To maintain a safe and productive work environment, the City of El Paso expects employees to be reliable and punctual in reporting for their scheduled work. Absenteeism and tardiness place a burden on other employees and on the City of El Paso. In the rare instances when employees cannot avoid being late to work or are unable to work as scheduled, they must notify their supervisor as soon as possible in advance of the anticipated tardiness or absence. Employees must report an unscheduled absence one hour before their shift is to begin. Employees must report a tardy as soon as possible. Emails, texts, and voice mail messages are not considered appropriate forms of communication under this policy, unless authorized by a Department Head.
A. 
Employees who miss three consecutive workdays without notifying their supervisor at all, or in advance, will be deemed to have voluntarily resigned from their employment for job abandonment and removed from payroll.
B. 
Employees who miss three consecutive workdays due to illness may be required to provide a doctor's note prior to being permitted to return to work.
C. 
Poor attendance and excessive tardiness (to be determined in the sole discretion of the City) are disruptive to operations. Either may lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
A. 
Employees shall not place themselves in a position where their private interests may conflict or appear to conflict with their official duties or where their objectivity or judgment may be impaired. Employees shall not accept from any person, business, or organization any gift (including such items as money, tangible or intangible personal property, food, beverage, loan, promise, service, or entertainment) for the benefit of the employee or department, if it may be reasonably inferred that the giver seeks to influence action of an official nature, seeks to affect the performance or non-performance of an official duty, or has an interest which may be substantially affected by the performance or non-performance of an official duty.
B. 
An employee who has a question regarding the appropriateness of accepting a gratuity should ask his/her Department Head or the City Administrator.
A. 
All City-owned or leased facilities, buildings, equipment, other vehicles, tools, supplies, materials, keys, ID cards, uniforms, and other items solely are for the express purpose of carrying out City services. No employees or agent of the City will use any City-owned facility, building, equipment, motor vehicle, tool, supply, material, or other item of value for their personal benefit or for the personal benefit of any other individual, unless such action is approved in advance by the Department Head. All employees must be certified/licensed and/or properly trained to operate such equipment for personal use while off duty, and the use must be within the City limits. Additionally, all employees are responsible for notifying their supervisor if any equipment, machines, tools, or vehicles appear to be damaged, defective or in need of repair or maintenance. Prompt reporting of these concerns may prevent deterioration of equipment and possible injury to employees or others. The employee's supervisor can answer any questions about an employee's responsibility for maintenance and care of equipment or vehicles used on the job.
B. 
Employees are responsible for the care and return of the City property during, as well as at the termination of, employment. In using the City's vehicular equipment, employees must keep in mind that they are representatives of the City and that their conduct in adhering to all traffic laws, the rules of safety and courtesy on the road is a reflection on the City of El Paso. It is imperative that such employees abide by these rules. Any fines incurred by an employee while operating the City vehicle due to traffic or parking violations shall be the sole responsibility of the employee. Any violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
A. 
The City Administrator will maintain an approved list which will include full name, date of birth, driver's license number and date of expiration of the driver's license for each employee authorized to drive a City vehicle. Department Heads are responsible for notifying changes to the approved driver's list. The Police Department will perform the following checks:
(1) 
Verify validity of necessary licenses prior to employment. If license is suspended or revoked, applicant shall not be employed.
(2) 
After employment, annually in January verify the validity of driver's licenses of any employee who drives a City vehicle. A permanent file shall be established in the City Administrators office to retain this information.
B. 
Suspension of license. Each employee authorized to drive a City vehicle must promptly notify his/her immediate supervisor if his/her driver's license becomes invalid, suspended, revoked, or lost. Failure to report the above information is cause for disciplinary action. CDL drivers must adhere to additional requirements as stated in this manual.
(1) 
In those instances, in which an employee's driver's license is suspended or revoked due to conduct occurring outside of working hours, and where the loss of license will not negatively affect the performance of the employee's duties, and will not increase the Department's operating costs, generally no disciplinary action will be taken, although the City reserves the right to do so.
