A job description, including qualifications, shall be maintained
for each position (pursuant to New Jersey Department of Personnel
guidelines. All job descriptions must be approved by the Administrator.
The Administrator will make copies available upon request.
[Amended 2-6-2020 by Ord. No. 1155-20]
All employees are expected to be at work and ready to assume
their duties at the beginning of the scheduled work day. Lateness
and absence will be tolerated only in emergencies or when the supervisor
gives prior approval. All absences must be reported to the supervisor
prior to the start of the normal work day.
In the event of unsafe conditions, the Administrator may authorize
department heads to close operations earlier than the normal working
hours. If conditions exist prior to scheduled openings, the Administrator
shall notify department heads of a delayed opening and a new opening
time. Each department will have a calling system in place. If the
employee chooses not to report to work, a full vacation day or compensating
time will be charged. Sick time will only be charged for a legitimate
illness. If work is called off for the day, no time will be charged
for the day. This provision does not apply to the Department of Public
Works, Police, Fire, Emergency Services or any personnel who may be
required to assist in an emergency.
Administrative personnel are entitled to a one-hour lunch that
is to be arranged by the supervisor so that offices continue to function.
All employees are entitled to a fifteen-minute break in the morning
and in the afternoon. Administrative personnel must arrange breaks
so that offices continue to function. The supervisor will schedule
breaks for other employees.
Dress, grooming and personal hygiene must be appropriate for
the position. Uniforms are required for certain jobs and are to be
worn in accordance with applicable departmental standards. All other
employees are required to dress in a manner that is normally acceptable
in similar business establishments and consistent with applicable
safety standards. Employees shall not wear suggestive attire, jeans,
athletic clothing, shorts, sandals, T-shirts, novelty buttons, baseball
hats and similar items of casual attire that do not present a businesslike
appearance. Hair, sideburns, moustaches and beards must be clean,
combed and neatly trimmed. Shaggy, unkempt hair is not permissible
regardless of length. Tattoos and body piercings, other than earrings,
may not be visible. With the advance approval of the Administrator,
the Township of Rochelle Park will make reasonable religious accommodations
that do not violate safety standards. Employees violating this policy
shall be required to take corrective action or will be sent home without
pay.
The New Jersey Legislature has declared that in all governmental
buildings the rights of nonsmokers to breathe clean air supersedes
the rights of smokers. In accordance with state law, the Township
of Rochelle Park has adopted a smoke-free policy for all buildings.
Township of Rochelle Park facilities shall be smoke-free and no employee
or visitor will be permitted to smoke anywhere in Township of Rochelle
Park buildings. Employees are permitted to smoke only outside Township
of Rochelle Park buildings and such locations as not to allow the
reentry of smoke into building entrances. Smoking inside vehicles
owned by the Township of Rochelle Park and near equipment that may
be sensitive to smoke is also prohibited. This policy shall be strictly
enforced and any employee found in violation will be subject to disciplinary
action.
A.
Unless an employee receives permission from the Administrator, Township
of Rochelle Park owned vehicles shall be used only on official business
and all passengers must be on Township of Rochelle Park business.
B.
Vehicles may be taken home only with the advance approval of the
Administrator. When an employee takes home a Township of Rochelle
Park vehicle, it is to be used only for official Township of Rochelle
Park business; any other use is not permitted. At no time shall children
be in the Township of Rochelle Park vehicle when responding to an
emergency. Any violation of this policy constitutes cause for disciplinary
action.
Township of Rochelle Park telephones are for official business
and employees may make a personal call only to inform their family
of unexpected overtime. Charges for all other personal calls must
be reimbursed to the Township of Rochelle Park. The use of hand-held
cell phones while driving Township of Rochelle Park vehicles or while
driving on Township of Rochelle Park business is prohibited.
A.
The Township of Rochelle Park's communication media are the property
of the Township of Rochelle Park and, as such, are to be used for
legitimate business purposes only. For purposes of this section "communication
media" includes all electronic media forms provided by the Township
of Rochelle Park, such as cell phones, smart phones, computers, electronic
tablets, access to the internet, voicemail, e-mail, and fax. Employees
are restricted from accessing or using the company’s communication
media for personal purposes during company time on company equipment
without prior authorization from the Administration to do so.
