In this title, unless otherwise provided for or the context otherwise requires:
(A) “Appointment” means the hiring of a new employee, the rehiring of a former employee or the promotion of an existing employee.
(B) “Acting appointment” means the appointment of an existing and qualified employee required to serve temporarily in and accept responsibility for work in an unoccupied or vacant higher level position, in addition to their current position, which, from the standpoint of the city’s business, cannot be left unoccupied or vacant for any but the shortest period of time, no qualified applicant is available for its filling, announcement of the position is delayed, current employee is on extended leave, or for some other reason it is not feasible to make a regular appointment.
(C) “Anniversary Date” means the annual anniversary of the date of hire.
(D) “Anniversary Year” means the 364 days immediately following the date of hire and, thereafter, the 364 days immediately following subsequent anniversary dates.
(E) “Break in Service” means any period of absence of an employee from work as a result of resignation, retirement, termination, suspension (with or without pay), layoff, or leave without pay for 30 consecutive calendar days.
(F) “Class” means a group of positions sufficiently similar as to duties performed, scope of discretion and responsibility, minimum requirements of training, experience or skill, and such other characteristics that the same title, the same test of fitness and the same range of compensation apply to each position in the group.
(G) “Classification” means the process of obtaining adequate position descriptions, gathering necessary additional information, making comparison with other position descriptions and with class specifications, and finally, of taking official action by allocating a position to a particular class and of assigning a pay range.
(H) “Classification plan” means the orderly arrangement into classes of all positions in the city service.
(I) “Classified service” shall be comprised of all positions except those positions filled by persons who serve at the discretion of the City Manager or the City Council.
(J) “Demotion” means the change of an employee from a position in one class to a position in another class with a lower pay range.
(K) “Emergency” means a critical situation over which neither the employee nor the city has control.
(L) “Emergency Appointment” means an appointment, typically not to exceed 30 calendar days, which may be authorized by the City Manager, or designee, without recourse to usual certification procedures. Emergency appointments are for unoccupied positions which, from the standpoint of the city’s business, cannot be left unoccupied for any but the shortest period of time, usually when the current employee filling the position is on extended leave.
(M) “Employee” means any person in the employ of the city who is subject to this Personnel Ordinance and whose activities are directed by the city.
(N) “Employee with regular status” means an employee who has successfully completed the probationary period for their position.
(O) “Executive position” means a full-time or part-time position which involves principal responsibility for carrying out policies and programs, including, but not limited to the following:
(1) City Manager;
(2) Assistant City Manager;
(3) All department directors;
(4) City Clerk;
(5) Chief of Police;
(6) Fire Chief.
(P) “Executive employee” means an employee appointed to an executive position regardless of status and nature of appointment.
(Q) “Family members” means the employee’s spouse or domestic partner, children or step children, son or daughter in-law, parent or parent-in-law or stepparent, brother or brother-in-law, sister or sister-in-law, or grandparent. It also means other family members who reside permanently with the employee.
(R) “General personnel files” means all documents dealing with, but not limited to, recruiting, placement, benefits, administration, classification and pay plans, administrative investigation not related to specific employees or which do not result in disciplinary action, and general examination materials held by the city.
(S) “Grievance” means any dispute involving the interpretation, application or alleged violation of any section of this title, except for disputes which are expressly excluded from the grievance procedure.
(T) “Health care provider” means a dentist licensed under AS 08.36, a physician licensed under AS 08.64, a psychologist licensed under AS 08.86, a naturopath licensed under AS 08.45, nurse licensed under AS 08.68, or a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic.
(U) “Just cause” means that sufficient justification exists for the proposed action against an employee with regular status. “Just cause” applies to behavior by an employee with regular status which is detrimental to the discipline, public image or efficiency of the city as an employer. As so defined, “just cause” includes, but is not limited to, a single instance of any one of the following:
(1) Incompetence;
(2) Inefficiency;
(3) Lack of any of the qualifications required;
(4) Insubordination;
(5) Excessive absenteeism or tardiness;
(6) Harassment of other employees or the public;
(7) Violation of a city policy, procedure or regulation, which was known or reasonably should have been known to the employee;
(8) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude;
(9) Substance abuse on the job; or
(10) Misuse or abuse of city funds, work time, or position for personal gain; or
(11) Any other conduct commonly recognized by reasonable persons as justification for serious discipline, including dismissal.
(V) “Layoff” means removal from active work status of an employee for reasons beyond the employee’s control that do not reflect discredit on the employee’s services, and where certain re- employment or other rights may exist.
(W) “Nonrepresented” means an employee, other than an executive employee, who is assigned to a position which is not represented by a bargaining agent.
(X) “Parallel class” means a class that is substantially similar to another class in duties, responsibilities and qualification requirements.
(Y) “Part-time appointment” means appointment to a regular par- time position.
(Z) “Personnel records” means those documents which reflect an individual’s complete status as an employee from hiring to termination. Personnel records include, but are not limited to, the employee’s application, reports of medical examinations, reports of results from employment investigations, reports of work performance, progress and disciplinary actions, personnel actions, employee withholding exemption certificates and survivor benefits forms.
(AA) “Position” means the duties and responsibilities assigned to an employee requiring full-time or part-time employment.
(BB) “Professional employee” means an employee whose work requires knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning acquired through extensive specialized instruction or study who uses this education or training to perform daily work that requires the theoretical or practical application of this knowledge or training, and whose work requires the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance.
(CC) “Promotion” means a change in status of an employee from a position of one class to a position of another class having a higher salary range.
(DD) Reserved.
(EE) “Regular appointment” means appointment in the classified service for which completion of a probationary period is required.
(FF) “Regular full-time position” means a position established for providing city service on a full-time, ongoing basis into the indefinite future.
(GG) “Regular less than part-time position” means a position established as a full time equivalent position of less than 0.50 in which the work involved will usually total less than 20 hours per week. Such work may be of an irregular nature such as short shifts at various times and on various days of the week.
(HH) “Regular part-time position” means a position established as a full time equivalent position of 0.50 - 0.99 in which the work involved will usually total at least 20 hours per week and less than 40 hours a week. Such work may be of an irregular nature such as short shifts at various times and on various days of the week.
(II) “Reinstatement” means replacement of an employee into a position in the same class occupied previously or a parallel class when there has been a break in service, for one of the following reasons:
(1) Timely return from military leave;
(2) Return to a position in a class an employee held when suspended, demoted or dismissed, after successful appeal;
(3) Return of an employee from authorized disability leave or leave without pay.
(JJ) “Seniority” means the period starting from the last date when the employee is hired. Seniority shall be terminated and the employee’s service shall be broken under the following conditions:
(1) Resignation or retirement;
(2) Discharge or termination;
(3) Layoff in excess of one year;
(4) Failure to return from leave of absence or vacation on agreed date unless approval has been obtained from the immediate supervisor or Director.
(KK) “Separation” means cessation of the work relationship between the city and an employee for any reason including death, dismissal, layoff, resignation or retirement.
(LL) “Suspension” means being placed on paid or unpaid leave for disciplinary reasons or pending investigation of charges made against an employee.
(MM) “Temporary or Seasonal appointment” means an appointment for short-term employment for not more than six consecutive months except where the City Manager or designee grants an extension because of extenuating circumstances. These are typically positions that are recruited for in the City’s standard recruitment process.
(NN) “Transfer” means a lateral movement from one position to another position in the same or a parallel class at the same range, without any break in service.
(Am. Ord. 99-01, passed 3-9-99; Am. Ord. 2006-22, passed 12-12-06; Am. Ord. 2019-10, passed 9-10-19)