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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/29/2000, C12 - MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL 3523, FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 1999 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2001 council j ac cn as Repot 12 CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM: Ken Hampian, Assistant City Administrative Officer Prepared By: Wendy George,Assistant to the City Administrative Officer SUBJECT: MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS,LOCAL 3523,FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 1999 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2001 CAO RECOMMENDATION Adopt a resolution approving the Memorandum of Agreement. DISCUSSION Backoround The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City and the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523 (Union) expired on June 30, 1999, after a term of two years. As provided for in that agreement, the City's negotiating team (Bill Avery, chief negotiator, Wendy George, Assistant to the CAO,.Karen Jenny, Risk Manager and Darren Drake, Fire Marshal) entered into negotiations with the Union's negotiating team, led by Ron Veillette, on May 16, 1999, to develop a successor agreement. The team met with the union for a total of five sessions, after which the union declared impasse. After the required meeting with the City Administrative Officer, who is designated the Employee Relations Officer-by the City's Employee/Employee Relations Resolution, the City and the Union were still unable to reach agreement and mediation was requested. Two mediation sessions were unsuccessful. However, shortly after the second mediation session, the Union requested that the two parties meet once more, without the presence of a mediator. As a result of that session, a tentative agreement was reached, which has been ratified by a majority of the Union membership. Terms of the Agreement • Length of contract is two years. • Salary increases: 3% -July 1, 1999 (retroactive) 2% -March 1,2000 4% - September,2000 • The City will add the PERS Military Service Credit option to our retirement package as soon as possible. This option allows an employee, at his/her own cost, to purchase additional retirement service credit based on prior military service. C12-1 Council Agenda Report—Fire Union MOA Page 2 • The City and the Union will explore implementation of a 401(h) program, or other mutually accepted program, which would allow for the donation of holiday and/or other paid time into a tax deferred account for use for retiree medical and other purposes. No City contribution would be made into the plan. • The paramedic monthly incentive is increased by$25 to $400. • The Fire Station 1 captain's monthly incentive is increased by$25 to$125. • Language is added establishing a program of seniority bidding for station assignments. • Language is added establishing a leave pool to which employees may donate leave, except sick leave, to be used by Union leadership for meetings on City time. + Language is added that parties will finish the meet and confer process on a mutually agreeable discipline policy. • Language is added defining the appropriate use of City facilities for union purposes. • Clean up language is included relating to timing of holiday leave pay off, the vacation cap for non-shift employees, timing on opening contract re-negotiations and state law changes in family care leave. FISCAL IT9PACT The cost of the agreement is approximately $100,700 in the first year and $84,350 in the second year. The ongoing annual cost increase at the end of the two-year contract will be approximately $264,700..Funding is available as part of the 1999-01 Financial Plan. ALTERNATIVE Do not approve the resolution and direct staff to negotiate a different successor agreement. This alternative is not recommended, as the agreement is consistent with the Council's previous direction and the City's employer-employee relations policies. ATTACEMUMS Resolution A copy of the MOA is provided for Council Members and is available to the public in the City Clerk's Office. C12-2 RESOLUTION NO. (2000 Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OB.ISPO ADOPTING AND RATIFYING THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS,LOCAL 3523,FOR THE PERIOD OF JULY 19 1999-JUNE 309 2001 BE IT RESOLVED by City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1. The Memorandum of Agreement between the City of San Luis Obispo and the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523, attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by this reference, is hereby adopted and ratified. SECTION 2. The Finance Director shall adjust the Personnel Services appropriation accounts to reflect the negotiated compensation changes. SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall furnish a copy of this resolution and a copy of the executed Memorandum of Agreement approved by it to: Mark McCullough, International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523 and Wendy George, Assistant to the City Administrative Officer. Upon motion of , seconded by and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: the foregoing resolution was adopted this day of ,2000. ATTEST: Lee Price, City Clerk Mayor Allen Settle APPROVED AS TO FORM: � C Amis= orp ns Ci Attorney C12-3 Final MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL 3523 July 1, 1999 through June 30,2001 I f � Final ARTICLE I PARTIES TO AGREEMENT This Agreement is made and entered into this by and between the City of San Luis Obispo, hereinafter referred to as the City, and the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523, hereinafter referred to as Union. Nothing in this Agreement between the parties shall invalidate nor be substituted for any provision in City Resolution No. 6620(1989 Series)unless so stipulated to by provision(s) contained herein and agreed to. 2 f ti Final ARTICLE'2 RECOGNITION Pursuant to Government Code Section 3500 et seq and City Resolution No. 6620 (1989 Series), the City hereby recognizes the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523 as the bargaining representative for purposes of representing regular and probationary employees, occupying the position classifications set forth in Appendix A, in the Fire Unit with respect to their compensation, hours and other terms and conditions of employment for the duration of this Agreement 3 t Final ARTICLE 3 DUES DEDUCTION The City shall deduct dues from City employees and remit said dues to the Union on a monthly basis for the duration of this Agreement,which dues shall not include assessments. Monthly dues deduction additions and/or deletions shall be recorded by the City's Finance Officer and a notification of all dues transactions shall be sent monthly to the Union President. The Union shall hold the City harmless from any and all claims, and will indemnify it against such\ claims and any unusual costs. The Union shall refund to the City any amount paid to the Union in error, upon presentation of supporting evidence. 4 Final ARTICLE 4 EMPLOYEE RIGHTS Employees of the City shall have the right to form,join and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer- employee relations including but not limited to, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. Employees of the City also shall have the right to refuse to join or participate in the activities of employee organizations and shall have the right to.represent themselves individually in their employment relations with the City. No employee shall be interfered with, intimidated, restrained,coerced or discriminated against because of the exercise of these rights. 5 r } Final ARTICLE 5 MANAGEMENT RIGHTS The rights of the City include, but are not limited to, the exclusive right to determine the mission of its constituent departments, commissions and boards; set standards of service; determine the procedures and standards of selection for employment and promotion; direct its employees; take disciplinary action; relieve its employees from duty because of lack of work or for other legitimate reasons; maintain the efficiency of governmental operations; determine the methods, means and personnel bywhich government operations are to be conducted; determine the content of job classifications; take all necessary actions to carry out its mission in emergencies; and exercise complete control and discretion over its organization and the technology for performing its work. This provision is not intended to, and does not restrict, the rights conferred upon the Union by Government Code Section 3500,et seq. 6 r r Final ARTICLE 6 REPRESENTATIVE ROLE Members of any recognized employee organization may, by a reasonable method, select not more than three employee members of such organization and one employee observer to meet and confer with the Municipal Employee Relations Officer and other management officials (after written certification of such selection is provided by an authorized official of the organization) on subjects within the scope of representation during regular duty or work hours without loss of compensation or other benefits. The employee organization shall, whenever practicable, submit the name(s) of each employee representative to the Municipal Employee Relations Officer at least two working days in advance of such meeting. Provided further that no employee representative shall leave his or her duty or work station or assignment without specific approval of the department head or other authorized City management official. If employee representatives cannot be released for good reason,the date of meeting will be rescheduled to a mutually acceptable day. 7 1 1 _ Final ARTICLE 7 COMMUNICATION PROCESS Pursuant to City Resolution 6287 (1989 Series) the City agrees with the Union to improve communications and provide for the following: A. Monthly Conferences There will be a monthly meeting between the department head and management member(s) and a least two (2) union representatives to discuss problems or other subjects of mutual interest. Minutes of the meeting will be maintained to reflect topics discussed, actions to be taken, the party responsible for any action and the expected completion date. B. Quarterly Meetings Two to four representatives of the Union, the City Administrative Officer (or designee), department head (or designee), and management representative(s) designated by the City will meet quarterly if there are issues of concern to the parties. No issues will be brought to this quarterly meeting without first having been discussed with the department head at a scheduled monthly meeting. 8 1 Final ARTICLE 8 PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Announcements for promotional opportunities for members of the Union will list testing and scoring processes that will be followed. Once defined, testing and scoring processes will not be modified. There will be no banding on promotional exams and, if a candidate is by-passed during the selection process, that person will be given a written reason by the Fire Chief as to why s/he was by-passed. The City agrees to an opener to discuss the promotional process if the Fire Chief goes below the top three (3) candidates in making his selection on promotional exams two (2) or more times during the term of this contract. 