[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Rouses Point 4-15-1974; amended in its entirety
4-22-1985 by L.L. No. 1-1985. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intent of this chapter to provide
clearly stated personnel policies which shall apply to all permanent,
temporary or part-time employees of the Village of Rouses Point.
[Amended 6-5-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995]
A.
Any work done in excess of eight hours per day or
40 hours in any one week shall be paid at the rate of time and a half;
excluding, however, work done in the water plant operations on two
twelve-hour shifts. Two twelve-hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday
in the water plant operation shall be considered as being part of
the regular workday within the standard forty-hour workweek of the
water plant operation.
[Amended 6-5-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995]
B.
Employees whose regularly scheduled workweek is Monday through Friday shall be paid time and a half of their basic rate for all overtime worked, except for Sundays and holidays. Overtime work on Sunday shall be paid at double the basic rate. Employees who must work on the holidays set forth in § 19-4 shall be paid overtime holiday pay, which shall be double the basic rate of pay for the actual hours worked, plus the eight hours of normal pay for the holiday.
C.
Employees whose regularly scheduled workweek includes
Saturday and Sunday shall be paid at their basic rate. Employees who
are normally scheduled to work on a holiday shall receive pay at the
rate of 1 1/2 of the basic rate plus eight hours of normal pay for
the holiday.
D.
The basic rate that each employee will be paid will
be that set forth annually in the Village budget.
E.
Employees paid on an annual salary basis may, upon
petition to the Administrator, be awarded compensatory time on an
hour-for-hour basis.
A.
The following days shall be considered as holidays
and shall be granted with pay:
[Added 1-18-2005 by L.L. No. 1-2005;
amended 12-5-2022 by L.L. No. 5-2022]
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New Year's Day
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Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
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Presidents Day
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Good Friday
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Memorial Day
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Juneteenth (June 19)
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July 4
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Labor Day
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Columbus Day
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Veterans Day
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Thanksgiving
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Friday after Thanksgiving
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December 24 (day before Christmas)
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Christmas Day
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B.
In the event that a holiday falls on a Sunday, the
following Monday will be celebrated as the holiday. If the holiday
falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday will be celebrated as the
holiday.
C.
Any employee shall forfeit being paid for a holiday
if absence from work due to illness occurs on the workday immediately
preceding or following the holiday, unless said illness is certified
by a doctor's certificate. Vacation days shall be considered as days
worked.
D.
If a holiday falls on an employee's vacation, the
vacation will be extended by one workday.
E.
All full-time employees are eligible for holidays
with pay. Regular part-time employees are eligible to receive holidays
on a pro rata basis. Temporary and seasonal employees are not eligible
for holidays with pay.
F.
If a holiday falls on an employee's scheduled day
off, the employee shall be entitled to another day off with pay during
the fiscal year, to be mutually agreed upon by the employee and the
department head.
[Added 1-16-1990 by L.L. No. 1-1990]
When called out, once having departed his normal
workplace at the end of the day, each employee shall receive compensation
for the hours worked or a minimum of two hours, whichever is greater.
Personnel who are requested to work overtime continuous of that workday
before the normal end of work shall not be considered called out.
A.
Eligibility: apportionment.
(1)
All full-time employees are eligible to receive vacations
with pay. Regular part-time employees are eligible to receive vacations
on a pro rata basis. Temporary and seasonal employees are not eligible
for vacation.
(2)
All new employees who earn vacation during their first
calendar year of employment shall be apportioned according to the
number of months employed and shall be taken in the next calendar
year. In succeeding years, the first calendar year of service or any
part thereof shall be considered as a whole year.
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Length of Vacation
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Previous Calendar Years of Service
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Vacation to be Taken in Current Calendar
Year
(working days)
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0
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None
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1
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10 working days times the number of months of
service divided by 12, then rounded to the nearest whole day
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2 - 4
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10 days
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5 - 9
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15 days
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10 - 14
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20 days
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15 - 19
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25 days
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20 - 30
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27 1/2 days
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30 plus
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30 days
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B.
