The Moscow City Council voted to approve a comprehensive set of personnel policy updates and two new policies aimed at incorporating recently added paramedic firefighter positions, clarifying benefits language and formalizing internal practices.

Human Resources Manager Bonnie Denler told the council the updates revise 13 existing policies and add two new ones. “There are 13 updates, policies identified for amendment, and 2 new policies for adoption,” Denler said, summarizing the package and the reasons for the changes.

The changes were driven in part by the addition of three paramedic firefighter positions and by legal and operational updates, Denler said. Among the amendments: overtime and work-period language to reflect Department of Labor classifications for partially exempt paramedic firefighters; a 12-month introductory period for those hires similar to police probation rules; adjustments so firefighters use a 14-day work period; and changes to floating-holiday and holiday payout mechanics because of 24-hour shifts. Denler said paid parental leave language was also adjusted so the 6-week benefit is described in hours appropriate to 24-hour-shift staff (336 hours), while 240 hours remains the coverage for standard schedules.

Denler also described administrative clarifications: the city’s dependent health-benefit contribution language was revised to preserve a 50% floor while reflecting that the city currently pays 60% for dependents; an internal practice covering 100% of dependents when both parents are city employees was added to policy; equal employment opportunity language was updated to follow recent EEOC and Supreme Court guidance about religious-accommodation denials; and rest-break language was expanded to incorporate PUMP Act protections for nursing mothers.

Council members asked for clarifications about accruals and use. Denler explained sick-leave accrual and payout for 24-hour-shift paramedic firefighters are scaled so an employee calling out for a full shift would not exhaust leave unrealistically quickly. “If you think about it, how long it would take them to accrue 24 hours to take 24 hours of sick leave… it would take three months,” she said, adding the city compared local agency practice during drafting.

Council discussion also touched on the city''s 6-week paid parental leave adopted last year. Councilor [first name only, transcript] raised the possibility of expanding to eight weeks and asked staff to prepare a brief review of how the six-week benefit has been used and any operational impacts; Denler said several employees have used and expressed appreciation for the six-week benefit.

After discussion the council moved to approve the resolution. The council recorded unanimous approval on the motion.

The resolution updates are effective as adopted by the council; staff indicated some of the changes clarify internal practices (for example, paying small sick-leave payouts through payroll rather than maintaining small VEBA accounts) rather than expand benefits.

Denler said the Human Resources department reviewed the updates with the Employee Advisory Committee in September and incorporated that feedback before bringing the package to council.

Councilors thanked Denler and staff for compiling the changes and for the level of detail provided.