Town Manager, and with the approval of the Town Council.
It is hereby the declared personnel policy of
the Town that:
A.
Employment in the Town government shall be based on
merit and fitness, free of personal and political considerations.
B.
Just and equitable incentives and conditions of employment
shall be established and maintained to promote efficiency and economy
in the operation of the Town government.
C.
Positions having similar duties and responsibilities
shall be classified and compensated on a uniform basis.
D.
Appointments, promotions and other actions requiring
the application of the merit principle shall be based on systematic
tests and evaluation.
E.
High morale shall be maintained by fair administration
of this chapter and by every consideration of the rights and interests
of employees consistent with the best interests of the public and
the Town.
F.
Tenure of employees covered by this chapter shall
be subject to good behavior, the satisfactory performance of work,
necessity for the performance of work and the availability of funds.
There shall be no discrimination against any
person seeking employment or employed in the classified service because
of any consideration of political or religious affiliations or belief,
or race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status,
age or any other grounds upon which discrimination is prohibited.
Employees in the classified service shall be
selected without regard to political considerations, may not be required
to contribute to any political purpose, and may not engage in improper
political activity. The rules adopted pursuant to this chapter shall
define the scope of improper political activity.
All offices and positions of the Town are divided
into the classified service and the exempt service.
A.
The exempt service shall include the following:
(1)
All elected officials and members of boards and commissions.
(2)
The Town Manager and the Chief of Police.
(3)
Other direct appointees of the Town Council.
(4)
Employees of the School Committee.
(5)
Volunteer personnel and personnel appointed to serve
without pay.
(6)
Consultants and counsel rendering temporary professional
services.
(7)
Such positions involving seasonal or part-time employment
that consist of unskilled work as may be specifically placed in the
exempt service by the personnel rules or by the Charter.
B.
The classified service shall include all other positions
in the Town service that are not specifically placed in the exempt
service by this section.
A.
When this chapter becomes effective, all persons then
holding positions included in the classified service shall:
(1)
Have permanent status if they have held their present
positions for at least six months immediately preceding the effective
date of this chapter.
(2)
Serve a probationary period of three months before
acquiring permanent status if they have held their positions for less
than six months immediately preceding the effective date of this chapter.
A.
Original appointment to vacancies occurring after
this chapter becomes effective shall be based on merit, as determined
by competitive examinations.
B.
Examinations shall be in such form as will fairly
test the abilities and aptitudes of candidates for the duties to be
performed, and may not include any inquiry into the political or religious
affiliations or race of the candidate.
C.
Candidates who qualify for employment shall be placed
on an eligible list for the appropriate job class in the rank order
of the grades they obtained in the examination.
D.
Preference in entrance examinations, but not in promotions,
shall be granted to persons who have been members of the armed forces
of the United States in time of war, and who seek to enter the service
of the Town within five years immediately following their honorable
discharge from military service. Such preference shall be in the form
of points added to the final grades of such persons, provided that
they first achieve a passing grade. The preference may be as much
as five points for nondisabled veterans and as much as 10 points for
persons currently receiving compensation from the U.S. Veterans' Administration
for war-service-incurred disabilities. The rank order of such persons
among other eligibles shall be determined on the basis of their augmented
rating.
E.
Vacancies in positions above the entrance level shall
be filled by promotion whenever in the judgment of the Director of
Records and Personnel it is in the best interest of the Town to do
so. Promotions shall be on a competitive basis except where the Director
of Records and Personnel finds that the number of persons qualified
for promotion is insufficient to justify competition. For promotions,
appropriate consideration shall be given to the applicant's qualifications,
record of performance and seniority.
F.
An advancement in rank or grade or an increase in
salary beyond the limits defined in the rules for the administration
of the pay plan shall constitute a promotion.
G.
Pending the availability of an eligible list determined
by the Director of Records and Personnel to be appropriate for a class,
vacancies may be filled by temporary appointment. Such appointments
shall have a maximum duration of six months and may not continue beyond
one pay period after the establishment of an appropriate eligible
list.
A.
Eligible lists, in the order of their priority, shall
be reemployment lists, promotional eligible lists and original appointment
eligible lists.
(1)
Reemployment lists shall contain the names of permanent
employees laid off in good standing for lack of work or funds.
(2)
Promotional eligible lists and original appointment eligible lists shall be created as provided in § 51-15.
(3)
Probationary employees laid off for lack of work or
lack of funds, and probationary employees who resign and whose resignations
are withdrawn within one year, with the approval of the appointing
authority and the Director of Records and Personnel, may have their
names restored to the eligible list from which their appointment was
originally made.
B.
When an appointment is to be made to a vacancy, the
Director of Records and Personnel shall submit to the appointing authority
the names of the three persons ranked highest on the appropriate list
who have indicated a willingness to accept appointment. When more
than one vacancy is to be filled, the number of names submitted shall
equal the number of vacancies plus two.
A.
Employees appointed from original appointment eligible
lists or from promotional eligible lists shall be subject to a period
of probation. The regular period of probation shall be three months,
provided that the personnel rules may specify a longer or shorter
period of probation for certain designated job classes or provide
for extension of the probation period in individual cases. No probationary
period may extend beyond 12 months.
B.
The work and conduct of probationary employees shall
be subject to close scrutiny and evaluation and, if found to be below
standards satisfactory to the appointing authority, the appointing
authority may remove or demote the probationer at any time during
the probationary period. Such removals or demotions shall not be subject
to review or appeal.
