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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/21/1999, C6 - TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE POLICY council °9 Z,_jq j acEnda Report C6 CITY O F SAN LUIS O B I S P O FROM: Ann Slate,Director of Human Resource Prepared By: Jill Sylvain, Human Resources Analy";q SUBJECT: TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE POLICY CAO RECOMMENDATION • Adopt an expanded Temporary Employee Policy providing for hourly wage increases, limited benefits, and promotional opportunities. • Appropriate$6,900 to fund this expanded policy in 1999-00 and $13,900 in 2000-01. REPORT-IN-BRIEF The City of San Luis Obispo hires temporary employees to meet the temporary human resource needs of the City which result from emergencies, special projects that are limited to short term, seasonal work, unprogrammed surges in workload, and to provide substitutes for regular employees. Over the last several years it has become increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified people to fill temporary positions. There are a variety of reasons for this: the sizzling economy, higher hourly wages in the service/retail industries and the higher temporary wages paid at the County of San Luis Obispo and several other cities in the county. Improving wages, providing some limited benefits and increasing access to regular City positions should enhance the City's ability to recruit and retain temporary employees. Staff is recommending expanding the current City temporary employee policy to include the following elements: 1. Link increases to temporary hourly wages to those granted the San Luis Obispo City Employees' Association(SLOCEA). 2. Provide a limited benefits package for a select group of temporary positions in the Parks and Recreation Department as a.pilot program. 3. Expand the City's Employment Opportunity Program (EOP) to include temporary employees. DISCUSSION In accordance with the City's Personnel Rules and Regulations, temporary employment is administered by the Department of Human Resources including the recruitment,-selection and compensation of those positions. From time to time, minor adjustments have been made to the hourly wages paid to temporary employees. Changes in the minimum wage, for. example, resulted in some minimal increases to some classes of temporary workers as the City complied C6-1 Council Agenda Report—Temporary Employee Policy Page 2 with the federal mandate. However, there has been no comprehensive review of the City's temporary wage structure for at least ten years. Temporary Employees in Parks and Recreation For the past several years, the Department of Parks and Recreation has independently recruited and hired the hundreds of temporary employees they require annually due to the nature of their seasonal programs. Both Parks and Recreation and the Human Resources Departments are experiencing difficulty in recruiting new temporary employees. In addition, there is an unacceptable level of turnover, particularly in key Parks and Recreation program assignments. In the past three months, almost 40%of the temporary employees who are the program assistants in major Parks and Recreation program areas have left the City for other employment. While some turnover can be expected, the toll on the regular staff who fills in while replacements are being recruited and trains a frequently changing workforce is significant. Consistency and continuity in leadership are important to the major program areas like children's services, ranger services, teens and special events, to name a few. Exiting temporary employees report that the turnover is directly tied to the desire for benefits and the ability to gain "permanent" employment with the City of San Luis Obispo. The positions that they are taking elsewhere provide them with benefits and promotional opportunities. Public Works Department Temporary Employees The Public Works Department also utilizes a number of temporary employees to perform seasonal work and substitute for vacant regular positions. Given the strength of the local economy and an impressively low unemployment rate, particularly in the building trades, the City is finding it very difficult to recruit and retain City Field Workers and Parking Attendants. This year, many of the summer seasonal temporary positions in the Public Works Department went unfilled for weeks because the City did not receive qualified applicants. Extensive advertising was done locally, which until a few years ago, consistently brought in highly qualified applicants. Other Agencies The County of San Luis Obispo pays temporary employees at the same salary range a regular employee receives even though they are filling in on a temporary basi%which is roughly 46-69% higher than our temporary field worker and clerical wages. The City can not compete with those hourly wages. Other cities in the county were surveyed and in most cases they pay higher temporary wages. For example, the cities of Morro Bay and Paso Robles pay 20-42% more per hour for recreation leaders, 11 to 15% more for lifeguards and swim instructors. Paso Robles pays 17% more for program assistants. The City of Arroyo Grande adopted a resolution in July of this year that provides leave and retirement benefits for certain hourly employees that are designated C6-2 Council