Vacation time must be taken in segments of four hours
or greater, except that vacation time in excess of 16 hours shall
be requested at least one week before the start of vacation. If a
regular payday falls during an employee's vacation, he shall receive
such paycheck in advance, provided that he makes a request, in writing,
for such advance payment at least two weeks prior to his leaving;
and further provided that he will be taking a minimum vacation of
one week.
C.
Any employee who terminated his employment is entitled
to the vacation earned in the previous year, plus the pro rata vacation
earned in the calendar year in which his employment with the Village
is terminated.
D.
Any employee who is on a leave of absence of greater
than 15 calendar days in any month shall not earn vacation time in
that month.
E.
Employees may accumulate up to 15 days' vacation from
one year to the next, provided that they request to do so, in writing,
or that they are not able to take their full vacation allotment due
to the Village work requirements.
[Amended 1-18-2005 by L.L. No. 1-2005]
F.
Those employees who are not able to take their vacations
because the Village requires the employee to work during the vacation
shall have the option to take their vacations at another time during
that year or to be compensated by equivalent pay.
G.
Any employee who dies while still in service shall
have a lump-sum payment made to his estate for accrued vacation.
A.
In the event of death in the employee's immediate
family, the employee shall be excused from work at his request to
attend the funeral and shall be paid on a daily basis for all workdays
lost up to a maximum of five workdays.
B.
"Immediate family" shall be defined as parents, spouse,
children, brother, sister and parents-in-law.
C.
In the event that a death in the immediate family
occurs when an employee is on vacation, vacation credits will not
be charged against the employee for funeral days he is entitled to.
A.
General policy. Sick leave is granted to employees
to protect them from endangering their health and that of their fellow
workers. This is meant to be a protection in case of need for the
individual when he is ill and not a benefit to be used whenever wanted.
All allowances of such leave shall be in conformity with the stated
purpose.
B.
Rate of accrual. Sick leave shall be earned at the
rate of 1.85 hours per calendar week, credited as of the last day
of the week. Sick leave may be accumulated to an indefinite amount.
An employee may draw up to five days' excess sick leave or, in other
words, minus five days' credit, provided that one week's pay is held
in escrow. If the one week's pay normally held in escrow is paid,
then a negative sick leave balance shall not be permitted. After three
years' full-time employment, an employee may draw up to 12 days' excess
sick leave, provided that approval is requested and received from
the Village Board of Trustees. If an employee quits or is discharged
as a result of disciplinary action while having a negative sick leave
balance, the Village shall institute whatever action is required to
recover the excess wages paid. Upon termination of employment, an
employee shall have the monetary equivalent of any negative leave
subtracted from moneys due. The employer may require, as a condition
of payment, a statement from the employee's physician certifying the
nature of the illness or the injury and the probable period of disability.
Employees may be required to provide such proof at any time. Any false
representation made by the employee in connection with a claim for
sick leave benefits shall be deemed just cause of discipline. Accumulated
sick leave will not be payable at the time of termination of employment,
except in case of retirement or death. An employee who dies while
still in service should have a lump-sum payment made to his estate.
Upon retirement with 10 years of service or more, up to and inclusive
of 60 days of such time may be turned in for payment. All employees
on sick leave shall inform their department head or his designee prior
to the commencement of the workday. Employees will be allowed to inform
their department heads up to one hour after the prescribed work period
commences of their intention to utilize said sick day without loss
of said benefits. An employee's failure to report within the above-prescribed
time or his failure to produce a requested doctor's certificate may
result in his loss of sick leave benefits. Sick leave shall not be
taken in less than hourly increments.
[Amended 6-5-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995]
C.
Annual pay-out. An annual pay-out of up to three sick
leave days shall be allowed to nonunion employees, provided that said
employee has in excess of 100 sick leave hours on the books as of
November 15 of each year.