(2) 
In those instances, in which an employee's driver's license is suspended or revoked due to conduct occurring outside of working hours as a result of a first offense and said loss will impair and adversely affect the employee's ability to perform his or her duties and responsibilities, or will increase the costs of the Department's operations, the employee shall be allowed to choose one of the following options.
(a) 
The employee may opt to take an unpaid general leave of absence not greater than 90 days from the date the suspension takes effect. If the employee obtains a license or permit to operate the appropriate class(es) of vehicle(s) during the ninety-day period, he/she will be allowed to return to work on the earliest appropriate date after he/she has submitted the appropriate documentation to his/her immediate supervisor and/or Director of Public Service indicating his/her driving privileges have been restored without any restrictions which may impair or adversely affect the employee's ability to do his or her job duties and responsibilities.
(b) 
The employee may opt to terminate his/her employment through voluntary resignation with no prejudice.
If option "A" is selected by the employee, and he/she has not obtained a driver's license or acceptable driving permit by a date 10 working days prior to the end of his/her leave of absence, the employee shall be notified of his/her pre-termination meeting in writing by certified mail or personal delivery. The pre-termination meeting shall be scheduled 10 working days prior to the 90th day of the employee's leave.
A. 
Employees shall be responsible for the proper care and use of the City's vehicles and equipment and shall report promptly any malfunction so that repairs may be made.
(1) 
All accidents, damage, breakdowns, or malfunctions shall be reported immediately so that necessary repairs may be made.
(2) 
Use of the vehicle obligates the user to adhere strictly to State of Illinois and local traffic laws. Violations of any traffic law by the City employee while operating a City vehicle is subject to review by the City for disciplinary action in addition to normal enforcement procedures.
(3) 
An employee who is granted permission to drive a City vehicle home shall store the vehicle off the street.
(4) 
An employee who is assigned the regular use of the City vehicle shall cause the vehicle to be made available for use of other personnel when the employee is on vacation, disability leave, or other extended leaves or absences.
(5) 
Employees who drive City vehicles home at night on a regular basis are subject to withholding tax on this personal use of such vehicle and must supply the City Administrator with the necessary information reference the use of the vehicle. This does not apply to any employee whose vehicle is designated and "authorized emergency vehicle."
(6) 
Any employee who violates the strict requirement that "City vehicles shall only be used for City business" or drive City vehicles home without authorization shall, in addition to the regular disciplinary action, be liable to the City for any claims, costs or damages arising out of, or resulting from, any such unauthorized use, operation or possession of any City vehicle. Director of Public Service is allowed to make exceptions in certain circumstances.
Employees are required to wear seat belts during any activity performed as a part of their employment. This includes the wearing of seat belts while driving any City-owned equipment or driving a personal vehicle while on City business. If the City vehicle operated by an employee does not have proper seat belts, the employee should immediately contact their supervisor so the vehicle may be properly equipped.
A. 
In order to protect the safety and welfare of our employees and others, the City of El Paso has adopted the following policy as it relates to the usage of cell phones while driving. This policy is applicable to all officials, employees, contractors, volunteers, and others who work for the City and/or use City vehicles in the normal course of business. Nothing in this policy is intended to conflict with or be less stringent than state or federal laws. All City personnel are required to abide by these laws in addition to this policy.
B. 
Any questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Director of Public Service.
(1) 
Employees are not permitted to use a handheld cell phone while operating a motor vehicle when on City business and/or on City time regardless of whether the vehicle is a City vehicle or personal vehicle. Where it is necessary to utilize a phone on the road it must be the hands-free type, and no telephone numbers should be dialed while driving.
(2) 
Employees are not permitted to read or respond to emails, text messages, instant messages, or similar electronic communications while operating motor vehicle when on City business and/or on City time regardless of whether the vehicle is a City vehicle or personal vehicle.
A. 
For employees required to wear uniforms, the City shall provide said uniforms upon appointment; thereafter the City shall provide uniforms on a replacement basis as determined by the Supervisor.
B. 
All uniforms or equipment purchased by the City shall remain the property of the City. While in a City uniform, employees are expected to represent the City in a positive manner. Uniforms should therefore be kept clean and in good order, free from rips and tears.
C. 
Failure to appear properly uniformed may result in discipline.
A. 
