All volunteers shall perform their duties until they are released
by their supervisor. Volunteers shall not litter work areas and will
keep them neat and clean.
The County is committed to having all work conducted in a safe
manner. All safety precautions shall be followed in accordance with
the Otero County Safety Policy.
Volunteers shall not misuse County property, records, or other
material in their care, control, or custody; nor shall any County
property, records, or other material be removed from the premises
of the County unless for official use.
No County vehicle will be taken out of Otero County without
permission of the Fire Chief or Emergency Services Director and employees
shall notify the Fire Chief or Emergency Services Director of their
destinations and itineraries. County vehicles shall be used for County
business only. County vehicles may not be taken home, with the exception
of personnel on standby or subject to call out. County vehicles shall
be distributed with due regard to the position and skill set of the
responder, who must reside within or be immediately adjacent to the
district being protected. County vehicles shall not be used for personal
business, except as is incidental in commuting. The use of County
vehicles is a privilege, not a right, and these privileges can be
restricted or removed by the Fire Chief, the Emergency Services Director
or the County Manager.
Volunteers who appear for duty without proper personal protective
equipment or are inappropriately dressed to safely perform a function
may be sent home and directed to return in proper attire. Any Otero
County Department uniform or identification shall not be worn while
consuming alcohol at a non-fire-related function, in court as a defendant
in a criminal case or at any civil case; additionally, badges shall
be used on dress uniforms only and shall not be worn in any other
manner. Consult the Fire Chief or the Emergency Services Director
with questions as to what constitutes appropriate attire.
A.
Otero County provides a safe workplace for all volunteers. To ensure
a safe workplace and to reduce the risk of violence, all personnel
should review and understand all provisions of this workplace violence
policy. All volunteers, including managers and supervisors, are responsible
for using safe work practices, for following all directives, policies
and procedures, and for assisting in maintaining a safe and secure
work environment.
(1)
Prohibited conduct. Otero County does not tolerate any type of workplace
violence committed by or against volunteers or employees. Volunteers
are prohibited from the following behaviors: making threats or engaging
in violent activities, causing physical injury to another person,
making threatening remarks, aggressive or hostile behavior that creates
a reasonable fear of injury to another person or subjects another
individual to emotional distress, intentionally damaging County property
or property of another employee, committing acts motivated by, or
related to, sexual harassment, harassment or domestic violence. Note:
This list is not inclusive, but is provided as examples of conduct
that is prohibited.
(2)
Reporting procedures. Any potentially dangerous situations must be
reported immediately to a supervisor, Fire Chief, or the Emergency
Services Director. Should the Fire Chief and Emergency Services Director
be involved, the County Manager shall be added to the chain of command.
Reports can be made anonymously, and all reported incidents will be
investigated. Reports or incidents warranting confidentiality will
be handled appropriately and information will be disclosed to others
only on a need-to-know basis. All parties involved in a situation
will be counseled and the results of investigations will be discussed
with them. The County will actively intervene at any indication of
a possibly hostile or violent situation.
(3)
Risk reduction measures. The Emergency Services Director takes reasonable
measures to conduct background investigations to review candidate's
backgrounds and reduce the risk of accepting individuals with a history
of violent behavior.
(a)
Safety: The Safety Officer conducts annual inspections of the
premises to evaluate and determine any vulnerability to workplace
violence or hazards. Any necessary corrective action will be taken
to reduce all identified risk areas.
(b)
Individual situations: While Otero County does not expect volunteers
to be skilled at identifying all potentially dangerous persons, they
are expected to exercise good judgment and to inform their supervisor,
Fire Chief, Emergency Services Director or law enforcement if anyone
exhibits such behavior, which could be a sign of a potentially dangerous
situation. Such behavior includes: discussing weapons in a threatening
manner related to the workplace; displaying overt signs of extreme
stress, resentment, hostility, or anger; making threatening remarks;
sudden or significant deterioration of performance; displaying irrational
or inappropriate behavior.
(4)
Dangerous/Emergency situations. Volunteers who are confronted by
or encounter an armed or dangerous person should not attempt to challenge
or disarm the individual. Law enforcement and/or security personnel
shall handle such circumstances. Detailed guidelines and procedures
for handling workplace violence and threats are available at the Otero
County Administration Building.
B.
Any of the above behaviors and/or any other acts of aggression or
violence will not be tolerated. Any volunteer determined to have committed
such acts will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including
dismissal. Anyone engaged in violent acts on County premises will
be reported to the proper authorities and fully prosecuted.
The e-mail system and internet access are provided by the County
to assist in the conduct of County business. This includes any hardware
and/or software and all information created, sent, received or otherwise
accessed through the e-mail system as well as through the internet.