B.
All data stored on and/or transmitted through communication media
is the property of the Township of Rochelle Park. For purposes of
this policy, "data" includes electronically-stored files, programs,
tables, data bases, audio and video objects, spreadsheets, reports
and printed or microfiche materials which serve a Township of Rochelle
Park business purpose, regardless of who creates, processes or maintains
the data, or whether the data is processed manually or though any
of the Township of Rochelle Park mainframe, midrange or workstations;
servers, routers, gateways, bridges, hubs, switches and other hardware
components of the Township of Rochelle Park local or wide-area networks.
C.
The Township of Rochelle Park respects the individual privacy of
its employees. However, employee communications transmitted by the
Township of Rochelle Park communication media are not private to the
individual. All communication media and all communications and stored
information transmitted, received, or contained in or through such
media may be monitored by the Township of Rochelle Park. The Township
of Rochelle Park reserves the absolute right to access, review, audit
and disclose all matters entered into, sent over, placed in storage
in the Township of Rochelle Park communication media. By using the
Township of Rochelle Park equipment and/or communication media, employees
consent to have such use monitored at any time, with or without notice,
by Township of Rochelle Park personnel. The existence of passwords
does not restrict or eliminate the Township of Rochelle Park ability
or right to access electronic communications. However, the Township
of Rochelle Park cannot require the employee to provide its password
to his/her personal accounts.
D.
All email, voicemail and Internet messages (including any technology-based
messaging) are official documents subject to the provisions of the
Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1). Employees of the Township
of Rochelle Park are required to use the assigned municipal email
account for all Township of Rochelle Park business and correspondence.
The use of private email accounts for any Township of Rochelle Park
business or during business hours is strictly prohibited. Employees
are hereby advised that if they conduct work-related business on their
personal e-mails, cell phones, or other personal communication media,
it is also subject to the provisions of the Open Public Records Act.
However, nothing in this social media policy prevents employees from
using his/her own personal communication media during the employee’s
nonworking hours to engage or participate in protected concerted activities
pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act. Protected concerted
activities include when an employee addresses group concerns with
the employer; forms, joins or helps a labor organization; initiates,
induces or prepares for group action; or speaks on behalf of or represents
other employees. Nevertheless, employees are encouraged to resolve
workplace grievances internally by discussing issues with their supervisor
and/or the administration, and are asked to refrain from posting comments
or materials on communication media that can be viewed as malicious,
obscene, threatening, intimidating, or that could create a hostile
work environment on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion or
any other status protected by law if the employee chooses to address
their grievances using communication media.
E.
Employees can only use the Township of Rochelle Park communication
media for legitimate business purposes. Employees may not use Township
of Rochelle Park communication media in any way that is defamatory,
obscene, or harassing or in violation of any Township of Rochelle
Park rules or policy. Examples of forbidden transmissions or downloads
include sexually-explicit messages; unwelcome propositions; ethnic
or racial slurs; or any other message that can be construed to be
harassment or disparaging to others based on their actual or perceived
age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
genetic information, disability, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship,
marital status or any other legally recognized protected basis under
federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Further,
discriminatory remarks, harassment, bullying, threats of violence
and similar behavior that is not tolerated in the workplace are also
not acceptable through communication media, whether same is performed
on the Township of Rochelle Park’s equipment or on the employee’s
own personal communication media.
F.
All employees who have been granted access to electronically-stored
data must use a logon ID assigned by Township of Rochelle Park. Certain
data or applications that process data may require additional security
measures as determined by the Township of Rochelle Park. Employees
must not share their passwords; and each employee is responsible for
all activity that occurs in connection with their passwords.
G.
Information security is necessary to protect the Township of Rochelle
Park’s information (data and software) from accidental or intentional
unauthorized disclosure, modification, or loss. Information security
is managed under guidelines dealing with identification, authentication,
authorization, production environment, and ability to audit. All
employees should be familiar with such security measures adopted by
the Township of Rochelle Park.
H.
All employees may access only data for which the Township of Rochelle
Park has given permission. All employees must take appropriate actions
to ensure that Township of Rochelle Park data is protected from unauthorized
access, use or distribution consistent with these policies. Employees
may not access or retrieve any information technology resource and
store information other than where authorized.All Township of Rochelle
Park data must be stored centrally as required by Township of Rochelle
Park. This provides greater security, and ensures backup of all Township
of Rochelle Park data is performed.
