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A. Except as provided hereinbelow, the classified service rules set forth in Articles II and IV of this chapter shall not be applicable to exempt service employees.
B. The provisions of Section 2R.72.130 entitled “Selection Procedures” may be utilized for the selection of management employees, including Council appointed employees, or some other selection procedure may be utilized, as determined by the City Manager in the case of management employees, or as determined by the City Council in the case of Council appointed employees.
C. The provisions of Section 2R.72.140 relating to the layoff and Personnel Reduction Procedures shall be applicable to management employees, except Council appointed employees as defined in the City Charter.
(Res. No. 143 95-96)
Exempt service employees serve at the will and pleasure of the appointing authority and may be terminated from their employment without cause and without the right of appeal. No written, verbal or other assurance, correspondence or communication by any person shall amend, abrogate or otherwise affect this provision.
(Res. No. 143 95-96)
A. Statement of Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to implement Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Government Code of the State of California (Section 3500 et seq.) captioned “Public Employee Organizations,” and known as the Meyers-Milias- Brown (MMB) Act, by providing orderly procedures for the administration of employer-employee relations and for the resolution of disputes regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment within the scope of representation. As utilized in this Article, and except as otherwise provided, the term “employee” includes permanent or probationary classified employees, management employees and hourly exempt employees.
B. Employee Rights. Employees shall have the right to form, join and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their choice for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations within the definition of the scope of representation.
Employees 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. Employees shall not be interfered with, intimidated, restrained, coerced or discriminated against by the City or by any employee organization because of an exercise of these rights.
C. City Rights. The rights of the City include, but are not limited to:
1. The exclusive right to determine the mission and organization of its constituent departments, offices, commissions, and boards;
2. Set goals and standards of service;
3. Determine the standards of selection for employment and promotion;
4. Direct its employees;
5. Take disciplinary action;
6. Relieve its employees from duty because of lack of work, funds, or for other legitimate reasons in accordance with applicable law and rules;
7. Maintain the efficiency of governmental operations;
8. Determine the methods, means and personnel by which government operations are to be conducted, including the contracting and/or subcontracting of work;
9. Determine the goals and objectives, and minimum qualifications of job positions;
10. Take all necessary actions to carry out its mission in emergencies;
11. Exercise complete control over and direction of the organization and technology of performing work;
12. Establish reasonable work and safety rules and regulations in order to protect the health and welfare of City employees and members of the general public.
The exercise of such rights by the City shall be subject to the requirement to meet and confer if the matter impacts the terms and conditions of employment.
D. Access to Work Locations. Reasonable access to employee work locations shall be granted officers of recognized employee organizations and their officially designated representatives, for the purpose of processing grievances or contacting members of the organization concerning business within the scope of representation. Such officers or representatives shall not enter any work location without the consent of the head of the department or office. Access shall be restricted to pre-work time, lunch or after-work hours so as not to interfere with the normal operations of the department or with established safety or security requirements. Solicitation of membership and activities concerned with the internal management of an employee organization, such as collecting dues, holding membership meetings, campaigning for office, conducting elections and distributing literature, shall not be conducted during working hours, nor with the use of City facilities or equipment, except as provided below.
E. Use of City Facilities. Employee organizations may be granted the use of City facilities during nonworking hours for meetings of City employees, provided space is available. All such requests shall be in writing, shall state the general purpose or purposes of the meeting and shall be submitted at least 24 hours prior to such meeting. The City may assess reasonable charges for the use of such facilities in accordance with any applicable administrative procedure regarding the particular facility.
The use of City equipment other than items normally used in the conduct of business meetings, such as desks, chairs, and blackboards, is prohibited, the presence of such equipment in approved City facilities notwithstanding. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, recognized employee organizations may use any City facility open to the public for any lawful purpose upon application to the City Clerk.
F. Use of Bulletin Boards. Recognized employee organizations may use portions of City bulletin boards under the following conditions:
1. All materials must be dated and must identify the organization that published them.
2. The City reserves the right to determine what portion of the bulletin boards are to be allocated to employee organization materials.
