(a) Health Insurance Provided. After completing six (6) consecutive weeks of full-time employment, a full-time employee of the Village shall receive family or single-person health insurance coverage through a plan approved by the Village. Such health insurance shall be provided to the full-time employee through a plan that the Village from time to time adopts and is subject to change at the Village's discretion.
(b) Unemployment Benefits. Full-time employees of the Village may be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits from the State of Ohio. The decision of the award of such benefits lies solely in the discretion of the State of Ohio and shall require no action on behalf of the Village.
(c) Retirement Plan. Unless specifically exempted by the provisions of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), all employees of the Village shall join and maintain, for the duration of their employ with the Village, membership in PERS. Such membership requires that employee contribute, through a payroll deduction, ten percent (10%) of his or her gross earnings to PERS. The Village shall contribute, at no cost to employee, fourteen percent (14%) of employee's gross earnings to PERS, unless otherwise required by State law.
(d) Mandatory Retirement. All employees of the Village shall be required to take mandatory retirement upon attaining the age of seventy (70).
(e) Overtime. Overtime work is work in addition to the established schedule of hours of work per week and shall be kept to a minimum. Compensation for overtime, upon approval of the Mayor, shall be awarded to full-time employees by the terms of the following sub-sections, in accordance to the terms and conditions set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Amendments, codified in 29 CFR 553:
(1) Overtime awarded as compensation time. Compensation for overtime worked shall be awarded in Comp-time in lieu of monetary compensation. Comp-time shall be credited at the rate of one and one-half (1.5) hours per hour of overtime worked and may be accrued; provided, however, such accrual shall not exceed two hundred and forty hours (240) hours in case of all Village employees, with the exception of Village police officers. Village police officers shall not be permitted to accumulate more than four-hundred and eighty (480) hours of Comp-time. Any employee who has accrued Comp-time in excess of the maximum amount allowed shall be paid overtime compensation at a rate of one and one-half (1.5) times their regular rate of pay for any additional overtime hours worked. The use of comp-time shall be governed by the same rules and terms of vacation time, as specified in Section 145.03(c).
(2) Comp-time limited to full-time employees. Part-time employees shall not receive overtime compensation in any form.
(3) Compensation made once per period worked. Overtime compensation, when required, will not be paid more than once for the same day or hours. This section does not apply to department heads, officials, or clerical employees.
(4) Compensation upon termination. Upon termination of employment, an employee who has accrued overtime compensation time shall be paid for the unused compensation time at a rate of compensation not less than the greater of:
A. The average regular rate received by such employee during the last three (3) years of the employee's employment, or
B. The final regular rate received by such employee.
(5) Details not addressed. Any detail, rule, requirement, prohibition, recommendation, term, condition, or issue not addressed by this Section shall be governed by the terms and conditions set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Amendments, codified in 29 CFR 553.
(6) Federal preemption. It is the intent of the Village to comply with Fair Labor Standards Amendments, codified in 29 CFR 553. In the event that Federal or State laws and/or rules governing Overtime Compensation are more stringent, those rules or laws shall govern. Should any Federal or State law or rule supersede any portion of this chapter, only the portion in question shall be modified and the remainder of this chapter shall remain in full effect.
(f) Unexcused Absences.
(1) It is the Village policy that no employee shall be absent from work on a day and at any time that the employee is scheduled to work, unless the employee was excused for a reason stated in an applicable Village ordinance or for a reason stated in the Village's personnel manual. This section shall not be interpreted as prohibiting granting leaves of absence without pay, as provided for in Sections 145.03(i), (k), and/or (l) herein.
(2) Unexcused absences shall be noted in the employee's personnel file and shall be considered at the time of decisions on merit pay increases, promotions, demotions and possible discharges.
(g) Cell Phone Policy.
(1) Village employees may be assigned a cell phone when a valid mission-related purpose exists. The primary purpose for all assigned cell phones is official business. While the Village recognizes that it may sometimes be necessary to place or receive a personal call with an assigned cell phone, the Village discourages this practice as it disrupts normal business routine and comes at an expense to the Village. Employees who use their assigned cell phones for personal purposes will be responsible for the associated additional costs, including but not limited to charges for exceeding their assigned cell phone plan’s minute allowance, and charges for using services not included in the assigned cell phone plan, such as text messaging or data usage.
(2) If an assigned cell phone is lost or stolen, the Village employee shall immediately report this to their supervisor. Village employees shall report malfunctioning cell phones to their supervisor rather than dealing with the cell phone service provider to avoid additional costs. Village employees may be held responsible for lost or damaged cell phones that are the result of the employee’s carelessness.
(3) Upon separation of employment or at the request of his or her supervisor, Village employees shall immediately surrender any Village-assigned cell phone.
(4) The phone number assigned to any Village cell phone and any data stored on any Village cell phone is and remains at all times the sole property of the Village.
(h) Credit Card Policy.
(1) The Village may issue credit cards to authorized employees for the purpose of purchasing goods and services necessary to carry on Village business. Use of Village credit cards shall be in accordance with the following rules:
A. All purchases made with Village credit cards shall be in accordance with any instructions and directives that are communicated to the authorized employee when the credit card is issued. These may include instructions on what to purchase, purchase limits, receipt processing and documentation procedures, or other requirements as may be appropriate.
B. Village credit cards shall not be used for personal purchases of any kind. Use of a Village credit card for personal purchases with the intention of reimbursing the Village is prohibited.
C. Cardholders are responsible for ensuring all purchases are authorized and within the credit card’s limit.
D. Cardholders are responsible for managing any returns or exchanges to obtain proper credit for returned merchandise. The cardholder shall contact the vendor to obtain instructions for returns and make sure the proper credit is applied to the card.
E. If the cardholder’s responsibilities include making payments on the credit card, payments shall be made within the grace period to avoid interest charges and penalties.
F. Cardholders shall take reasonable measures to safeguard the security of the credit card and the credit card number.
G. Cardholders shall not permit unauthorized use of the credit card.
H. Cardholders shall report lost or stolen credit cards to his or her supervisor immediately.
I. Cardholders shall fully cooperate with all efforts by Village officials to audit or investigate credit card activity.
J. Upon separation of employment or at the request of his or her supervisor, Village employees shall surrender any Village-issued credit card.
(2) Failure to comply with the above rules governing the use of Village credit cards may result in revocation of the credit card, disciplinary action, personal liability and termination.
(i) Notice of Resignation. Village employees are required to tender in written form, to the Mayor, a letter of resignation two (2) weeks prior to the effective date of their resignation or termination.
(j) Compliance with State Law. All formal actions of Council relating to the adoption of this chapter, and all deliberations of Council and any of its committees leading to such action were in meetings open to· the public as required by law, including Section 121.22 of the Revised Code of Ohio.
(Ord. 790. Passed 10-17-18.)