I.
Employees may not install, modify or remove any hardware device,
software application, program code, either active or passive, or a
portion thereof, without the express written permission from the Township
of Rochelle Park. Employees must not disable antivirus and other implemented
security software for any reason, in order to minimize the risk of
introducing computer viruses into the Township of Rochelle Park computing
environment.
J.
Employees may not install or modify any hardware device, software
application, program code, either active or passive, or a portion
thereof, without the express written permission from the Township
of Rochelle Park. Employees may not upload, download, or otherwise
transmit commercial software or any copyrighted materials belonging
to parties outside of the Township of Rochelle Park, or licensed to
the Township of Rochelle Park. Employees shall observe the copyright
and licensing restrictions of all software applications and shall
not copy software from internal or external sources unless legally
authorized. Workstation settings and configurations and network settings
must not be modified by unauthorized employees. Internet security
settings (where applicable) must not be changed. The foregoing includes
but is not limited to the systems network ID (or computer name), IP
address, Gateway and DNS addresses, etc.
K.
Social media and its uses in government and daily life are expanding
each year however, information posted on a website is available to
the public; therefore, employees must adhere to the following guidelines
for their participation in social media.
L.
Only those employees directly authorized by the Administrator may
engage in social media activity during work time through the use of
the Township of Rochelle Park Communication Media, as it directly
relates to their work and it is in compliance with this policy.
M.
Employees must not reveal or publicize confidential Township of Rochelle
Park information. Confidential proprietary or sensitive information
may be disseminated only to individuals with a need and a right to
know, and where there is sufficient assurance that appropriate security
of such information will be maintained. Such information includes,
but is not limited to the transmittal of personnel information such
as medical records or related information. In law enforcement operations,
confidential, proprietary or sensitive information also includes criminal
history information, confidential informant identification, and intelligence
and tactical operations files.
N.
No Township of Rochelle Park employee shall post internal working
documents to social media sites. This includes, but is not limited
to, screenshots of computer stations, pictures of monitors and/or
actual documents themselves without the prior approval of the Administrator.
In addition employees are prohibited from releasing or disclosing
any photographs, pictures, digital images of any crime scenes, traffic
crashes, arrestees, detainees, people or job related incident or occurrence
taken with the Township of Rochelle Park communication media to any
person, entity, business or media or Internet outlet whether on or
off duty without the express written permission of the Administrator.
Except in emergency situations, employees are prohibited from taking
digital images or photographs with media equipment not owned by the
Township of Rochelle Park.
O.
For purposes of this section, an "emergency situation" involves a
sudden and unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting
state that calls for immediate action, assistance or relief, and may
include accidents, crimes and flights from accidents or crimes and
the employee does not have access to the Township of Rochelle Park
communication media. If such situation occurs, employee agrees that
any images belong to the Township of Rochelle Park and agree to release
the image to the Township of Rochelle Park and ensure its permanent
deletion from media device upon direction from the Township of Rochelle
Park.
P.
No media advertisement, electronic bulletin board posting, or any
other communication accessible via the Internet about the Township
of Rochelle Park or on behalf of the Township of Rochelle Park, through
the use of the Township of Rochelle Park communication media, may
be issued unless it has first been approved by the Township of Rochelle
Park’s administration. Specifically, employees are forbidden
from using the Township of Rochelle Park’s communication media
to impersonate the employer; to make statements on behalf of the employer
without authorization; and/or to make statements that can be construed
as establishing what the employer’s official position or policy
is on any particular issue. In addition, employees are prohibited
from placing or posting on the Internet through the employer’s
communication media or the employee’s own personal media, either
during working or nonworking hours, any employer-related confidential,
sensitive or other employer information of a proprietary nature, including
but not limited to employer records or documents, trade secrets, internal
reports, tips based on inside information that may be considered insider
trading, screenshots of computer stations, pictures of monitors and/or
actual documents of the employer, any photographs, pictures, digital
images of any crime scenes, traffic crashes, arrestees, detainees,
people or job-related incidents or occurrences.
Q.
