Posts filed under ‘A. Employee Benefits’

Employee Benefits

Employee Benefits

  1. ELIGIBILITY: Transition Projects employees are eligible for portions of the benefits package as indicated in the grid below:
    HOURS TRIAL AND REGULAR TEMPORARY
    Full-time
    (37 through 40 scheduled hours per week)
    1. Full accrued sick/vacation
    2. All nine holidays
    3. Employment related insurance
    4. Full amount of full-time benefit package effective the first day of the fourth month following date of hire.
    5. Eligible to participate in 401(k) plan
    1. No accrual for sick or vacation time
    2. Holidays occurring during days of employment
    3. Employment related insurance
    4. No health or dental coverage
    5. No step salary increases
    6. Not eligible for 401(k) plan
    Part-time
    (20 through 36 scheduled hours per week)
    1. Sick/vacation time accrued as a percentage of time worked
    2. Holidays as a percentage of time worked
    3. Employment related insurance
    4. Full amount of full-time benefit package effective the first day of the fourth month following date of hire.
    5. Eligible to participate in 401(k) plan
    1. No accrual for sick or vacation time
    2. No paid holidays
    3. Employment related insurance
    4. No health or dental coverage
    5. No step salary increases
    6. Not eligible for 401(k) plan
    Limited Part-time
    (less than 20 hours per week)
    1. No sick/vacation time accrued
    2. No paid holidays
    3. Employment related insurance
    4. No health or dental coverage
    5. Eligible for step salary increases
    6. Not eligible for 401(k) plan
    1. No sick/vacation time accrued
    2. No paid holidays
    3. Employment related insurance
    4. No health or dental coverage
    5. No step salary increases
    6. Not eligible for 401(k) plan

  2. COMMENCEMENT OF BENEFITS COVERAGE: For eligible employees, benefits commence as below:
    • Employees receive paid holidays from date of hire.
    • Employees commence accruing and may consume sick leave from date of hire.
    • Employees commence accruing vacation leave from date of hire, but consumption of vacation leave is deferred until conclusion the initial Trail Service Period (after six full months of employment).
    • Employees may enroll in cafeteria plan benefits (medical, vision, Employee Assistance, Long Term Disability, and optional benefits) on the first day of the fourth full month of employment.
    • Employees may enroll in the 401(k) Deferred Compensation Plan on the first day of the month following one full year’s employment.
  3. VACATION LEAVE

    Accrual Rate:
    Full-time employees in the trial period or on regular status who are working 40 hours per week accrue vacation at the following annual rates:

    Years of Employment Vacation Days/Yr Vacation Hours/Yr
    1st Year 10 80
    2nd Year 11 88
    3rd Year 12 96
    4th — 9th Years 15 120
    10th + Years 20 160

    Vacation time is earned based on hours worked. The rates at which vacation pay is earned are shown below based on length of employment.

    YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT 1st 2nd 3rd 4th–9th 10th+
    a) Yearly Work Hours 2080 2080 2080 2080 2080
    b) Vacation Hours 80 88 96 120 160
    c) Sick Hours 96 96 96 96 96
    d) Holiday Hours 72 72 72 72 72
    e) TOTAL HOURS WORKED 1,832 1,824 1,816 1,792 1,752

    The accrual rates for vacation hours are calculated by dividing the vacation hours available per year (b) by the total hours per year (e). Vacation hours earned per hour worked are:

    YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT 1st 2nd 3rd 4th–9th 10th+
    Vacation hours earned per hour worked .0437 .0482 .0529 .0670 .0913

    Employees will earn vacation time as a percentage of full-time worked. Limited Part-time and Temporary employees will not earn any vacation time.

    Vacation Requests:

    • Employees will not be permitted to use their accumulated vacation time until they have completed their six month trial period. Note that accumulated sick leave can be utilized during this period.
    • Employees must submit a vacation request form to their immediate supervisor at least two weeks prior to the requested time off. Vacation requests must be approved by the immediate supervisor. A response to the employee’s request shall be made within seven days.
    • Authorization of requested vacation time shall not be unreasonably withheld but the supervisor will only approve vacation time if s/he can ensure that sufficient employees will remain on duty to meet client and/or agency needs. Approval of vacation time in writing shall be a firm commitment to the employee.
    • In deciding between various employees’ requests for vacation time when not all requests can be approved, the supervisor shall consider first the impact on the agency of each employee’s absence; second, written requests received earlier by the supervisor will be given priority; and finally, employees with greater seniority shall receive priority.
    • Authorization in writing for vacation time will not be granted more than six months in advance of the vacation date.

    Accrual Cap: Employees may accrue leave hours up to a total equal to one and one-half years’ accrual. Employees at the accrual cap will accrue no further leave until they have diminished their balance.

