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Council reviews updated leave policy; new ‘civic engagement’ leave proposed
Summary
Council held a workshop on a revised personnel leave policy that reorganizes the personnel handbook, clarifies comp time and family/medical leave language, and adds a new civic-engagement leave allowing up to 24 hours annually for approved nonprofit volunteer work.
City staff led a workshop on a comprehensive rewrite of the personnel leave policy on April 15, proposing structural changes and one new leave category described as civic engagement leave.
Staff member Bonhoe told the council the personnel handbook (adopted in 2011) has been updated into a set of standalone policies and reviewed by legal counsel and the city’s labor representatives to avoid conflicts with the collective-bargaining agreement. He summarized the intent as “adding clarity so that anybody could pick these policies up and understand exactly how to use their leave.”
The most substantive addition is civic engagement leave. Bonhoe said the policy would permit employees to take up to “24 hours in a year” of paid leave to volunteer for nonprofit organizations, with preapproval and documentation requirements. Council discussion clarified the leave applies to time away from regular work hours (not to create paid overtime) and requires five days’ notice and supervisor approval when feasible.
The policy draft incorporates state-mandated family and medical leave language (PFML) and explains the city’s obligations and limits for job-holding (the city is exempt from the federal requirement to guarantee a job hold for employers with fewer than 50 employees). Bonhoe said comp-time rules and half-day holiday clarifications are consolidated into the leave policy for clarity.
Ending: Council discussed the draft and asked staff to continue legal review and coordination with the union; no final adoption vote was taken at the workshop.