Because authorized postings placed on the Internet through use of
the Township of Rochelle Park Communication Media will display on
the Township of Rochelle Park return address, any information posted
on the Internet must reflect and adhere to all of the Township of
Rochelle Park standards and policies.
R.
All users are personally accountable for messages that they originate
or forward using the Township of Rochelle Park's communication media.
Misrepresenting, obscuring, suppressing, or replacing a user's identity
on any Communication Media is prohibited. "Spoofing" defined as constructing
electronic communications so that it appears to be from someone else
without a legitimate authorized purpose and authorized by the Administrator,
is prohibited.
S.
Employees must respect the laws regarding copyrights, trademarks,
rights of public Township of Rochelle Park and other third-party rights.
Any use of the Township of Rochelle Park name, logos, service marks
or trademarks outside the course of the employee's employment, without
the express consent of the Township of Rochelle Park, is strictly
prohibited. To minimize the risk of a copyright violation, employees
should provide references to the source(s) of information used and
cite copyrighted works identified in online communications.
T.
Employees who choose to identify themselves as a Township of Rochelle
Park employee on their personal social media accounts, and even those
that do not, should be aware that he or she may be viewed as acting
on behalf of the Township of Rochelle Park; as such no employee shall
knowingly represent themselves as a spokesperson of the Township of
Rochelle Park, post any comment , text, photo, audio, video or other
multimedia file that negatively reflects upon the Township of Rochelle
Park, express views that are detrimental to the Township of Rochelle
Park’s mission or undermine the public trust or is insulting
or offensive to other individuals or to the public in regard to religion,
sex, race or national origin. Township of Rochelle Park employees
are encouraged to exercise extreme caution posting photographs of
themselves in uniform or in situations where they can be readily identified
as Township employees.
U.
To the extent that employees use social media outside their employment
while engaging in protected concerted activities as defined above,
employees will not be subject to discipline or retaliation for expressing
views, opinions, and/or facts surrounding the Township of Rochelle
Park’s employment policies. For all other communications by
employees on personal social media sites in which matters related
to the Township of Rochelle Park are discussed, employees must add
a disclaimer on the front page stating that the posting does not express
the views of the Township of Rochelle Park, and that the employees
are expressing their own personal views. For example: “The
views expressed on this website/web log are mine alone and do not
necessarily reflect the views of my employer.” The disclaimer
must be placed in a prominent position and repeated for each posting
that is expressing an opinion related to the Township of Rochelle
Park or the Township of Rochelle Park’s business, with the exception
of postings and social media communications by employees engaging
in protected concerted activities. Employees are advised that if
they post information on social media that is in violation of either
the terms and conditions of the within social media policy, or in
violation of federal, state, or local laws, the disclaimer will not
shield them from disciplinary action. However, no retaliation or
discipline will result if and when employees are engaging in protected
concerted activity, and/or choose to report inappropriate social media
activities to the Township of Rochelle Park administration.
V.
Nothing in these policies is designed to interfere with, restrain,
or prevent social media communications by employees engaging in protected
concerted activities regarding wages, hours, or other terms and conditions
of employment pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act. All Township
of Rochelle Park employees have the right to engage in or refrain
from such activities.
W.
Use of Internet.
(1)
The
Township of Rochelle Park provides Internet access to its employees
in order to make available a vast array of information resources and
to allow participation in and access to increasing county and state
resources.
(2)
Employees
must comply with all policies adopted by the local unit, including
but not limited to policies regarding prohibition of discrimination
and harassment and all applicable federal, state and local laws, including
laws governing the transmission and dissemination of information while
accessing the Internet.
(3)
Employees
who are using Internet may not:
(a)
Use the network to make unauthorized entry into other computational,
informational or communication services or resources;
(b)
Distribute unsolicited advertising;
(c)
Invade the privacy of others;
(d)
Make any attempt to damage computer equipment or software;
(e)
Engage in any activity that is harassing or defamatory;
(f)
Use the Internet for any illegal activity, including violation of
copyright or other rights of third parties, or in a manner inconsistent
with the Township’s tax-exempt status or its proper operation;
and/or
(g)
Download unauthorized software, fonts, templates or scripts.
(4)
As
stated in the Communications Policy above, the Township of Rochelle
Park reserves the right to monitor the employee’s Internet usage.
