Township of Waterford, NJ General Provisions

All of the provisions of contracts between the Township of Waterford and its employees, during the time of any such valid contract, shall be made a part of this chapter by reference.

§ 44-3 Employment in salaried positions.

The benefits extended in this chapter shall apply to all full-time hourly or salaried employees.

The Township Committee must create by ordinance or resolution any new position and authorize the filling of it. In addition, there must be provided in the proper current budget account specific and adequate funds to compensate the appointee.

Whenever a vacancy exists or a new position is created, Township employees will be advised by the Township Administrator/Clerk in order that those who believe they possess the necessary qualifications may apply for the position, if they so desire. Such applications shall be by letter, addressed to the Township Administrator/Clerk, and filed before the deadline date specified.

When qualified applicants are not available on the Township roster, vacancies for full-time positions will be advertised in an official paper by the Township Administrator/Clerk, with an application deadline date specified.

An application for employment form, obtained at the office of the Township Administrator/Clerk, must be completed by each person applying for a position with the Township of Waterford.

The Township Administrator/Clerk shall forward a copy of the application to the Committeeman heading the department and shall refer the applicant to said Committeeman heading the department for an interview.

If the Committeeman heading the department, following his interview, concludes that the applicant meets the qualifications for the opening, he will conduct a reference investigation and check of previous employment.

After approval by a member of the Committee, the Township Administrator/Clerk will so notify the applicant, advise him of his starting date and arrange for him to report to his office to complete the necessary employment formalities.

The Township Administrator/Clerk will check all papers for completeness and set up a personal history file for the employee.

Each new employee shall be considered as being on trial or probation for the first 30 days of employment and shall be so advised when his or her appointment is made.

Temporary employees, when first employed, will complete an application for employment, and a personnel record file will be set up in the Township Administrator/Clerk's office.

§ 44-4 Hourly paid employees.

Whenever a vacancy exists or additional employees are needed, the department head shall arrange for the proper communication of that fact to prospective applicants.

Any person seeking such employment shall request of the Township Administrator/Clerk an application for employment form, which should be completed and supplied to the department where the opening exists.

If after an interview and a check of references, including previous employers, the applicant appears to be qualified, he shall be referred to the Township Administrator/Clerk so that arrangements can be made for a physical examination for the applicant.

Upon final approval of the applicant for work, the Township Administrator/Clerk shall notify the applicant of his employment.

Temporary employees for emergency work may be employed by a department head on a short-term basis not to exceed a total of 90 days on any one occasion. In such cases, an application for employment form shall be in the hands of the Township Administrator/Clerk at the earliest convenient time and, wherever possible, a physical examination should be conducted unless the applicant has had such an examination within the preceding 12 months.

§ 44-5 Time and attendance.

Accurate and complete time and attendance records will be maintained by each departmental unit of the Township. The Supervisor of the department will certify as to the accuracy of the time and attendance records of the Township Administrator/Clerk at the end of each week.

All Township employees are to be at their assigned posts ready for work as specified by the department head unless on vacation or leave of absence or absent for good cause.

Being punctual is of the utmost importance; consequently, any lateness and the reason for it will be noted on the time record. Recurring or chronic lateness will be referred to the department head for appropriate action.

It is the responsibility of each employee to notify his or her department head without delay if he or she will be absent from or delayed in reaching his or her assigned post. If unable to reach the department head, the Township Administrator/Clerk should be notified. Failure to report when absent is a serious offense which cannot be tolerated and may lead to disciplinary action or dismissal by the department head.

Salaried employees shall receive one hour lunch and hourly employees shall receive 1/2 hour lunch each workday.

The regular workweek for clerical administration shall consist of 30 hours; dispatchers, 30 hours; and public works, 40 hours.

The following days will be considered as holidays for salaried and hourly employees, with Township offices closed and normal operations suspended:

(1)

New Years Day.

(2)

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

Presidents Day.

Good Friday.

Memorial Day.

Fourth of July.

Labor Day.

Columbus Day.

General Election Day.

(10)

Veterans Day.

(11)

Thanksgiving Day.

(12)

Day after Thanksgiving.

(13)

Christmas Day.

Salaried employees required to work on a holiday will be given an alternate day off, except where otherwise specified by state statutes.

When a recognized holiday falls on a Sunday, it shall be observed the following Monday. When such a holiday falls on a Saturday, it shall be observed the prior Friday.

§ 44-6 Overtime.

Overtime work will be kept to a minimum and, except in cases of emergency, must be authorized in advance by the department head. Records will be kept of all overtime and filed with the Township Administrator/Clerk weekly.

Salaried employees who incur an undue amount of overtime may be granted time off at the discretion of the appropriate department head.

Hourly employees who work in excess of 40 hours in the workweek will be paid overtime at the rate of time and one-half their base hourly rate.

In computing overtime compensation, the nearest 1/2 hour shall be the smallest fraction of an hour to be reported.

§ 44-7 Vacations.