The County, at any time, reserves and intends to exercise the right
to review, audit, intercept, access and disclose any and all information
created, sent, received or otherwise accessed through the e-mail system
or through the internet. This includes information that has been deleted
from any department computer; as such information may be stored on
the computer's backup system. The electronic mail system hardware
is County property. Additionally, all messages composed, sent, or
received on the County e-mail system are and remain the property of
the County and are not considered the private property of any volunteer.
A.
Passwords. The use of passwords for security does not guarantee confidentiality.
The County may require that all passwords be disclosed. The use of
passwords does not imply that the e-mail system or the use of the
internet is for personal confidential communication nor that the use
of the email system or the internet are the property right of an individual.
B.
Prohibited uses. The e-mail system and the internet are not to be
used to create, send, receive or otherwise access any offensive or
disruptive information. This includes information which contains sexual
implications, racial slurs, gender-specific comments or any other
comment that offensively addresses someone's age, sexual orientation,
religious or political beliefs, national origin or disability. In
addition, the solicitations of funds, any illegal or unethical activity
or any activity that can reasonably be construed to be detrimental
to the interests of the County are specifically prohibited. Note:
Volunteers may not intentionally intercept, eavesdrop, record, read,
alter, or receive another person's e-mail messages without proper
authorization.
C.
Retention of information. E-mail messages and information accessed
through the internet may be subject to the provision(s) of the Public
Records Act of the State of New Mexico.
D.
Applicability. The e-mail system and access to the internet shall
be used only by County personnel unless otherwise authorized by the
County Manager in writing.
E.
Enforcement. The County Manager, elected officials and Fire Chiefs
are responsible for the implementation of, and adherence to, this
policy within their offices and/or departments. Volunteers and other
authorized users who violate this policy or use the e-mail system
or the internet for improper purposes shall be subject to disciplinary
action up to and including dismissal.
Otero County's goal is to ensure, to the greatest extent
possible, that social security numbers are maintained confidentially.
Social security numbers will not be released to anyone outside Otero
County, except as required by law. Social security numbers will be
made available internally on a business-related need-to-know basis
only. More than four sequential digits of a social security number
will not be included on any document mailed outside Otero County,
except as required by law, nor will the number be publicly displayed
in any manner. The social security number will not be used in the
ordinary course of business except as the County may determine that
it is necessary to verify an individual's identity or to administer
benefits, such as health insurance. Documents containing social security
numbers shall not be removed from County offices. Any documents that
include social security numbers that are discarded are to be shredded.
Any violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action up
to and including dismissal from employment.
A.
A separate record file shall be prepared and maintained for each
volunteer. These records shall be kept under lock and key at the department.
It is the responsibility of the Fire Chief to maintain and secure
personnel records and ensure they are kept up-to-date. It is the responsibility
of the Fire Chief or his/her designee to insure that appropriate documents,
such as specialized training, disciplinary actions and/or letters/awards
of commendation, are retained for filing in the appropriate volunteer's
personnel records.
B.
At a minimum, all personnel records will contain the following:
(1)
The original application for membership (and any subsequent applications).
(2)
The originating personnel action showing occupation, position classification,
date of initial membership (including gaps in service).
(3)
Copies of personnel forms.
(4)
Records or certificates of educational training or orientation achievement
completion.
(5)
Records of disciplinary actions such as reprimands, suspensions,
demotions or dismissal.
(6)
Insurance and other volunteer benefit related items.
(7)
Other related actions and forms concerning injuries and insurance
payment records, etc.
(8)
Other related records and/or forms required to be kept by state or
federal law.
C.
Should any volunteer become inactive, his/her personnel file shall
be submitted to the Otero County Office of Emergency Services within
90 days of inactive status. Records shall be stored under lock and
key in the Otero County Administration Building. Should any volunteer
return to service, the records shall be returned to the appropriate
Fire Chief for the department the volunteer will be serving.
D.
Hard copies of records will be retained for three full calendar years
beyond the date of receipt by the County and transferred to digital
format and retained until receipt of valid information that the person
no longer wishes records to be retained or he/she is deceased.
Personnel files are the property of Otero County and access
to the information they contain is restricted. The County Manager,
Emergency Services Director, Fire Chief and federal and/or state officials
may review information in an individual personnel file that is not
their own. Fire Chiefs may only review files of personnel within their
department and/or under their supervision. Federal and/or state officials
may only view files if they can produce a current court order or subpoena.
Active volunteers who wish to review their own file should contact
the Fire Chief prior to the date and time to be viewed whenever possible.
Inactive volunteers may review their own personnel files in Otero
County's Administration office and in the presence of an individual
appointed by Otero County to maintain the files. Files may not be
removed from the department or Otero County Administration at any
time.