9 Final ARTICLE 9 UTILIZATION OF CITY FACILITIES 1. San Luis Obispo Firefighter's Association shall be allowed to use Fire Department facilities for official Union activities. The Union will notify the Chief or his/her representative of any upcoming meetings. The Union will follow any sign-up procedures for room availability the Department has in place. Scheduling of the facilities usage would be conducted so as not to conflict or interfere with normal operation of departmental business. In lieu of any conflicts in availability or a denial by the Chief, it will be presumed that the Union will have the OK of the Chief to use the facility. Activities would include,but would not be limited to: General Membership meetings,Board of Directors meetings, Negotiation Team meetings, and various special committee meetings. 2. Facilities would include,but would not be limited to: conference room, training room, and second floor common areas. 3. The Union understands that e-mail sent over the City network is public record. With this acknowledgement, the City gives the Union the right to use the computers and the e-mail system. This right may be revoked at any time or for any reason. This revocation must be done in writing and must be delivered in person to a San Luis Obispo Firefighter's Association Board member. 10 Final ARTICLE 10 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A. A grievance is an alleged violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of the Employer- Employee Resolution, the Personnel Rules and Regulations, any memorandum of agreement with an employee association or any existing written policy or procedure relating to wages, hours or other terms and conditions of employment excluding disciplinary matters. B. Any employee may file and process a grievance by providing the time, place and circumstances of the action prompting the grievance. Employees may be accompanied by a representative at each step of the process. If a specific action to be grieved affects several employees,those employees may consolidate their grievance and be represented. C. Each Grievance shall be handled in the following manner: 1. The employee who is dissatisfied with the response of the immediate supervisor shall discuss the grievance with the supervisor's immediate superior. If the matter can be resolved at that level to the satisfaction of the employee,the grievance shall be considered terminated. 2. If still dissatisfied,the employee may immediately submit the grievance in writing to the department head for consideration, stating the facts on which it was based, including the provision of the rules,regulations or agreement said to be violated, and the proposed remedy. This action must take place within fifteen business days of the occurrence of the grievance. The department head shall promptly consider the grievance and render a decision in writing within fifteen business days of receiving the written grievance. If the employee accepts the department head's decision, the grievance shall be considered terminated. D. If the employee is dissatisfied with the department head's decision, the employee may immediately submit the grievance in writing to the human resources director within five business days of receiving the department head's decision. The human resources director shall confer with the employee and the department head and any other interested parties, and shall conduct such other investigations as may be advisable: E. The results or findings of such conferences and investigations shall be submitted to the City Administrative Officer in writing within fifteen business days of receiving the employee's written request. The City Administrative Officer will meet with the employee if the employee so desires before rendering a decision with respect to the complaint. The City Administrative Officer's decision shall be in writing and given to the employee within fifteen business days of receiving the personnel director's results and findings. Such decision'shall be final unless the employee desires a review of the decision. I - Final F. If the employee desires a review of the decision the procedure is as follows: 1. Hearing Officer(for employees represented by SLOPOA or IAFF, Local 3523) a. The employee will have five business days following receipt of the City Administrative Officer's decision to submit a written request to the personnel director for review of the decision. The personnel director will obtain a list of five potential hearing officers from the State Mediation and Conciliation Service. Then following a random determination of which party (city or appellant) begins, parties shall alternately strike one name from the list until only one remains. b. Within 30 business days, the hearing officer shall review the record and conduct a hearing on the matter. Within ten business days the hearing officer shall render a decision which shall be final. C. Any dispute regarding the eligibility of an issue for the grievance process may be appealed through the process ultimately to the hearing officer who shall decide on the eligibility prior to ruling on the merits. d. Any fees or expenses of the hearing officer shall be payable one-half by the city and one-half by the Union. All other expenses shall be borne by the party incurring the expense. e. The City reserves the right to make the hearing officers opinion advisory or to replace the hearing officer position in the grievance process with the personnel board for an employee organization after July 1993 provided that: 1. The hearing officer has ruled on at least five separate grievances of the Union; and 2. The City has been sustained in at least 65%of the determinations on grievances filed by members of the Union. 12 Final ARTICLE 11 SALARY Section A. Rules Governing Step Increases The rules governing step increases for employees covered by this MOA are included in the current Salary Resolution with the following modification: The Fire Chief shall be authorized to reevaluate employees who reach the top step in their pay range. An employee who is not performing up to standard for the top step shall be notified in writing that the department head intends to reduce him/her one step unless his/her job performance improves significantly within a 60-day period. Unless the employee's job performance improves to an acceptable level by the end of 60 days, the pay reduction shall then become effective. The top step may be reinstated at any time upon recommendation of the department head. ff the Fire Chief deems it necessary to again remove the top step during the same fiscal year, he may make the change at any time with three business days written notice. For the position of Firefighter, the salary range consists of nine steps (1 through 9. Steps I through 8 equal 95% of the next highest step,computed to the nearest one dollar. Step 8 = 95% of Step 9 Step 4 = 95% of Step 5 Step 7 = 95% of Step 8 Step 3 = 95% of Step 4 Step 6 = 95% of Step 7 Step 2 = 95% of Step 3 Step 5 = 95% of Step 6 Step 1 = 95% of Step 2 Each salary range for all other positions in the unit consists of five steps (I through 5). Steps I through 4 equal 95% of the next highest step, computed to the nearest one dollar. Step 4 = 95% of Step 5 Step 3 =95% of Step 4 Step 2 = 95% of Step 3 Step 1 =95% of Step 2 Each across-the-board percent salary increase shall raise the top step of the range by that percent. The highest step of each successive salary range shall be 2.63% above the highest step of the next lower range. After all highest steps of salary ranges have been established,each highest step shall be rounded off to the nearest dollar and the remaining steps established in accordance with the above formula. Employees who are eligible for advancement to the top two steps must receive at least a"competent" rating on their most recent performance evaluation prior to or coincident with their being eligible for advancement by time in grade. Competent is defined as "Performance meets standards of a qualified employee." Step progression for Firefighters will be subject to existing personnel standards,with the timing for progression as follows: Probationary firefighters will move from Step 1 to Step 2 after six months. Progression from Step 2 to Step 3 will be at one-year intervals for each step, and from Step 8 to Step 9 at a two-year interval. 13 1 - Final Section B. Salary Provisions for Term of Agreement Effective the first full pay period in the following months, the following salary increases shall be implemented: July, 1999 3.0% March,2000 2.0% September,2000 4.0% Section C. "Y" Rating An employee who is not performing up to established job standards may be "Y" rated,freezing his salary until such time as there is an improved job performance. The department head shall give 60 days written notice to any employee he intends to "Y" rate, giving the employee an opportunity to correct any deficiencies. A "Y" rating procedure shall not result (then or.later) in the employee being frozen below the next lower step of the new range. Section D. Payday Paychecks will be disbursed on a bi-weekly schedule. Payday will be every other Thursday. This disbursement schedule is predicated upon normal working conditions and is subject to adjustment for cause beyond the City's control. Section E. Paychecks Prior to Vacation If an employee is taking vacation leave and wishes to receive his regular paycheck before payday, the employee must notify the Finance Department in writing at least two weeks prior to the start of vacation,provided the employee has sufficient vacation time coming to cover the pay period. 14 Final ARTICLE 12 PAY INCENTIVES Section A. Paramedic Incentive Effective July, 1999, the City shall pay four hundred dollars ($400.00) per month pay incentive to those firefighters or other approved fire personnel assigned to EMT Paramedic duties by the Fire Chief. Paramedics required to recertify shall be granted four(4) hours training time per month for six (6) months prior to the recertification. Such hours shall be scheduled by the Departinent during the normal working day. The Paramedic incentive shall be considered the same as base pay when determining the starting salary upon promotion to Captain. Section B. Station I Captain Incentive Effective July, 1999, Fire Captains regularly assigned to Station I shall receive a one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) per month pay incentive, to compensate for the additional Station 1 workload. Mandatory assignments to Station I for Captains shall not exceed two consecutive years. Section C. Bilingual Pay Employees certified as bilingual in Spanish through the testing process shall receive a bilingual payment of$35 per pay period. Additional languages may be approved by the City based upon demonstrated need. 15 Final ARTICLE 13 OVERTIME 1. Firefighters, Fire Engineers and Fire Captains assigned to 24 hour shift duty shall receive overtime pay at time-and-one-half computed at their base salary for those hours worked in excess of regularly scheduled shifts. 