City of Colonial Heights, VA General Policies and Employee Benefit Program

Except as otherwise provided herein, the holidays authorized to be observed are the following in each year:

First day of January (New Year's Day).

Third Monday in January (Lee-Jackson-King Day).

Third Monday in February (Washington's Birthday).

(d)

Friday before Easter Sunday (Good Friday).

(e)

Last Monday in May (Memorial Day).

(f)

Third Monday in June (Juneteenth)

[Added 4-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-3[1]]

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection A(1)(f) through (k) as Subsection A(1)(g) through (l), respectively.

(g)

Fourth day of July (Independence Day).

(h)

First Monday in September (Labor Day).

(i)

Second Monday in October (Columbus Day).

(j)

Eleventh day of November (Veterans Day).

(k)

Fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving Day) and the Friday following.

(l)

Twenty-fifth day of December (Christmas Day) and either the last workday before or the next workday after, as determined annually by the City Manager.

Whenever any such day shall fall on Saturday, the Friday preceding such day shall be a legal holiday as to the transaction of all business. Whenever any such day shall fall on Sunday, the Monday next following such day shall be a legal holiday as to the transaction of all business.

Any other day so appointed by the City Council; or the City Manager, if such day has been declared a holiday by the President, shall be a legal holiday as to the transaction of all business.

In order for an employee to receive payment for a holiday, he must work the last regularly scheduled workday before and the first regularly scheduled workday after the holiday or be on approved absence with pay.

(5)

Where possible, every City employee shall be given approved holidays with pay. When an employee must work on one of these holidays, he shall receive equivalent time off or, if necessary, with the approval of the City Manager, double pay for time worked. In the case of employees in the Police Department who work twelve-hour shifts, "equivalent time off" shall mean up to eight hours for each holiday worked. In all cases, department directors shall attempt to arrange working schedules to permit time off for holidays rather than to provide extra pay.

[Amended 11-13-2014 by Ord. No. 14-17]

The provisions of Subsection A herein shall not apply to employees assigned to work under the twenty-four-hour-shift plan. However, any such employee assigned to work under the twenty-four-hour-shift plan shall receive 12 hours of leave in place of any one day of holiday, or six hours of leave in place of any 1/2 day of holiday, appointed pursuant to Subsection A(3) herein.

§ 51-55 Annual vacation.

[Amended 9-12-1990 by Ord. No. 90-25; 5-12-1992 by Ord. No. 92-8; 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 99-17; 10-11-2005 by Ord. No. 05-19; 7-11-2006 by Ord. No. 06-22]

General policies.

Except as otherwise provided herein, each permanent full-time employee shall be entitled to the following paid vacation for each calendar month of current year's employment:

[Amended 4-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-5]

Years of Employment	Days of Vacation
0 to 5	1
Over 5	1 1/4
Over 10	1 1/2
Over 20	1 3/4

Vacation is expected to be taken within one year after accrual. However, each employee shall be allowed to accrue up to but not exceeding twice the annual accrual rate.

Permanent part-time employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week accrue vacation proportionate to the amount of time worked. Temporary full- or part-time employees do not accrue vacation.

Annual leave shall be earned during an employee's initial probationary period but shall not be taken until the probationary period is satisfactorily completed. If an approved holiday falls within a period of annual leave, it shall not be counted as an annual leave day. An employee's annual leave balance shall not be permitted to exceed two times the annual accrued leave. Any annual leave earned in excess of that amount shall be lost if not used prior to January 1 of each year. All employees are encouraged to take annual leave in sufficient amounts so as to prevent its being lost by exceeding the maximum.

[Amended 6-9-2009 by Ord. No. 09-16]

Except as otherwise provided herein, upon leaving the City's service, an employee is entitled to be paid at his current rate of pay for all accrued annual leave. In the event of death, the employee's estate shall be entitled to payment for any unused annual leave balances.

The City Manager reserves the right to deny or reduce pay for accumulated but unused annual leave at his sole discretion when there is a termination for violation of City policy or the separation from service is without proper notice.

The provisions of this policy shall not be applicable to the elected officials serving as Constitutional Officers. The City shall not, under any circumstances, grant such Constitutional Officers any annual leave, nor shall it make any annual leave accrual payment to such Constitutional Officers.

§ 51-55.1 Annual vacation and holiday leave for twenty-four-hour-shift plan.

