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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-10996 Relocation and Hiring Incentive Program and Employee Referral Program superseding prior resolutions or policies in conflictRESOLUTION NO. 10996 (2019 Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING THE RELOCATION AND HIRING INCENTIVE PROGRAM AND EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAM, AND SUPERSEDING ANY PRIOR RESOLUTIONS OR POLICIES IN CONFLICT WHEREAS, the City has a Compensation Philosophy adopted by Council in 2011 which establishes competitive compensation as a part of an overall strategy of attracting and retaining well qualified employees who exemplify organizational values; WHEREAS, the City considers total compensation, including but not limited to salary, health, retirement, and time off benefits, in evaluating competitive compensation; WHEREAS, the City experiences difficulty in recruiting employees who possess the specialized skills, abilities, and experience required for a wide variety of classifications necessary to efficiently and effectively provide programs and services to the community; WHEREAS, the City's geographic location and distance from major metropolitan areas impacts the qualified labor pool and results in the recruitment of employees who require relocation from out of the area for management and non -management classifications requiring specialized skills or when labor shortages occur; and; WHEREAS, the City desires to expand the availability of low-cost tools to enhance the likelihood of successful recruitment and retention of highly qualified employees for positions for which the City has experienced recruitment and retention challenges; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1. The Relocation and Hiring Incentive Policy attached hereto as Exhibit "A" is hereby adopted. SECTION 2. The Employee Referral Policy attached hereto as Exhibit `B" is hereby amended as reflected in Exhibit B. SECTION 3. All prior resolutions or policies governing those matters within the scope of Exhibits A and B, as adopted and amended herein respectively, are hereby superseded and replaced. 111145 ���� Resolution No. 10996 (2019 Series) Page 2 SECTION 4. The City Council delegates authority to the Human Resources Director to make administrative updates to the Plan that do not have fiscal impacts. Upon motion of Council Member Christianson, seconded by Vice Mayor Pease, and on the following roll call vote: AYES: Council Members Christianson, Gomez, and Stewart, Vice Mayor Pease and Mayor Harmon NOES: None ABSENT: None The foregoing resolution was adopted this 2nd day of A ATTEST: Teresa Purrington City Clerk TO FORM: ine Dietrick City Attorney IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, this 7 day of -2-0 I Teresa Purrington City Clerk R 10996 Resolution No. 10996 (2019 Series) EXHIBIT A CITY 1 SH11 LUIS OBISPO v O RELOCATION AND HIRING INCENTIVE PROGRAM PURPOSE The purpose is to establish guidelines and procedures for the eligibility, approval, and processing of relocation and referral incentives for employees. The Relocation and Hiring Incentive Program is designed to support the City's Compensation Philosophy that seeks to attract and retain well- qualified employees who exemplify the organizational values. This program aims at easing the burden for those candidates who accept employment with the City from out of the area and therefore face a professional and personal transition due to the need to relocate. POLICY It is the policy of the City of San Luis Obispo to recruit well-qualified employees who exemplify the City's organizational values. The City will reimburse relocation costs that are directly related to an employee's relocation of 50 or more miles to San Luis Obispo County. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS To be eligible for the relocation incentive the applicant must 1. Accept employment with the City of San Luis Obispo, and; 2. Relocate his/her home to San Luis Obispo County, and; 3. Relocate 50 miles or more, and; 4. Fill a regular full-time position that is deemed difficult to fill by the Human Resources Director. RELOCATION BENEFITS 1. Department Head positions. Total relocation benefits up to $15,000 (subject to applicable taxes). a. Sick leave advance. City Manager may authorize a one-time advance of up to twelve days of sick leave upon hire of a new Department Head to alleviate concerns about loss of accrued sick leave with a prior employer. 2. All other positions. Total relocation benefits up to $10,000 (subject to applicable taxes). LIGIBLE EXPENSES Eligible expenses are those incurred in the movement and relocation of a personal residence meeting the eligibility requirements outlined above including the following: 1. Movement of household goods. The costs associated with packing, loading, transporting, and unloading personal household goods. 2. In -transit expenses. Gas, food, lodging during the actual move from the employee's home at time of hire to his/her new temporary or permanent home in San Luis Obispo County. Resolution No. 10996 (2019 Series) EXHIBIT A 3. Temporary living expenses. Hotel or motel, or other temporary lodging such as Airbnb or short-term rentals, necessary to allow the employee to start work. 4. First month rent and/or deposits. Costs associated with securing a residence in San Luis Obispo County such as the first month rent and security deposits for the new residence and costs associated with terminating a lease or rental agreement. 5. Closing costs. Costs associated with the sale of the employee's primary residence or purchase of a home in San Luis Obispo County. 6. Hiring Incentive. A lump -sum payment to provide an incentive to a new employee to accept employment with the City. Depending on the amount of the incentive it may be split to encourage retention as well. a. If the hiring incentive is more than $5,000, then half of it will be granted on the employee's first paycheck and the other half will occur on the paycheck following eighteen months of work and successful completion of probation. 