[Added 2-21-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006]
A total of two days per calendar year will be
allowed for personal leave with no deduction in pay. Professional
consultation, family matters and business or financial matters are
acceptable purposes for use of personal leave. Personal leave is not
intended for use to extend holidays. Leave in this category may be
taken without the Village Administrator's approval if at least four
calendar days' notice is given; if less than four calendar days' notice
is given, the Village Administrator's approval is required. Leave
in this category is not cumulative.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 19-8.2,
Compassionate leave, which immediately followed this section, was
repealed 6-5-1995 by L.L. No. 1-1995.
A.
Upon employment, every employee, either temporary
or permanent, shall be granted six injury days with pay and benefits.
These injury days, which shall be used only once, shall be in lieu
of the employee utilizing his accrued sick leave in the unfortunate
event that he is injured on the job in the course of his duties in
such a manner that he would qualify for workmen's compensation. The
injury must be readily apparent or diagnosed by a physician as work-caused.
Award of this time is contingent upon the employee filing a C-2 injury
report attesting to the injury or the severity thereof and fulfilling
the conditions meriting workmen's compensation. In the event that
the employee is unable to file the C-2 immediately because of the
injury, the Public Works Superintendent will investigate the function.
The first day of the six allowed is the day, or part thereof remaining,
on which the employee is injured.
B.
This time is not to be used as sick time, nor does
it apply to a disability off-the-job situation.
C.
In all on-the-job injuries which preclude an employee
from continuing work, the day of the injury is considered a day of
work, and each employee shall be paid for a full eight hours, no matter
what the time of injury.
A.
Employees who serve as jurors will receive the difference
between the jury duty pay and his regular compensation, so that he
or she will not suffer any loss of salary.
B.
Employees will be required to show their jury pay
to the Treasurer's office so that appropriate payment to the employee
can be made. Failure to present the juror's paycheck to the Treasurer's
office may result in delayed payment of wages.
Employees who are required to attend military
summer camp or are recalled for emergency duties shall receive full
pay, less any pay received from the military as governed by the federal
and/or state laws. This shall be for a minimum period of 30 days per
year. Personnel who elect to take vacation time during this service
shall receive both their vacation pay and their military pay.
A.
All leaves of absence in excess of four months shall
be granted or denied by the the Village Board. The Village Board's
decision in this matter shall be final and binding on all parties.
Leaves of absence of less than four months may be granted by the Village
Administrator.
B.
When an employee is absent without leave and without
an explanation therefor for a period of five working days, such leave
shall be deemed to constitute a resignation, effective on the date
of the commencement of such absence.
C.
The failure of an employee to return to his position
within five consecutive working days following the expiration of leave
of absence or extension thereof, without submitting an explanation
therefor within such consecutive five-day period, shall constitute
a resignation which, for the purpose of determining eligibility for
reinstatement, shall be deemed to be effective as of the date of the
commencement of said leave of absence. Nothing herein shall be deemed
to excuse the unauthorized leave of absence, and such failure may
be regarded as misconduct in the appropriate line of procedure.
[Amended 12-15-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014; 12-5-2022 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
The Village will provide for its employees the following insurance
premiums:
A.
Workmen's compensation for injury or an occupational illness
sustained on the job without cost.
B.
Disability compensation for injuries or illness sustained off the
job. This shall be an employee contributory insurance, with the maximum
amount of employee contribution being $0.60 per week.
C.
Additional compensation, without cost, providing additional payments
of up to $75 a week over and above that provided under the basic workmen's
compensation or disability. This payment shall occur only as long
as the basic policies are operational.
D.
Medical insurance consisting of Blue Cross, Blue Shield (or equivalent
coverage) basic policy and major medical.
(1)
For employees hired before March 1, 2015, the coverage for the employee
shall be without cost to the employee. Coverage for the family or
other multiple insurance tier under the basic service will be at the
Village's expense; family coverage or other multiple insurance
tier under major medical is at Village expense. A permanent full-time
employee who retired with at least 10 years of service shall be entitled
to have the Village continue to pay 100% of the costs, including full
family coverage or other multiple insurance tiers.
(2)
For employees hired on or after March 2, 2015, they shall contribute
to the premium costs an amount equal to 20% of the yearly premium
cost of the Village. A permanent full-time employee who retires with
at least 20 years of service shall be entitled to have the Village
continue to pay 80% of the costs for the retiree only.
