[Added 6-27-1988 by L.L. No. 2-1988A]
A.
Purpose. The legislative body recognizes that, in
order to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the people
when an emergency work situation exists, it shall be required that
the employees of the City of Schenectady reside near their place of
employment. Additionally, the City Council hereby determines that
individuals who are employees of the City of Schenectady take a greater
interest, commitment and involvement with the government which employs
them by living within that municipality. Thus, the City Council believes
that the public need is sufficient to require that employees hired
after the effective date of this section be residents of the City
of Schenectady.
B.
Coverage. This section shall affect all City employees initially appointed after July 12, 1988. This section shall not supersede or override any other residency provision existing in state or federal law or existing in the Code of Ordinances of the City of Schenectady found to be contrary to the provisions herein, except to the extent that § 92-1 of the Schenectady Code of Ordinances is hereby repealed by this section. This section shall affect all City employees, including all provisional, permanent and temporary employees.
C.
EMPLOYEE
Definitions. As used in this section, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Includes every person hired after July 12, 1988, by the City
of Schenectady.
D.
Residency for new employees. Except as otherwise provided by Subsection E of this section, the City Council hereby establishes a residency requirement for all prospective employees of the City. Every person initially employed by the City of Schenectady on or after July 12, 1988, shall, as a qualification of employment, be or become a resident of the City of Schenectady within six months of the date of initial appointment for said City. Furthermore, during the time of service of such employees, no employee shall cease to be a resident of the City of Schenectady, and such shall be deemed a voluntary resignation.
E.
Residency for fire fighters. Every fire fighter initially
employed by the City of Schenectady on or after July 12, 1988, shall,
as a qualification of employment, be or become a resident in the County
of Schenectady within six months of the date of initial appointment
for said City, and during the time of said service of such employee,
no employee shall cease to be a resident of the County of Schenectady.
F.
Board of Residency. There is hereby created the Board
of Residency. This Board shall consist of five members, one such member
to be the Mayor of the City of Schenectady or the Mayor’s appointee,
one by the Corporation Counsel of the City of Schenectady and three
members appointed by the Council President. All members of this Board
shall be residents of the City of Schenectady, and, additionally,
the members of the Board appointed by the Council must be either current
City Council members or current employees of the City of Schenectady.
This Board shall have the following powers and obligations:
[Amended 4-12-1993 by L.L. No. 5-1993; 10-13-2009 by L.L. No.
2-2009]
(1)
The Board shall, upon written request of the Mayor,
make a determination granting an annual waiver of the residency requirement
to any City employee and thereby exempt said employee from the provisions
of this section. This determination shall be based upon one or more
of the following criteria:
(2)
The Board shall be the tribunal to which a dismissed
employee shall initially appeal, and the Board shall have the power
to affirm, reverse or in any other way modify the determination made
by the Mayor. However, in the case of police officers and firemen,
this subsection shall not apply, as it is a mandatory subject for
collective bargaining negotiations pursuant to a decision of the administrative
law judge of the Public Employment Relations Board dated March 26,
1989.
(3)
Each member of the Board of Residency shall serve
a one-year term of office, which shall expire on December 31 of each
year.
(4)
The Board shall render its decision within 20 days
of receipt of an application or after the conclusion of a fact-finding
hearing, and a copy of its decision shall be forwarded to the Mayor
and employee.
G.
Notification. A copy of this section shall be provided
to all prospective employees at the time of their application for
a position and to all current employees by the effective date of this
section.
H.
Breach of residency requirement. If an allegation is made that an employee of the City of Schenectady is in violation of this section, the Mayor, after investigation and upon probable cause shown, shall determine that an employee is in violation of this section and shall terminate said employee upon the expiration of 10 days from the time notice is given to said employee of said finding. Said employee may, within 10 days, apply to the Board of Residency for modification of the Mayor's determination by making a formal application to the Schenectady Corporation Counsel's office, and the Board shall then act pursuant to the powers granted it in Subsection F(1)(b) of this section. If the employee shall not so apply within said ten-day period, he shall be deemed to have voluntarily resigned. However, the second sentence of this subsection, dealing with the employee's application to the Board of Residency for modification of the mayor's determination, shall not apply to police officers and firemen, as the procedure embodied in this sentence is a mandatory subject for collective bargaining negotiations pursuant to a decision of the administrative law judge of the Public Employment Relations Board dated March 26, 1989.