2. Firefighters, Fire Engineers and Fire Captains assigned to 24-hour shift duty are assigned to work one hundred and twenty (120) hours in a fifteen (15) day pay cycle. Employees in these classifications who work more than one hundred and fourteen (114) hours during a pay cycle, shall be paid time and one-half (1 1/2) for all hours worked in excess of one hundred and fourteen (114) hours worked in the fifteen (15) day pay cycle. Paid time off shall be counted as time worked when calculating this overtime pay. 3. All other personnel shall receive overtime pay at time-and-one-half computed at their base salary for all hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week including holiday, sick leave and vacation unless they elect to take compensating time off at straight time. 4. All overtime shall be authorized in writing by the Fire Chief prior to being compensated. 5. All overtime shall be paid to the nearest quarter hour worked where no minimum is authorized. 16 Final ARTICLE 14 EMERGENCY CALL BACK 1. The minimum call back hours provided below shall be paid at straight time pay. 2. Shift personnel who are unexpectedly called back to work after completing their shift and having left the worksite shall be paid a 6-hour minimum guarantee. 3. The Fire Vehicle Mechanic shall receive a minimum of 4 hours for emergency call back or time and one-half for hours actually worked,whichever is larger. 4. Employees who are called back as defined above shall receive the minimum provided by this article or pay for the work performed,whichever is larger. 17 Final ARTICLE 15 WORK OUT OF GRADE Employees temporarily assigned to work in a higher classification will receive one step additional pay but in no case more than the top step for the higher classification under the following conditions: 1. The assignment exceeds ten (10)consecutive work days,or five (5)consecutive shifts for all shift employees; in which case the step increase becomes effective on the eleventh(11)work day or in the sixth (6th) shift 2. The person being temporarily replaced is on extended sick or disability leave or the position is vacant and an examination is pending. Employees not eligible for the step increase(under 10 days) shall receive credit for compensating time off(CTO) on the following basis: Hours Worked CTO Earned 0-5 hours 59 minutes 0 hours 6-11 hours 59 minutes 1 hour 12-24 2 hours Each calendar quarter, employees may elect to receive payment for accrued CTO at straight time. CTO earned before January 1, 1990 is not eligible for payment. 18 Final ARTICLE 16 STANDBY Employees below the rank of Fire Marshal/Battalion Chief on standby shall be compensated one hour's pay for each eight (8) hour incident with a minimum of two (2) hours straight time pay for each assigned standby period. 19 Final ARTICLE 17 EDUCATIONAL INCENTIVE The City agrees to establish an educational incentive pay plan. The educational incentive pay will be paid pursuant to one of the two plans outlined below: PLAN A 1. Definition of Eligibility A. All Employees currently receiving educational incentive pay as of 6/30/81. B. All employees in the unit meeting the following requirements: (1) Have been employed by the department for at least one year as of 9/30/81. (2) Have completed .by June 30, 1981 at least 30 semester units toward an approved degree including having successfully completed a minimum of six semester units within the last 18 months. (3) Successfully completed at least six semester units per year until degree is . complete; and (4) Must receive degree by December 31, 1983. 2. Basic Benefits. Educational incentive pay shall not start for one year after employment with the City of San Luis Obispo,but credit will be given for approved education obtained prior to that time. The basic benefit will consist of$50 per month for possession of an A.A., or equivalent degree from an accredited community or junior college; and one hundred dollars per month for a B.A. or equivalent degree from an accredited.four year college or university. Total incentive pay shall in no case exceed one hundred dollars per month. 3. Job Related Fields. Degrees must be in fields which are directly job related and if not, at least 30 semester units leading toward the appropriate degree with a grade of"C" or better must be included. 4. Application and Approval. Application for the incentive pay shall be made by the employee to the department head at least 30 days before the date the payment of the incentive pay is to be effective. Approval of the department head and the human resources Director shall be required. 5. Unsatisfactory Performance. In the event an employee receiving the incentive pay is not performing up to the established 20 Final standards set for the job, the department head with the concurrence of the City Administrative Officer, may suspend payment of the incentive pay until such time as the employee's work performance comes up to the standard level, in the opinion of the department head and concurred in by the City Administrative Officer. 6. Non-Applicability. It is the City's intention not to pay the educational incentive for any degree which is required for the position held by .the employee. Educational incentives shall not be paid for education received on City time. The education incentive shall be removed if the employee is promoted to a position which does not entitle employee to such incentive. PLAN B 1. Definition of Eligibility. A. All current employees not eligible for Plan A. B. All employees hired on or subsequent to June 30, 1981. 2. Eli bility. A. Employees eligible for Plan B must be employed by the City of San Luis Obispo for one year before any payment will be made. B. Must successfully complete within a 12-month period, commencing on or after July 1, 1980, 6 semester units, or 9 quarter units, in college level course work in fire science courses or classes approved by the Fire Chief. Provided such courses shall be completed at the employee's own expense and during off-duty hours. 3. Incentive Pay. The educational incentive pay shall be $50.00 per month for a period of 12 months. 4. Tuition and Books. If an employee holds a position which does not qualify him for incentive pay, the employee will be eligible to receive payment for 50% of tuition and books for approved job-related courses upon satisfactory completion of same with a grade of"C" or better. 21 Final ARTICLE 18 UNIFORM ALLOWANCE A. Each sworn employee shall be required to wear an approved uniform to promote the department's public image, except for the positions designated by the Fire Chief as only requiring occasional usage. Such positions shall receive one-half of the regular allowance. Each employee shall receive an annual allowance of$750 paid semi-annually to be spent on the purchase and maintenance of department-approved uniforms. Said allowance shall be paid directly to each eligible employee on or about the 7th of July and the 7th of January. The Fire Chief or his/her designated representative shall conduct an inspection at least once a year to ensure that each employee has the minimum number of uniforms and that all uniforms meet department standards regarding safety and appearance. Employees whose uniforms do not meet standards may be subject to disciplinary action. B. A uniform allowance cash advance will be given to new employees for purchase of their uniforms. If the employee severs employment with the City or is terminated within one (1) year, the cash advance shall be deducted from the employee's last paycheck. C. Where the agreement refers to uniform standards, it shall mean the following: The Fire Chief shall establish and maintain a set of standards for the maintenance, care and wearing of employee uniforms. Such standards shall be on file in the Fire Chiefs office, in each fire station, and in the human resources Directors office. D. Employees will be responsible to purchase and maintain health/fitness clothes, including appropriate athletic footwear. Appropriate health/fitness clothing will be determined through agreement between the Union and the Department. E. Damaged Uniform Reimbursement 1. The City shall reimburse the cost in excess of ten ($10.00) dollars, for repairing or replacing Department approved uniforms which are damaged within the course of employment. No reimbursement shall be made if the damage was due to negligence on the part of the employee. At the time of damage, the employee will submit a report documenting where and how the uniform was damaged. 2. The Fire Chief shall determine the use and extent of wear of damaged items. Replacement amounts shall be prorated. The Department will establish administrative regulations consistent with this section. F. The City will bear any additional costs resulting from City mandated changes in required uniform items during the term of this agreement. 22 Final ARTICLE 19 INSURANCE A. Contribution The City shall contribute $420.00 per month for Cafeteria plan benefits for each regular, full-time employee covered by this agreement. Less than full-time employees shall receive a prorated share of the City's contribution. B. PERS Health Benefit Pro=ram The City has elected to participate in the PERS Health Benefit program with the "unequal contribution option" at the minimum contribution rate,currently $16.00 per month for active employees and $1.00 per month for retirees. The City's contribution toward retirees shall be increased by five (5%) percent per year of the City's contribution for the active employees until such time as the contributions for employees and retirees are equal. The City's contribution will come out of that amount the City currently contributes to employees as part of the Cafeteria Plan provided to employees in their various MOA's. The cost of the City's participation in PERS will not require the City to expend additional funds toward health insurance beyond what is already provided for in the various bargaining agreements. In summary, this cost and any increases will be borne by the employees. C. Health Insurance Coverage Optional Participation . Employees with proof of medical insurance elsewhere are not required to participate in the PERS Health Benefit Program and may receive the unused portion of the City's contribution (after dental and vision insurance is deducted) in cash in accordance with the City's Cafeteria Plan. Those employees will also be assessed $16.00 per month to be placed in the Retiree Health Insurance Account. This account will be used to fund the City's contribution toward retiree premiums and the City's costs for the Public Employees' Contingency Reserve Fund and the Administrative Costs. However,there is no requirement that these funds be used exclusively for this purpose nor any guarantee that they will be sufficient to fund retiree health costs, although they will be used for negotiated employee benefits. D. Dental and Vision Insurance/Dependent Coverage Employees will be required to participate in the City's dental and vision plans at the employee only rate. Should they elect to cover dependents in the City's dental and vision plans,they may do so,even if they do not have dependent coverage under PERS. E. Representation on a Medical Plan Review Committee The Union shall actively participate in the Medical Plan Review Committee. Such committee shall review medical plans and may recommend alternative medical plans, including those offered by PERS. 23 Final ARTICLE 20 VACATION LEAVE 1. Each incumbent of a 40-hour a week line-item position shall accrue vacation leave with pay at the rate of 12 days per year of continuous service since the benefit date for the first five years; 15 days per year upon completion of five years; 18 days per year upon completion of ten years; and 20 days per year upon completion of twenty years. Employees scheduled for more that 40 hours per week shall receive the equivalent number of vacation days prorated to the number of regularly scheduled work hours.