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Reclamation District 900 adopts updated employee handbook, adds paid reproductive-loss bereavement
Summary
The Reclamation District 900 Board approved an updated employee handbook and added reproductive-loss leave to the district's paid bereavement policy after a trustee request.
The Reclamation District 900 Board of Trustees on April 16 voted to adopt an updated employee handbook and amended the document to include reproductive-loss leave under the district's paid bereavement policy.
General Manager presented the handbook updates, saying California employment laws change frequently and the district would now review the handbook annually. He summarized substantive changes including revised equal employment opportunity language, a new electronic timekeeping system, clarified sick-leave provisions for violent-crime victims, a reproductive-loss leave policy, and a standby/storm pay provision set at $16.50 per hour and overtime paid at 1.25 to 2 times base pay where required by law. "We think we need to pay them for that standby time," the general manager said of staff called in during storms.
A trustee asked whether reproductive-loss leave could be paid rather than unpaid; the trustee noted the city's policy included paid leave and asked the board to adopt the same. The general manager said the district must allow the leave without pay as required by law but that the district could choose to provide paid leave. A trustee then moved to approve the handbook with the added language placing reproductive-loss leave under the paid bereavement policy; the motion received a second and was approved on a roll call.
The board's roll call on the motion recorded Trustee Alcala voting "Aye," a second trustee listed in the transcript as "Trustee Ziajal" voting "Aye," and President Guerrero voting "Aye." The motion was recorded as approved.
The handbook also formalizes electronic timekeeping (staff use cell phones) and clarifies the district's prohibition on marijuana use during work hours for employees holding commercial driver's licenses, noting drug findings can result in loss of a license. The board directed staff to incorporate the paid bereavement language into the handbook before final distribution to employees.
The board took no additional changes during the meeting; the amended handbook was adopted and will be reviewed annually to track state law changes.