Agenda Report—Temporary Employee Policy Page 3 permanent. Arroyo Grande pays their temporary maintenance workers 35% more than the City of San Luis Obispo. The City is receiving fewer applications from Cal Poly students for temporary positions.. This is due, in part, to the higher wages paid in the-service and retail industries locally. Increasing'Temporary Hourly Wages Compensation for temporary positions is paid in accordance with either the City's Temporary Employee Hourly Wage Schedule or the Temporary Parks and Recreation Hourly Wage Schedule. It has been the City's practice to keep many of the temporary positions as close to minimum wage as possible. There are, however, some temporary positions, e.g. Professional Assistant III, that pay up to $25.00 per hour because., on occasion, it is necessary to hire temporary employees with.specific experience that demand this level of pay, e.g. Public Works Inspectors, etc. When the minimum wage has been increased, the hourly wage schedule has been adjusted to comply, but there is currently no mechanism in place to comprehensively review temporary wages and make cost.of living adjustments. Through the collective bargaining process, cost of living is considered in negotiating salary increases for the City's regular workforce. Linking temporary wages to SLOCEA employee salary increases makes sense given the similar nature of work performed and that many temporaries are serving as substitutes for SLOCEA positions that are vacant due to a long term absence or position vacancy. Additionally, salary increases that.are negotiated by SLOCEA are generally reflective of local labor market trends and it is that local market from which we hire most, if not all, of our temporary employees. The SLOCEA is scheduled to receive a 3% salary increase effective January 1; 2000. Staff is recommending that the temporary hourly wage-schedule likewise be adjusted by a 3% increase effective January 1, 2000. See Attachment A and B. TemporaryEmployee Benefits--A Pilot Program Currently, temporary employees are not eligible for city paid benefits: They are required by federal law to participate in a deferred compensation program at their expense and PERS requires their participation in PERS, at the employees' expense, if they work over 1000 hours in a fiscal year. They are covered by workers compensation insurance. Staff is recommending a two year pilot program that would provide the Technical and Professional Assistants (cunvntly a total of eight) in the Parks and Recreation Department with the limited benefits listed below. These positions have major program responsibilities in the following areas: Aquatics, Ranger Services, Children's Services, Youth Athletics, Adult Athletics, Teens, Special Events and Public Relations. Besides a reduction in tumover, it is hoped that providing a modest benefit package will promote continuity and consistency in staffing the recreation programs and allow the department to meet increasing workloads without C6-3 Council Agenda Report—Temporary Employee Policy Page 4 adding regular staff. The temporary employees in those key recreation positions who have left recently received, or were seeking,positions with benefits. A limited benefit package, as proposed, would include a contribution for health insurance and personal leave. (A) Health Insurance: The City would make a $120 per month contribution for health insurance. The employee, if they wished to secure insurance, would pay the remaining portion of the premium. There would be no cash payment if the employee did not take the insurance. The employees would be eligible for insurance at their time of hire into one of the eight positions noted in the discussion. (B) Personal Leave: Currently, temporary employees have no paid time off. Under the proposed pilot program,the employees would be entitled to take some paid leave after one year of employment in one of the eight positions. The leave would equal 3% of the hours worked during the previous year. For example, a Professional Assistant in the Children Services Program generally works 30 per week or approximately 1500 hours per year. The 3% leave provision would entitle him or her to take 45 hours for vacation or sick leave. The ability to take a limited amount of time off for sick or vacation is reasonable and important to employee morale. By structuring this strategy as a pilot program, staff can assess if the limited benefit package is enough of an incentive for employees in key Parks and Recreation positions to stay. Since our Human Resources Policy, as stated in the City's Financial Plan, discourages the use of long term temporaries except in Parks and Recreation, there is no intention to extend this benefit to other temporary positions at this time. However, if this pilot program is successful and we experience a significant decrease in turnover, we may look for other opportunities to develop long term temporary assignments with limited benefits. Expansion of the City'ssEE rploym n Opportunity Program(EOP) The EOP was designed to enhance opportunities for current City employees who desire to move from one position to another, either as a transfer or promotion. When a position (except for Department Heads)becomes vacant, an announcement is made to all regular employees, and they are given five days to apply for the position. The department head