A.
The Village will provide three sets of uniforms for
each employee engaging in work that would soil personal clothes, consisting
of pants and shirt, and will replace any article damaged beyond repair
if said damage is incurred either at work or as the result of a major
disaster, such as a house fire. The Village will not clean said items
at its expense, this being the individual employee's responsibility.
These uniforms are not the personal property of the employee.
B.
The Village will provide a set of foul-weather gear
for each employee exposed to harsh climatic conditions, consisting
of a heavy coat with hood, heavy pants and gloves. These articles
remain the property of the Village and will be dry cleaned once a
year at Village expense. Said items are not for personal use off the
work-site.
C.
Except for items of personal wear such as shoes, the
Village will supply the necessary safety equipment for the personal
protection of its employees.
A.
Any employee who is incapable of performing her duties
because of a maternity disability may utilize accumulated sick leave
credits during such absence.
B.
A maternity leave shall be considered to commence
on the date on which the employee is no longer capable of performing
her duties and shall end on the date that an employee can resume the
performance of her duties.
C.
The employee may be requested or required to bring
in a doctor's note to verify the date when the employee is not capable
of performing her duties or when the employee is capable of returning
to work. In addition, the employee may be required to submit to a
physical examination by a doctor of the Village's choice to verify
the starting and ending date of such maternity leave. Such second
doctor's opinion will be paid for by the Village.
B.
All eligible employees shall also be credited for
unused sick leave upon retirement, up to a maximum of 165 days, in
accordance with the enabling provisions specified by § 41,
Subdivision j of the New York State Retirement and Social Security
Law.
D.
An employee must give at least three months' notice
before he retires; otherwise, his final payment may be held for a
time.
The probationary period of each employee shall
be not less than eight weeks nor more than 26 weeks. Sick leave shall
be earned and holidays paid during the probationary period. However,
although vacation leave provisions shall be earned by a probationary
employee, he shall not take time during the probation time, nor shall
he be credited with the same until completion of his probation period.
The rate paid to probationary employees shall be determined by the
Board of Trustees.
A.
The Village Clerk shall keep a personnel file on each
employee. All information shall be kept in this file and a copy given
to the employee for all information except routine material.
B.
No employee may examine any file except his or her
own file.
C.
An employee shall have the right to examine the contents
of his or her file (except preemployment application and letters of
reference) or may give written authorization to a representative to
examine the file.
D.
The Village shall furnish copies of any material in
the file in writing requested by the employee or his representative.
E.
The employee has the right to make a written response
to any information in the personnel file.
A.
It shall be the policy of the Village not to discriminate
because of race, color, creed, national origin, age, sex or handicap.
B.
Any employee who believes that such discrimination
has occurred should report this immediately to the Village Administrator
or, if appropriate, the Mayor of the Village and the Village Board.
C.
The Village Board shall investigate and take appropriate
action. Each employee who reports alleged discrimination shall receive
a written report from the Village Board at the conclusion of the investigation.
Any course of study which is pursued by an employee
which is truly related to his job will be reimbursed for reasonable
expenses incurred by taking that course, up to a maximum of $200 per
year, provided that the employee remains in the Village employ a minimum
of six months after completion of the course. If the employee should
terminate earlier than six months, any amount reimbursed will be deducted
from his final paycheck. Reimbursement for hours spent studying is
not considered a valid expense; however, tuition cost, books and supplies
are. The Village Administrator shall make the final determination
if a course is job-related or not, and prior approval must be obtained
before taking the course for it to be eligible for reimbursement.
Reimbursement is subject to the employee successfully completing the
course.
A.
It is the responsibility of each Village employee
to maintain moral and ethical standards which are worthy and warrant
the continued confidence of the Village's taxpayers. The public is
entitled to know that no substantial conflict between private interests
and official duties exist in those who serve them.
B.
All Village employees may engage in any work or activity
for or without pay during off-duty hours which does not conflict or
interfere with the performance of his duties or which does not lessen
the employee's job effectiveness and efficiency or decrease the employee's
physical ability to fully perform the employee's duties.