[Added 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 99-17; amended 4-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-5]

Each employee assigned to work under the twenty-four-hour-shift plan shall be entitled to the following paid vacation and holiday leave per calendar month of employment:

Years of Employment	Number of Vacation and Holiday Hours	Maximum Hours of Accrual
0 to 5	25	375
Over 5	28	420
Over 10	31	465
Over 20	34	510

§ 51-56 Sick leave.

[Amended 3-14-1989 by Ord. No. 89-9; 9-12-1990 by Ord. No. 90-25; 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 99-17; 10-11-2005 by Ord. No. 05-19; 4/11/2006 by Ord. No. 06-4; 7-11-2006 by Ord. No. 06-22]

All eligible employees shall accrue sick leave at the rate of 1 1/4 days each calendar month of employment. Permanent part-time employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week accrue sick leave proportionate to the amount of time worked. Temporary full- or part-time employees do not accrue sick leave.

[Amended 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 07-1]

Each employee shall be allowed unlimited sick leave accrual; however, employees will not be compensated for unused sick leave upon separation from City service, except as provided in Subsection I herein.

Twenty-four-hour-shift plan. Each employee assigned to work under the twenty-four-hour-shift plan will earn 12 hours' sick leave for each calendar month of employment.

Purpose of sick leave.

[Amended 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 07-1]

Paid sick leave is not a privilege which an employee may use at his discretion but is allowed only for the following reasons:

Personal illness or injury which prevents the employee from performing his actual duties.

Personal medical, dental or optical consultations or treatments.

Exposure to contagious disease when there is reason to believe there exists actual danger that the disease may be transmitted through the exposed employee to others during the course of his official duties.

(d)

Maternity leave.

(e)

Illness or incapacity of the employee's immediate family, which shall not exceed 32 hours per calendar year. "Immediate family" is defined as the employee's spouse, children, parents, grandparents, brother, sister, or any relative living in the employee's household.

[Amended 6-9-2009 by Ord. No. 09-16]

(f)

Other legitimate causes which, in the discretion of the City Manager, may be classified as warranting use of sick leave.

An employee shall directly notify the appropriate supervisor when the use of sick leave is needed for one of the aforementioned reasons.

While department directors have sole discretion concerning whether an employee shall document his illness or injury, generally employees will be asked for a written statement by a licensed health care professional in the following cases:

An injury, illness, or medical condition that results in an absence during assigned public safety or on-call shifts, and emergency schedules.

An employee demonstrates excessive or habitual absences. The employee’s department director shall notify the employee that excessive or habitual absences have occurred in the past prior to the condition resulting in a requirement for a written statement.

An injury, illness, or medical condition that results in an absence of three or more consecutive workdays. An employee absent for a third consecutive workday should consult with his supervisor to determine if a written statement is likely to be requested.

Nothing herein shall be construed to mean that an employee may take sick leave solely because an accumulated balance exists.

Sick leave shall not be used for the following:

Sick leave is not allowed for disability self-imposed through bad habits or other contributing actions or if disability is feigned.

Sick leave is charged against employees in 30-minute increments or more. Obvious and flagrant misuse of sick leave may constitute grounds for dismissal.

In order to be eligible for sick leave with pay, an employee must:

Daily report promptly to his supervisor the reason for his absence.

Keep his supervisor informed of his condition.

Notify his supervisor promptly upon return to work.

Permit the City to have made such medical examinations as it deems desirable.

Upon retirement from employment because of disability, certified by competent medical authorities, the employee shall be entitled to use sick leave accumulated to his credit prior to the effective date of his retirement.

Additional sick leave.

In extended periods of necessary absence caused by injury or illness and exceeding the employee's accrued annual, compensatory or sick leave balances, the City Manager may approve additional sick leave, provided that:

It is requested by the employee's department head or supervisor.

The total period of absence on such leave does not exceed 20 working days.

The City Manager in each instance bases his decision on a careful study of the likelihood of the employee's eventual return to duty or of the reinstatement of accrued leave against which the current absences have been tentatively charged.

Such leave shall be charged against annual, compensatory or sick leave accrued by the employee upon return to duty or against reinstated leave, if any; or, should there be no newly accrued or reinstated leave, the City shall be compensated therefor, and the City Manager shall require such surety of compensation at the time of granting additional leave as he sees fit. No such compensation, however, shall be required of any former employee whose failure to return to duty was due to total and permanent disability to do so. In no event shall additional sick leave granted be charged in such a way as either directly or indirectly to compensate an employee for accrued sick leave remaining unused at the date of termination. Additional sick leave granted pursuant to this provision and not used during the same period of absence shall lapse.