3. The City Manager may remove materials which the City Manager determines are slanderous, defaming or factually inaccurate if they are not removed by the affected employee organization immediately after being given notice to remove such materials.
4. An employee organization that does not abide by these bulletin board rules after a reasonable request to do so will forfeit its right to have materials posted on City bulletin boards for a period of 30 calendar days.
G. Availability of Data. The City shall make available to employee organizations such nonconfidential information pertaining to employment relations as is contained in the public records of the agency, subject to the limitations and conditions set forth in this rule and Government Code Sections 6250-6260.
Such information shall be made available during regular office hours in accordance with the City's procedures for making public records available and after payment of fees as set forth in a duly adopted City fee schedule for reproduction and labor.
Information which shall be made available to employee organizations may include regularly published data covering subjects under discussion. Data collected on a promise to keep its source confidential shall not be made available.
H. Dues deduction.
1. Only a recognized employee organization may be granted permission to have the regular dues of its members deducted from their paychecks, in accordance with procedures set forth in an applicable memorandum of understanding, or as set forth in these Rules.
2. Dues deduction shall be made only upon the voluntary written authorization of the employee, on a form provided by City. Dues deduction authorization may be cancelled and the dues deduction from payroll discontinued at any time by the employee upon voluntary written notice to the Finance Director unless otherwise provided. Dues deduction may continue only upon voluntary written authorization of the member for a period of time not to exceed the time period as may be provided in a memoranda of understanding. Employee payroll deduction authorizations shall be in uniform amounts to each employee for dues deductions and paid only to one employee organization for each employee.
3. The employee’s earnings must be sufficient to pay the due deductions after other legal and required deductions are made. All other legal and required deductions have priority over employee organization dues. When an employee who is a member in good standing of the formally recognized employee organization is in a leave without pay (LWOP) status for an entire pay period, no dues withholding will be made to cover that pay period from future earnings nor will the employee deposit the amount with City which would have been withheld if the employee had been in a paid status during that period. In the case of an employee who is in LWOP status during only part of the pay period and the salary is not sufficient to cover the full withholding, no deduction shall be made. The City shall have no liability whatsoever of any kind or character regarding dues deduction relative to an employee who has insufficient net earnings remaining after all legal and other required deductions to pay the authorized dues deduction or who has no earnings by virtue of being on leave without pay status.
4. Dues withheld by the City shall be paid monthly on or before the 15th day of the month next following the month in which the dues were deducted. A check shall be prepared and provided to the organization officer designated in writing by the organization as authorized to receive such funds and at the address specified.
5. All employee organizations who receive dues deductions shall indemnify, defend, and hold the City of Chico harmless against any claims made and against any suit instituted against the City of Chico on account of deduction of employee organization dues. In addition, all such employee organizations shall refund forthwith to the City of Chico any amounts paid to it in error upon presentation of supporting evidence.
(Res. No. 143 95-96, Res. No. 02 03-04)
A. Petition for Recognition - Generally. An employee organization that seeks recognition as the majority representative in an appropriate unit shall file with the City Manager a petition for recognition containing all of the information set forth herein, accompanied by written proof that at least 50 percent of the employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate have designated the employee organization to represent them in their employment relations with the City. Upon receipt of the petition for recognition, the City Manager shall:
1. Determine that there has been compliance with the requirements of the petition for recognition; and
2. Determine the appropriateness of a unit. If an affirmative determination is made by the City Manager on the foregoing two matters, the City Manager shall give notice of such request for formal recognition to the employees in the unit and shall take no action on said request for 30 days thereafter; if either of the foregoing matters are not affirmatively determined, the City Manager shall inform the employee organization of the reasons therefor in writing.
B. Petition for Recognition Requirements. The petition for recognition to be filed with the City Manager shall contain the following information and documentation:
1. Name and address of the employee organization;
2. Names and titles of its officers;
3. Name(s) of employee organization representative(s) who are authorized to speak on behalf of its members;
4. A statement that the employee organization has, as one of its primary purposes, the representation of employees in their employment relations with the City;
5. A statement as to whether or not the employee organization is a chapter or local of, or affiliated directly or indirectly in any manner with a regional, state, national or international employee organization, or union, and, if so, the name and address of each such regional, state, national or international employee organization or union;
6. A designation of a person, and such person’s address, to whom notice sent by regular United States mail will be deemed sufficient notice to the employee organization for any purpose;
7. A statement that the employee organization does not discriminate or restrict membership or participation based on race, color, age, national origin, sex, religion, ethnic derivation, physical disability, cancer related medical condition, sexual orientation or marital status.
