[Adopted 6-24-1987 by Ord. No. 87-10]
A. 
The following rules and regulations of Waterford Township of Camden County, in the State of New Jersey, are hereby adopted. The right is reserved to alter, amend or abrogate any of the rules and regulations or to make or adopt additional rules and regulations from time to time, as the service of the Township may require.
B. 
Every employee of the Township should understand that these rules and regulations are not intended to cover every case which may arise in the discharge of his/her official duties.
C. 
Each employee of the Township will be furnished a copy of these rules and regulations, which he/she must familiarize himself/herself with, in order to understand them.
D. 
It shall be the duty of each employee of the Township to carefully read and strictly conform to the rules and regulations in this manual.
E. 
Misconduct not specifically described in these rules and regulations will be handled as warranted by the circumstances of the case.
F. 
If an employee of the Township violates these rules and regulations in such a way to indicate a pattern of flagrant or continuing infraction, disciplinary action of greater severity than is shown in this article will be taken.
G. 
Shop stewards should be included or advised of any action prior to its taking place.
The Township deems the following rules to be critical and provides for the immediate discharge of the employee for the following reasons:
A. 
Bringing, consuming or being under the influence of intoxicants while on duty within the area of work.
B. 
Bringing, consuming or being under the influence of drugs while on duty within the area of work (other then prescription drugs).
C. 
Deliberate destruction of Township property.
(1) 
Removal of Township property without prior approval of Supervisor.
D. 
Sleeping on duty.
E. 
Reading of books, magazines or newsprint while on duty, except where required in the line of duty.
F. 
Failure to report for duty without a bona fide reason, after the third such failure.
G. 
Smoking in prohibited areas.
H. 
Unsanitary practices endangering the health of others.
I. 
Endangering the lives of others.
J. 
Falsification of any official records or giving false information for official records.
K. 
Engaging in fighting during work hours.
L. 
Insubordination or direct disobedience to supervisors.
M. 
Leaving work area without permission during work hours.
N. 
Knowingly punching the time card for another employee or having one's own time card punched by another person.
O. 
Gambling in work area or while on duty.
P. 
Performing work of inferior quality due to the employee's negligence or by willful intent.
Q. 
Soliciting or accepting a bribe.
R. 
Personal use of department vehicles.
S. 
Conduct that will reflect discredit upon the Township during working hours.
T. 
Failing to report a vehicle accident.
A. 
These are important rules, and violations are considered major infractions. They do not necessarily require immediate discharge. However, the penalties for violations of these rules are as follows:
(1) 
First offense: written warning.
(2) 
Second offense: written warning and suspension without pay for two working days (same rule within one year).
(3) 
Third offense: final written warning and suspension without pay for five working days (same rule within two years).
(4) 
Fourth offense: discharge (same rule within three years).
B. 
Violations are as follows:
(1) 
Creating or contributing to unsanitary conditions.
(2) 
Failing to report a personal injury sustained by oneself.
(3) 
Soliciting for personal gain.
(4) 
Soliciting for any other purpose within the Township property area without permission of the department supervisor.
(5) 
Failing to be at work or to start work at the time the shift begins or at the time that lunch begins and ends.
(6) 
Writing the time in or out on a time card without a supervisor's permission.
A. 
Absences fall into three categories:
(1) 
Prearranged and excused.
(2) 
Not prearranged, but excused by the department supervisor upon presentation of an acceptable excuse.
(3) 
Not excused.
B. 
Frequency of absences:
(1) 
One unexcused absence: first written warning.
(2) 
Second unexcused absence within three months after first warning: two-day suspension.
(3) 
Third unexcused absence within six months from first warning: five-day suspension.
(4) 
Fourth unexcused absence within one year from first offense: dismissal.
C. 
Clearance of record. It is fully intended that an employee's record will be cleared, and he/she will be given a clean slate if, after any of the steps detailed above, an unexcused absence does not occur within the next specified period.
D. 
Administrative procedure and/or disciplinary action regarding frequently excused absences or a continuing pattern of absences, excused or unexcused. If any employee is too frequently absent or establishes a continuing pattern of absences (either excused or unexcused) which disrupt or hamper the department operations, under these conditions he/she will consider himself/herself liable for disciplinary action up to and including termination of his/her employment; and in such cases, the following will apply:
(1) 
When it becomes apparent that the employee has been absent too often, as compared with attendance records within the department, the first written warning will be issued.
(2) 
If no marked improvement occurs, the final written warning will be issued.
(3) 
If no marked immediate improvement occurs after the final written warning: dismissal.
In cases of illness of three days' duration or more, a doctor's certificate is required on the day that the employee returns to work or the employee will not be permitted to return.
One of the greatest problems in operating an entity efficiently is the attendance problem. An employee who arrives late for work or who fails to report for work at all makes it necessary to rearrange personnel assignments. When an employee is late, it cannot be known at the start of the day whether he/she will be late several minutes or hours. It is the desire of the Township to keep this problem to a minimum, not only to keep costs down, but to be fair to those employees who are not habitually late.
A. 
Types of lateness.
(1) 
Prearranged and excused.
(2) 
Caused by extreme weather conditions hampering transportation generally.
(3) 
Unexcused.
B. 
Daily procedure.
(1) 
Any employee who is less than 15 minutes late will punch his time card and report to his/her immediate supervisor and will advise him of his/her presence and reason for lateness.
(2) 
Any employee who reports more than 30 minutes late (unless prearranged) will report to his/her immediate supervisor before punching in.
C. 
Procedures for unexcused lateness.
(1) 
An employee will be docked for the following:
Number of Minutes Late
Docked
5 to 15 minutes
1/4 hour
16 to 30 minutes
1/2 hour
31 to 45 minutes
3/4 hour
46 to 60 minutes
1 hour
(2) 
For the first three unexcused latenesses: first written warning.
(3) 
For six or more latenesses during a three month period from the first written date: three days off without pay.
(4) 
For any lateness after the sixth lateness during the twelve-month period from the first written warning: dismissal.
D. 
Clearing of records. Any employee can clear his/her record if he/she is not late for a period of six months after receiving the first written warning.
An attendance and personal record card will be maintained for each and every employee of the Township.