    At Termination: Employees leaving Transition Projects will be compensated for vacation time accrued but not used up to the accrual cap. Vacation hours will be paid at the hourly rate of the employee on the termination date.

  4. SICK LEAVE: Sick leave is intended to provide paid time off in the event of injury or illness. This allows our staff to attend to their (and their families’) bona-fide illnesses, and prevents those who might be contagious from infecting co-workers and clients.

    Employees are encouraged to maintain a sick leave balance of at least forty hours for unanticipated serious illness or injury. The Agency retains the right to require verification of illness by a licensed physician. We also retain the right to require an employee to have a physical examination at the request of the agency and at the agency’s expense to verify ability or inability to work.

    Control of sick leave and prevention of sick leave abuse is a management responsibility. Excessive use of sick leave (often evidenced by using sick leave as rapidly as it accrues) or use that demonstrates a pattern of absenteeism may result in disciplinary action. See the discussion of Punctuality and Attendance in Section III.

    Family and medical leaves of absence are discussed at Subparagraph B, Leaves of Absence, below.

    Accrual Rate: Regular full-time employees will earn eight hours of paid sick leave per month of employment. Part-time employees will earn sick leave as a percentage of full-time worked.

    Sick leave is credited each pay period at the time salary for the period is calculated. At this time sick leave hours earned for the period are added to the employee’s total and hours used as sick leave are subtracted. Sick leave is earned on the basis of hours worked. Accrual is calculated in the same manner as vacation time. (See below for calculation method.) Sick leave will not be accrued for overtime worked, travel time outside normal working hours and unpaid absences from work.

    Sick leave hours earned per hour worked are:

    YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT 1st 2nd 3rd 4th–9th 10th+
    Sick leave hours earned per hour worked .0524 .0526 .0529 .0536 .0548

    Sick leave hour accruals are reflected on your paycheck every pay period. If you have questions regarding your accruals, contact the Fiscal Department.

    Accrual Cap:No more than 140 hours of sick leave may be accrued by any employee. After 140 hours are accrued, further accruals will be halted until the employee has reduced his/her sick leave balance. Limited Part-time, on-call, and Temporary employees will not earn any sick leave.

    At Termination:Employees leaving Transition Projects will not be compensated for unused accrued sick leave.

    Mental Health Day:Once per quarter, an employee may request a mental health day using sick leave hours. The employee must give their supervisor at least 48-hours notice. The supervisor may disapprove the request. A mental health day may not be scheduled in conjunction with vacation time.

    Sick Leave Donation:The Agency recognizes that employees may suffer an illness or medical condition of lengthy duration that exhausts their sick leave bank. Employees may receive sick leave donations from other employees so long as the employee receiving the donation:

    • Has concluded his/her Trial Period.
    • Is not on a paid or unpaid suspension pursuant to formal discipline.
    • Is dealing with a condition anticipated to last longer than 10 days.
    • Is dealing with a condition that would meet Family and Medical Leave eligibility standards, for example:
      • for a serious health condition, or
      • to care for the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent who has a serious health condition, or
      • to care for the employee’s child after birth, adoption or fostering.

    If an employee meets the above requirements and desires sick-leave donations, s/he should make this desire known to the Human Resources Director. The Human Resources Director will validate eligibility, and will then prepare an all-staff communiqué which protects both the identity of the requesting employee and the condition. The communiqué will advise staff that a colleague is faced with a serious family/medical condition and has requested sick leave donations.

    An employee wishing to donate sick leave:

    • Must have adequate sick leave hours accrued, and by donating may not take their personal sick leave balance below 40 hours.
    • Should communicate in writing to the Human Resources Director that they desire to donate sick leave and the number of hours they wish to donate. E-mail meets the standard.
    • Is doing so on an absolutely voluntary basis. There is no expectation that any employee should donate sick leave under any circumstance.

    Donated hours will be valued at the receiving employee’s leave valuation rate. Only hours sufficient to cover the requesting employee’s needs will be transferred.

  5. HOLIDAYS: The following holidays are recognized by Transition Projects as paid holidays for all benefits-eligible employees.
    Holiday Observance
    New Year’s Day January 1
    Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday Third Monday in January>
    Presidents’ Day Third Monday in February
    Memorial Day Last Monday in May
    Independence Day July 4
    Labor Day First Monday in September
    Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November
    Day after Thanksgiving Fourth Friday in November
    Christmas Day December 25

    When a holiday falls on a Sunday, it shall be observed on the following Monday. When a holiday falls on Saturday, it shall be observed on the previous Friday. Persons regularly scheduled to work on a Saturday or Sunday may take that day as the holiday, rather than Friday or Monday.

