Santa Clara County Municipal Code Art. 5 Compensation

The basic pay plan consists of the salary ranges and the assignment of classes to such ranges as provided in the salary ordinance. Each employee shall be paid within the range for his/her class according to the following provisions, unless otherwise provided in the salary ordinance:

(a) Step one: The first step in each range is the minimum rate and shall normally be the hiring rate for the class. In cases where it is difficult to secure qualified personnel or a person of unusual qualifications is engaged, the Director, with the approval of the County Executive, may approve appointment at the second or third step, and with the approval of the Board of Supervisors at the fourth or fifth step.

(b) Step two: The second step shall be paid after the accumulation of six months of competent service at the first step.

(c) Step three: The third step shall be paid after the accumulation of 12 months of competent service at the second step.

(d) Step four: The fourth step shall be paid after the accumulation of 12 months of competent service at the third step.

(e) Step five: The fifth step shall be paid after the accumulation of 12 months of competent service at the fourth step.

(f) Time for salary adjustments: Salary adjustments shall be made on the first day of the pay period in which the required accumulation of months of competent service occurs.

(g) Delegation to County Executive: The Board of Supervisors may, by resolution, delegate to the County Executive authority to approve fourth and fifth step appointments as described in Subsection (a) of this section.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-1; Ord. No. NS-304.6, § 6, 6-18-56; Ord. No. NS-304.9, § 1, 10-14-58; Ord. No. NS-304.35, § 8, 5-23-66; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73; Ord. No. NS-304.92, § 1, 5-21-75; Ord. No. NS-304.100, § 15, 10-4-77; Ord. No. NS-304.120, § 1, 6-6-00)

(a) Promotion. Upon promotion, an employee's salary shall be adjusted as follows:

(1) For a promotion of less than ten percent, the salary shall be adjusted to the step in the new range which provides for a corresponding percentage increase salary.

(2) For a promotion of ten percent or more, the salary shall be adjusted to the step in the new range which provides for ten percent increase in salary, or to the first step in the new range, whichever is greater.

(b) Demotion. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section A25-660, upon demotion of an employee with permanent status in his/her current class, his/her salary shall be adjusted to the highest step in the new class not exceeding the salary received in the former class.

(c) Transfer. Upon transfer, the salary shall remain unchanged, or be adjusted in accordance with the rules for promotion if the salary level of the new class is higher.

(d) No loss of time-in-step. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section A25-660, no salary adjustment upon promotion, demotion, or transfer shall effect a loss of time acquired in the former salary step, and such time as was acquired in the former salary step shall be included in computing the accumulation of the required months of service for eligibility of the employee for further salary increases.

(e) Voluntary demotion. In the event of a voluntary demotion required by a work-connected illness or injury and resulting in a disability, the salary of the employee shall be placed at the step in the salary range which corresponds most closely to the salary received by the employee as of the time of injury. In the event that such voluntary demotion would result in a salary loss of more than ten percent, the employee's new salary shall be set at the rate closest to, but not less than ten percent below, his/her salary as of the time of injury.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-2; Ord. No. NS-304.14, § 16, 10-13-59; Ord. No. NS-304.21, § 6, 11-5-62; Ord. No. NS-304.29, § 1, 4-5-65; Ord. No. NS-304.49, § 10, 9-18-67; Ord. No. NS-304.58, § 1, 8-26-68; Ord. No. NS-304.60, § 1, 5-13-69; Ord. No. NS-304.66, § 1, 10-13-70; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73; Ord. No. NS-304.100, § 16, 10-4-77; Ord. No. NS-304.124, § 37, 9-17-02)

(a) The salary ranges provided in the salary ordinance are for full-time service in full-time positions, and are expressed in dollars per the number of working days in a bi-weekly pay period. If any position is established on any other time basis, the compensation for such position shall be adjusted proportionately.

(b) A position created for full-time employment shall not be filled by a part-time employee except upon recommendation of the appointing authority and approval of the Director.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-3; Ord. No. NS-304.6, § 6, 6-18-56; Ord. No. NS-304.35, §§ 12, 13, 5-23-66; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73)

(a) "Overtime" defined. For hospital employees, "overtime" is defined as time worked beyond 80 hours on a bi-weekly pay period, or beyond eight hours in any work day. For all other employees, overtime is defined as time worked beyond 40 hours in any work week or beyond eight or ten hours in any work day (depending on the number of hours in the duty shift to which the employee is assigned). Time for which pay is received but not worked such as vacation, sick leave, and authorized compensatory time off, will be counted towards the base period.

(b) Eligible classes. The County Executive shall determine by the administrative order those classes and positions which shall be eligible for overtime work and for cash payment.

(c) Rate of pay. When overtime work is assigned and is authorized by an appointing authority to be worked, compensation for such time worked shall be time off with pay computed at the rate of 1½ hours off for every hour of overtime worked, except that such overtime work shall be paid in cash at the rate of 1½ times the regular hourly rate of pay, for employees where required by state or federal law, or when specifically authorized by administrative order of the County Executive. All compensatory time off must be taken within 12 months of the date the overtime was worked, and failure to take the compensatory time off shall be deemed a waiver of the compensatory time by the employee. In the event the appointing authority does not provide compensatory time off during the mandatory time period, the employee may take compensatory time off as a matter or right immediately before the end of the pay period in which the compensatory time would be lost. Compensatory time balances shall be paid in cash on separation. An employee may elect in advance to receive compensatory time off credit in lieu of cash compensation for overtime where compensatory time off is allowed, if the appointing authority agrees.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-4; Ord. No. NS-304.10, § 1, 10-14-58; Ord. No. NS-304.48, § 1, 9-5-67; Ord. No. NS-304.70, § 2, 9-14-71; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73; Ord. No. NS-304.89, § 1, 10-29-74; Ord. No. NS-304.100, § 17, 10-4-77)

(a) Length. Employees shall be granted a meal period not less than 30 minutes nor more than one hour, scheduled at approximately the mid-point of the work day. Employees required to be at work stations for eight or more consecutive work hours shall have their meal during work hours.