All employees who have been in continuous service at least five years for the City of Colonial Heights and are eligible to receive a Virginia Retirement System service retirement allowance upon retirement from City service may receive payment for 25% of unused sick leave, with a maximum payment of $10,000. "Eligible to receive a Virginia Retirement System service allowance" shall mean the employee must have applied for and been approved to receive his retirement allowance from the Virginia Retirement System at the time of retirement from the City.

[Amended 3-21-2017 by Ord. No. 17-9; 4-14-2020 by Ord. No. 20-8; 4-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-5]

The City Manager reserves the right to deny or reduce pay for accumulated but unused sick leave at his sole discretion when there is a termination for violation of City policy or the separation from service is without proper notice.

The provisions of this policy shall not be applicable to the elected officials serving as Constitutional Officers. The City shall not, under any circumstances, grant such Constitutional Officers any sick leave, nor shall it make any sick leave accrual payment to such Constitutional Officers.

§ 51-56.1 Sick leave bank.

[Added 6-14-1994 by Ord. No. 94-13; amended 4-14-2020 by Ord. No. 20-9]

There is hereby established a sick leave bank to provide disability income for certain City employees who have catastrophic medical problems, but are not eligible for worker's compensation or retirement benefits. Participation in the sick leave bank is open to all full-time employees who are Virginia Retirement System Plan 1 and Plan 2 employees and who have completed at least one year of service with a minimum sick leave balance of 10 days. Enrollment in the plan shall be January 1 of each year. Participation in the bank shall be voluntary, and only those employees making contributions shall be eligible to receive any benefits from the plan. Participation in the plan, however, shall not be construed as automatic approval of a participant's request to withdraw from the bank.

In implementing Subsection A, the City Manager may from time to time promulgate and amend such regulations not inconsistent with federal and state law, the City Charter, this chapter or any other ordinance or resolution of the City Council, as may be deemed appropriate. Such regulations shall be in full force and effect when approved by resolution of the City Council and true copies thereof have been placed on file in the offices of the City Manager and City Clerk for inspection and use during regular business hours.

§ 51-57 Bereavement leave.

[Amended 4-11-2006 by Ord. No. 06-4]

Bereavement leave will be granted with pay for absence from duty in the event of death of the employee’s father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, grandchildren or any relative who is living in the employee's household. This bereavement leave with pay shall be limited to three workdays.

§ 51-58 Military leave.

[Amended 12-11-1990 by Ord. No. 90-39; 7-14-1992 by Ord. No. 92-21; 11-9-2004 by Ord. No. 04-27]

There is hereby established a military leave policy to provide City employees who are former members of the Armed Services or members of the reserve components of the United States Armed Services, the National Guard or the Militia with leave and reemployment rights, as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994.

The City Manager may from time to time promulgate and amend the policy, in a manner consistent with federal and state law, as may be deemed appropriate. Amendments to the policy shall be in full force and effect when approved by resolution of the City Council and true copies thereof have been placed on file in the offices of the City Manger and City Clerk for inspection and use during regular business hours.

§ 51-59 Court leave.

An employee who is summoned to appear as a witness shall be granted leave upon presentation of summons. When a City employee is requested by the Office of the Commonwealth Attorney or the City Attorney to appear in court on behalf of the City, he shall have the same benefits as though he were subpoenaed. When an employee has been granted leave for court and is excused by proper court authority, he shall report back to his place of duty. Leave for court attendance shall not be granted when the employee is the defendant or is engaged in personal litigation, except when the litigation is the result of an act performed by the employee as a part of his official duties; however, annual leave may be granted for such purposes. Any City employees who are called for jury duty shall be granted a leave of absence.

Pay received during the period of court leave shall be the difference between compensation received from the court and the employee's salary.

§ 51-60 Travel policy.

[Amended 10-11-2005 by Ord. No. 05-20[1]]

There is hereby established a City travel policy for when employees are called upon to travel outside the City limits for work related events that require the use of a City vehicle, personal vehicle, or other means of transportation and possibly reimbursement from City funds, the procedures set forth in this policy shall govern such travel and reimbursement of funds.