8. The job titles, names, and office or departmental affiliations of member employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate;
9. A statement that the employee organization has in its possession written proof, dated within two months of the date upon which the petition is filed, to establish that employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate, have designated the employee organization to represent them in their employment relations with the City. Such written proof shall be submitted for confirmation to the City Manager;
10. A request that the City Council recognize the employee organization as the majority representative of the employees in the unit claimed to be appropriate for the purpose of meeting and conferring in good faith on all matters within the scope of representation;
11. All petitions, including accompanying documents, shall be verified, under oath, by at least two officers of the organization that the statements are true and that the signatures are authorized and valid. All changes in such information shall be filed, forthwith, in like manner.
C. Determining Appropriateness of Units.
1. The City Manager, after reviewing the petition filed by an employee organization seeking formal recognition as majority representative, shall determine whether the proposed unit is an appropriate unit. The principal criterion in making this determination is whether there is a community of interest among such employees. The following criteria, or other related criteria, are also to be considered in making such determination:
a. The history of employee relations:
(1) In the unit,
(2) Among other employees of the City, and
(3) In similar public employment;
b. The effect of the unit on the efficient operation of the City and sound employer-employee relations;
c. The extent to which employees have functional relationships, common skills, working conditions, job duties;
d. The effect on the existing Classification Plan of dividing a single class among two or more units. Preference shall be given to the largest possible class consistent with criteria listed herein.
2. In the establishment of appropriate units, professional employees shall not be denied the right to be represented separately from nonprofessional employees. Management employees shall not be included in the same unit with non- management employees.
3. Police department employees who are “peace officers” as that term is defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code of the State of California, shall have the right to join or participate in an employee organization which is composed solely of such peace officers, which concerns itself solely and exclusively with the wages, hours, working conditions, welfare programs, and advancement of the academic and vocational training in furtherance of the police profession, and which is not subordinate to any other organization.
4. No employee may be represented by more than one recognized employee organization for the purposes of this chapter.
5. Notwithstanding any provisions provided herein, the City retains the right to communicate with unrepresented employees or groups of employee individuals concerning wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
D. Recognition Proceedings and Election.
1. Within 30 days of the date notice of the request for formal recognition is given to employees, any other employee organization (hereinafter referred to as the “challenging organization”) may seek formal recognition in an overlapping unit by filing a petition for recognition, provided that such challenging organization submit written proof that it represents at least 50 percent of the employees in such unit. The City Manager shall hold a hearing on such overlapping petitions, at which time all affected employee organizations shall be heard. Thereafter, the City Manager shall determine the appropriate unit or units as between such proposed overlapping units in accordance with the criteria set forth herein.
2. When an employee organization in the unit found to be appropriate submits written proof that it represents at least 50 percent of the employees in such unit, the City Manager shall arrange for a secret ballot election to be conducted by the City Clerk or the State Conciliation Service. All challenging organizations who have submitted written proof that they represent at least 30 percent of the employees in the unit found to be appropriate, and have submitted a petition for recognition as required by this chapter, shall be included on the ballot. The choice of “no organization” shall be included on the ballot. Employees eligible to vote in such election shall be those persons regularly employed in permanent, full-time positions within the unit who were employed during the pay period which includes the date which is 15 days before the election, including those who did not work during such period because of illness, disability, vacation or authorized leaves of absence and who are employed by the City in the same unit on the date of election. In the case of hourly exempt employees, those employees eligible to vote shall be those persons who were employed and actively working during the pay period which includes the date which is 15 days before the election, including those who did not work because of illness or disability, and who are actively working in the same unit on the date of the election.
