Employee Personnel Policy 11-1-22
CHAPTER 11
EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL POLICY
1111 INTRODUCTION. The primary purpose of this Personnel Policy is to set forth the philosophy, employee policies, and programs of the Village of Pleasant Plains (“Village”). The Village may, in its sole discretion, add to the policies in this Personnel Policy or revoke or modify them from time to time. The Village will try to keep this Personnel Policy current and will notify employees of changes, but there may be times when a policy will change before this material can be revised.
This Personnel Policy is not a contract, express or implied, and does not guarantee employment for any specific duration. Although the Village hopes that each employee will enjoy a fulfilling and long-term relationship, either an employee or the Village may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, with or without cause or notice, and employment is at will. No one has the authority to enter into any agreement with an employee for employment for any specified period of time or to make any promises or commitment regarding employment contrary to the foregoing, except the President of the Village in writing.
Any questions or comments about this Personnel Policy should be directed to the employee’s supervisor or the Village President.
The Village seeks to provide a place of work in the community that is conducive to high productivity and success. Through the teamwork concept, by working together with common goals and consideration given to individual responsibility and performance, the Village hopes to foster a positive environment that allows for the best possible service to individuals, businesses, and the community.
The Village will provide a written statement to each employee annually at the beginning of the fiscal year (May 1) which outlines their employment conditions and benefits.
1112 DEFINITIONS. As used herein, the following terms have the following definitions.
(A) Board. The Village Board of the Village of Pleasant Plains.
(B) Compensation. All form of valuable consideration, including salary, wages, benefits, and allowances earned by or paid to any employee by reason of service in a position with the Village.
(C) Employee. A person other than an officer or an independent contractor who regularly performs remunerative work for the Village.
(D) Full-Time Employee. An employee who is not a part-time employee or a temporary employee.
(E) Immediate Family. Includes and is limited to parents, spouses, brothers, sisters, children, stepchildren, grandparents, grandchildren, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and legal guardians.
(F) Independent Contractor. A person who performs work for the Village on a contractual basis. Examples of independent contractors include vendors of goods and services, and engineers, attorneys and consultants for the Village.
(G) Municipal Code. The Illinois Municipal Code, Chapter 65, Illinois Compiled Statutes.
(H) Officer. A person designated by the Municipal Code as an officer of the Village, including, but not limited to, the Village President, Village Trustees, the Village Clerk, members of Boards and Commissions who take an oath of office (such as the Zoning Board and Plan Commission) or the Chief of Police. “Officer” does not include police officers other than the Chief of Police; they are considered employees.
(I) Part-Time Employee. An employee other than a temporary employee who works for the Village or is reasonably expected to work for the Village less than thirty-two (32) hours per week or less than one thousand (1,000) hours per calendar year.
(J) Administrative Committees. The Administrative committees of the Village Board shall consist of Health and Safety, Streets and Alleys, Finance, Solid Waste, and Water and Sewers.
(K) President. The President of the Village of Pleasant Plains.
(L) Probationary Employee. A part-time or full-time employee (other than a member of the police department) who has worked for the Village less than six (6) continuous calendar months; or a police officer who has worked for the Village less than twelve (12) continuous calendar months.
(M) Temporary Employee. An employee who is hired temporarily, for a period of less than six (6) months, or who is hired only to work during particular seasons of the year (for example, a person hired to work in the Street Department during the summer).
(N) Working Day. For employees working eight (8) hour shifts, a working day is eight (8) hours.
11-1-3 HIRING AND FIRING AUTHORITY.
(A) Employees.
(1) All hiring authority for employees is vested in the Board. Employees shall be hired upon motion duly made, seconded and passed by the Board, subject to the President’s veto and the Board’s right of override as in the case of ordinances as set forth in the Municipal Code. No person shall be hired, and no motion to hire a person shall be made, unless that person has been evaluated by the appropriate Committee and a report, either oral or written, rendered to the Board. The Village President shall have the authority to appoint an employee temporarily until the next Board of Trustees meeting at which time the Board will confirm or deny the appointment.
(2) Firing authority for employees is vested in the Board and shall be exercised as set forth in the sections of this Personnel Code relating to discipline.
(B) Chief of Police.
(1) The Chief of Police shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Board as set forth in provisions relating to appointment of officers in the Municipal Code.
(2) Firing authority for the Chief of Police is vested in the President, subject to the Board’s right of override in the manner set forth in the Municipal Code relating to removal of appointed officers.
1114 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY. It is the policy of the Village to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, military or veteran status, or disability in accordance with applicable federal laws. In addition, the Village complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, lay-offs, recalls, transfers, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
11-1-5 POLICY PROHIBITING UNLAWFUL HARASSMENT. The Village expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap or disability, or status as a Vietnam era or special disabled veteran. Officers, temporary employees, and independent contractors are expected to understand and follow this policy as well.
(A) With respect to sexual harassment, the Village prohibits:
(1) unwelcome sexual advances; requests for sexual favors, and all other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual or otherwise offensive nature, especially where:
(a) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment;
(b) submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for decisions affecting an individual’s employment; or
(c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
(2) offensive comments, jokes, innuendoes, and other sexually oriented statements.
(B) Complaint Procedure. The Village Board and President are responsible for creating an atmosphere free of discrimination and harassment, sexual or otherwise. Further, each employee is responsible for respecting the rights of co-workers.