In addition, the Township of Rochelle Park has the right to restrict
access to specific types of prohibited content through the use of
a content filtering system.
X.
To the extent that employees use social media outside of their employment,
and in so doing employees identify themselves as Township of Rochelle
Park's employees, or if they discuss matters related to the Township
of Rochelle Park on a social media site, employees must add a disclaimer
on the front page, stating that it does not express the views of the
Township of Rochelle Park, and the employee is expressing only their
personal views. For example: "The views expressed on this website/web
log are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my
employer." Employees must place the disclaimer in a prominent position
and repeat it for each posting that is expressing an opinion related
to the Township of Rochelle Park or the Township of Rochelle Park's
business. Employees must keep in mind that, if the post information
on a social media site that is in violation of the Township of Rochelle
Park's policy and/or federal, state of local laws, the disclaimer
will not shield them from disciplinary action.
Y.
Nothing in these policies is designed to interfere with, restrain
or prevent employee communications regarding wages, hours or other
terms and conditions of employment. Township of Rochelle Park employees
have the right to engage in or refrain from such activities.
A.
The Township of Rochelle Park may install video surveillance camera
systems within public buildings and throughout public areas within
the Township of Rochelle Park, primarily as visual deterrents of criminal
behavior and for the protection of employees and municipal assets.
In implementing these video camera systems, the Township of Rochelle
Park will ensure compliance with federal, state and local laws governing
such usage.
B.
The Township of Rochelle Park video surveillance camera systems are
a significant tool to which the employees of the Township of Rochelle
Park will avail themselves in order to complete the goals and objectives
of the Township of Rochelle Park. Employees are only permitted to
use the video surveillance camera systems for a legitimate purpose
and with proper authorization. The Township of Rochelle Park's designee
will be responsible for authorization of users. The improper use of
these systems can result in discipline up to and including termination.
C.
No employee is permitted to view, continually watch, search, copy
or otherwise use one of the Township of Rochelle Park's video surveillance
camera systems or tamper with access, archive, alter, add to, or make
copies of any data that has been recorded and stored within any of
these systems without a specific legitimate purpose and permission
for the designee of the Township of Rochelle Park.
D.
The Township of Rochelle Park shall designate a person to be responsible
for the maintenance and administration of the video surveillance camera
system. Such designee will be responsible for maintaining a user access
log detailing the date and name of individuals who view/access a stored
recording.
E.
Any employee who becomes aware of any unauthorized disclosure of
a video record in a contravention of this policy and/or a potential
privacy breach has the responsibility to ensure that Administrator
of the Township of Rochelle Park is immediately informed of such breach.
The bulletin boards located in the Township of Rochelle Park
administrative building and other facilities are intended for official
notices regarding policies, procedures, meetings and special events.
Only personnel authorized by the Administrator may post, remove, or
alter any notice.
A.
The Township of Rochelle Park recognizes the right of employees to
engage in social relationships with each other, including relationships
of a romantic or intimate nature. However, the municipality also recognizes
that such relationships can be a problem in the workplace. They may
result in favoritism, discrimination, unfair treatment, friction among
coworkers, or the perception that they generate such problems.
B.
To try to achieve a balance between employee rights and workplace
needs, the Township of Rochelle Park has adopted the following policy
on the subject of supervisor/subordinate dating. If such a relationship
exists or develops, both parties involved shall report the fact to
their immediate supervisor or human resources.
C.
For the purposes of this policy, a supervisor/subordinate status
means a situation where one employee, irrespective of job title, makes
or has the authority to make decisions or to take action concerning
another employee's compensation, promotion, demotion, discipline,
daily tasks, or any other terms, conditions or privileges of employment
with the municipality. If the employees involved in the relationship
are also in a supervisor/subordinate status, management may take any
action which it deems appropriate, up to and including transferring
one of the parties so that there is no longer a supervisor/subordinate
relationship between them. In addition, management reserves the right
to address any workplace issues that may result from that relationship
in the manner it deems appropriate.
D.
Any employee who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary
action, up to and including discharge. The municipality regards a
violation of this policy as particularly serious because such workplace
relationships can cause favoritism, discrimination, unfair treatment
for other interference with municipal operations.
E.
Nothing in this policy alters an employee's at will status.