C.
Each employee has a responsibility of informing his
supervisor, in writing, of outside activities which may conflict with
his official duties.
D.
All Village employees who own more than 20% interest
in a company, association or corporation which is in joint business
with the Village must disclose such ownership to the department head
and to the Village Board, and, specifically, he must state whether
or not he is an officer, director, agent or member and how much interest
he owns in such association, corporation or company. The Village shall
not engage in any transaction with a company, corporation or association
in which a Village employee owns more than 10% of the outstanding
shares or has such interest unless the Village Board has fully investigated
the possible conflict of interest and recommends to the Village Board
or department head that such conflict of interest does not exist.
E.
No employee or member of his family shall solicit
or accept, directly or indirectly, any gratuity from a person who
has sought or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or
financial gain from the Village; conduct operations or activities
that are regulated by the Village; or has interest that may be substantially
affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's official
duty.
F.
Any employee who knows, or should have known, of a
purchase of goods or services from a vendor that he or she works for
must inform the Village Board, in writing, of such relationship.
G.
All contractors, suppliers and vendors doing business
with the Village shall be advised that employees are prohibited in
accepting any gift or gratuity from such persons.
H.
Where the donor of such gratuity is unknown, the gratuity
shall be turned over to the Village Attorney with a written report
of the circumstances of how it was received. The Village Attorney
shall make a report and forward the report and the gratuity to the
Village Board, who shall dispose of such gratuity as it deems appropriate.
I.
Violation of any provision of this procedure by an
employee or a member of the employee's family shall be sufficient
cause for immediate dismissal of the employee.
A.
In order to continue operating in a safe, orderly
and effective manner, the Village has established certain rules that
are necessary for the effective operation of the Village functions
and to provide what their responsibilities are while working for the
Village.
B.
Employees who fail to abide by these established rules
will be subject to corrective discipline or discharge. Corrective
discipline may range from a single warning for minor offenses or omissions
to discharge for more serious or repeated infractions. The following
infractions are sufficiently serious to require the supervisor to
take disciplinary action. The listing is not all-inclusive, since
there are other offenses subject to disciplinary action which are
not listed.
(1)
Willful damage to, or unauthorized removal of, property
belonging to the department or to another employee.
(2)
Committing any act of violence, fighting, brawling
or improper, immoral conduct during working hours.
(3)
Insubordination.
(4)
Gambling during working hours or on Village property.
(5)
Doing personal work during working hours.
(6)
Possession or use on the job of intoxicating liquors
or narcotics or reporting to work under the influence of intoxicants
or narcotics.
(7)
Willful violation or disregard of safety or fire regulations.
(8)
Possession of dangerous weapons during working hours
or on Village property.
(9)
Loafing, wasting working time, being out of the work
area without permission or sleeping on the job.
(10)
Falsification of personnel, medical or other records,
the omission of pertinent facts or giving of false testimony.
(11)
Absence without reasonable cause.
(12)
Repeated tardiness or absenteeism.
(13)
Leaving a job site without approval.
(14)
Refusal to perform work as directed or willful neglect
of duty.
(15)
Inefficient performance of assigned duties or carelessness
in the use of department property.
(16)
Covering up mistakes or faulty work.
(17)
Conduct outside of work of a criminal, dishonest or
immoral nature, if a direct relationship to the employment is shown.
[Added 5-7-2001 by L.L. No. 3-2001[1]]
A.
Scope. The Village of Rouses Point believes in the
dignity of the individual and recognizes the right of any person to
equal opportunities. In this regard, the Village has had a longstanding
practice of protecting and safeguarding the rights and opportunities
of any person who might either seek or obtain employment with or volunteer
for the Village without being subjected to illegal discrimination
or harassment in the workplace. Solely for the purposes of this policy,
the term "employee" shall also include a volunteer.
B.
Policy; applicability. In addition to prohibiting
illegal discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion,
age, disability, marital status, military status, national origin
or other unlawful conduct, the Village of Rouses Point also prohibits
the illegal harassment of its employees or officers in any form. The
Village will take all steps necessary to prevent and stop the occurrence
of any illegal discrimination or harassment in the workplace.