Any employee who experiences any job-related harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status or disability, or another factor, or who believes they have been treated in an unlawful, discriminatory manner, should promptly report the incident to their supervisor, who will investigate the matter and take appropriate action
including reporting it to the Village President. An employee who believes it would be inappropriate to discuss the matter who will undertake an investigation. Complaints will be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible.
If the Village determines that an employee is guilty of harassing another employee, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against the offending employee, up to and including termination of employment.
The Village prohibits any form of retaliation against any employee for filing a bona fide complaint under this policy or for assisting in a complaint investigation. However, if, after investigating any complaint of harassment or unlawful discrimination, the Village determines that the complaint is not a bona fide or that an employee has provided false information regarding the complaint, disciplinary action may be taken against the individual who filed the complaint or who gave the false information.
11-1-6 PROBATIONARY PERIOD. An employee’s first six (6) months and a police officers first twelve (12) months of employment with the Village will be considered a probationary period. This probationary period is to afford the employee an opportunity to become familiar with, and to perform the requirements of, the position and to allow the Village to observe and evaluate the employee’s performance.
An employee may be dismissed at any time during the probationary period. The completion of the probationary period should not be construed as creating a contract or guaranteeing employment for any specific duration or establishing a “just cause” termination standard. Rather, each employee of the Village is an employee-at-will and the employment relationship can be terminated by the Village or the employee at any time, for any reason, with or without cause or notice.
11-1-7 LINES OF AUTHORITY.
(A) Departments and Department Heads. Each employee of the Village, except office employees, is assigned to a department, and his or her supervisor shall be the head of that department. For purposes of this Personnel Code, the departments of the Village are as follows: Streets Department, Water Department, and Police Department. Department heads may lend department employees to other departments; in such cases the supervisor of the employee shall be the department head of the receiving department for the duration of the assignment. Village President shall be the deciding factor if any question or conflict may arise for any Field Employees.
(B) Committees of the Board. The department heads are supervised by the various committees of the Board, as follows:
Department Committee
Water Department Full Board, represented by the President
Streets Department Streets and Alleys
Police Department Health and Safety
Each committee reports the activities of its departments to the full Village Board.
(C) Chief of Police. The Chief of Police is the head of the Police Department and is supervised by the Village President. The Chief of Police reports monthly to the Village Board regarding the activities of the Police Department.
(D) Village Clerk. The Village Clerk is appointed rather than elected. At present, this position is permanent and half-time. The Village Clerk is supervised by the President.
(E) Treasurer. The Treasurer is appointed rather than elected. At present, this position is part-time, salaried, and does not include designated office hours.
(F) Supervisors. Superintendent of Streets, Water Superintendent, and the Chief of Police.
(G) Village Office Employees. Village Office employees are supervised by the Village Clerk, who shall perform duties of department head with respect to them.
11-1-8 PERFORMANCE REVIEW. To ensure that each employee performs to the best of his or her abilities, it is important that each employee be recognized for good performance and that each employee receive appropriate suggestions for improvement when necessary. Consistent with this goal, each employee’s performance will be evaluated by their supervisor or responsible trustee/President on an ongoing basis. Each employee will receive periodic evaluations of performance. Such evaluations will normally occur at the completion of ninety (90) days of employment, after six (6) months of employment, on the first anniversary date, and annually thereafter. The employee will receive written evaluations on an annual basis.
All written performance reviews will be based upon an employee’s overall performance in relation to job responsibilities and will take into account conduct, demeanor, and attendance.
In addition to the regular performance evaluations described above, special written performance evaluations may be conducted at any time to advise an employee of the existence of performance or disciplinary problems.
A written job description will be maintained for each position, and approved by that employees’ supervisor as well as the President.
11-1-9 WORKING HOURS AND SCHEDULES. It is the policy of the Village to establish the time and duration of the working hours. Other than the Police Department, the normal work week is Monday through Friday with starting and ending times dependent upon duties performed; however, an employee may be required to work on Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.
Each full-time employee shall be designated an unpaid, one (1) hour lunch period; this lunch period shall be taken away from the employee’s work area and no employee shall perform work during this period unless specifically directed by their supervisor. In addition, each employee is entitled to two (2) ten (10) minute breaks per day. Lunch and breaks are to be scheduled through the employees supervisor.
The Police Department will maintain schedules averaging forty (40) hours per week for full-time officers. Hours will vary according to need.
11-1-10 COMPENSATION AND TIME KEEPING.
(A) New Hires.
(1) The salary of a newly hired employee shall be established when the employee is hired.
(2) The salary of a new employee, other than temporary employees, shall be reviewed at the end of that employee’s probationary period, and the Board may in its discretion decide to raise, lower, or keep in force the employee’s initial salary.
(3) The salaries of temporary employees may be reviewed by the Board at any time or not at all.
(B) Annual Salary Review. The salaries of all full-time employee, part-time employees, and the Chief of Police shall be reviewed by the Board annually, in or about April or May of each year. The Board shall annually by appropriate motion, resolution or ordinance, establish salaries for all full-time and part-time employees and the Chief of Police upon completion of its review. Annual raises, if any, shall become effective May 1, and if the raises are enacted after May 1 of any year, shall be retroactive to May 1 of that year. Salary decreases shall be effective when approved by the Board and shall not be retroactive.
(C) Time Records. Employees shall keep accurate time records. Each employee shall daily record his or her time worked and absences on time sheet forms approved by the Board. Time sheets shall be signed by the employee upon completion of each day and reviewed and signed by their supervisor (or in the absence of a supervisor, by a person designated by the supervisor). Superintendent’s attendance sheets shall be signed and forwarded to the Village Clerk monthly.