An employee organization shall be granted recognition following an election or runoff election if the employee organization has received the vote of a numerical majority of all the employees eligible to vote in the unit in which the election is held (i.e., 50 percent plus 1 of the votes of all eligible employees). In an election involving three or more choices, where none of the choices receives a majority, a runoff election shall be conducted between the two choices receiving the largest number of valid votes cast. The rules governing an initial election shall also apply to a runoff election.
E. Impasse in Representation Proceedings. Any unresolved complaint by an affected employee organization, advanced in good faith, concerning a decision of the City Manager made pursuant to this Section shall be processed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2R.72.250 and must be filed with the City Manager within 7 days after the affected employee organization first receives notice of the decision upon which its complaint is based, or its complaint will be considered closed and not subject to the impasse procedures or to any other appeal.
F. City Council Recognition of Majority Representative.
1. After the City Manager has determined the majority representative of City employees in an appropriate unit by arranging for a secret ballot election as prescribed herein, the City Manager shall certify to the City Council the choice of the majority of the employees or the name of the employee organization found to represent a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit. The City Manager shall not preclude other recognized employee organizations, or individual employees, from consulting with management representatives on employer- employee relations matters of concern to them.
2. The City Council shall:
a. Grant formal recognition to the employee organization certified by the City Manager to represent the majority of the employees in an appropriate unit as the only employee organization entitled to meet and confer in good faith on matters within the scope of representation for employees in such unit.
b. Revoke the recognition rights of a majority representative which has been found by a secret ballot election no longer to be the majority representative.
G. Decertification of Recognized Organization.
1. Duration of Recognition. When an employee organization has been recognized, such recognition shall remain in effect until such time as the City Manager shall determine, on the basis of a secret ballot election in accordance with the foregoing rules, that the employee organization no longer represents the majority of the employees in the affected unit, provided however, that recognition of employee organizations recognized as majority representatives pursuant to a vote of the employees may be revoked by a majority vote of such employees only after a period of not less than twelve (12) months following the date that the City Council granted formal recognition to the employee organization; provided, further, that a memorandum of understanding, if any, negotiated by such a decertified employee organization shall remain in full force and effect until the expiration date provided in the existing memorandum. City shall have no obligation to negotiate a new memorandum of understanding as to any employees within the newly certified employee organization until such expiration date.
2. Petition for Decertification. A petition for decertification alleging that an employee organization granted formal recognition is no longer the majority representative of the employees in an appropriate unit may be filed with the City Manager. The petition for decertification may be filed by an employee, a group of employees or their representative, or an employee organization. The petition, including all accompanying documents, shall be verified, under oath, by the person signing it that its contents are true. It may be accompanied by a petition for recognition by a challenging organization. The petition for decertification shall contain the following information:
a. The name, address and telephone number of the petitioner and/or a designated representative authorized to receive notices or requests for further information;
b. The name of the formally recognized employee organization;
c. All allegations that the formally recognized employee organization no longer represents a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit, and any other relevant and material facts;
d. Written proof that at least 50 percent of the employees in the unit do not desire to be represented by the formally recognized employee organization. Such written proof shall be dated within three months of the date upon which the petition is filed and shall be submitted for confirmation to the City Manager. If the petition for decertification is determined to contain this information, the City Manager shall notify the employees in the unit and shall take no action on said petition for thirty (30) days thereafter. If the petition is deficient in this regard, the City Manager shall inform the employee(s) or employee organization of such deficiencies in writing. Upon the conclusion of the thirty (30) day period, the City Manager shall arrange for a secret ballot election to be administered by the City Clerk or the State Conciliation Service, to determine if the recognized employee organization shall retain its recognition rights. A recognized employee organization shall be decertified if a majority of all employees eligible to vote cast votes for decertification.
H. Modification of Established Unit. A petition for modification of an established unit may be filed by an employee organization with the City Manager. The petition for modification shall contain all of the information required by subsection B of this Section along with a statement of all relevant facts in support of the proposed modified unit. The petition shall be accompanied by written proof that at least 50 percent of the employees within the proposed modified unit have designated the employee organization to represent them in their employment relations with the City. The City Manager shall hold a hearing on the petition for modification, at which time all affected employee organizations shall be heard. Thereafter, the City Manager shall determine the appropriate unit or units between the existing unit and the proposed modified unit and shall follow the procedure set forth in subsection D of this Section for determining the formal recognition of such unit.