[Amended 4-12-1993 by L.L. No. 5-1993]
I.
Severability. In the event that this section or any
provision of it shall be deemed by a court of law to be in conflict
with any provision of New York State statutory law, the New York State
Constitution or the United States Constitution or if adherence to
or enforcement of any subsection of this section shall be restrained
by a court of law, the remaining provisions of this section shall
not be affected.
[Amended 8-26-1985 by Ord. No. 85-79]
The provisions of this article shall apply to
any person directly employed and compensated by the City on a full-time,
regular basis, with the exception of specifically stated exclusions:
Policemen, firemen, senior aides, seasonal and/or temporary employees,
as well as elected officials, members of citizen boards, commissions
and all other personnel appointed to serve without compensation or
individuals and/or groups compensated on a fee basis are to be excluded
from the general provisions of this article, unless a particular section
or subdivision specifically provides to the contrary; in such event,
only the terms of the specified section itself are to apply.
A.
The basic workweek, unless modified by a collective
bargaining agreement, shall run Monday through Friday. It shall consist
of five working days of eight hours each. Salaried employees located
in City Hall or other offices normally open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. work seven hours per day.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986; 8-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-12]
B.
During emergencies or because of other unusual requirements,
employees may be required to work overtime. Per diem and hourly employees
shall receive overtime pay, and salaried employees shall receive equivalent
time off.
(1)
Per diem and hourly employees who work more than eight
hours during any one day shall be paid at the rate of time and a half
for authorized overtime.
(2)
When salaried employees are required to work more
than eight hours in any one day or more than five days in any one
workweek, excluding those who routinely answer emergency calls, they
shall receive equivalent compensatory time off, subject to the following
conditions:
(a)
Compensatory time off must be authorized by the employee's
department head.
(b)
No employee may accumulate more than 20 days of compensatory
time, except by express approval of the Mayor. Accrued overtime up
to 20 days shall be payable to the employee in case of resignation
or separation from employment through no fault of his own and where
there is no disciplinary action pending against the employee.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
(c)
All accumulated compensatory time must be used prior
to December 1 of the calendar year in which it is earned, with the
exceptions that compensatory time earned during the month of November
may be taken during December, and any compensatory time earned during
the month of December shall be used during the next succeeding year.
(d)
Exceptions to the foregoing must be approved by the
Mayor.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
(3)
Employees entitled to time off on holidays who are
required to work on a holiday shall receive double pay, if per diem
workers, or equivalent time off, if salaried.
[Amended 5-29-1973 by Ord. No. 16070; 4-26-1976 by Ord. No. 17022]
A.
City's election to provide payment. The Council of
the City of Schenectady hereby elects to provide for cash payment
of the monetary value of accumulated time standing to the credit of
present City employees as authorized in § 92 of the General
Municipal Law of the State of New York.
B.
Compensatory time off. Where practicable, the City
employee, who has to his credit accumulated overtime, will be permitted
to take compensatory time off for every hour to his credit.
C.
Records used to determine amount of accumulated time.
The records of the Department of Finance will be used in instances
as the official record to determine the amount of accumulated time,
unless the employee is able to verify by some outside independent
source any discrepancy in the hours credited to him. The Director
of Finance is to make the determination as to the authenticity of
the independent records submitted by the employee.
D.
Retirement or death in service; payment. Upon retirement,
or in case of death while an employee is in the service of the City
of Schenectady, the employee shall be entitled to have converted into
dollars and cents the amount of overtime hours standing to his credit,
but in no event shall the cash payment exceed $1,000.
E.
Hourly rate. The hourly rate to be used in determining
the amount to be paid is that rate of compensation that the employee
was receiving at the time the extra hours were worked.
F.
Applicability to present City employees. The above
provisions of this section are applicable only to present City employees.
Each employee, with the exception of department
heads, must record their attendance on a time card or attendance sheet.
Falsification of this time record is cause for dismissal. The time
record shall be submitted to the Department of Finance weekly. Employees
are required to report to work on time, both morning and lunch time.
Tardiness will result in a payroll deduction. Accumulated tardiness
of more than 1/2 hour in any payroll period (one week) shall
be deducted from the employee's pay. Habitual tardiness is cause for
suspension or dismissal.