Dress, grooming and personal cleanliness standards contribute to the morale of all employees and affect the professional image the City presents to the community.
B. 
During business hours or when representing the City, all employees are expected to present a clean, neat, and professional appearance. All employees are expected to dress and groom according to the requirements of each position. Police, Parks/Recreation, Public Works and Water/Sewer departments are required to wear their uniform while on the job as a means of visual identification to the public. For employees that are not required to wear a uniform, the minimum standard of dress will be "business casual" on Monday through Thursday and a "casual day" policy on Fridays. However, the type of public contact for the day should dictate whether business, business casual or casual dress is appropriate. Under Friday's "casual day" policy, employees may wear jeans. However, "casual day" must still observe the appropriate standards of dress as explained above.
C. 
If a supervisor or Department Head believes that any employee's personal appearance is inappropriate that employee may be asked to leave the workplace to go home and properly dress and groom. Under such circumstances, the nonexempt hourly employees will not be compensated for time away from work. When necessary, reasonable accommodations may be made to a person with a disability or religious needs or undergoing a gender transition. Listed below is a general overview of some of the more common items that are not appropriate for the office. Obviously, this list is not intended to be all-inclusive. Rather, these items should help set the parameters for proper casual business wear and allow employees to make intelligent judgements about items that are not specifically addressed. It is never appropriate to wear stained, wrinkled, frayed, or revealing clothing to the workplace. Similarly, as a general rule it is not appropriate to wear any clothing or accessories that have advertising on them or inappropriate/offensive messages or images. Examples of inappropriate clothing items that should not be worn during work hours include:
•
Sweatpants.
•
Warm-up or jogging suits and pants.
•
Spandex or other form fitting pants.
•
Clothing with offensive messages or images.
•
Visible undergarments.
•
Hats or headwear (except as provided or approved by the City).
•
Visible tattoos with offensive messages or images that conflict with an employee's ability to perform his or her position effectively or with his or her specific work environment or are regarded as offensive or harassing toward co-workers or others with whom the City conducts business.
•
Visible body piercings (except limited ear piercings).
D. 
From time to time, at the Department Head's discretion, employees engaged in tasks requiring more casual clothing may be excused from this dress code for the duration of the assignment.
A. 
Working time is, of course, for work. The City cannot permit solicitations or distributions during working time. Prohibited solicitations include, without limitation, collections for other employees during working time; catalog, raffle, ticket, or other sales during working time; charitable or union solicitations during working time; and distribution of literature of any kind during working time. Each employee should strictly observe the following basic, common-sense policies.
(1) 
Do not solicit or distribute any printed material to any other employee for any purpose at any time during your working time or that employee's working time. (Working time includes any time that an employee is on the clock, but does not include break periods and mealtimes or other similar specified periods during the workday when an employee is properly not engaged in performing his or her work tasks.)
(2) 
Do not distribute any written or printed materials in any working area at any time.
(3) 
Do not post on the premises, or remove from the premises, any notices, signs, or printed material. The City maintains an employee bulletin board exclusively for personal announcements, pictures, and want/sale ads, which should be dated and submitted to your supervisor for posting. Postings will be removed after a reasonable period. If you would like a posted item returned to you, please tell your supervisor when you ask him or her to post it.
(4) 
Non-employees are prohibited from soliciting or distributing any written or printed material of any kind for any purpose on City premises at any time. Do not invite or encourage any non-employee to violate this rule.
A. 
This policy establishes guidelines for the creation and use of the City's social media sites for work-related purposes as a means of conveying City information to its citizens. Employees and officials may use social media as a function of their employment with the City, when authorized and within their respective delegated areas of employment responsibilities and duties.
B. 
The intended purpose behind establishing City social media sites is to disseminate information from and about the City to its citizens. The City has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is "spoken" on behalf of the City on its social media sites.
C. 
For purposes of this policy, "social media" is understood to be content created by individuals, using accessible, expandable, and upgradable publishing technologies, through and on the Internet. Examples of social media include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, blogs, YouTube, LinkedIn®, and Flickr. "Content" includes comment, information, articles, pictures, videos, or any other form of communicative content posted on City social media sites.
D. 
