American Canyon Municipal Code Art. II Personnel Policies

It is the policy of the city that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity. The city does not discriminate against its employees, contractors, consultants, citizens, or applicants regardless of race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, physical handicap, medical condition, veteran status, or religious affiliation in accordance with all applicable federal and state equal opportunity laws. It is the city's policy to treat all employees, contractors, consultants, and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications and competence, and to remove discriminatory employment barriers when and where they are found to exist so all individuals may compete for employment opportunities on an equal basis.Nondiscrimination/equal opportunity shall apply in all program areas, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, promotions, compensation, benefits, transfers, work assignments, performance evaluations, disciplinary actions, demotions, terminations, layoffs, employee development, educational, social, and recreational programs, and the use of city facilities.All city human resource practices and procedures shall be administered in accordance with this equal opportunity/discrimination-free workplace provision.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

The city is committed to maintaining a safe and healthful workplace for all its employees, contractors, consultants, and the public in compliance with all related federal, state, and local laws. The city manager and staff shall be responsible for developing and implementing policies which protect employees and the public from potentially dangerous, violent, or harassing situations.

(A) Safety. The city shall develop programs and systems to protect its employees, property, and the general public from hazardous conditions, dangerous materials, and unsafe conditions. It shall be the responsibility of every employee to know and observe all safety rules, to use safety equipment and devices provided, and to work in a manner that will safeguard the employee, co-workers, and the general public.

(B) Violence in the Workplace. The city is intolerant of any behavior by employees, contractors or consultants which creates the risk of injury or harm resulting from violence to city employees, contractors, consultants, or the public. No city employee, contractor, or consultant shall possess weapons of any type while on duty or on city property, with the exception of on-duty law enforcement personnel, nor shall any employee, contractor, or consultant threaten or intimidate any other person with a violent action.

(C) Alcohol and Controlled Substances. The city is committed to providing a work environment that is safe, healthy and free of any adverse effects caused by alcohol or controlled substances. The city reserves the right, with or without prior notice to the employee, to conduct drug and alcohol tests, and to search all work areas and property in which the city maintains full or joint control with the employee.

(D) Harassment. It is the policy of the city to provide a businesslike work environment, free from all forms of employee discrimination, including incidents of sexual or any other form of harassment. Harassment by an employee or of an employee on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, gender, sexual preference, or age will not be tolerated. No employee, contractor or consultant shall be subjected to any form of harassment by other employees, contractors, consultants or the general public. No employee shall sexually harass anyone or suffer harassment from anyone else.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

The city shall establish a classification plan to provide a fair, complete, and continuous inventory of all classifications in the city service and to provide accurate descriptions and specifications for each class. Positions having similar duties and responsibilities shall be classified and compensated on a uniform basis. Any variations in pay must be based on significant differences in responsibilities and required knowledge, skills, and abilities. The city council shall approve the classification system. The city manager or designee shall bring recommendations for significant modifications of or additions to, the classification system to the city council for approval.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

A compensation plan shall be established by resolution of the city council. This plan shall establish the salary range and salary steps or rates of pay for each position in the city classification system in order to fairly compensate employees and maintain the city's competitiveness in the labor market. The city council shall administer the compensation plan for the city attorney and city manager. The city manager or designee shall administer the compensation plan for all other city employees. The city manager or designee shall make recommendations to amend the compensation plan to the city council.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

An employee benefits program shall be established by resolution of the city council. Employee benefits should be designed to meet changing employee needs, create an environment for performance excellence, and keep the city competitive in the labor market. The city manager or designee shall make recommendations to amend the employee benefits program to the city council.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

It is the city's intent to hire the most qualified and superior individuals to work in city service, while adhering to the city's equal opportunity and discrimination-free policies. The city manager or designee shall establish and maintain a fair and open recruitment and selection process which encourages anyone who feels qualified to apply. The city manager will ensure that all recruitment information and selection decisions are fair, open, and based on the specific requirements of the job.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

Regular performance evaluations are critical to retaining and enhancing the city's workforce. Evaluations shall be made as to the efficiency, competency, conduct, alignment with mission and goals, and merit of city employees. It is the responsibility of the department heads and subordinate supervisors to conduct ratings and complete employee evaluations. The city manager or designee shall provide and prescribe the forms and procedures to be used in such performance evaluations, and to assist in the training of supervisory personnel so that the evaluation program will be carried out in a sound and effective manner.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

Continual development and enhancement of employee knowledge, skills, and abilities is required to provide the service excellence expected by city residents. The city manager or designee and the department directors should provide for the opportunities for all employees to continue to develop their capacity in order to effectively do their job, provide high quality services and proper supervision, and advance their career within the city service. Employee development is key to the recruitment and retention of a high performing workforce.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

The city manager shall develop and implement disciplinary actions which are intended to be corrective and progressive in nature with the objective of obtaining compliance with rules, orders, procedures, standards of conduct and/or expected job performance. Corrective or disciplinary action taken should be limited in severity so that it is commensurate with the alleged infraction(s). While supervisors are encouraged to use a progressive approach in most circumstances, serious infractions of disciplinary standards call for an appropriate response. Counseling, warnings, reprimands, and suspensions may be bypassed if the employee's actions justify a more severe response.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004

The city recognizes the rights of employees in public service. Those rights include the freedom of speech, ability to submit and obtain responses to grievances, protection from retaliation for work-related action, and the city's adherence to all applicable state and federal labor laws and standards. The city also recognizes the responsibilities of employees in public service, including ethical standards, appropriate workplace conduct, and proper use of public property. The city manager or designee shall be responsible to develop and maintain appropriate practices and procedures governing these and other employee rights and responsibilities. These practices and procedures shall be periodically reviewed and updated as appropriate. The practices and procedures shall be made available to every employee and complete copies maintained in each city office. A summary and explanation of the information in this chapter and the practices and procedures shall be included in an employee handbook and provided to every current and new city employee, contractor, and consultant.

Ord. 2004-14, 2004