Town of Lancaster, MA Article II Classification Plan

§ 140-6 Mandatory classification.

No person shall be appointed, employed or paid as a Town employee in any position under the Classification Plan and Compensation Plan under any title other than that of the class of which position is allocated.

§ 140-7 Employee categories.

A. All positions subject to the provisions of the Personnel Bylaw of the Town shall fall into one of the following categories:

(1) Regular full-time.

(2) Regular part-time.

(3) Reduced-hours part-time.

(4) Casual part-time.

(5) Special, temporary or seasonal.

B. These categories will determine an employee's eligibility for benefits as specified by this bylaw.

§ 140-8 Allocation and new positions.

A. The Personnel Board may allocate each position subject to the provisions of the Classification and Compensation Plans to its appropriate class and pay grade.

B. Whenever a new position is established, appointing authorities proposing the creation of new positions shall provide the Personnel Board with a description of the duties, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other work performance requirements of the proposed position in sufficient detail to enable the Personnel Board to appropriately classify the position.

C. When the duties of an existing position are so changed that, in effect, a new position of a different class is substituted for the old position, and whenever such action appears warranted by reason of error in the allocation then in effect, or as a result of additional duties and changes in the job content of the class, the Personnel Board may allocate such position to an appropriate class and pay grade.

D. Positions may not be reclassified without a review and approval of the Personnel Board.

E. The Personnel Board shall afford reasonable opportunity to be heard to any employee or any department head affected by such a new position or change in classification.

§ 140-9 Hiring and reclassification.

A. The following procedure shall be used when hiring employees in filling regular full-time and regular part-time positions covered by this bylaw.

(1) A job description agreed to by both the hiring department head or Board Chairman and the Personnel Board must be completed prior to the announcement of the job opening.

(2) The hiring rate and pay rate for the job must be in accord with the Classification and Compensation Plans or be developed with and agreed to by the Personnel Board prior to the announcement of the job opening.

(3) The job opening must be advertised in appropriate publications for at least two days and must be posted on the Town Hall Bulletin Board at least 10 days prior to the job being filled. The announcement will include:

(a) Job title.

(b) Pay rate.

(c) Summary statement of duties.

(d) Direction on where and how applications may be filed.

(e) Deadline for filing the application which must be at least 10 days after the notice of job opening appears.

(4) Job applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, veteran, color, sex, age, religious creed, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, ex-offender status, physical and/or mental handicap, prior psychiatric treatment or military status.

(5) The Personnel Board must retain records of all job applicants in accordance with the Public Records Law.[1] The application of the person hired will be filed in his/her personnel file.

[1] Editor's Note: See MGL c. 66, § 10 et seq.

(6) A payroll hiring authorization must be submitted to the Personnel Board along with copies of the employment application, resume, and proposed letter of employment offer prior to offering the position to the employee. Upon approval from the Personnel Board, the letter of employment offer will be given to the applicant.

[Amended 5-3-2010 ATM by Art. 16]

(7) All persons selected for employment shall be notified in writing that the offer is conditional pending a physical certification by the Town's physician. The applicant shall undergo a medical examination and drug test prior to setting a start date or a date can be set but the start date cannot be prior to the results of the physical. The examination shall be at the expense of the Town and by a physician or medical institution selected by the Personnel Board. The examining physician shall advise as to whether or not, in the opinion of the physician, the applicant can perform the essential functions of the job. If deemed unfit to perform the duties of the position for which application has been made, the appointing authority shall withdraw the offer of employment.

[Amended 5-3-2010 ATM by Art. 16]

(8) A payroll hiring authorization with the required approvals will be submitted to the Town Accountant by the Personnel Board prior to his/her issuance of a voucher for a new employee. Copies of the approval will also be placed in the employee's personnel file by the Personnel Board.

[Added 5-3-2010 ATM by Art. 16[2]]

[2] Editor's Note: This article also redesignated former Subsection A(8) as Subsection A(9).

(9) An applicant who accepts an appointment and fails to report to work on the date set by the appointing authority, shall, unless excused by the appointing authority, be deemed to have declined the appointment, and the offer of employment shall be withdrawn.

B. No employee may be reclassified to a position in another group, either higher or lower, until the Personnel Board determines that such a reclassification will be consistent with the provisions of the Compensation Plan. The following procedure shall be used when reclassifying an employee to either a higher or lower position or a transfer from one position to another:

(1) A payroll change form shall be submitted to the Personnel Board requesting the change prior to the change taking place.