C.
An employee shall be retained beyond the end of the
probationary period and granted permanent status only if the appointing
authority affirms that the services of the employee have been found
to be satisfactory and recommends that the employee be given permanent
status.
Rules shall be adopted for prescribing hours
of work and the conditions and length of time for which leaves of
absence without pay may be granted. These shall cover, among others,
vacations, sick leave and leaves for military service.
The Director of Records and Personnel shall
encourage the improvement of service by providing employees with opportunities
for training, which need not be limited to training for a specific
job, but may include training for advancement and for general fitness
for public service.
A.
The tenure of every employee shall be conditioned
on good behavior and the satisfactory performance of duties. Any employee
may be temporarily separated by layoff or suspension, or permanently
separated by resignation or dismissal.
B.
Whenever there is a lack of work or lack of funds
requiring reduction in the number of employees in a department or
division of the Town government, the required reduction shall be made
in such job classes as the department head may designate, provided
that employees shall be laid off in the inverse order of their relative
length of time and quality of service as determined by rules governing
the evaluation of service. Within each affected job class, all temporary
employees shall be laid off before probationary employees, and all
probationary employees shall be laid off before permanent employees.
C.
When, in the judgment of the appointing authority,
an employee's work performance or conduct justifies disciplinary action
short of dismissal, the employee may be suspended without pay. A suspended
employee may not request a hearing before the Personnel Board unless
the suspension is for more than 15 working days or unless the employee
has already received a previous suspension within the six months immediately
prior thereto.
D.
A permanent employee may be dismissed or demoted whenever,
in the judgment of the appointing authority, the employee's work or
misconduct so warrants. When the appointing authority decides to take
such action, he shall file with the employee and the Personnel Board
a written notification containing a statement of the substantial reasons
for the action. The employee shall be notified not later than the
effective date of the action. The notice shall inform the employee
that he shall be allowed two calendar weeks from the effective date
of the action to file a reply with the appointing authority and the
Personnel Board and to request a hearing before the Personnel Board.
E.
If the employee files a reply and requests a hearing
within the prescribed period, the Personnel Board shall schedule a
hearing. At the discretion of the employee, the hearing may be private
or open to the public.
F.
In conducting the hearing, the proceedings shall be
informal, and it shall be assumed that the action complained of was
taken in good faith unless proved otherwise.
G.
If the Personnel Board finds by clear and convincing evidence the action of the appointing authority was based on political, religious or racial prejudice or that the appointing authority failed to notify the employee in accordance with the procedure outlined in Subsection D of this section, the Board shall make an advisory recommendation to the appointing authority, and the appointing authority may affirm or modify the original action taken.
H.
An employee may resign by filing his reasons with
the appointing authority. An employee resigning in good standing may
be reinstated to any position in the same class if there is need for
his services within two years after the date of resignation.
I.
The Personnel Board's findings shall be submitted
to the appointing authority and the Town Council in writing. The findings
shall be specific and shall not contain mere conclusions, or shall
state specifically the evidence relied on and the weight given thereto.
J.
The Town Solicitor shall act as the hearing officer
in any Personnel Board hearings and shall rule on the admissibility
of evidence, but shall be cognizant of the informality of the hearing
and need not strictly apply the rules of evidence.
During the course of any investigation or hearing, the Personnel Board or the Director of Records and Personnel may request any employee of the Town to attend and give witness. Any employee refusing to do so may be subject to disciplinary action as provided in § 51-20.
[Added 3-10-2014 by Ord. No. 03-14-297]
A.
The Town shall reimburse all municipal police officers, public employees,
officials, members of boards, agencies and commissions, whether appointed
by the Coventry Town Council or by any other person exercising appointing
authority (which has been delegated to them by the Town Council, by
the Coventry Town Charter or by Town Ordinance), from all loss, cost,
expense, and damage, (including legal fees and court costs, if any)
arising out of any claim, action, compromise, settlement, or judgment
by reason of any intentional tort or by reason of any alleged error
or misstatement, action, omission, neglect or violation of the rights
of any person under any federal or state law (including misfeasance,
malfeasance, or nonfeasance) or any act, omission, or neglect contrary
to any federal or state law which imposes personal liability on any
police officer, elected or appointed official, employee or member,
if the elected or appointed official, employee, official, or member,
at the time of the intentional tort or act, omission or neglect, was
acting within the scope of his or her official duties or employment.
B.
It shall be irrelevant whether or not the police officer, elected
or appointed official, employee, or member is paid.
C.
Among other things, such indemnification shall include:
(1)
The provision of legal counsel at the Town's expense and/or
the reimbursement for attorneys' fees;
(2)
The reimbursement of other expenses incurred in connection with the
conduct of the defense (at the Town's election) and payment of
any final judgment rendered against such official, employee or elected
official.
D.
Provided further, however, despite the provisions of the foregoing
or of any other ordinance to the contrary, the Town shall not indemnify
any elected or appointed official, employee, official, or member for
any misstatement, error, act, omission, or neglect if it resulted
from willful, wanton, or malicious conduct on the part of the police
officers, elected or appointed official, employee, official, or member.
E.
The Town Council may establish a fund into which it may deposit monies
appropriated, from time to time, and the fund may be used to defer
the costs incurred by the Town in carrying out the purposes of this
section. The amounts contained in that fund at the end of any fiscal
year may be carried forward to subsequent fiscal years without any
reappropriation except as otherwise shall be specifically provided
by this section.