Full-time, regular employees will receive vacations with pay as follows:

(1)

Date of employment to one year: one day per month.

(2)

One year to four years: 11 days per year.

(3)

Five years to nine years: 16 days per year.

(4)

Ten years to 14 years: 21 days per year.

(5)

Fifteen years to 19 years: 26 days per year.

(6)

Nineteen years to retirement: 31 days per year.

Department heads. Department heads shall schedule vacations, giving consideration to employees' requests and seniority.

(1)

If an official holiday falls during an employee's vacation period, an additional day of vacation will be granted in lieu of the holiday.

(2)

All vacations must be taken during the current year and may not be accumulated.

(3)

Temporary and part-time employees are not eligible for vacation benefits.

(4)

In order that employees may receive the maximum benefit from their vacations, not more than five days of vacation may be taken one or two days at a time.

(5)

All vacations must be scheduled and approved by the department head. It is his responsibility to schedule individual vacations so that activities of the Township will be carried on with a minimum of interruption and inconvenience. Employees with seniority will be given first preference in assignment of vacations insofar as possible.

§ 44-8 Absence due to personal illness or disability.

The rules which follow in this section and in § 44-9 apply to the payment of salaries during periods of illness or disability for regular full-time employees. Temporary or part-time employees are not entitled to compensation for such absences.

Regular full-time salaried and hourly employees of the Township shall be entitled to the following periods of sick leave:

(1)

One day per month.

(2)

Fifteen days per year thereafter.

All absences due to illness or disability shall be reported immediately by or for the employee to his or her department head.

In all cases or reported illness or disability, the Township reserves the right to send a visiting nurse or the Township medical officers to investigate the report.

Any absence due to illness or disability for three or more working days must be certified by a written statement from the attending physician. The Township also reserves the right to waive this requirement or to require the employee to be examined by a qualified physician and certified as fit for duty before returning to work.

The term "fit for duty," as used in Subsection E, is herein defined as the ability to perform the duties and tasks during the hours and in the manner heretofore understood to be part of the job classification held by the employee in question, without special consideration or changes in the aforesaid duties, tasks, hours and manner to accommodate said employees because of the illness or injury suffered.

Light-duty assignments are not normally available to an employee. In the event an employee is unable to be certified as "fit for duty," as described above, but is able to be certified to perform light duty while recovering from an illness or injury and light-duty employment tasks are available to be assigned, the employee then shall return to work and undertake the light-duty work assignments. Light duty is recognized as only temporary in nature until an employee can return to his/her normal work assignments. Light duty is not an accommodation to an employee under the Americans with Disabilities Act or any other federal or state law. Accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act or any other federal or state law are reviewed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable statutory and case law requirements.

[Added 12-26-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-27]

§ 44-9 Absence due to disability in performance of duty.

A salaried or hourly employee injured in the performance of his or her duties shall receive full salary payments during his or her absence in accordance with the sick leave schedule for personal illness. When payment under workmen's compensation is made to the employee, the Township shall pay the employee the difference between the compensation payment and his or her full pay during the period of his or her allowable sick leave in accordance with the sick leave schedule.

A leave of absence without pay may be requested by any employee of the Township by submitting the reasons for the requested leave in writing to his or her department head. Such requests will require the approval of the Township Committee and will usually not exceed a six-month period.

In the event of a death in the employee's immediate family or the death of a relative who resides with the employee, the department head may grant the employee three days' leave of absence with pay. Extension of leave beyond the three-day period will require the approval of the Township Administrator may not exceed five working days.

§ 44-10 Administrative records.

No part of the pay due an employee for work done shall be withheld from his check, except as required by law or authorized in writing by the employee.

Employees may not accept donations or other gratuities, contributions, etc., that would in any sense put the employee under obligation to the person or persons making the donations and violate the principle that all citizens be treated alike.

Any private employment by any employee in off-duty time should not conflict with the Township's interest and should not be such as to reduce the employee's ability adequately to perform his or her duty of employment with the Township.

Unless specific authorization is given by the department head for extra salary, fees or compensation, regular salary is the full compensation for services tendered to the Township.

The Township Committee reserves the right to add, change or eliminate personnel policies, practices and rules whenever it appears to be in the best interest of the Township to do so.

A separate personnel history file will be established and maintained for each employee of the Township.

Personnel history files are confidential records and will be maintained in the office of the Township Clerk in a locked file. The files will be in two groups: "active," representing employees on the payroll; and "closed," for employees no longer in the service of the Township.

All personnel history files will be carefully maintained and safeguarded permanently. Material placed in any file shall not be removed therefrom.

Each personnel history file will contain the following forms and documents:

(1)

Summary of personnel actions. On this form is noted a brief digest of salary increases, promotions, transfers, etc.

(2)

Application for employment and reference letters, if any.

(3)

Applicant's letter of reason for desiring to work for the Township, if any.

(4)

Medical examination blank.

(5)

Personnel action authorization for the appointment of the applicant and for each change in position or salary.