The City Manager may from time to time promulgate and amend the policy as may be deemed appropriate. Amendments to the policy shall be in full force and effect when approved by resolution of the City Council and true copies thereof have been placed on file in the offices of the City Manger and City Clerk for inspection and use during regular business hours.

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance also contains Exhibit A, Travel Policy. Said Exhibit A is on file in the office of the City Clerk.

§ 51-61 Educational leave.

Leave with pay for 30 days or less may be granted by the City Manager upon recommendation of the department head for the purpose of continuing studies or taking special training which is directly related to the type of work in which the employee is engaged. Such leave shall be for a period equivalent to the period of attendance and reasonable travel time to and from the educational institution. Leave for more than 30 days must be approved by the City Council.

§ 51-62 Leaves of absence without pay.

[Amended 10-12-2004 by Ord. No. 04-26]

It is against the general policy of the City to grant leaves of absence without pay. However, when it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City, leaves of absence without pay may be granted to employees by the City Manager upon recommendation of the department head. Employees shall be required to use all applicable leave prior to granting leave without pay. Employees will not be compensated for holidays or accrue annual or sick leave while on leave without pay.

§ 51-63 Compulsory leaves of absence without pay.

If, in the opinion of the City Manager, an employee is incapacitated for work on account of mental or physical illness or injury, such employee may be required to submit for a physical examination by a physician named by the City at the expense of the City. If the report of the medical examination indicates the employee is not able to perform his duties effectively, the City Manager may require the employee to take such leave without pay as is medically determined sufficient to restore him to normal health after his accumulated sick, compensatory and annual leave, if any, have been exhausted.

The City Manager may require a medical examination periodically to determine an employee's ability to return to work. Compulsory leave without pay may be granted for a period not to exceed six months. If at such time an employee is medically incapable of resuming his formal duties, he shall be notified and terminated.

§ 51-64 Leave periods to be stipulated.

In order that the status of an employee on leave may at any time be determined, leaves of absence with or without pay, with exception of those resulting from personal illness or emergency conditions shall be for stipulated periods as approved by the City Manager.

§ 51-65 Unauthorized absences.

No employee shall absent himself from duty without authorized leave except in the case of sickness or emergency. An employee who is absent without authorized leave three consecutive working days shall be deemed to have abandoned his position. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as preventing a department head from recommending to the City Manager suspension or dismissal of an employee because of unauthorized absence.

§ 51-66 Charging absences against leave.

Except as otherwise provided herein, periods of absence from duty shall be charged in multiples of quarter days (1/4, 1/2, 3/4 or one) against the employee's leave record in accordance with the reason therefor.

§ 51-67 Workers' compensation.

[Amended 10-12-2004 by Ord. No. 04-26]

City employees are covered under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act for “injuries by accidents” and occupational illnesses, which arise out of and in the course of employment. Employees with compensable work-related injuries or illnesses are entitled to receive, in accordance with the Act, all necessary medical treatment and lost-time wages based on 66 2/3% of their gross average weekly wage or the current maximum or minimum established by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission.

An employee who has an injury or illness, no matter how minor it may appear, shall report the injury or illness to his supervisor immediately. The supervisor will immediately complete and forward a report of the injury or illness to the Human Resources office which will forward this report to the City’s insurance administrator within 24 hours. Failure to report the injury or illness promptly may result in the loss of compensation and payment of medical bills.

An employee requiring medical attention must seek treatment from an authorized workers’ compensation panel physician. If the employee chooses not to use a panel physician, the employee will be held responsible for the cost of the medical treatment. If an injury occurs outside of a panel physician’s regular office hours or if there is an emergency situation, the employee may be sent to the closest emergency facility. Once the emergency treatment is completed a panel physician must be chosen for follow-up care.

In the event that treatment is rendered, the employee shall provide the Human Resources office with all required documentation to complete the reporting process. If medical treatment is not needed, the report of injury will be completed for future reference.

An employee that is incapacitated from work due to a work-related injury or illness will remain on the payroll with full pay for the first seven days of absence on a reimbursable basis.

If the incapacity is deemed compensable and extends beyond seven calendar days, workers’ compensation payments of 66 2/3% of the employee’s gross average weekly wage shall commence with the eighth day of incapacity. Except as provided in Subsection E herein, the employee shall retain all compensation payments received from the insurance administrator.