(respectively, 134.4 hours per year for the first five years; 168 hours per year upon completion of five years, 201.6 hours per year upon completion of ten years and 224.6 hours per year upon completion of twenty years). 2. An incumbent is not eligible to use accrued vacation leave until after the completion of the sixth calendar month of service since the benefit date. 3. An employee who leaves the City service shall receive payment for any unused vacation leave. 4. Department Heads shall be responsible for arranging a vacation schedule, first with the needs of the City as the determining factor and, second, insofar as possible, with the wishes of the employee. 5. There will be no accrual of vacation leave to non-shift employees in excess of two times (2x)their annual accrual. Maximum accrual of vacation leave for shift employees is twice the annual rate except as noted in Section 6,Paragraph E. 6. VACATION USE: A. Vacation shall be selected by seniority based on shift assignment for shift employees and by seniority for non shift employees. The employee with the most seniority shall select first, with the following choices made in descending order of seniority. B. First choice vacation shall be made during November/December each year. The first choice shall be a minimum of five (5) shifts off within one (1)cycle. C. First choice vacation selected for the months of May through October must be taken in blocks of five (5) shifts off within one (1)work cycle. D. The maximum first choice vacation that may be selected for the months of May through October is ten (10) shifts off taken within two (2) work cycles. E. Should an employee be in danger of losing vacation accrual due to reaching the twice annual vacation cap, for reasons other than those found in Section 6 (I) and (J), the Fire Chief will review the circumstances which have prevented the employee from taking vacation and will determine whether or not the employee should be allowed to accrue beyond the cap or should be authorized to exercise his/her one- time annual opportunity for vacation payout under Section 6 (M) of this article. 24 Final Particular.consideration will be given to those circumstances where vacation use is denied because of reduced staffing levels. F. Employees have the right to have one (1) employee off on scheduled vacation per shift. G. Employees have the right to unscheduled vacation as provided in the current departmental Operations Manual (G.O. 204.01). H. Time off by Battalion Chiefs is not included in the determination of the number of employees on vacation per F above. I. If an employee's first choice vacation is changed by direction of the department, such change shall not cause an employee to lose vacation that may be accrued above twice the annual rate maximum. In this case, the employee shall have the choice of using the vacation at another time or receiving payment for the changed vacation. J. If an employee must cancel vacation for good reason, as defined by management, the vacation above twice the annual rate shall be paid as accrued. K. Employees may cancel scheduled vacation for any reason with a minimum of 30 days advance written notice to the Fire Chief or his/her designated representative. Maximum vacation accruals will not be waived for vacation canceled pursuant to this section. L. Effective immediately,canceled first choice vacations will continue to be available for reselection by other employees. M. Eff eti c ittly 1, 1996, All employees in this unit are eligible, once annually in December, to request payment for up to seventy-two (72) hours of unused vacation leave provided that an employee's attendance practices are satisfactory. 25 Final ARTICLE 21 LEAVE OF ABSENCE Leave without pay for up to one week per year may be granted by the Department Head. When possible, such leave requests shall be in writing and approved in advance. All other leave of absence requests shall be handled in accordance with Section 2708.9 of the Personnel Rules and Regulations. 26 Final ARTICLE 22 HOLIDAYS A. The following days of each year are designated as paid holidays: January 1 -New Year's Day Third Monday in January -Martin Luther King Day Third Monday in February - President's Day Last Monday in May -Memorial Day July 4- Independence Day First Monday in September-Labor Day November 11 -Veteran's Day Fourth Thursday in November-Thanksgiving Day Friday after Thanksgiving December 25 -Christmas One-half day before Christmas One-half day before New Year's Two Floating(8 hour) Holidays (non-shift employees only) When a holiday falls on a Saturday,the preceding Friday shall be observed. When a holiday falls on a Sunday,the following Monday shall be observed. B. Each employee on 24-hour shift duty shall earn 6.07 hours of holiday leave semi-monthly, in lieu of fixed holidays. Such employees shall receive payment at straight time hourly rate for a portion of their earned holiday leave (2.6 hours)each bi-monthly payroll period. Effective January, 2001, the remainder of the employee's annual holiday leave (78 hours) shall be advanced to the employee effective the first payroll period in January of each year. Such holiday leave may be taken off by the employee as provided in the current departmental Operations Manual (G.O. 204.03). For calendar year 2000 only, employees shall receive thirty-nine (39) hours of holiday leave credited the first payroll period in July. This partial crediting is to allow the transition from a fiscal to a calendar year holiday system. Each calendar quarter, an employee has the,option of receiving payment for one-fourth(1/4) of his/her advanced holiday leave. The combination of holiday leave taken off and payment of advanced holiday time, may not exceed 78 hours. Any holiday leave remaining as of the last payroll period in December of each year(excluding December,2000) will be paid to the employee at the straight time rate. If an employee terminates for any reason, having taken off hours in excess of his/her prorated share, the value of the overage will be deducted from the employee's final paycheck. C. Floating (8 hour) holidays for non-shift employees. The accrual dates are 1 January and 1 July. If not used in the calendar year in which earned, they are lost. It is the responsibility of the employee to make the request for a floating holiday reasonably in advance of the requested day off. 27 Final ARTICLE 23 BEREAVEMENT LEAVE At each employee's option, absence from duty due to the death of a member of the employee's immediate family, meaning spouse, child, brother, sister, parent, parent-in-law, step-parent, step- brother, step-sister, grandparent, or any other relative living in the same household, provided such leave as defined in this section shall not exceed five (5) working days or the shift equivalent (56 hrs.) from each incident_ The employee may be required to submit proof of relative's death before being granted sick leave pay. False information given concerning the death of relationship shall be cause for discharge. 28 Final ARTICLE 24 SICK LEAVE Sick leave is governed by Section 2.36.420 of the Municipal Code. (See Appendix C attached). Upon termination of employment by death or retirement, a percentage of the dollar value of the employee's accumulated sick leave will be paid to the employee, or the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries,according to the following schedule: . (1) Death -50% Such payment shall be made within seventy-two hours of notice to the City of an employee's death. (2) Retirement and actual commencement of PERS benefits: (a) After ten years of continuous employment- 10% (b) After twenty years of continuous employment- 15% (3) Job-related disability retirement and actual commencement of PERS benefits - 75% with a maximum of 1000 hours payoff(75% of 1333.3 accrued hours.) 29 Final ARTICLE 25 FAMILY LEAVE 1. An employee may take up to two (2) days, (16 hours) or 24 hours for shift employees, of sick leave per year if required to be away from the job to personally care for a member of his/her immediate family. 2. An employee may take up to five days (forty hours) or the shift equivalent for shift employees (56 hours) of sick leave per year if the family member is a part of the employee's household. 3. An employee may take up to seven (7) days (56 hours) of sick leave per year or the shift equivalent (78.4 hours) if the family member is part of the employee's household and is hospitalized. The employee shall submit written verification of such hospitalization. 4. The. amounts shown in 1, 2, and 3 above are annual maximums, not maximums per qualifying family member. A member of the employee's immediate family, shall mean spouse, child, brother, sister, parent, parent-in-law, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister, grandparent,or any other relative living in the same household. 5. If the family member is a child, parent or spouse, an employee may use up to 48 hours (67.2 hours for shift employees) annually to attend to the illness of.the child, parent or spouse, instead of the annual maximums in paragraphs 1. and 2. above, in accordance with Labor Code Section 233. 6. In conjunction with existing leave benefits, unit employees with one year of City service who have worked at least 1280 hours in the last year may be eligible for up to 12 weeks of Family/Medical Leave within any 12 month period. Family/Medical leave can be used for: a. A new child through birth adoption or foster care (maternal or paternal leave). b. A seriously ill child, spouse or parent who requires hospitalization or continuing treatment by a physician. C. Placement of an employee's child for adoption or foster care. d. A serious health condition which makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position. This leave shall be in addition to leave available to employees under the existing four month Pregnancy Disability Leave provided by California law. Paid leave, if used for family leave purposes or personal illness, will be subtracted from the 12 weeks allowed by the Family/Medical Leave Program. Employees must use all available vacation, compensatory time and administrative leave and, if appropriate, sick leave prior to receiving unpaid Family/Medical Leave. Employees on Family/Medical Leave will continue to receive the City's contribution toward the cost of health insurance premiums. However, employees who receive cash back under the City's Flexible Benefit Plan will not receive that cash during the Family/Medical Leave. Only City group health insurance premiums will be paid by the City. 30 Final If an employee does not return to work following Family/Medical Leave, the City may collect the amount paid for health insurance by the City during the leave. There are two exceptions to this rule. 1. The continuation of a serious health condition of the employee or a covered family member prevents the return. 2. Circumstances beyond the employee's control. Further details on Family/Medical Leave are available through the City's "Guide to Family/Medical Leave Program". 31 Final ARTICLE 26 WORKERS' COMPENSATION LEAVE Any employee who is absent from duty because of on-the-job injury in accordance with state workers' compensation law and is not eligible for disability payments under Labor Code Section 4850, shall be paid the difference between his base salary and the amount provided by workers' compensation law during the first 90 days of such disability absence. The only position currently eligible for this benefit is the Fire Vehicle Mechanic. 