(1)
This policy applies to all Village officers and employees
and all individuals who serve as contractors to the Village. Depending
on the extent of the exercise of control, this policy may be applied
to the conduct of those who are not officers or employees or contractors
of the Village with respect to illegal discrimination or illegal harassment
of Village officers or employees in the workplace.
(2)
The Village and this discrimination and harassment policy prohibit conduct that is illegal under state or federal law, including, but not limited to, the inappropriate forms of behavior described in this policy under Subsection C, entitled "Definition of Sexual Harassment."
(3)
Department heads and supervisory personnel are responsible
for ensuring a work environment free from unsolicited, unwelcome and
intimidating unlawful discrimination or harassment. These individuals
must take immediate and, if authorized, appropriate corrective action
when allegations of illegal discrimination or harassment come to their
attention to assure compliance with this policy. Should a department
head or supervisor not be authorized to take corrective action, the
matter shall be referred to the individual or body, as the case may
be, having that authority.
(4)
A person who is found to have committed an act of
unlawful discrimination or harassment or other inappropriate behavior
will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the provisions
of a negotiated labor agreement or state law, as may be appropriate.
Additionally, retaliation against someone who has complained about
prohibited discrimination or harassment is strictly prohibited as
is retaliation against an individual who cooperates with an investigation
of a discrimination or harassment complaint. Any such retaliatory
conduct is illegal and will result in disciplinary action against
the retaliator, if that person is an officer, employee or volunteer
of the Village. Intimidation, coercion, threats, reprisals or discrimination
against any person for complaining about unlawful discrimination or
harassment, as described in this policy, is prohibited.
(5)
All Village officers and employees will be held responsible
and accountable for avoiding or eliminating the conduct prohibited
by this policy. Individuals are encouraged to report violations of
this policy to their supervisor or to a member of the Discrimination/Harassment
Committee. This Committee shall consist of two members of the Village
Board, to be appointed annually by the Mayor.
C.
Definition of "sexual harassment."
(1)
Sexual advances that are not welcome, requests for
sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct with sexual overtones
constitute sexual harassment when:
(a)
Submission to such conduct is made, either explicitly
or implicitly, a term or condition of an individual's work; or
(b)
Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct
by an individual is used as the basis for work decisions such as promotion,
transfer or termination, affecting such individual; or
(c)
Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably
interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating,
hostile or offensive working environment.
(2)
Sexual harassment refers to behavior that an individual
does not welcome; that is personally offensive; that fails to respect
the rights of others; that lowers morale and that, therefore, interferes
with an individual's work performance and effectiveness; or that creates
an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Specific
forms of behavior that the Village would consider sexual harassment
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a)
Verbal harassment: abusive verbal language related
to a person's sex, including sexual innuendos; slurs; suggestive,
derogatory or insulting comments or sounds; whistling; jokes of a
sexual nature; sexual propositions; and threats. Included would be
any sexual advance that is unwelcome or any demand for sexual favors.
(b)
Nonverbal harassment: abusive written language,
showing or displaying pornographic or sexually explicit objects or
pictures, graphic commentaries, leering or obscene gestures in the
workplace such that unreasonably interferes with an individual's work
performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working
environment.
(c)
Physical harassment: any physical contact which
is not welcome, including touching, petting, pinching, coerced sexual
intercourse, assault, or persistent brushing up against a person's
body.
D.
Procedure.
(1)
Any Village officer or employee is encouraged to report
an incident of suspected illegal discrimination or harassment to a
department head or to the Discrimination/Harassment Committee as soon
as possible after an alleged incident. A victim does not have to be
the opposite sex of the harasser. The harasser does not have to be
the victim's immediate supervisor. The harasser could be an agent
of a supervisor, another supervisor, a coworker, or even someone not
on the payroll of the Village who might have occasion to appear at
a work site or enter a Village building or facility. A victim of sexual
harassment does not necessarily have to be the person at whom unwelcome
sexual conduct is directed. Such an individual could be someone who
is affected by such conduct when it is directed towards another person,
thereby creating a hostile work environment. Such conduct in the workplace
is unlawful and is prohibited by the Village and by this policy.