An employee may elect to supplement compensation up to the amount of his regular gross pay by using the necessary amounts of accumulated leave; however, in no instance shall the total compensation be greater than what the employee’s gross pay would be if he were not incapacitated. Federal, State and FICA taxes and all payroll deductions shall be deducted from the supplemental compensation.

Temporary and part-time employees who are not eligible for sick and annual leave shall be paid in accordance with the provision of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

In the event the employee is incapacitated for a period of more than 21 calendar days, the workers’ compensation administrator will issue a payment to the employee for the initial seven days of incapacity. The employee shall be required to reimburse the City 66 2/3% of the employee’s gross average weekly wage for the initial seven days of absence, either by the use of leave or the payment received from the insurance administrator, to ensure he does not exceed his gross weekly wage.

If the statute of limitations has expired for a previous compensable injury, the employee shall be required to use the necessary amounts of accumulated leave during any period of absence or incapacity.

Supplement benefits will continue until the lesser of the following:

The injured employee’s leave is depleted.

Ninety calendar days.

The City shall continue to pay Virginia retirement benefits and its share of health and life insurance premiums. The employee shall be responsible for health insurance contributions and all payroll deductions that are normally deducted from the employee’s salary.

The City shall make every effort possible to accommodate employees in need of modified-duty work assignments. Determination of modified-duty assignments shall be left to the discretion of the employee’s workers’ compensation physician. A modified-duty assignment shall be within the employee’s medical capability and may or may not be in the same occupation the employee was performing prior to the work-related injury or illness.

If an employee refuses a modified-duty assignment that is within his capabilities, the City shall contest the employee’s entitlement to further workers’ compensation benefits before the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission.

An employee who has not returned to work shall be required to provide weekly communications with his immediate supervisor or department director. This communication shall include medical progress, future appointments, and anticipated return-to-work status.

If the insurance administrator terminates an employee’s benefits for any reason, all City-provided workers’ compensation benefits will cease.

The City may appoint a physician or physicians to review and examine all workers’ compensation cases.

§ 51-68 Return to duty after leave.

At the expiration of any leave of absence, an employee reporting for duty shall thereby be returned to the position filled by him when such leave was granted, except as otherwise provided in sections dealing with leaves of absence without pay and compulsory leave. If on the day following the expiration of leave (other than those resulting from personal illness or emergency conditions), the employee has not returned to his position and leave has not been extended, he shall be considered to have resigned from his position effective at the close of business on the last day of his leave, unless extenuating circumstances are found to exist.

§ 51-69 Compensatory leave.

[Amended 12-13-2005 by Ord. No. 05-27; 7-22-2006 by Ord. No. 06-22]

Compensatory leave may be credited to nonexempt employees in accordance with City policies and the Fair Labor Standards Act as applicable to local government employees.

Nonexempt employees may accumulate compensatory leave only for overtime worked which is authorized prior to the performance of such work. Compensatory leave may be accumulated at the rate of 1 1/2 times the regular rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 during a workweek. Compensatory leave for nonexempt employees is voluntary but in no instance may exceed 120 hours of accumulated leave. All hours in excess of 120 hours will be compensated on the same basis as approved overtime.

[Amended 6-12-2007 by Ord. No. 07-20]

Compensatory leave may be taken at any time with the advance approval of the designated department head.

The City Manager shall have the authority to grant administrative leave to exempt employees as appropriate based on the demands of each exempt position.

The provisions of this policy shall not be applicable to the elected officials serving as Constitutional Officers. The City shall not, under any circumstances, grant such Constitutional Officers any compensatory leave, nor shall it make any compensatory leave accrual payment to such Constitutional Officers.

§ 51-70 Resignations.

[Amended 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 07-1]

All employees resigning from the City service shall give proper notice of at least two weeks. Failure to comply with this requirement may act to prohibit the person from future consideration for employment with the City.

In addition, the City Manager shall have the right, at his sole discretion, to deny or reduce pay for accumulated but unused annual leave when the separation from service is without proper notice.

§ 51-71 Layoffs.

Any City employee may be laid off, without reflection on his standing, for lack of work or funds. At least one week's written notice of the effective date of layoff shall be given each employee, other than seasonal or temporary, affected thereby, specifically stating the reason for layoff, which shall be signed by the City Manager. Permanent full-time employees shall not be laid off until permanent part-time, temporary and seasonal employees occupying the same class are laid off.