32 Final ARTICLE 27 LIGHT DUTY A light-duty work assignment is generally administrative in nature and may require the individual to sit at a desk,type,drive a vehicle, and engage in minimal walking. The employee may receive work assignments in one or more of the Department's program areas: Administration,Training, Hazard Prevention, Technical Services, Disaster Preparedness,Emergency Response, or Communications. The schedule is typically 40 hours a week with the employee working under the supervision of the Fire Chief or a Battalion Chief. There are two methods for placing a person on light duty: 1) At the employee's request during a recovery period(minimum of two weeks) due to an off- duty injury or illness. 2) At the request of the City because of a Worker's Compensation injury. Each is dependent upon the availability of an appropriate work assignment. Off-Duty Injury - An employee notifies the Fire Chief that s/he would like to be placed on a 40- hour light duty administrative work assignment. The Fire Chief would then forward the attached form letter to the employee's doctor. Once the doctor signs this letter (with any changes and/or modifications) and it is returned, the employee is then available for light-duty. The Department typically has a variety of tasks that a person might be assigned to work on. In accordance with past practice, as long as a legitimate light-duty assignment is available (minimum of two weeks),the Fire Chief will accommodate this request. Worker's Compensation Injury -An employee is on Worker's Compensation injury leave and the Fire Chief knows of a possible light-duty work assignment. The human resources Department will be notified of such an assignment along with its description. A description of this assignment will then be sent with a doctor's release letter to the City's Worker's Compensation Insurance carrier. The carrier reviews the information and routes it to the employee's Worker's compensation physician who will either sign the release letter or deny it. All documents are then forwarded back to the human resources and Fire Departments. The employee, if released,will then be available for light-duty. Employees on Worker's compensation certified by a doctor for light-duty may lose benefits if they refuse available light-duty based on Worker's compensation law. Once an employee is released to light-duty, a Personnel Action Form is initiated and all leave balances (Holiday, Vacation, Sick Leave, etc.) are changed to reflect a 40-hour work week. It should be noted that any leave taken during this light-duty period is taken at the 40-hour work week accrual rate and no FLSA is given. The employee would transfer to a light-duty assignment as soon as the employee has completed his/her FLSA period (the FLSA period runs concurrent with the A shift's schedule). To ensure all FLSA provisions are met, the hours previously worked in the pay period will be reviewed with the employee prior to setting up the work schedule. Once the employee has received a doctor's release to return back to full-duty and it has been approved by the Fire Chief, the employee will return to their appropriate shift on their next scheduled work day, assuming this return schedule does not trigger overtime in excess of regular FLSA overtime. If excess overtime would be triggered, the employee will return to work on the earliest date that will not trigger excess overtime. 33 Final ARTICLE 28 SAFE'L'Y The Union and the City agree to address Departmental and citywide safety concerns through the City's Safety Committee and the Communication Process outlined in Article 7. 34 Final ARTICLE 29 RETIREMENT A. The City agrees to provide the Public Employees' Retirement System's 2% at age 50 plan to all swom personnel and the 2% at age 55 plan to all non-sworn personnel. The 2% at age 50 plan includes four amendments,namely,Post Retirement Survivor Allowance,conversion of unused sick leave to additional retirement credit, the 1959 Survivor's Benefit, and one- year final compensation. The 2% at 55 plan has two amendments, 1959 survivor's Benefit and one year final compensation. B. For employees hired after 1 July 1986, the PERS 2% at 50 plan shall include the modifications shown in Section A, above, except that it shall provide three-year final compensation (1) The City agrees to contribute up to 9% of safety member's obligation to contribute to PERS. . (2) City agrees to contribute up to 7% of the Fire Vehicle Mechanic's obligation to contribute to PERS. (3) The City agrees to report as salary all Employer-Paid Member Contributions for full-time employees to PERS for the purposes of retirement credit in accordance with Gov. Code Section 20636 (c).(4),with the understanding that,for the 1997-99 MOA, the .28% employer cost of the program will be included as part of the total compensation cost of the negotiated package. This benefit will be implemented as soon as the City's computer system is upgraded to handle the calculations. (4) The amount paid by the City is an employee contribution and is paid by the City to partially satisfy the employee's obligation to contribute to PERS. An employee has no option to receive the contributed amounts directly instead of having them paid by the City to PERS on behalf of the employee. The Union understands and agrees that employees bear the risk of payment of any increases in the employee contributions above the amount provided in this Agreement which may result by action of PERS or the state legislature. Parties further agree that City payment of PERS contributions is made based upon tax treatment currently permitted by the State Franchise Tax Board and the IRS. Should current tax treatment change, the Union and the employees hold harmless the City, its officers and agents from any and all claims or costs of any type, including but not limited to, liability for back taxes, arising out of this Agreement to pay part of the employee's PERS contribution. Should current tax treatment change, the Union shall have the opportunity to meet and confer regarding any such changes. It is understood and agreed to by the parties that the City "pick up" of a portion of the employee's PERS contribution is in lieu of wages. Therefore,in all comparisons made with other agencies, a percent equal to the City "pick up" of the employee's PERS contribution will be added to the total compensation provided by the City to the employees. As soon as possible, the City will add the PERS Military Service Credit option (Section 21024). 35 Final ARTICLE 30 HOURS A. Employees assigned to a 24-hour shift schedule, shall work a shift schedule which, over a period of one year, shall average approximately fifty-six (56)hours per week. For purposes of illustration only, a copy of the shift schedule pattern is set forth in Appendix B. The Department shall give no less than 15 days notice prior to changing a shift assignment for non-emergency reasons. A work shift is defined as a work period of twenty-four (24) hours, commencing at 0800 hours and continuing until the next day, ending at 0800 hours (8 a.m. to the following 8 a.m.) Within each work shift the work day will be from 0800 to 1700 hours. The work day will be divided as follows: 0800 - 1200 Captain's Priority 1200- 1300 Lunch 1300 - 1700 Chief's Priority/Captain's Priority The intent of Captain's Priority is to create a productive schedule providing latitude for necessary classes, rewards and individual's priorities. Included in Captain's Priority is vehicle and station maintenance, fitness training and Captain's projects 8-12 daily. Holidays and weekends are also Captain's Priority times. B. Shift Exchange -The Fire Chief or his/her representative may authorize employees covered by this Agreement to exchange shift assignments with other department employees of equal rank or qualifications for the position. C. Vacation Exchange - The Fire Chief or his/her representative may authorize employees covered by this Agreement to exchange vacation leave with other department employees of equal rank or qualifications for the position. D. Early Relief-The Fire Chief or his/her representative may authorize employees covered by this Agreement to relieve another department employee of equal rank or qualifications for the position prior to the end of the scheduled shift. 36 Final ARTICLE 31 HEALTH/FM%TESS The City,the Department and the Union are desirous of implementing measures to promote the well being of employees and reduce the incidents of preventable accidents, illnesses, and disabilities, and have, and shall continue to, work cooperatively to encourage and develop an appropriate program to enhance physical fitness and health and to establish required physical standards to be met by all employees. The parties have agreed to implement the physical fitness program outlined in the "Health and Fitness Maintenance Program" and dated 9-28-89. The Union recognizes that it is the policy of the City to hire non smokers in the Fire Department. The Union further recognizes there is a fire department policy concerning smoking in departmental facilities and vehicles. The parties agree that smoking poses health risks to non-smokers as well as smokers. 37 Final ARTICLE 32 SALARY SURVEY CITIES Cities to be used for review of salaries shall include: Chico Davis Lompoc Monterey Napa Pleasanton Redding Salinas Santa Cruz Santa Maria It is agreed that, during the negotiations to produce a successor Agreement, either party may propose changes to the above list of cities. A revised, mutually agreed upon list, may be used during the negotiations to produce a successor Agreement. 38 Final ARTICLE 33 LAYOFFS In.accordance with Personnel Rule 2.36.280, the City Council of San Luis Obispo shall determine when layoffs are to occur. The human resources Director shall be responsible for the implementation of a layoff order of the City Council in accordance with the procedures outlined below: A. After determining a layoff is needed within the Union, the order of layoffs shall be as follows: 1. Temporary and contract employees, in the order to be determined by the appointing authority; 2. Probationary employees (promotional probation excluded), in the order to be determined by the appointing authority; 3. For regular employees within the Union, layoffs shall be governed by seniority and job performance. Seniority is established by time in service within the Union. That is, the last employee hired into the bargaining unit shall be the first employee laid- off. Job performance categories shall be defined as follows. Category 1: Performance that is unsatisfactory, below standard, needs improvement, unacceptable or does not meet minimum standards. Performance defined by this category is evidenced by an employee's two most recent performance evaluations with an overall rating that falls within the lowest two categories of the performance appraisal report. Category 2: Performance that is competent, superior, meets expectations, meets performance standards,exceeds performance standards and expectations, or is outstanding. Performance defined by this category is evidenced by an employee's two most recent performance evaluations with an overall rating that falls within the top two to three performance categories of the performance appraisal. A regular employee being laid off shall be that employee with the least seniority in the Union and who is in the lowest job performance category. Employees in Category 1 with the lowest seniority will be laid off first, followed by employees in Category 2. Should the two performance evaluations contain overall ratings that are in the two different categories as defined above, the third most recent evaluation overall rating shall be used to determine which performance category the City shall use in determining order of layoffs. 