(2)
Should an officer or employee believe that he or she
has been discriminated against or harassed and would like guidance
as to how to proceed in filing a complaint, that individual should
review the Village's discrimination and harassment complaint procedure
or contact any member of the Discrimination/Harassment Committee for
assistance.
(3)
Should an individual file a complaint, the procedures
of the Discrimination/Harassment Committee must be followed, including
the time limit of 180 days. The procedures describe the steps to be
taken when an individual has filed a complaint, detail the responsibilities
of all involved parties and provide the time frames for actions to
be taken.
(4)
All complaints will be handled in a timely and confidential
manner. In no event will information concerning a complaint be released
by the Village to any third party or to anyone within Village government
who is not directly involved with or in the investigation. A breach
of this prohibition will result in disciplinary action.
(5)
The investigation of a complaint will normally include
conferring with the parties involved and any named or apparent witnesses.
The particular facts of the allegation will be examined individually,
with a review of the nature of the behavior and the context in which
the incident or incidents occurred. Confidentiality will be maintained
throughout the investigatory process. The Discrimination/Harassment
Committee will also investigate cases in which a supervisor requests
or requires assistance.
(6)
An individual who believes that he or she has been
unjustly charged with illegal discrimination or harassment will be
afforded every opportunity to offer and present information relevant
to the complaint. Any such information will be confidential.
(7)
A person who participates in this procedure may do
so without fear of retaliation. Retaliation against anyone who has
filed a complaint under this policy is prohibited and may well be
a violation of federal or state law. Any such retaliation will result
in disciplinary action.
(8)
A person who is found to have committed an act of
illegal discrimination or harassment will be subject to disciplinary
action in accordance with the provisions of a negotiated labor agreement
or state law, as may be appropriate.
(9)
Nothing in this policy should be construed to limit
an individual's existing right to file a complaint with the New York
State Division of Human Rights or the United States Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, or to take any legal action which he or she
may deem advisable.
E.
Discrimination and harassment complaint procedure
steps.
(1)
Step one.
(a)
An aggrieved person, hereafter referred to as
the "complainant," will meet with his or her department head to discuss
an allegation of discrimination or harassment and may file a complaint
of discrimination or harassment. If a complaint is filed, the department
head shall send a signed complaint on a form available from the Village
to the Discrimination/Harassment Committee. Should an individual feel
uncomfortable raising an issue of alleged illegal discrimination or
harassment with a department head, any other department head or a
member of the Discrimination/Harassment Committee may be approached.
Verbal complaints may be handled informally.
(b)
Any written complaint must be filed by a complainant
within 180 days of an alleged act of discrimination or harassment
on a form available from the Village.
(c)
The complainant may withdraw his or her complaint
at any time by filing a notice in writing on a form available from
the Village.
(2)
Step two.
(a)
When a written complaint is filed, the department
head or committee member shall have 15 working days to try to resolve
the allegation informally by:
(b)
Regardless of whether the complaint is written
or verbal, if a resolution is achieved by a department head, he or
she will prepare a statement that the complaint has been resolved.
All parties must sign the statement, which shall be sent to the Discrimination/Harassment
Committee. The case will be considered closed.
(c)
If a complaint is not resolved, it will be turned
over to the Discrimination/Harassment Committee or designee. The Committee
will investigate the complaint, call witnesses to appear before the
Committee, and review any other evidence the Committee feels credible
and probative of the allegation or allegations. Notice of the complaint
must be given to the accused, who shall also be afforded an opportunity
to appear before the Committee, with or without counsel, if he or
she so desires. The Committee will have 30 working days to investigate
the complaint and an additional 30 working days to render a decision.
(d)
Written notice of the Committee's decision will
be given to both the complainant and the accused.
[1]
Editor's Note: The forms accompanying this
local law, to be used in accordance with the discrimination and harassment
policy, are on file in the Village offices.