Permanent full-time and permanent part-time employees shall be given an opportunity to transfer to another organizational unit of the City if a position for which they qualify exists in said other organization unit.

Evaluation records shall be used in determining which employees shall be laid off when two or more employees are basically qualified to fill one position.

§ 51-72 Conflicts of interest; political activities.

The work of the City shall have precedent over the other occupational interests of employees. All outside employment and all self-employment must be reported to and approved by the employee's department head.

All employees shall be free to vote for and support any political candidate they choose without interference, coercion, pressure or dictation by any superior. All employees, as private citizens and off duty, shall be free to join or affiliate with civic organizations, including those of a partisan or political nature; attend political meetings; advocate and support the principles or policies of civic or political organizations in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the United States; take an active part in any political campaign; act as custodian of funds for political or partisan purposes; and distribute books, pamphlets or handbills favoring or opposing any candidate for nomination or election to public office.

No employee of the City of Colonial Heights shall:

Be called on for any contributions or assessments by any political organization or member or committee thereof.

Be allowed to solicit any contribution or to sell any ticket or to procure money by any device from the public while on duty or during the employee's regular established City working hours or while the employee is dressed in a City uniform either while on or off duty or in such way as to imply a threat to use the employee's influence as a City employee against the public should the contribution not be given or the ticket not be bought.

Use or threaten to use his or her influence, because of position as a City employee, favoring or opposing any candidate.

Use any City funds, supplies or equipment for political purposes.

(5)

Have a personal interest in the employment with the City of any person other than himself, where said employment would put either in direct or indirect supervision of the other. As used in this paragraph, "personal interest" shall be taken to mean a financial benefit accruing to the subject employee or his or her father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, grandchild or any other relative who is domiciled in said person's household.

§ 51-73 Overtime compensation.

It shall be the policy for each City employee to be assigned regular work duties and responsibilities which can normally be accomplished within the established time schedule.

For employees who are paid on a salaried basis and considered exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, some occasional overtime work may be found necessary for proper performance of work duties and responsibilities. Such occasional overtime is considered part of the job and ordinarily no justification for extra pay above the pay rate established for proper performance of the particular classification work. Where, under unusual circumstances, such an employee is required to work or be on duty extra shifts or through a series of prolonged shifts, the department head shall authorize compensatory leave on a one-to-one ratio.

For hourly paid employees, overtime work shall be compensated for by cash compensation or, within limitations, compensatory leave, on a ratio of 1 1/2:1 for each hour of approved overtime. Such overtime compensation or accrual of compensatory leave shall be only for that work during a workweek exceeding 40 hours by 1/2 hour or more which is performed by an employee at the direction of the department head or his authorized representative. Such overtime work shall be kept at a minimum and shall be authorized only when it is necessary to meet City operating requirements. Where any provision of City policy is in conflict with the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act shall in all cases prevail.

[Amended 6-12-2007 by Ord. No. 07-20]

§ 51-73.1 On-call compensation.

[Added 11-12-2002 by Ord. No. 02-36]

There is hereby established a policy by which eligible employees shall be compensated for being on call beyond normal business hours. On-call compensation shall be available only to full-time, nonexempt employees who are off duty and are called in to handle situations outside of standard working hours as designated by the department head and the Director of Human Resources. Employees so designated shall be given either a "stand-by" or "call-out" status.

An employee designated as stand-by status is not required to remain at his workstation; however, his movements are restricted, and he is required to respond to a call to duty within a short period of time, completely ready and able to work.

The employee shall be compensated a minimum of two hours or actual hours worked, whichever is greater, by compensatory time or wage when called to duty.

The employee shall be awarded a stipend for each day he is assigned to the stand-by schedule. The stipend shall be paid regardless of whether the employee is called to duty.

When an employee responds to a call to duty, any additional calls received before the employee returns home shall be treated as one call and the time spent on subsequent calls will be added to the original call.

An employee designated as call-out status is not unduly restricted in his freedom to conduct personal business and is not required to respond to a call to duty if unavailable.

The employee shall be compensated a minimum of two hours or actual hours worked, whichever is greater, by compensatory time or wage should he choose to respond to duty.

The employee may be required to carry a pager, notify a supervisor as to how he can be reached and be included on a rotational list for call-out if available.