4. Transfer to another department in lieu of layoff is authorized,upon approval of the department heads, if there is a vacancy and the employee meets the minimum job requirements. 39 Final B. Laid-Off Employees on Re-employment List 1. The names of employees who have been laid-off shall be placed on the appropriate Re-employment List. The recall of employees will be in reverse order of layoff, depending upon City requirements. 2. Names of employees laid-off shall be placed on a re-employment list. They will be offered re-employment only once before being removed from the list for the job they held before being laid-off. Re-employment lists shall be used for filling those classes requiring substantially the same minimum qualifications, duties and responsibilities of the class from which the layoff was made. C. Appointment of Laid-Off Employees to Vacant Class 1. An appointing authority may, with the approval of the Department Head and the human resources Director and in agreement with the employee, appoint an employee who is to be laid-off to a vacancy in a vacant class for which he or she is qualified. He/she will still remain on the re-employment list for the job from which he/she was laid-off. D. Employee Reassignments (bump back procedure) for IAFF Local 3523 1. Employees who have been promoted during their service with the City may bump back in their career series to a position they formerly held, if there is an employee in the lower classification with less seniority than the employee who wants to bump . back. Seniority for the purpose of this section shall mean time in service, as a regular employee, within the Union. For example, an employee attempting to bump back to Engineer from Captain would utilize his/her combined time within the Union, firefighter, engineer or captain, in determining whether or not he/she had more seniority than an individual in the Engineer classification. The intent is to have the last person hired into the Union be the first person to be laid-off. 2. Reassignment rights may be exercised only once in connection with any one layoff, and shall be exercised within 20 calendar days from the date of the notice of the layoff,by written notice from the employee. 3. The bumping right shall be considered exercised by the displacement of another employee with lesser total seniority or by the acceptance of a vacant position in the class with the same or lower salary. 4. Employees who are reassigned (bump back) are to be placed on an open re- employment list for the position they have vacated. 5. Employees on layoff shall be offered re-employment in the inverse order of layoff, provided no intervening factors have occurred which essentially change the ability of the employee to perform the offered employment. E. The City will notify recognized employee organizations of the effective date of any reduction in force concurrent with the notice to the affected employee(s) pursuant to F, below. 40 Final F. Notice of layoff to Employees 1. An employee to be laid-off shall be notified in writing of the impending action at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the effective date of the layoff. The notice shall include the following information. a. Reason for layoff. b. Effective date of layoff. C. Employee rights as provided in these rules. G. Removal of Names From Re-employment Lists 1. The human resources Director may remove an employee's name from a re- employment list if any of the following occur: a. The individual indicates that he/she will be unable to return to employment with the City during the life of the list;or b. The individual cannot be reached after reasonable efforts have been made to do so. The City shall utilize certified mail when contacting individuals; or C. The individual refuses one re-employment offer at his/her previous job. Individuals shall have ten (10) days to respond to the offer of re- employment and an additional thirty (30) days to return to work. H. Employee Rights and Responsibilities 1. In addition to others identified herein, employees affected by these procedures shall have the following rights: a. Through prior arrangement with his/her immediate supervisor an employee who has been notified of his/her impending layoff shall be granted reasonable time off without loss of pay to participate in a pre-scheduled interview or test for other employment. b. An employee who has been laid-off shall be paid in full for his/her unused accrued vacation leave and holiday leave on the effective date of the layoff. C. When an individual is reemployed he/she shall be entitled to: (1) Retain his/her seniority date. (2) Accrue vacation leave at the same rate at which it was accrued at the time of the layoff. (3) Have any unused sick leave reinstated. (4) The same retirement package prior to layoff, assuming that the employee has not withdrawn his/her PERS funds. If an employee has withdrawn funds, he/she will be reinstated to the retirement package which is currently in effect for all newly hired employees unless the employee notifies PERS within 90 days that he/she wishes to redeposit the withdrawn funds. 2. An individual reemployed into the job from which he/she was laid off shall be assigned to the same salary range and step he/she held at the time of the layoff. An individual reemployed into a job classification other than the classification from 41 Final which he/she was laid off shall be assigned to the salary range of the new classification at the amount closest to the salary he/she earned at the time of the layoff. 3. When an individual has been reemployed after a layoff by bumping back to a lower job classification prior to being laid-off, he/she will be placed on a re-employment list for the higher job classification held prior to bumping back. 4. A probationary employee who is reemployed shall be responsible for completing his/her probationary time commitment. Similarly, an individual who is reemployed shall complete, upon return to the job,the same work time he/she would have had to work at the time of the layoff to attain a higher vacation leave accrual rate or to become eligible for a salary step increase. 5. The intent of the layoff policy is to have the last hired the first laid off. 42 Final ARTICLE 34 WORK ACTIONS Participation by an employee in a strike or a concerted work stoppage shall be deemed to pose an imminent threat to public health or safety and is unlawful, furthermore, it shall terminate the employment relation. Provided however that nothing herein shall be so construed as to affect the right of any employee to abandon or to resign his employment. (a) Employee organizations shall not hinder,delay, interfere with, nor coerce employees of the City to hinder, delay, or interfere with, the peaceful performance of City services by strike, concerted work stoppage,cessation of work, slow-down, sit-down, stay-away, or unlawful picketing. (b) In the event that there occurs any strike, concerted work stoppage, or any other form of interference with or limitation of the peaceful performance of City services prohibited by this Article,the City, in addition to any other lawful remedies or disciplinary actions, may, by action of the Municipal Employee Relations Officer cancel any or all payroll deductions, prohibit the use of bulletin boards, prohibit the use of City facilities, and withdraw recognition of the employee organization or organizations participating in such actions. (c) Employee members of any employee organization shall not be locked out or prevented by management officials from performing their assigned duties when such employees are willing to perform such duties in the customary manner and at a reasonable level of efficiency. Any decision made under the provisions of this Section may be appealed to the City Council by filing a written Notice of Appeal with the City Clerk, accompanied by a complete statement setting forth all of the facts upon which the appeal is based. Such Notice of Appeal must be filed within ten (10) working days after the affected employee organization first received notice of the decision upon which the.complaint is based, or it will be considered closed and not subject to any other appeal. 43 Final ARTICLE 35 ENTRY LEVEL FIREFIGHTERS A The City has added four lower pay steps to the existing firefighter range. Step progression will be subject to existing personnel standards, with the timing for progression as follows: Probationary firefighters will move from Step A to Step B after six months. Progression from Step B to Step H will be at one-year intervals for each Step, and from Step H to Step I at a two-year interval. B. Upon the expiration of the Memorandum of Agreement, the following sections will be placed in a side letter which will contain the following language stipulating that: (a).these provisions are protected by the binding grievance arbitration and impasse resolution processes contained in Resolution#6620; and (b) that the impacts of any changes to these agreements are negotiable and fall within the scope of bargaining. 1. Probationary firefighters may not act as paramedics. They may intern for paramedic status after completion of the 18-month probationary period, with possible exceptions granted by the Fire Chief after 12 months for exceptionally well-trained firefighters, following consultation with the employee's Captain, the Training Battalion Chief, a Union representative and the Paramedic Coordinator. 2. Testing for entry-level firefighters will occur every two years using the CPS test or equivalent. A current eligibility list will be maintained and entry-level firefighters will go through the current standard "academy", as set forth in General Order 501.03. 3. Firefighter Apprentices will be allowed to apply for entry-level firefighter positions outside the limitation on the number of applications to be accepted. For a given recruitment, if the number of applications received by the City for entry-level firefighter positions is to be limited,the limit will not be less than 100. 4. For new entry-level firefighters, the State Fire Marshal's Firefighter I certification will be required. For new entry-level firefighter paramedics, a minimum of Firefighter I Academy certification is required. All other employment standards remain the same. 44 Final ARTICLE 36 DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT The City agrees to undertake an assessment of the Fire Department following the procedures outlined in the ICMA/IAFC manual and to have the assessment completed by July 1, 2000. There shall be no limitations on what can be considered during this process, provided that the subject matter falls within the general framework of the assessment format. The Union and the City agree that the assessment's findings and conclusions will be advisory only to the City Administrative Officer, and that adoption of any of the findings and conclusions will require the City Administrative Officer's approval and recommendation to the City Council. The Union and the City further agree that implementation of the assessment's findings and conclusions will be subject to the meet and confer requirements under the California Govemment Code,Section 3500 et. Seq. Should it become apparent to both parties that an extension of the completion date is necessary, both parties will meet and discuss an extension of the completion date by mutual agreement. 