Nothing contained in this policy shall be construed as denying employees their civil or political liberties as guaranteed by the United States and Illinois Constitutions.
E. 
The establishment and use by any City department, division or employee of City social media sites are subject to approval by the City Administrator or his designees. City social media sites shall be administered and monitored by employees designated by the City Administrator.
F. 
City social media sites should make clear that they are maintained by the City and that they follow the City's social media policy. Wherever possible, City social media sites should link back to the official City website or department web pages for forms, documents, online services, and other information necessary to conduct business with the City.
G. 
Staff in the City Administrator's Office will occasionally monitor Content on City social media sites to ensure adherence to the City's social media policy and the interests and goals of the City. The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this social media policy or any applicable laws, rules regulations or policies. Any content removed based on this social media policy should be retained by the authorized employee who removed it for a reasonable period of time (minimum 30 days), as well as information about the time, date, and identity of the poster, when available.
H. 
This social media policy must be displayed to users or made available by hyper link at https://www.elpasoil.org/.
I. 
The City will approach the use of social media tools as consistently as possible, enterprise wide.
J. 
The City's website at https://www.elpasoil.org/ will remain the City's primary and predominant internet presence. All City social media sites shall adhere to applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations, and policies. City social media sites are subject to Illinois public records and record retention laws, rules, regulations, and policies. Any content maintained in a social media format that is related to City business, including a list of subscribers, posted communication, and communication submitted for posting, may be a public record subject to public disclosure. The employee using social media will maintain records in accordance with Illinois public records and record retention laws, rules, regulations, and policies.
K. 
Comments or other content on topics or issues not related to City business or within the jurisdictional purview of the City may be removed. Employees representing the City via City social media sites shall conduct themselves at all times as representatives of the City in accordance with all City rules, regulations and policies. This social media policy may be updated from time to time and amended at the discretion of the City Administrator.
L. 
As a public entity, the City should abide by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner. Content perceived as containing any of the following, but not limited to, inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on City social media sites and is subject to removal and/or restriction by, the City Administrator, or his designees:
(1) 
Content not related to the original topic or to the business of the City, including random or unintelligible comments;
(2) 
Profane, obscene, violent or pornographic content and/or language;
(3) 
Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender, physical and mental disability, sexual orientation, religion, age, family status, military status, or source of income;
(4) 
Defamatory or personal attacks;
(5) 
Threats to any person or organization;
(6) 
Content in support of, or opposition to, any political campaigns or ballot measures;
(7) 
Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to the advertising of any business or product for sale;
(8) 
Conduct in violation of any federal, state, or local law, rule or regulation;
(9) 
Encouragement of illegal activity;
(10) 
Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
(11) 
Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as, but not limited to a copyright, of any party; or
(12) 
Any other content deemed inappropriate by the City.
M. 
Content posted by a member of the public on any City social media site shall be the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of content neither implies endorsement of, or agreement by, the City, nor does such content necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City. The City reserves the right to deny access to City social media sites to any person who violates the City's social media policy, at any time and without prior notice.
N. 
Designated employees shall monitor City social media sites for content requesting responses from the City. Designated employees may direct such requests to the appropriate City department for response. At least once a week, the designated employee shall monitor content posted on City social media sites for content in violation of this social media policy.
O. 
When a City employee responds to a comment, in his/her capacity as a City employee, the employee should do so in the name of the City department, and the employee shall not share personal information about himself or herself, or other City employees except as required for City business.
P. 
Content posted to any City social media site must comply with that site's terms and conditions, and the City reserves the right to report any violation of those terms to the designated employee so they may take appropriate and reasonable responsive action.
Q. 
Social media and internet use should not be considered anonymous. Employees should be aware that privacy settings for social media sites are constantly in flux, and they should not assume that personal information posted on such sites is protected. Published content may be explored, transmitted, stored, and archived by external entities. Even the strongest privacy settings cannot prevent an approved friend or authorized recipient from independently choosing to forward or repost the information. There is no such thing as a "private" social media site.
R. 
Employees must use their judgment. If it is not something they would feel comfortable seeing in the media, or being seen by co-workers, other City employees, supervisors, or management, it should not be posted. Posts to electronic media must reflect the City's high standard of ethical behavior.