(b) Overtime meals. If an employee is assigned two or more hours of overtime work contiguous to his/her regular work shift, or is called in within three hours of his/her scheduled quitting time, the County will provide a meal and time to eat same or reimburse the cost of the meal actually purchased and consumed by the employee on his/her own time, to a maximum amount of $9.00. Employees shall be provided additional meals as above for every four-hour period of overtime completed thereafter.

(c) Meal rates. In each County dining facility where meals are served to employees at the employee's expense, the department head in charge of the operation of that facility shall prescribe the rates to be charged. The rates so prescribed shall, as a minimum, be sufficient to defray the costs of the food served.

(Ord. No. NS-304.83, § 1, 7-31-73; Ord. No. NS-304.91, § 1, 5-13-75; Ord. No. NS-304.100, § 18, 10-4-77; Ord. No. NS-304.119, § 2, 9-10-91; Ord. No. NS-304.133, § 1, 12-17-13)

(a) [Legal holidays listed.] The following shall be observed as legal holidays:

January 1;

Third Monday in January (Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday);

Third Monday in February;

March 31 (Cesar E. Chavez Birthday);

Last Monday in May;

June 19 (Juneteenth Day);

July 4;

First Monday in September;

Second Monday in October;

Veteran's Day, to be observed on the date State of California employees observe the holiday;

Fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving Day);

The Friday following Thanksgiving Day (day after Thanksgiving);

December 25;

Other such holidays as may be designated by the Board of Supervisors; all previous informal time off practices are eliminated and unauthorized.

(b) Observance. Employees shall enjoy the same number of holidays, regardless of variations in work weeks. Holidays which fall on Sunday are observed on the following Monday. Holidays which fall on Saturdays shall be observed on the preceding Friday. Holidays which fall during a vacation period or when an employee is absent because of illness shall not be charged against the employee's vacation or sick leave balance. When the County holidays fall on an employee's scheduled day off, the day shall be added to the employee's vacation balance.

(c) Holiday work. If holiday work is assigned and authorized by the County Executive, such time worked by regular employees shall be paid in cash at a rate of 1½ times the regular hourly rate, plus any holiday pay to which the employees may be entitled. An employee may elect in advance to receive compensatory time off credit in lieu of cash compensation.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-5; Ord. No. NS-304.35, § 9, 5-23-66; Ord. No. NS-304.41, § 2, 1-3-67; Ord. No. NS-304.48, § 2, 9-5-67; Ord. No. NS-304.59, § 1, 9-30-68; Ord. No. NS-304.65, § 1, 10-13-70; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73; Ord. No. NS-304.93, § 1, 9-30-75; Ord. No. NS-304.96, § 1, 12-21-76; Ord. No. NS-304.100, § 19, 10-4-77; Ord. No. NS-304.111, § 1, 8-27-85; Ord. No. NS-304.125, § 1, 2-11-03; Ord. No. NS-304.136, § 1, 10-6-20)

(a) Each head of a department shall cause to be prepared and be responsible for an attendance record which reflects the attendance for the pay period of persons serving in the department pursuant to the salary ordinance and this division. Attendance data shall be provided to the Department of Finance in the manner and at the times specified by the Director of Finance.

(b) The Director of Employee Services Agency shall certify that each person to be paid has been employed in accordance with the provisions of the Charter and this division.

(c) The Director of Finance shall not approve salary or compensation for any person unless required attendance data has been received and the employment has been certified by the Director of Employee Services Agency.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-6; Ord. No. NS-304.8, § 1, 12-17-56; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73; Ord. No. NS-304.114, § 1, 9-13-88; Ord. No. NS-304.134, § 57, 8-25-15)

Salary advancements for employees appointed by the Board of Supervisors shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Section A25-217, be approved by the Board of Supervisors.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-8; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73)

Leave granted pursuant to Section A25-243 and time during suspension shall be deducted from time spent in a salary step in computing eligibility of the employee for further salary increases.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-9; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section A25-217, the salaries of Municipal Court attaches and employs may be increased or decreased within the limits and at the increments set by state law, to provide wages that are comparable to County employees of similar qualifications and experience holding equal or comparable positions in the County service.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-10; Ord. No. NS-304.7, § 1, 7-30-56; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73)

For a vacancy in an executive management position caused by separation from the service or in an approved leave of absence with or without pay, the County Executive may designate a County officer or employee as acting manager for a period not to exceed six months in the case of a vacancy, or one year in the case of a leave of absence. Such person shall retain his/her position but shall be paid the first step of the higher salary range or two steps above his/her current salary, whichever is higher, during such service. The acting manager shall have, in all respects, the authority and responsibility of the acting position during the period so designated by the County Executive.

(Code 1954, § 3.3.6-11; Ord. No. NS-304.10, § 3, 10-14-58; Ord. No. NS-304.16, § 2, 6-19-61; Ord. No. NS-304.26, § 2, 6-1-64; Ord. No. NS-304.78, § 5, 7-17-73; Ord. No. NS-304.108, § 1, 6-21-83)