45 Final ARTICLE 37 STAFFING A. The current number of positions in the Fire Department represented by the Fire Union is 12 Fire Captains, 15 Fire Engineers, 13 Firefighters, 1 Fire Vehicle Mechanic, and 15 Paramedics within the ranks of Firefighter and Engineer. If it becomes necessary for the City to exercise its management right to change those staffing levels,the City acknowledges its responsibility to meet and confer with the Union on the impacts of any such changes. B. There will be no reserve program implemented during the term of this agreement. C. The City and the Union share jointly in pursuing the goal of 3-person engine companies at all stations on all shifts. D. The present status of the Apprentice Program does not impact on the bargaining unit integrity. The City recognizes its obligations to meet and confer on any future impacts of the Apprentice Program on the bargaining unit. E. In the absence of the Battalion Chief, the Fire Chief may temporarily act as Battalion Chief in situations that would preserve 3-person engine companies at all four stations. 46 Final ARTICLE 38 SENIORITY BIDDING FOR STATION ASSIGNMENT A. Intent: Utilize years of service as an empowerment tool for the employee. Thus enhancing their productivity and morale, through their ability to choose station assignment,program assignment and working partners.. B. Process: Appropriate lists and sign-up sheets will be passed out the fust of July. The selection process should be completed by September 1st. Placement on the appropriate list is based on seniority within the Fire Department. Bidding will take place the first year in the following order; Captains (1),Engineers (2)and Firefighters (3). Every two years the bidding order will rotate. First to choose in the prior year will choose last with second and third choices moving up respectively,e.g. 1,2,3;2,3,1; 3,1,2. Rookie firefighters will not be included in the station selection process until they have completed their probationary period. Each station will have a Paramedic assigned to it from the ranks of the engineer or firefighter. Each shift will have five paramedics. The(5th)paramedic should be stationed at fire station 1. Station assignments would take place based on FLSA periods with the intent to eliminate or minimize overtime due to personnel movement. Individuals working out of grade will work at the station at which the vacancy is occurring. Selection of the individuals who will work out of grade is to remain consistent with existing policies. Vacancies created by promotion or retirements are to be filled by the newly promoted individuals. Administration of the Fire Department recognizes and supports the premise that placing employees at stations of their preference is beneficial. The Fire Department Administration needs a degree of flexibility to accomplish the following goals (in order of priority): 1. Staff the training station with qualified personnel. 2. Placement of the SAE 3. Allow for mentoring and conflict resolution Adjustment of employee station bids by fire Department Administration, should take place in September before vacation selection. Station bid adjustments by Fire Department Administration shall be accompanied by written justification as to the perceived need. After initial placement,movement of personnel shall be for a period of six months. At the end of this six-month period, the effected personnel shall return to their station of choice. Reasons for moves for more than six months or for permanent relocation need to be in writing. 47 Final Except in extraordinary circumstances no movement of personnel will be initiated during the months of November and December. When movement of personnel is initiated by the Department and is not due to any fault of the individual(s), the Department will honor all approved time off requests. C.Issue Resolution Committee: Intent: The intent of the Issue Resolution Committee is two fold: First, is to deal with the larger issue of how the program works. Does the process work; are we able to meet the goals of the program and the department? Second, are both labor and management needs being addressed fairly and equitably. Committee membership: The Issue Resolution Committee(IRC) will consist of a Battalion Chief(appointed by the Fire Chief) and the Fire Marshal from management. The Vice-President and the Sergeant of Arms will represent the employeeis bargaining unit. A fifth member will be chosen by the above four members. The fire chief or the labor president can substitute the members from management and labor,respectively,for cause. Issue Resolution: The Firefighters Association, through their Board of Directors, or Fire Department Administration, through the Fire Chief,can bring issues to the Committee. The IRC will convene within five business days of receipt of an issue of concern or a question of process. Issues will be decided based on the information presented to the committee. Issues or questions will be considered resolved by a vote of 4 out of 5 committee members. The IRC will review the overall program as it relates to program and department goals annually or as needed. Unresolved issues will be taken to the next contract negotiations as a negotiable issue. The IRC will attempt to resolve issues of a personal nature,i.e. station placement,or an interpretation of the process, as they come up. If the committee cannot resolve an issue,the Fire Chief will resolve the issue. By mutual agreement of the Firefighters Association and Fire Department Administration, this program can be discontinued at any time. All committee members performing the duties of this committee while off duty will be compensated with CTO, hour for hour. 48 Final ARTICLE 39 REOPENERS The City and the Union agree to reopen negotiations during the term of this agreement as follows: 1. The Union agrees to a future opener to discuss an incentive program to reduce sick leave usage as part of a joint process with other employee associations. 2. The City and Union will meet and confer on implementation of a 401(h) program, or other mutually accepted programs,which would allow for the donation of holiday and/or other paid time into tax deferred accounts for use for retiree medical and other puposes. 3. Within ninety (90) days of the ratification of the agreement; the City and Union will complete negotiations the the Departmental Disciplinary Policy. 49 Final ARTICLE 40 FULL AGREEMENT It is understood this Agreement represents a complete and final understanding on all negotiable issues between the City and the Union. This Agreement supersedes all previous Memoranda of Understanding or Memoranda of Agreement between the City and the Union except as specifically referred to in this Agreement. During the life of this Memorandum of Agreement, should either party desire to modify its terms or to meet and confer with respect to matters within the scope of representation, such party shall request in writing to meet and confer on such item(s), which item(s) shall be specified in writing. During the life of this Memorandum of Agreement,either party may refuse such a request without explanation, and no unilateral action may be taken on the matter within the scope of representation during the term of this agreement. 50 Final ARTICLE 41 SAVINGS CLAUSE If any provision of this Agreement should be held invalid by operation of law or by any court of competent jurisdiction, or if compliance with or enforcement of any provision should be restrained by any tribunal,the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby, and the parties shall enter into a meet and confer session for the sole purpose of arriving at a mutually satisfactory replacement for such provision within thirty (30) day work period. If no Agreement has been reached, the parties agree to invoke the provision of impasse under Section 13 of City Resolution No. 6620 (1989 Series) 51 Final ARTICLE 42 RENEGOTIATIONS Pursuant to Resolution No. 6287, (1989 Series): If either party wishes to make changes to this agreement, that party shall serve upon the other its written request to negotiate as well as its initial proposals for an amended Agreement. Such notice and proposals must be submitted to the other party by February 15, 2001. If notice is properly and timely given, negotiations shall commence no later than March 15, 2001. 52 Final ARTICLE 43 AUTHORIZED AGENTS For the purpose of administering the terms and provisions of this Agreement: A. The Union's principal authorized agent shall be the President(address: 2160 Santa Barbara Street, San Luis Obispo,California 93401; telephone: (805) 781-7380). B. Management's principal authorized agent shall be the human resources Director or his/her duly authorized representative (address: 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California 93401; telephone: (805) 781-7250). 53 Final ARTICLE 44 TERM OF AGREEMENT This Agreement shall become effective as of July 1, 1999 and continue in full force and effect until expiration at midnight, June 30, 2001. SIGNATURES 1. Classifications covered by this Agreement and included within this unit are shown in Appendix "A". 2. This Agreement does not apply to Temporary Employees or Part-time employees. This Agreement was executed on ,by the following parties. CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS,LOCAL 3523 William Avery, City.Consultant Ron Veillette,Chief Negotiator Wendy George, Assistant to the CAO Mark McCullough,President 54 Final APPENDIX A CLASSIFICATION CLASSIFICATION CODE SALARY RANGE Firefighter 6040 612 Fire Vehicle Mechanic 6030 616 Fire Engineer/Inspector 6020 615 Fire Captain 6010 621 55 Final APPENDIX B WORK SCHEDULE ILLUSTRATION For purposes of illustration only, the shift schedule pattern for employees working a fifty-six (56) hour work week consists of five (5) twenty-four (24) hour on-duty periods within a twenty-four (24)day cycle which is worked in accordance with the following chart: X= 24-hour on-duty period O=24-hour off--duty period SCHEDULE: XOXOXOXOOOOOOXOXOXOXO000 56 Final APPENDIX C EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILUMS AND BENEFITS - SICK LEAVE Sick leave is governed by Section 2.36.420 of the Municipal Code and reads as follows: 2.36.420 Employee responsibilities and benefits -Sick leave. A. Sick Leave Defined. "Sick leave" shall be defined as follows: 1. Absence from duty because of illness or off-the-job injury, or exposure to contagious diseases as evidence by certification from an accepted medical authority; 2. At each employee's option, absence from duty due to the death of a member of the "employee's immediate family," meaning spouse,child,brother, sister,parent,parent- in-law, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister, or any other relative living in the same household, provided such leave as defined in this subsection shall not exceed five working days from each incident. The employee may be required to submit proof of relative's death before being granted sick leave pay; 3. An employee whose memorandum of understanding incorporates a provision for "family leave" may use sick leave not to exceed three days per year if required to be away from his/her job to personally care for a member of the employee's immediate family as defined in this subsection. B. Rules Governing Sick Leave. 