Florence city officials discussed proposed updates to city personnel policies during a special city council meeting last week.
Presented by human resources administrator Laura Grant, the changes include additional benefits as well as updates that bring the policies into compliance with state and federal requirements.
Among the benefits are three new official holidays, the inclusion of civil leave and voting leave policies, additional sick leave and parental leave and updates to the city’s employment enrichment program.
“Over the past several months, I have conducted a study of our former personnel policy book,” said Grant. “The review focused on ensuring compliance with the latest federal and state mandates. I also examined ways to enhance our employee benefits package to address ongoing challenges with employee recruitment and retention. These issues have been a priority for the city, and it’s crucial that we continue to evolve our policies to remain competitive in this labor market.”
Updates and new benefits
Some of the new and enhanced employee benefits include:
- The addition of three official city holidays — Juneteenth, Columbus Day and New Year’s Eve.
- An additional 24 hours of sick leave for full-time employees.
- A pregnancy and parental leave policy that allows up to six weeks of unpaid leave for full-time employees. While the Family Medical Leave Act provides this for most employees, Grant said adding the policy ensures those not covered by the act would also be able to have this option. For example, those who have not been employed by the city for at least 12 months would not be eligible for FMLA, she explained.
- A new adoption leave policy allows employees adopting a child under age 10 to take an unpaid leave of absence for up to six weeks.
- A new civil leave policy. The city has had a policy for those with jury duty, but Grant said the civil leave policy allows for absences due to court appearances as either a plaintiff or defendant in a personal case or in a suit not resulting from duties performed on behalf of the city.
- A new voting leave policy allows employees to take up to four hours unpaid to vote.
- Updates to the employee enrichment program include increased funding for the tuition assistance plan with a reimbursement of up to $5,250 per employee per fiscal year.
Additional policy updates included language strengthening protections against retaliation for reporting unlawful harassment and updated internal complaint procedures. They also explained more about reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Retiring employees were given more options on their accrued unused sick leave payouts. Changes also addressed steps in the employee review and review appeal process.
The Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act and lactation accommodation policy were added. The policy prohibits discrimination in relation to an employee’s pregnancy. It provides for reasonable break time and accommodations for lactating workers for up to a year after the birth of their child.
When asked about the impact of the new policies on the budget, finance director Jason Lewis said he has an estimate but that more data over the coming months would be needed.
“Our employees are our most valuable asset when it comes to providing the service to our residents,” said Mayor Julie Aubuchon. “This is an important step for them to have policies that are consistent and fair and up-to-date and as well-written as they can be. We are facing struggles attracting and retaining workforce. This is just a first step of what we need, and it’s a bigger conversation.”