7. Other eligible expenses as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Publication 521, Moving Expenses. CONTINUED SERVICE REQUIREMENT Failure to continue in the City service for three years, due to voluntary resignation, will result in the need to repay a proportional amount, of the relocation and hiring incentive. For example, an employee who receives a $4,000 sign -on bonus and is reimbursed $5,000 in moving expenses, and resigns after 24 months with the City, will be responsible for repaying the City $3,000 ($9,000 total incentive divided by 36 months times remaining months to fulfill three-year commitment). The employee agrees that the Finance Department is authorized to make a deduction from the employee's final payroll check for the appropriate amount of relocation and hiring incentive to be repaid. Employees who are terminated or released from probation are not required to repay the relocation benefits or hiring incentive. PROCEDURES All authorized benefits described above will be fully documented in a new employee offer letter and the employee will sign acknowledging the benefits, potential tax consequences, and repayment requirements prior to starting work for the City. It is the employee's responsibility to research and communicate with their personal tax advisor what expenses to submit for reimbursement. Once determined, the employee shall submit a completed Moving Expense Request Form with original receipts to his/her Department Head for approval. The Department Head will forward the form indicating approval to Payroll or disapproval to the Director of Human Resources, within five working days. When Payroll receives an approved Moving Expense Request Form it will be documented whether each item is taxable or non-taxable. Payroll will provide a copy of the Moving Expense Request Form, once completed and processed, to the employee. When the Department Head and the Director of Human Resources does not approve a submitted expense, an appeal may be made to the City Manager for a final decision. 2 t CITOF CITY Resolution No. 10996 (2019 Series) Y V I' EXHIBIT B 105,111 DCIS OB IS PO City of San Luis Obispo New Employee Referral Policy I. POLICY It is the policy of San Luis Obispo to actively recruit and employ well-qualified candidates for all classifications for regular employment with the City of San Luis Obispo. II. PURPOSE To establish guidelines for a new employee referral program designed to reward City employees who recruit candidates that are hired for regular and long term contract positions, with an anticipated need of one or more years, with the City of San Luis Obispo. IILPROCEDURE A. Definitions City employee — an employee of the City of San Luis Obispo who is employed in a regular full or part-time position or a contract position with an anticipated need of one or more years. New employee — an applicant referred by an existing employee to apply for a regular or long term contract position with the City and is hired. B. Employee Referral Fee The City will pay $500 to any employee who recruits a candidate for City of San Luis Obispo employment in a regular or contract position who is ultimately hired for the position. C. Exclusions 1. In order to avoid a conflict of interest, the following exclusions apply: a. Appointed Officials and Department Heads. b. Appointing authorities or supervisors who participate in the hiring decision are excluded from receiving a referral fee when referring applicants to the position for which they are recruiting. c. The Administrative Sergeant and Lieutenant in the Police Department or any officer who participates in background investigations are excluded from receiving a referral fee for positions in the Police Department. d. Members of a departmental recruitment team are excluded from receiving a referral fee for positions they are responsible for recruiting. e. Human Resources Department employees directly assigned to recruiting. Resolution No. 10996 (2019 Series) EXHIBIT B 2. Referring a current City employee, including temporary and contract employees, to a regular position will not result in a referral fee. D. Referral Fee After the effective date of hire for the new employee, the referring employee shall receive $500. Payments will be processed as a separate check and will reported as taxable income. The fee is not reportable to PERS. E. Referral Fee Application Submittal and Deadline 1. Applications for the referral fee are available online on SharePoint: https: //slocitycloud. sharepoint. com/.•w: /s/SLOHub/EmpResources/Policies/Eb VkJ i vDgXlPh YIOHkq C UVOBzd ZH4 nfJG22 nP UOF8 7s q cA ? e =gcp tg9 2. Applications for the referral fee must be submitted no later than one week (five business days) after the new employee's hire date. It is the responsibility of the employee to ensure that the application for the referral fee is submitted by the deadline. Referral fee applications will be submitted to the Human Resources Department, which is charged with administering the program. 3. The Human Resources Department will track each application submitted by employees. F. Application Certification The new employee will be contacted by Human Resources to certify that their employment application is valid and that a City of San Luis Obispo employee recruited them. In the event that more than one employee indicates he/she referred the same new employee; the Human Resources Director shall determine to whom the referral fee shall be paid based on the applicant's indication of which employee actively recruited him/her. Prior to approving the Referral Fee Application, Human Resources staff will ensure none of the exclusions above apply. G. Multiple Referrals in the Same Calendar Year In an effort to encourage employees to actively engage in the recruitment process, the second and subsequent approved referrals made by an employee in one calendar year will be paid at the amount of $1,000 less applicable taxes. All other sections of this policy apply as described above. H. Dispute Resolution Any disputes arising from this policy may be appealed to the City Manager whose decision shall be final.