1. Each incumbent of a line-item position shall accrue sick leave with pay at the rate of twelve days or the shift equivalent per year of continuous service since the benefit date. 2. Sick leave may be used after the completion of the month of service in which it was earned. 3. Sick leave shall begin with the first day of illness. 4. Department heads shall be responsible to the city administrative officer for the uses of sick leave in their departments. 5. A department head shall require written proof of illness from an authorized medical authority at the employee's expense for sick leave use in excess of five consecutive working days by personnel in his/her department. Such proof may be required for periods of less than five consecutive working days where there exists indication of abuse. 6. Any employee who is absent because of sickness or other physical disability shall notify his/her immediate supervisor or department head as soon as possible but in any event during the first day of absence. Any employee who fails to comply with 57 Final this provision without having a valid reason will be placed on leave of absence without pay during the unexcused absence and be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with procedures established by this chapter. N 7. Any employee absent for an extended illness or other physical disability may be required by the personnel director to have an examination by the city's medical examiner at city expense prior to reinstatement to the city service. 8. An appointing authority, subject to approval of the personnel director, may require any employee to be medically examined where reasonable cause exists to believe that an employee has a medical condition which impairs his/her job effectiveness or may endanger the health, safety or welfare of the employee, other employees or the public. Employees who are judged to be physically incapable of meeting normal requirements of their positions may be placed in a classification of work for which they are suitable when a vacancy exists,or may be separated for physical disability. 9. In the event that an employee's sick leave benefits become exhausted due to illness or exposure to contagious disease, the employee shall revert to a status of leave of absence without pay and be subject to the provisions of Section 2.36.460. 10. The right to benefits under the sick leave plan shall continue only during the period that the employee is employed by the city. This plan shall not give any employee the right to be retained in the services of the city, or any right of claim to sickness disability benefits after separation from the service of the city. When an employee receives compensation under the Worker's Compensation Act of California, such compensation received shall be considered part of the salary to be paid to the employee eligible for such payments as required by state law. The amount paid by the city shall be the difference between the amount received by the employee from the city's compensation insurance coverage and the eligible employee's regular rate of pay. 11. Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, no employee shall be entitled to receive any payment or other compensation from the city while absent from duty by reason of injuries or disability received as a result of engaging in employment other than employment by the city for monetary gain or other compensation,or by reason of engaging in business or activity for monetary or other compensation other than business or activity connected with his/her city employment. 12. A public safety employee shall not receive sick leave payments while receiving Worker's Compensation payments. 13. Accumulation of sick leave days shall be unlimited. (Prior code 2708.5) 58 Final APPENDIX D SALARY RANGE LISTING Salary Range Listing - July 1999 Through June 2001 July 1999 3%Increase Step 1 Step 2 Step3 Step4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Salary Position Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Flange Title Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly BI-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly 612 Firefighter 2,721 2,864 3,015 3,174 3,341 3,517 3,702 3,896 4,102 1,256 1,322 1,392 1,465 1,542 1,623 1,708 1,798 1,893 615 Fire Engineer/ 3,614 3,804 4,005 4,215 4,437 Inspector 1,668 1,756 1,848 1,946 2,048 616 Fre vehicle 3,708 3,903 4,108 4,325 4,552 Mechanic 1,711 1,801 1,896 1,996 2,101 621 Fire Captain 4,225 4,447 4,681 4,928 5,187 1,950 2,053 2,161 2,274 2,394 March 2000 20/a Increase Step 1 Step 2 Step3 Step4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Salary Position Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Range Title Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly BI-Weekly Bi-Weekly BI-Weekly Bi-Weekly 612 Firefighter 2,776 2,922 3,076 3,237 3,408 3,587 3,776 3,975 4,184 1,281 1,348 1,419 1,494 1,573 1,656 1,743 1,834 1,931 615 Fire Engineer/ 3,687 3,881 4,085 4,300 4,526 Inspector 1,702 1,791 1,885 1,985 2,089 616 Fire Vehicle 3,782 3,981 4,190 4,411 4,643 Mechanic 1,745 1,837 1,934 2,036 2,143 621 Fire Captain 4,310 4,536 4,775 5,026 5,291 1,989 2,094 2,204 2,320 2,442 Salary Range Listing - July 1999 Through June 2001 September 2000 4%Increase Step 1 Step 2 Step3 Step4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Salary Position Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Monthly/ Range Title Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly Bi-Weekly 612 Firefighter 2,886 3,038 3,198 3,366 3,544 3,730 3,926 4,133 4,351 1,332 1,402 1,476 1,554 1,636 1,722 1,812 1,908 2,008 615 Fire Engineer/ 3,835 4,037 4,249 4,473 4,708 Inspector 1,770 1,863 1,961 2,064 2,173 616 Fire Vehicle 3,934 4,141 4,359 4,588 4,830 Mechanic 1,816 1,911 2,012 2,118 2,229 621 Fre Captain 4,482 4,718 4,967 5,228 5,503 2,069 2,178 2,292 2,413 2,540 SIDE LETTERS The documents following this section are all Side Letters of Agreement between the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523 and the City of San Luis Obispo. They should not be construed to be part of the Memorandum of Agreement and are not subject to the terms of Article 38, Full Agreement. Any dispute over interpretation or application of the side letters shall be referable to the grievance and arbitration procedures of the MOA. SIDE LETTER DOCUMENTS WHICH FALL WITHIN THE SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION The City of San Luis Obispo and the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3523, recognize the attached letter from William Avery, dated March 18, 1996, as defining which existing side letters and General Operations Manual policies fall within the scope of representation. This agreement fulfills Paragraph 4, Article 35 of the 1994-97 Memorandum of Agreement. CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO �-- Ke Hampian, Assistant City Administrative Officer Date ' INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL 3523 Mark McCullough, President Date MIK-Ib199* 16:86 WIL.LIHM ALEW 8 F65UC. _ P,02 WI JJ"AVERY . • &ASSOCIATES, INC- MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS March 18, 1996 Wendy George City of San Laos Obispo 990 Palm Smit San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249 Dear Wendy- Following endyFollowing is my preliminary review of the issue of which general operations sections,personnel rule sections and side letter or addendum MOA agreements should be incorporated into the existing Memorandrmt between the City and the San Luis Obispo Firefighters Association. Please note that while many of these doarments contain matters which relate to the scope for representation,it is certainly not necessary that they be replicated in the MOA. In some uses a reference might be appropriate. It should also be noted that whether or not a matter is incorporated in the MOA at all, City's obligations with regard to meet and confer are the same. GENERAL AL ORDERS The following general orders sections contain matters within seopca 201.02 Relief 201.03 Fire Enginocr Positions 201.04 Minimum Stang Policy 201.05 Temporary Vacancies 202.01 Voluntary and Mandatory Overtime 204.01 Vacation 204.02 Compensatory Time Off 204.03 Holiday Leavc 204.04 Sick have Use/Cerdfication 204.08 Jury Duty 205.01 Bi-annual Abbreviated Rtness Testing 206.01 ShiftTransfers 206.04 Residency Requirements 302.15 Hazardous Materials 405.05 Telephone Pagers The following general orders.while perhaps having some tangential impact on matters within scope,are primarily matters of law,management right,or administrative in nature. 206.02 Smoking Regulations 205.03 Personnel Evaluations 207.01 Time Cards 208.01 Travel Reimbursement Authorization 902.03 in Reports 603.01 Nighttime Inspectors 501.01 Training Program 501.02 Outside Training Program 501.03 RecruivTTobatioWry Training Regulations 35� N. Santa Cruz Avenue, Suite 5 • Los Galas, CA 95030 • (408) 399.4424 FAX (408) 399-4423 .••. au-a»c au•w W1LL1W'1 t4VCKT & r=51 . N.03 Page 2 PERSONNEL RULES You provided me with a copy of the personnel rules It is not clear to me if there are requests that sections of the personnel rules be referrnaod or incorporated in the MOA. If so,the following appear to contain matters substantively affecting the scope of repmscatadoa 2.36.200 Probationary Period 2.36.240-B4 Compensation for Temporary Assignments 236320 All affecting discipline 2363�3�/0� " 236340 Y Y 236350 236390 Outsidc Employment .. LErrI:'EtS OF AGRF.DvI>rNT December L5. 1993 re: Hazardous Materials It would appear this meet and confer has concluded " and the side letter need not be incorporated. September 16, 1993,MOA language changes This language has already been incorporated. June may be appropriate to reference the language under current staffmg. ADDENDUM MOA'S Layoff Policy-This language has already baa incorporated in the MOA. Second PERS Health Benefit Program-This language has been incorporated in the MOA. Drug Free WorlgAacc Policy-This addendum,and/or subsequent agreements could be referenced in the MOA. This particular policy contains nothing other than minimum requirements of Federal law. Flexible Benefits Program-The language in this addendum oontains many steps which presumably have been completed. A generalized reference in the MOA would be appropriate. Medical Plan Review Committee-Sufficient language on this subject already appears in the MOA. it need not be incorporated. MISCELLANEOUS The following documents have been provided. They have been given general operations policy numbers although they are City-wide documents They would not appear to substantively impact matters within scope. 209M Code of Ethics 209M Sexual Harrassment Avoidance Policy 20904 Affirmative Action Program 20909 Employer-Employee Resolution 20906 Guide to Family/Medical Leave Program --- ���•• �••-•.•. waWAnl Hvrj%7 a ps= U . F.04 Page 3 The following policy could be incorpomtcd by reference or appended: 209.05 Catastrophic Leave Policy Please call after you've had a chance to review this. Si y, William H.Avery WHA:ksd 70TAL P.04