is given a list of the applicants and, in consultation with the Human Resources Director, determine if that position should be filled through an in-house promotional examination or an open recruitment inviting applications from outside the organization. It supports the preference as stated in the City's Personnel Rules and Regulations of hiring, when possible, from within the organization. Currently this program only covers "regular" employees; temporary employees are not allowed to participate. Staff is proposing that temporary employees be included for several reasons. In general, it would make temporary positions at the City more attractive, thus it could increase the dwindling applicant pool. It would give supervisors an opportunity to hire people that have C6-4 Council Agenda ReportTemporary Employee Policy Page 5 demonstrated good work habits. Presumably successful temporary employees already understand and fit into the City's organizational culture which the supervisor has observed. This will also provide greater leadership continuity for those positions with program responsibility such as the Parks and Recreation positions mentioned above. Where this may have greatest impact is with the entry level positions of Maintenance Worker I, Officer Assistant I, and Recreation Coordinator I. By hiring a temporary employee into these regular position as a promotion,we can significantly reduce recruitment time and expenses. CONCURRENCES The SLOCEA has reviewed and supports these recommendations. FISCAL IMPACT The City has budgeted approximately $1.2 million in temporary salaries for 1999-00. With an implementation date of 1/1/2000 for a 3% increase to the hourly wage schedule, the first year cost is about $17,500 (all funds combined). Annual costs in year two are estimated to be $35,000. The cost of the limited health insurance benefit for the first year of the pilot program is $8,600 and $11,500 for year two. The total amount necessary to fund these recommendations over the next two years is approximately$72,600. In anticipation of a salary increase for temporary employees, funding has been included in the Parks and Recreation budget for the current two year financial plan (about $32,600 on an annual basis). Accordingly, the following supplemental appropriations are requested for 1999-01 to implement this program: 1999-01 2000-01 General Fund $ 4,900 $ 9,900 Enterprise Funds Water -- 100 Sewer -- 100 Parking 1,300 2,500 Golf 600 1,100 Whale Rock 100 200 Total $ 6,900 $13,900 C6-5 i Council Agenda Report:Temporary Employee Policy Page 6 ALTERNATIVES 1. Decrease the proposed Limited'Benefits Package to a smaller monthly contribution. This alternative is not recommended. A benefit amount. less than $120 per month which represents about 50% of the City's least expensive HMO plans through PERS will not go far enough in reimbursing temporary employees for their insurance costs. To beeff.ective•the benefit must be meaningful. 2. Do not adopt the recommendation's. The proposed changes are being made to improve the City's ability to:recruit qualified temporary help. If. the City cannot find qualified temporary employees when necessary or in a timely manner, productivity and efficiency will suffer and service to the community may ultimately decline. ATTACHMENTS (A) Temporary Employees Hourly Wage Schedule (B) Temporary Parks and Recreation Hourly Wage Schedule C6-6 Attachment A Temporary Employees Hourly Wage Schedule Step A Proposed Step B Proposed Step C Proposed Job Title 3% 3% 3% City Field Worker 1 $6.30 $6.50 $6.80 $7.00 $7.30 $7.50 City Field Worker II $7.50 $7.75 $8.00 $8.25 $8.50 $8.75 Clerical Aide 1 $6.30 $6.50 $6.80 $7.00 $7.30 $7.50 Clerical Aide II $7.50 $7.75 $8.00 $8.25 $8.50 $8.75 Haz Mat Team Business Mgr $16.74 $17.25 $17.65 $18.20 $18.60 $19.20 Professional Assistant 1 $10.05 $10.35 $10.55 $10.70 $11.05 $11.40 Professional Assistant II $13.20 $13.60 $13.90 $14.30 $14.60 $15.00 Professional Assistant III $18.00 $18.50 $21.50 $22.15 $25.00 $25.75 Technical Assistant 1 $9.00 $9.25 $9.50 $9.80 $10.00 $10.30 Technical Assistant II $11.50 $11.85 $12.00 $12.35 $12.50 $12.90 Student Intern $5.55 $5.70 $6.05 $6.25 $6.55 $6.75 Graduate Intern $7.80 $8.00 $8.30 $8.55 $8.80 $9.10 S.N.A.P. 1 $7.00 $7.20 $7.50 $7.75 $8.00 $8.25 S.N.A.P. 11 $8.00 $8.25 $8.50 $8.75 $9.00 $9.25 Parking Attendant 1 $6.30 $6.50 $6.80 $7.00 $7.30 $7.50 Parking Attendant II $7.80 $8.00 $8.30 $8.55 $8.80 $9.10 Parking Enforcement Ofcr 1 $7.50 $7.75 $8.00 $8.25 $8.50 $8.75 Parking Enforcement Ofcr II $9.00 $9.25 $9.50 $9.80 $10.00 $10.30 C6-7 Attachment B Temporary Parks and Recreation Employees Hourly Wage Schedule Step A Proposed Step B Proposed Step C Proposed 3% 3% 3% Job Title Recreation Leader 1 $5.15 $5.30 $5.40 $5.55 $5.65 $5.80 Recreation Leader II $5.90 $6.10 $6.15 $6.35 $6.40 $6.60 Sr. Recreation Leader $6.75 $6.95 $7.00 $7.20 $7.25 $7.45 Program Coordinator $7.60 $7.80 $7.85 $8.10 $8.10 $8.35 Childcare Aide $5.15 $5.30 $5.40 $5.55 $5.65 $5.80 Childcare Teacher $5.90 $6.10 $6.15 $6.35 $6.40 $6.60 Childcare Head Teacher $6.75 $6.95 $7.00 $7.20 $7.25 $7.45 Childcare Site Director $7.60 $7.80 $7.85 $8.10 $8.10 $8.35 Lifeguard 1 $5.15 $5.30 $5.40 $5.55 $5.65 $5.80 Lifeguard II $5.90 $6.10 $6.15 $6.35 $6.40 $6.60 Sr. Lifeguard $6.75 $6.95 $7.00 $7.20 $7.25 $7.45 Aquatics Instructor $7.60 $7.80 $7.85 $8.10 $8.10 $8.35 C6-8