2023 - 2026 SEIU 1021 Memorandum of Understanding: Article 19: Bargaining Unit and Special Provisions

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19.1 Job-Sharing

Job-sharing is defined as the practice of filling one permanent full-time position with two part-time employees sharing a caseload and/or other job duties and pursuant to a written agreement between the employees and the Appointing Authority.

Requests by employees to participate in a job-sharing agreement shall be considered on their individual merits and on the compatibility of the individuals making the request as determined by the appointing authority.

A job-sharing agreement may be terminated by the appointing authority or by the mutual agreement of all of the parties involved or by the termination of one of the employees. Decisions made by the appointing authority under this policy are not grievable nor arbitrable.

19.2 Economic Assistance Division – Vacancies

When an allocated position remains vacant in the Human Services Department Economic Assistance Division for more than 30 calendar days, and in the judgment of the Human Services Director, adequate State and Federal funds are available, at least one of the following options shall be used to cover the workload for the vacant position:

hiring trained Extra Help, if available;
authorizing overtime if there are enough volunteers to accomplish the necessary work, all overtime assignments will be voluntary; if there are not sufficient volunteers for overtime assignments to complete the necessary work, the Director may at the Director's discretion, make mandatory overtime assignment.

19.3 Service & Technical Support Unit – Regional Parks

19.3.1 Services and Technical Support – Regional Parks Dept. – Assign and Transfer

The department maintains the right to assign and transfer an employee to a specific reporting location. If a transfer is at the direction of the department, the employee will be given at least 7 days notification. At least 30 days notification shall be given of any transfer directed by the department that exceeds 25 miles or requires the employee to relocate his permanent residence. Employees transferred at the direction of the department over 25 miles, or who are required to relocate their permanent residence shall also be entitled to up to 3 days of paid moving leave, and reimbursement for moving expenses of up to $300 for rental of truck or trailers and upon submitting receipts for approval to the Director of Regional Parks.

19.3.2 Services and Technical Support – Regional Parks Dept. – Housing

Park residences shall be occupied by Regional Parks Department employees for the purpose of providing security, public assistance, summoning quick emergency response, and other duties as specified in a Housing License Agreement. Any permanent full time Regional Parks employee may be assigned to live in County-provided housing. Consideration in assignment to housing within each Parks Division will be by Department Housing policy. The Department will offer to meet and confer over the draft Department Housing policy in accordance with state law prior to approval of the policy by the Department Head.

19.3.3 Services and Technical Support – Regional Parks Dept. – Maintenance Fees

Once a Housing License Agreement is signed by the Regional Parks employee, residing on County property shall be a condition of employment. No rent is charged. The employee granted a license to utilize the assigned housing will be charged an individual maintenance cost based upon the cost of providing utilities and normal maintenance upkeep of the residence structure. The Board of Supervisors shall set the maintenance fee, subject to the provisions of this Subsection (19.3.3), and this fee shall be deducted from the employee’s paycheck. Maintenance fees will not, in any case, exceed 15% of the salary of each licensed employee based upon the base hourly rate of the employee. Each licensed employee shall be responsible for any possessory interest tax levied against them.

Maintenance fees may be increased by the County each July of this MOU with each adjustment being a percentage amount not exceeding the percentage amount of the cost-of-living salary adjustment, excluding equity adjustments, in the preceding fiscal year under this Memorandum.

19.3.4 Services and Technical Support – Regional Parks Dept. – Special Provisions

The reasonable cost of the housing shall not be added to the employee’s base hourly rate in computing the employee’s regular rate of pay. In addition, no Standby or Callback will be paid to Park Ranger tenants, except that off-shift work including emergency responses will be counted toward hours worked for the purposes of computing overtime. Park Ranger tenants shall maintain and submit a log identifying off-shift work and time spent performing this work in the regular work period in which overtime is claimed.

19.4 Maintenance Unit – Reporting Location Park Maintenance Worker

During the term of this Memorandum the County will continue the current Regional Parks’ Department practice and policy with regard to the reporting to work location for Parks & Grounds Maintenance Workers. The parties agree that a Parks & Grounds Maintenance Worker’s reporting location may be changed temporarily by the County in response to an emergency as defined in Article 3. The Department may only change permanently a Park Maintenance Worker’s reporting location after first meeting and conferring with the Union.

19.5 Compensation Compaction between Supervisory and Subordinate

It is the mutual goal of the parties to achieve and maintain a 10% salary differential, between supervisory employees and those supervised. For purposes of this Section, “salary” shall include base pay at the “I” step of the scale. When the classes being evaluated are not in the same Bargaining Unit, “salary” shall include base pay, and the following compensation elements if they are different between units: employer pick up of employee pension contributions, employee pick up of employer pension contributions, and cash allowance. When the difference between the salary scale of a supervisory classification and the salary scale of the supervisor’s subordinate classification is less than 10%, the Union and the County agree to include possible adjustments to the supervisor’s salary scale during successor negotiations.

19.6 Supervisory Unit – Housing Allowance - Marina Supervisor

An employee in the class of Marina Supervisor shall be expected to, when off duty, respond in a timely manner to calls from Marina customers.

An employee in the Marina Supervisor job class will be entitled to receive a housing allowance of $550 per month.

No standby or callback pay shall be paid to the Marina Supervisor, except that off-shift work including emergency response will be counted toward hours worked for the purpose of computing overtime. The Marina Supervisor shall maintain and submit a log identifying off-shift work and time spent performing this work in the regular work period in which overtime is claimed.

The parties agree Section 19.6 shall sunset upon the separation of the incumbent employed as of September 1, 2015.

19.7 Medical Examinations – Water Agency, Fairgrounds

The Human Resources Director or designee may direct any employee to undergo a medical examination to determine his or her mental and/or physical capacity to perform the duties of the position. The contents of the examination shall remain confidential with the County’s Occupational Health provider, except for the resulting determination that an employee is or is not capable of performing the duties of the position may be made available to the Human Resources Director or designee, the Department and to the employee concerned. All other records pertaining to such examination shall be retained by the County’s Occupational Health Provider in compliance with HIPAA and other privacy regulations as it pertains to confidential medical records.

19.7.1 Medical Examinations – Community Development Commission

19.8 Notary Services

When notary services are required to be performed as an assigned duty of the job classification or the position, the County shall pay out-of-pocket costs associated with the notary license, including bond, stamp and book. Time spent to test for license or renewal is paid work time, as it is related to required duties.

An employee’s individual tuition and textbook account will not be charged for such expenses.

19.9 Title IV E – Part Time – Masters of Social Work (MSW) in Public Child Welfare

The County has established a program for current employees of the Human Services Department who have been accepted into an accredited MSW Program with an emphasis in Public Child Welfare, approved by the Human Services Department.

The employee selected for the internship program would remain in their base classification and pay rate and would be allowed time away from their regular responsibilities up to 16 hours per week for completing their required field placement work which would take place at the County of Sonoma’s Human Services Department.

The County and Union agree that the internship hours that occur during regular working hours (16 hours per week), are compensable hours. All other hours required of the Title IV E program are not compensable work hours.

This program is strictly voluntary and the internship duties do not directly relate to the employee’s base classification. Completion of coursework related to the MSW and homework is not part of the program and would be completed outside the employee’s regular work hours.

Subsection 19.9 is not grievable or arbitrable under Article 21 – Grievance Procedure of this MOU.

For information about the full-time Title IV-E program, please see Article 17.12 Leaves – Stipend Education Leave.

19.10 Animal Control Officer – Weapons Training

The parties agree that represented employees in the Animal Control Officer classification shall not provide weapons training for any represented employees.