I. Cost of Election Proceedings. The cost of any election proceedings shall be borne equally among each of the employee organization(s) which names(s) appear on ballot and City. Provided, however, that City's maximum obligation hereunder shall be $100 per election.
(Res. No. 143 95-96, Res. No. 02 03-04)
A. Grievances.
1. Purpose of Grievance Procedures.
a. To promote improved employer-employee relationships by establishing a grievance procedure on matters for which appeal is not otherwise provided;
b. To afford individual employees and recognized employee organizations a systematic means to obtain further consideration of problems after every reasonable effort has failed to resolve them through discussions. Nothing herein shall preclude an employee from being represented by another individual or employee organization in the grievance procedure;
c. To provide that grievances shall be settled as near as possible to the point of origin;
d. To provide that the grievance procedure shall be as informal as possible.
2. Availability of Procedures. The grievance procedures set forth herein shall be available only to permanent employees, as defined in Section 2R.72.120, and to recognized employee organizations.
3. Grievance Defined. A grievance is any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of:
a. A written memorandum of understanding between the City and an employee organization;
b. The provisions of a pay and benefit resolution;
c. Any ordinance, rule or regulation governing personnel practices which address wages, hours or other terms and conditions of employment;
d. These Personnel and Employee Representation Rules, provided, however, that final determinations of the City Manager or a hearing officer, made pursuant to the provisions of these Rules, shall not be the subject of a grievance; or
e. The adoption or amendment of the Classification Plan.
4. Exclusions. The following matters are specifically excluded from review under this grievance procedure:
a. All City rights and all employee rights as set forth in Section 2R.72.220 of this Article.
b. Matters within the budgetary authority of the City Council or City Manager.
c. The rejection of an employee from probation.
d. All rights reserved to management under the provisions of an existing memorandum of understanding.
5. Grievance Procedures. Grievances shall be processed in accordance with the following procedures:
a. Informal Procedure. Any employee having a grievance shall first discuss the grievance with his or her immediate supervisor within ten (10) calendar days of the occurrence which caused the grievance. Within ten (10) calendar days after the discussion the supervisor shall attempt to resolve the grievance.
b. Formal Procedure. If the supervisor’s action does not adjust the grievance satisfactorily, the employee may, within ten (10) working days of the supervisor’s response, take the following steps:
(1) First Level of Review. A grievance may be submitted in writing to the employee's immediate supervisor. The written grievance shall be as specific as possible and shall include all facts deemed pertinent to its resolution. The immediate supervisor shall discuss the grievance with the employee and/or the employee's representative, if any, and reply in writing to the employee within five (5) working days.
(2) Second Level of Review. If the employee does not agree with the supervisor's decision, the written grievance will be presented within ten (10) working days to the next level of supervision. The second level supervisor shall have ten (10) working days to investigate and shall thereafter render a written decision.
(3) Third Level of Review. If the employee does not agree with the decision of the second level supervisor, the written grievance shall be submitted to the department head within five (5) working days after receipt of the second level supervisor's decision. After the receipt of the grievance, the department head shall have fifteen (15) working days to render a written decision.
(4) If the employee does not agree with the decision of the department head, the written grievance shall be submitted to the Director within five (5) days after receipt of the department head’s decision. After receipt of the grievance, the Director shall have fifteen (15) working days in which to investigate and render a written decision.
(5) Hearing Request. Should the employee still be aggrieved, the employee may appeal the decision. An appeal must be filed with the Director within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of the written decision. After receipt of the appeal, a hearing officer shall be appointed and a hearing held in the manner set forth below.
c. General Provisions: The following provisions shall apply to the grievance procedure:
(1) Departments with only one supervisory level between the employee and the department head shall omit the second level review. In departments where the only supervisor is the department or office head, the first level and the second level shall be omitted. In departments with more than three levels of supervision, each additional level shall review the grievance prior to the matter being submitted to the department head, in accordance with the time lines provided for in the second level of review. Employees in th Department shall have the assistant city manager act in place of the Director in step b (3) and (4) above. Employees having a grievance which involves an office or department other than their own shall submit the written grievance to the Director who shall have twenty (20) working days in which to investigate and render a written decision thereon. Such decision shall be subject to appeal by the employee.