[Amended 5-29-1973 by Ord. No. 16070]
The following days are holidays for all regular
full-time employees, and they shall be paid at their regular rate
for these days or substitution days subject to the conditions below:
|
New Year's Day
|
|
Washington's Birthday
|
|
Memorial Day
|
|
Independence Day
|
|
Labor Day
|
|
Columbus Day
|
|
Election Day
|
|
Veterans' Day
|
|
Thanksgiving and the day following Thanksgiving
|
|
Christmas
|
A.
If any holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding
Friday shall be the vacation day. If holidays fall on a Sunday, the
succeeding Monday shall be the vacation day.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
A.
Employees, not covered by collective bargaining agreements,
shall be eligible for two weeks (10 days) annual vacation after completion
of one year of continuous employment by the City. Subsequently, two-weeks
vacation is credited annually on January 1. All full-time employees
shall be granted one additional day of vacation for each successive
full calendar year of continuous employment after the first five years
of continuous employment up to the completion of the 15th year of
service, at which time the maximum annual vacation of four weeks or
20 workdays shall be granted.
B.
The scheduling of vacations shall be at the discretion
of the Mayor or the department head for the proper functioning of
the department. Seniority rights will be observed in vacation scheduling
if these rights do not conflict with the administration of the departments.
C.
If any employee has broken service with the City,
he shall be given credit for prior service provided that:
D.
Seasonal employees shall not be deemed to be full-time
employees under this article. However, any seasonal employee who is
employed six months or more per year, after two years of such seasonal
employment, shall be given one day vacation for each month employed
during the previous year.
E.
Employees may accumulate vacation for two years, but
the maximum accumulation of vacation may not exceed six weeks, regardless
of service. Accrued vacation up to the maximum of six weeks shall
be payable to the employee in case of resignation or separation from
employment through no fault of his own and where there is no disciplinary
action pending against the employee.
F.
In the case of an employee's death, accrued vacation
up to six weeks shall be paid to the surviving spouse and if there
is none, then to the deceased employee's estate.
A.
"Sick leave" is leave with pay granted to an employee
for sickness or related causes after the first year of continuous
employment. Each employee earns sick leave credits at a rate of one
day per month, provided that an employee is on the payroll for as
least 17 calendar days during that month. Sick leave credits may be
accumulated up to a maximum of 150 working days. Sick leave for all
employees not covered by union contract shall be accumulated at the
rate of one day per month, not to exceed 12 days per year, during
the first five years of service. After five years of service, employees
not covered by union contract shall accumulate 1 1/2 days sick
leave per month, not to exceed 18 days per year, with a maximum accumulation
of 240 days. Those employees shall accumulate sick leave as long as
they are in the service of the employer. An employee not covered by
union contract shall be entitled to convert 75% of his unused sick
leave up to a maximum accumulation of 240 days to cash, upon termination
of his services as an employee with the City.
B.
Absence because of personal illness may be charged
to accumulated sick leave, provided that the employee reports the
illness to his supervisor within two hours of the first working day
of absence. The employee must keep the supervisor advised of the necessity
for continued absence and furnish satisfactory proof of illness upon
request. After five consecutive working days absence due to personal
illness, the employee must present a written statement by a licensed
physician certifying that the employee's condition prevented him from
performing the duties of his position.
C.
Sick leave shall not be granted for maternity leave.
Pregnant employees shall be separated or granted a leave of absence
without pay.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
D.
An employee injured in the course of his employment
may use his accrued sick leave as provided below:
(1)
Charges shall be made against accrued sick leave for
the statutory waiting period not covered by the New York State Compensation
Law.
(2)
An employee shall receive compensation benefits after
the waiting period has elapsed until such time as the Compensation
Board grants an award.
(3)
If any portion of a subsequently awarded compensation
award covers a period for which an employee has used his accrued sick
leave, then said proportion of the compensation award shall be credited
to restoring a pro rata share to employee's sick leave accrual.
E.
If an illness in the employee's immediate family requires
the employee's personal care and attention, he may make a written
application for leave of absence to his department head and if approved,
the employee may use his accrued sick leave in such instance.
F.
An employee shall be granted limited sick leave upon
application to his department head, when death in the employee's immediate
family occurs. However, leave shall not be allowed in excess of five
days and shall be charged against accumulated sick leave. Immediate
family includes spouse, child, parents of employee or spouse, brother,
sister or grandchildren.
G.