(2) The Personnel Board shall send approval to the department as well as the Town Accountant that this is consistent with the provisions of the Compensation Plan.

(3) Copies of the payroll change will be placed in the employee's personnel file by the Personnel Board.

§ 140-10 Probationary period.

A. Performance of all new employees must meet acceptable work standards. The probationary period shall be utilized to help new and promoted employees achieve effective performance levels. To insure that new employees are aware of their duties and responsibilities, appointing authorities shall inform new employees of their rights, responsibilities, duties and obligations. The appointing authority will provide the employee with a copy of the Personnel Bylaw. The employee will sign the form acknowledging that he/she has reviewed a copy of the Personnel Bylaw and understands his/her rights, responsibilities, duties and obligations.

B. Department heads or boards will provide on-site training and orientations regarding specific rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the employee's assigned department, including the safety policies and procedures.

C. All newly appointed and promoted employees will be required to successfully complete a probationary period. The probationary period begins immediately upon the employee's starting date or promotion date and continues for a six-month period. The appointing authority and department head shall observe and evaluate the employee's attitude, conduct and work habits during the probationary period. A job performance review and evaluation form must be completed at 90 days by the department head and reviewed with the employee. Upon completion of the probationary period, the appointing authority will complete a one-hundred-eighty-day job performance review and evaluation form. The appointing authority will notify the employee in writing that the employee's performance meets satisfactory standards and the individual will be considered a regular employee in the position; or that the employee's performance, due to extenuating circumstances, requires additional observation and that the probationary period will be extended an additional period of time not to exceed three months; or that the employee's performance, attitude, conduct was unsatisfactory and the termination will occur.

D. At any time during the probationary period the employee may be terminated by an appointing authority if it is revealed that the employee intentionally falsified information relating to application for employment, was unable or unwilling to perform the required duties, or displayed conduct, habits or dependability which did not merit continuing the employee in the position. The employee may not appeal the termination.

§ 140-11 Job descriptions and interpretations.

A. The Personnel Board shall maintain written descriptions of the jobs or positions in the Classification Plan. These descriptions shall be written by the department's board, department head, or department supervisor and approved by the Personnel Board. The descriptions shall include definitions describing the essential nature of the work, distinguishing features of the work and such illustrative examples of duties as may be deemed appropriate. The Personnel Board may, upon the request of a department or on its own initiative, along with the department's input, amend such job descriptions.

B. The heads of departments shall be required to retain copies of the current job descriptions. They shall be responsible for drafting any revisions and submitting them to the Personnel Board for approval.

C. The description of any position shall be construed solely as a means of identification. It shall not limit the duties and responsibilities of any position or modify, or in any way affect, the power of any administrative authority as otherwise existing to assign duties to, or to direct and control the work of, any employee under the jurisdiction of such authority. The administrative authority, however, must be reasonable and cannot assign tasks that are completely out of the job classification.

§ 140-12 Class title.

The title of each class, as established by the Classification Plan, shall be the official title of every position allocation to the class and the official title of each incumbent of a position so allocated, and shall be used to the exclusion of all others on payrolls, budget estimates and other official records and reports pertaining to the position. No administrative authority shall fix the salary of any employee in a position in the Classification Plan except in accordance with the Compensation Plan.

§ 140-13 Workweek.

A. The normal week for a regular full-time employee shall be 40 hours.

B. The normal workweek for a regular part-time employee shall be at least 20 hours but less than 39 hours. A reduced-hours part-time employee shall be regularly scheduled hours that are less than 19 hours per week. The department head, with the approval of the board, committee or commission responsible for the department, will establish and post permanently on the department bulletin board the regular working hours for all employees of that department. The normal lunch period will not be a paid period.

§ 140-14 Confidential information.

A. When performing their assigned duties, Town employees may come into contact with confidential information.

B. Confidential information must be retained in a manner that allows it to remain confidential at all times. It is expected that all Town employees respect the information they are privy to.

C. Confidential information is as defined by MGL c. 4, § 7.

§ 140-15 Dress code policy.

It is the policy of the Town of Lancaster that each employee's dress, grooming and personal hygiene be appropriate to the work situation and follow the dress code of the Town or department.