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Personnel committee OKs plan to add arbitration clause to offer letters, roll out revised personnel manual in May
Summary
The Rancho Murieta Personnel Committee agreed to strengthen new-hire offer letters to include contingencies (background checks, physicals) and to add a new arbitration agreement inside a revised personnel manual staff will bring to the board in May; the union and HR will be consulted.
The Rancho Murieta Community Services District Personnel Committee on April 6 agreed to strengthen the district's offer letters for new hires and to place a new arbitration agreement into a revised personnel manual staff will bring to the board in May. Committee members said the changes are intended to make employment conditions clearer and to avoid post-hire disputes.
The committee’s chair opened the agenda item, saying the district now relies primarily on offer letters rather than written contracts for most positions and asked staff to consider ‘‘beefing up’’ the letters. A staff member told the committee the plan is to present a new personnel manual next month that will include an arbitration agreement developed in consultation with HR and the union.
‘‘I definitely think we need an arbitration agreement, which will basically say that before anybody can take the district to court, before it goes to court, it goes to arbitration to work it out,’’ the staff member said. Another committee member recommended copying the arbitration language into the bottom of the offer letter so applicants see the provision at the time they accept the offer.
Members also reaffirmed that offer letters should explicitly state that employment is contingent on background checks, a physical exam and drug testing. The committee asked staff and HR to coordinate with the union on any required language and to return a final draft to the board for approval.
The committee did not take a formal roll-call vote but confirmed by consensus that it would forward the revised letters and personnel manual to the full board for inclusion on an upcoming consent calendar. The committee also asked staff to present the manual at the May personnel committee meeting before the board packet is finalized.
What happens next: staff will work with HR and the union on final arbitration language, finalize the personnel manual, and forward the package to the board in May for consideration.
