The Employee/Manager Handbook & Procedural Guidelines are available on-line at the Ada County Employee Site, as well as on the Ada County homepage at www.adaweb.net, by following the link in the Spotlight box.  Electronic use of the Handbook is recommended for ease of reference, allowing the use of search functions and links throughout the document.  Electronic use also ensures that all employees have the most recent version with any and all changes as such changes are made.  If an employee wishes to have other access options, requests may be made with your supervisor.  Elected officials and department heads are responsible for processing any requests for hard copies or other forms of access for their employees.   

If I come to work and leave due to illness after 2 hours, for example, does that mean I have to record 8 hours of sick leave instead of 6?

If you are an hourly (non-exempt) status employee, you report all of your work hours and leave taken.  Time may be recorded in increments of one-tenth (0.10) of an hour.  Under this circumstance, you would report two hours worked, six hours of sick leave. 

If you are a salary (exempt) status employee, you report leave taken on your timesheet if you do not work at least a half-day.  Under this circumstance, you would not have worked at least a half-day and therefore would report six hours of sick leave taken.  Regardless of what time you left, if you left due to an FMLA intermittent/reduced schedule situation, you would report leave in increments of one-tenth (0.10) of an hour.

In reference to the new personnel ordinance page 64, regarding comp time payout: is there a form for the written request for comp time pay out?  And what is the deadline to get it in?  It just says that it may only be done two times per calendar year, what pay period will it be on?

The policy reads “Employees who are unable to take accrued comp time within a reasonable time frame may submit a written request to have up to forty (40) hours of comp time paid out. Said request may be submitted two (2) times per calendar year, January 1st and July 1st. The written request should be submitted to the Department Head or Elected Official with a copy forwarded to Human Resources. The request must include the employee’s name, department or office, current comp time balance, the number of comp time hours requested to be paid out, and the employee’s signature and date.  The comp time will be paid out at the employee’s current hourly rate of pay, and will be subject to the standard required deductions, such as tax withholding and PERSI. Any remaining comp time balance will be available for the employee’s use, subject to supervisor approval. Remaining comp time balances will be paid out at the time of transfer or termination of employment.”

There is not a form for comp time pay out written requests.  The requests may be submitted January 1st and July 1st.  We will be adding language to more clearly define the deadlines; in the interim, it would be expected to be by the first business day on or following January 1st and July 1st.  It would be paid out at the closest pay period following submission of the request to the Department Head or Elected Official. 

I am wondering when employees work overtime,  do we have a choice about getting paid the overtime on that pay period or do we have to accumulate the entire 80 hours of comp time before we start being paid out for overtime?

Ada County grants “comp” time in lieu of overtime pay for employees, upon reaching an agreement in advance with the employee.  Once the comp time accrued reaches the maximum limit, additional overtime worked is paid out on the employee’s paychecks.  Employees wishing to be paid for their overtime, rather than accruing comp time, should notify their department head or elected official in writing.

If an employee can be terminated with or without cause there seems to be no provision for ensuring the employee was not illegally terminated based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability and age (40 or over). Therefore, is it possible a department head could decide that I am too old and should be replaced by a younger person for less pay?

Ada County is an equal opportunity employer, subject to all state and federal nondiscrimination laws.  We prohibit illegal discrimination and afford equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, citizenship, or veteran status.  The policy of equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination applies to all aspects of the relationship between Ada County and its employees, including but not limited to:

• Recruitment and Employment
• Promotion and Transfer
• Training and Working Conditions
• Wages and Salary Administration
• Employee Benefits and Application of Policies
• Discipline and Termination

There are a number of federal laws that prohibit discrimination, regardless of whether an employee is classified or at-will.  In regards to your question, it would be a violation of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to fire an employee over the age of forty (40) simply because of their age.  Please see the Employee/Manager Handbook & Procedural Guidelines for more information.

I would like financial assistance to pursue my job-related master’s degree. My understanding is that county policy on this has changed within the last year.  I would appreciate knowing the current policy/procedure on this matter.

Currently there is no policy in place regarding financial assistance for education. A proposal for a new policy will be presented to the Board for their consideration for fiscal year 2008.

The Commissioners have stated they implemented the at-will policy to more closely mirror the private sector, so will our pay increase to reflect the same?

The at-will policy was driven by legal problems with our due-process procedures under the classified system.  The at-will system is predominantly found in the private sector, but that was not the impetus for the change.  However, we value our employees and should pay them appropriately for the work they perform.  As such, the county’s compensation philosophy includes matching our labor market in order to be externally competitive in recruiting and retaining talented employees.  Please see the Employee/Manager Handbook & Procedural Guidelines for more information.

I didn't see anything in the new ordinance regarding smoking, smoke free workplace or designated smoking areas. I know smoking is allowed outside on the 5th floor of the courthouse and was curious if they were looking at a completely smoke free facility.

This topic has come up a few times, but no decision has been made in regards to any possible changes.  This was not determined to be a priority at this point in time, but I believe we will revisit the issue in the future. 

I’m not clear on the issue of supervisors having new employees sign the federal I-9 form?  Isn’t that done in the new employee orientation?

The federal I-9 form must be completed by the third day of work.  Often new employees do not attend orientation until a few weeks after they start work.  As such, the responsibility for ensuring the I-9 form is completed rests with the hiring department.  Most offices and departments have one designated individual responsible for completing the I-9 form with new employees on their first day of work.  In that case, the supervisor would coordinate with the designated individual to ensure the I-9 form is completed and sent to Human Resources.

Can I have a copy of the template for performance evaluations? It states that all employees must have evaluations done annually. Do we just start doing them throughout the year, there’s no deadline to get them done at the beginning? I’m assuming that this evaluation process applies to everyone, meaning even department heads will be getting evaluations? 

The performance evaluation template is available through Human Resources, and will be available on the website soon.  There is no deadline for when evaluations are due, so you can work on them throughout the year.  We believe performance evaluations provide valuable feedback and should be done on all county employees, including department heads.

If the county will be "matching the labor market," are there plans to raise the salaries of county employees to match those in the private sector?

Our compensation strategy is to match the labor market, which includes both public and private sector employers.  We participate in a number of salary surveys which provide us with salary ranges paid for positions in the market.  We compare county positions with those in the surveys and provide information to Department Heads and Elected Officials so they can evaluate whether their employees’ salaries should be increased due to experience, qualifications, and individual performance.  This process is already in place and being used to make necessary salary adjustments for employees.

Will the salary inequalities between different departments (different salaries for positions with the same job descriptions) be equalized?

Ada County Human Resources analyzes position salaries across departments and offices and notifies the affected Department Heads or Elected Officials if inequities exist.  Last year, our recommendations for internal equity adjustments resulted in salary increases for employees in several classifications across multiple departments and offices.

If the department head (DH) and/or elected official (EO) can tailor these polices to their office, is there something in place that will ensure that those department policies are in writing?  Also, I understand some policies indicate they are open to DH/EO discretion, but to what extent can the DH/EO change the policies?  Is there a guideline as to what their boundaries are?  For example – in regards to the dress code, could a DH say that their employees could wear jeans all week?

Many departments/offices already have a number of written policies in place.  We will be working with the depts/offices to update any necessary policies and distribute those to employees.  As you mentioned, some policies are up to DH/EO discretion, however department/office policies may not violate state or federal law or county policy.  For departments under the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), the Department Head will set department policies with concurrence/approval of the BOCC.  For your example – if wearing jeans meets the needs of the position and the department, the DH may allow employees to wear jeans every day.  Typically you would see that kind of policy in departments that primarily do field work, such as Weed, Pest, and Mosquito Abatement.