No sick leave day shall be allowed on contiguous working
days either before or after holidays or vacations, except by the express
permission of the Mayor.
H.
No benefits are to be earned by an employee while
he is on leave of absence from his job. However, while an employee
is receiving paid sick leave or during the first three months of receiving
workmen's compensation benefits, he shall continue to accrue employee
benefits as if he were actually working.
I.
Employees seeking relief from the provisions of this
section can appeal to the Sick Leave Committee. This Committee is
composed of the Mayor, who shall be Chairman, the Director of Finance,
the Corporation Counsel and the department head of the appellant.
A written appeal is directed to the employee's department head who
forwards a copy to the Committee Chairman and requests the matter
be placed on the Committee's agenda for its next meeting. The Committee's
decision is by majority vote of those Committee members attending.
Two members of the Committee constitute a quorum. Leave granted shall
be charged against any future sick leave.
[Amended 5-29-1973 by Ord. No. 16070; 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
[Amended 5-29-1973 by Ord. No. 16070; 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
A.
An employee shall be granted a maximum of three days
per year, with pay, for personal leave upon approval of his Department
Head.
(1)
Religious observances.
(2)
Doctor or dental appointments which cannot be arranged
outside of working hours.
(3)
All other legal or personal affairs that must take
place during the working hours.
(4)
An employee with less than one year of service must
have approval of the department head and the Mayor to use personal
leave. Personal leave may not be used in conjunction with vacation
leave.
B.
An employee who does not use his personal leave during
the year shall be entitled to have any unused personal leave for that
year credited to his sick leave for the following year.
Every employee shall receive leave in accordance
with the applicable section of the New York State Military Law.
On proof of the necessity of jury service or
attending court pursuant to subpoena or other order of the court,
an employee shall be granted a leave of absence with pay. However,
the employee performing jury duty shall be paid only the difference
between his regular pay and fees paid to him by the court for jury
duty.
Employees shall be retired in accordance with
the New York State Civil Service Law.
The City agrees to deduct dues for all recognized
employee organizations. Members must authorize the Director of Finance,
in writing, to withhold such dues from employee's salary. These written
authorizations shall be on file at the Department of Finance and shall
be a part of the permanent records of the Department of Finance. Check-off
shall continue until the Director of Finance receives written authorization
from the member to cease withholding union dues from his salary.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
Seniority shall consist of the accumulated continuous
paid services of the employee with the City. The employee's earned
seniority shall not be lost because of absence due to illness, authorized
leaves of absence or temporary layoff.
Promotions, assignments and displacements shall
be based on seniority, fitness and ability insofar as department administration
permits. It shall be the policy of the City to promote to supervisory
positions from the ranks of employees where possible. Promotions in
the competitive class shall be made from eligibility lists pursuant
to provisions of the Civil Service Law.
When it becomes necessary to reduce the work
force, such reductions in force shall be in conformance with §§ 80
and 85 of the Civil Service Law and all other pertinent laws and with
due consideration given to seniority in all cases.
All parties hold themselves responsible for
mutual, cooperative enforcement of safety rules and regulations.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sec. 2-211, which immediately
followed this section, relating to wage rates, was omitted as being
no longer in effect.
[Amended 5-4-1970 by Ord. No. 15327; 10-18-1971 by Ord. No. 15599; 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
A.
Authorization required. No officer or employee of
the City shall use a privately owned automobile or motor vehicle in
City business, unless such use has been duly authorized by the Mayor.
B.
Mileage. All officers and employees of the City who
are duly authorized by the Mayor to actually use their privately owned
automobiles or motor vehicles for City business shall be reimbursed
for such use at the rate allowed by individual labor contracts.
[Added 2-26-2018 by L.L.
No. 2-2018]
All applicants for employment with the City shall be required
to have fingerprint impressions of their fingers and thumbs on both
hands taken by the City. Such fingerprints and the required fee shall
be forwarded to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
for a criminal history records check, and the Mayor is hereby authorized
to enter into an Agreement for such purpose. The information secured
as a result of said records check shall be reviewed by the Personnel
and Benefits Administrator and the Corporation Counsel, or their designees;
and provided to the Civil Service Commission when Commission action
is deemed to be appropriate. If a prospective employee has been convicted
of a felony and/or misdemeanor, any decision regarding such prospective
employee's fitness for a position must be made upon a review of the
factors contained in New York State Correction Law §§ 751
to 753.