(2) Each level of supervision has an obligation to respond to any grievance, but should a response not be rendered within the time limit, the grievance may be appealed to the next step.
(3) The grievance is considered settled if the decision of any step is not appealed within the time limit, except when an investigative process is still in progress and the employee has been notified that it is taking place and the employee agrees to extend the time period.
(4) Any time limit in the grievance procedure may be extended to a date mutually consented to by the employee or employees filing the grievance and the supervisor involved.
(5) There shall be no reprisal or any other action taken against employees who avail themselves of the grievance procedure.
(6) An employee may use vacation time, administrative leave or compensatory time, if reasonably necessary, for the preparation of a grievance. If the grievance is sustained by the City Manager, such time taken shall be recredited to the employee.
(7) The cost, if any for a hearing officer to conduct a grievance hearing, for a facility in which to hold the hearing, and the like, shall be divided equally between the parties. Each party shall be responsible for its own costs for an attorney or other representation, for presenting evidence and for the cost of a court reporter when it requests one.
B. Grievance Hearing Procedure.
1. The hearing officer shall be appointed in the manner set forth under Section 2R.72.150.J. of this chapter.
2. The hearing authorized herein shall be held within thirty (30) days following the request for hearing.
3. The Director shall notify the person requesting the hearing and the hearing officer of the date, time and place of the hearing.
4. Unless otherwise requested by the grievant, the hearing shall be closed to the public.
5. The grievant may be represented by any person.
6. The Director shall be authorized to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents at the hearing when a request for same is made on behalf of the City, or by the grievant. Any witness fees, mileage or other costs relating to subpoenas shall be the responsibility of the party requesting their issuance.
7. Prehearing briefs regarding the issue subject to the grievance may be filed by the City or the grievant with the hearing officer no later than seven (7) calendar days prior to the date of the hearing. Post-hearing briefs may be requested by the hearing officer, in his or her sole discretion, to be filed after the conclusion of the hearing by a date certain mutually agreed to between the hearing officer and the parties. Copies of prehearing and post-hearing briefs shall be filed concurrently with the other parties involved in the hearing.
8. The hearing shall proceed generally as follows:
a. The grievant and the City's representative may make preliminary, opening statements.
b. The grievant may present oral and/or documentary evidence in support of his/her/its position; the City's representative may cross-examine any witness called by the grievant.
c. The City’s representative may present evidence in the City's behalf; the grievant or his/her/its representative may cross-examine witnesses called by the City.
d. Both the grievant and the City may present rebuttal evidence as they deem necessary and appropriate.
e. The hearing officer shall rule on any objections made to the admissibility of evidence or otherwise relating to the conduct of the hearing. Such rulings shall be final, unless otherwise provided for in a memorandum of understanding, or in a pay and benefit resolution adopted by the City Council for non-recognized employee groups.
f. The grievant and the City's representative may make closing statements.
9. Hearing officer’s action:
a. At the close of the hearing, and in no event more than fifteen (15) calendar days following the conclusion thereof, the hearing officer shall prepare findings and conclusions regarding the merits of the grievance; provided, however, that the hearing officer may request and the Director may grant an extension of not more than fifteen (15) days for the preparation of findings and conclusions.
b. The findings and conclusions shall be forwarded to the City Manager and to the grievant and his/her/its representative. The City Manager shall, within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of same, either accept, reject, or modify the findings and conclusions of the hearing officer and make a decision and issue a written order on the matter. If the City Manager rejects or modifies the decision of the hearing officer, the reasons therefor shall be included in the decision and order. The City Manager's action shall be final, unless otherwise provided for in a memorandum of understanding, or in a pay and benefit resolution adopted by the City Council for non-recognized employee groups.
c. All materials relating to any grievance including, but not limited to, minutes of the hearing, findings and recommendations and the final decision and order shall be available to the City Council for review, upon request.
(Res. No. 143 95-96, Res. No. 113-07. Res. No. 19-13)
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