S. 
Social media/blogging.
(1) 
With the rapid growth and application of social media, the City recognizes the need to have a policy which ensures that employees, who use social media in a personal capacity, have guidance as to the City's expectations. Social media encompasses a broad sweep of online activity, all of which is traceable. These social media networks include not only the blogs you author and those on which you comment, but social networks and other platforms such as Facebook and MySpace; professional networks such as LinkedIn®; YouTube; the live-blogging tool, Twitter; and other similar forms of online journals, diaries or personal newsletters not affiliated with the City.
(2) 
Nothing contained in this policy shall be construed as denying employees their civil or political liberties as guaranteed by the United States and Illinois Constitutions. The City takes no position on your decision to start or maintain a personal blog or participate in other social networking activities. While the City understands that employees have the right to voice or post dissatisfaction with the City, its management, or one's supervision, the City encourages everyone to discuss any such dissatisfaction with management at any time in the simple hope to address such concerns directly.
(3) 
When posted independent of the City's computer, electronic and telephone communication equipment, systems and networks, and for non-City work related purposes, such messages must recognize the following standards:
(a) 
You are prohibited from using City time, City-owned equipment, including computers, Company licensed software or other electronic equipment, or our facilities to conduct personal blogging or social networking activities. Employees must receive prior authorization from their supervisor before conducting social networking activities or posting messages to electronic bulletin boards, list-serves or similar public posting forums on the Internet through the use of the City's computer, electronic and telephone communication equipment, systems and networks.
(b) 
Do not share information that is proprietary about the City, or any other information that has not been publicly released by the City. If you have any question about what constitutes proprietary information or whether information has been released publicly, or if you have doubts of any kind, speak with your supervisor or the City Administrator before releasing information that could potentially harm the City, or our former, current, or potential employees.
(c) 
If you are developing a personal website or writing a blog that will mention the City and/or our capabilities, or our former, current, or potential employees or our citizens, you must explicitly and prominently state that any views expressed are your own and not those of the City or any person or entity affiliated with or doing business with the City.
(d) 
Unless given explicit permission, you are not authorized to speak on behalf of the City, nor to represent that you do so.
(e) 
Employees are prohibited from posting comments about coworkers or supervisors or the City that are vulgar, obscene, threatening, intimidating, harassing, or a violation of the Employer's workplace policies against discrimination, harassment, or hostility on account of actual or perceived age, race, religion, sex, ethnicity, gender, pregnancy, nationality, disability, or other protected class, status, or characteristic diversity, equal employment, anti-harassment, and discrimination policies.
(4) 
The City encourages employees to discuss any dissatisfaction that they might have with the management in hopes to address such dissatisfaction directly.
Employees do not have to be residents of the City of El Paso, except in any instance where residency is required to conform to City ordinance or state law. Public safety employees may be subject to certain residency or response time requirements, and they will be advised of those requirements. Residency within the City limits is certainly encouraged.
Each department director may supplement these policies with policies which are uniquely particular or applicable only to his/her department. Department directors are prohibited from issuing any policy that conflicts with the rules declared in this handbook. Department directors should forward a copy of any proposed policies to the Director of Public Service for review and approval prior to implementation. Violations of these supplemental policies will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Any employee who violates any provisions of the City ordinances or these policies will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
A. 
Former employees may be reemployed based on the following guidelines:
(1) 
Former employees with a satisfactory work record and favorable references may be considered for reemployment in accordance with the policy for recruitment, interviews, and selection.
(2) 
Qualifying examinations (physical, drug screen, background investigation) may be required where applicable.
(3) 
Retirees may only be rehired to temporary, non-benefited positions, unless otherwise approved by the Director of Public Service or designee.
B. 
Any accrued rights, privileges, or benefits are canceled when an employee terminates service with the City. Any benefits reinstated to a reemployed employee, including, but not limited to, participation in retirement plans and group insurance plans, will be subject to the rules of the plan documents and applicable federal and state reemployment laws and regulations. In most cases, prior service will not be bridged if the employee has been separated from employment with the City for more than 30 calendar days.