    Employees who are required to work on a holiday will have the option to take another day off within six (6) months of the holiday or to receive pay both for the time worked and for the holiday. In no case may an employee accrue more than 24 hours of deferred holiday time within a six (6) month period. Scheduling the deferred holiday time off will be by agreement of the employee and the supervisor.

    An employee who desires but is not required to work on a holiday may do so with the approval of his/her supervisor. When such approval has been granted, the employee will have the option to take another day off within six (6) months of the holiday or to receive pay both for the time worked and for the holiday. In no case may an employee accrue more than 24 hours of deferred holiday time within a six (6) month period. Scheduling the deferred holiday time off will be by agreement of the employee and the supervisor.

    Trial and regular status part time employees will receive paid holiday time according to their scheduled hours. Holiday pay is determined by the percentage of full time that the employee is scheduled. For example, if a part time employee is scheduled for 20 hours per week (50% of full time), the employee will receive 50% of the eight hour holiday, i.e., four hours. All employees who are Trial, Regular or have Temporary Full-time status will receive eight hours of paid holiday time for each holiday even if the employee works a flexible-hour schedule such as four days of ten hours each (instead of five days of eight hours each).

    5B: VETERAN’S DAY
    This policy is applicable to all employees who are veterans, including temporary, on call, and trial service employees. Employees who are veterans as defined in ORS 408.225 will be provided with paid or unpaid time off for Veterans Day if:

    • The employee provides the employer with:
      • At least 21 calendar days’ notice that the employee intends to take time off for Veterans Day using time off request forms developed for that purpose; and
      • Documents showing that the employee is a veteran as defined in ORS 408.225.
      • The holiday request and supporting documents must be presented to the employee’s manager at least 21 calendar days prior to Veteran’s Day.

    Time off for Veterans Day will be unpaid unless the employee opts to use accrued vacation leave.

    If Transition Projects determines that providing time off as discussed above would cause significant economic or operational disruption, or undue hardship as described in ORS 659A.121, we are not required to provide time off as discussed above.

    Transition Projects shall, at least 14 calendar days before Veterans Day, notify all eligible employees who requested time off under the provisions of this policy whether the employee will be provided time off for Veterans Day and whether the time off will be paid or unpaid.

    If Transition Projects determines that we cannot provide time off to all of the employees who requested time off under the provisions of this policy, we shall either:

    • Deny time off to all employees who requested time off; or
    • Deny time off to the minimum number of employees needed by the employer to avoid significant economic or operational disruption, or undue hardship as described in ORS 659A.121.

    Transition Projects shall allow an employee who is a veteran and who does not receive time off for Veterans Day to choose, with employer approval, a single day off within the year after the Veterans Day on which the employee worked as a replacement for Veterans Day to honor the employee’s service.

  6. CAFETERIA PLAN BENEFIT PACKAGE: Transition Projects provides access to multiple benefits for full-time and part-time employees. The composition of the benefits package is discussed below. The benefit package is available the first day of the employee’s fourth calendar month of work. Premium offsets are as prescribed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

    Benefits-eligible staff will meet with the Benefits Administrator, typically during the third month of employment, to enroll in the benefits discussed below and to receive detailed membership guidance and Summary Plan Descriptions.

    Employer-provided Benefits

    • VOLUNTARY DENTAL: Summary Plan Descriptions will be made available at benefits enrollment during the third month of employment.
    • VOLUNTARY SHORT TERM DISABILITY: Protects income in the event of a qualifying non-work-related illness or injury of substantial duration. Provides such coverage typically for the first ninety days of a qualifying event.
    • VOLUNTARY LIFE/ AD&D: Term life insurance with accidental death and dismemberment provisions.
    • VOLUNTARY ACCIDENT INSURANCE: Protects against costs associated with off-job accidents/sickness and hospital confinement.
    • VOLUNTARY SECTION 125/132 FLEX PLANS: Full flex plans for premium deductions, parking expenses, unreimbursed medical expenses, and dependent care. Plan is employee-funded using pre-tax dollars.

    Retirement Plan:Commencing the first day of the month following one full year of employment, employees may choose to participate in a 401(k) deferred compensation plan. Employer match is subject to review and change with each budget cycle.

    Training Reimbursement:See discussion in Section VI-D. Full-time employees may be reimbursed for some discretionary off-premises training up to an amount equal to the current rate for a three-credit class at Portland Community College. Eligibility and restrictions are discussed at Section VI-D.

    Volunteer Hours Exchange:The Agency encourages employees to volunteer at other agencies, both to increase their knowledge of services and to support other efforts at reducing homelessness and poverty. Employees will be allowed to exchange volunteer time for work hours under the following conditions:

    • The purpose of the volunteer work must be to reduce homelessness and poverty. Regular employees working 30 or more hours per week are eligible for participation. Participants must be prepared to report about their volunteer experience.
    • Volunteer time away from an individual’s worksite cannot exceed more than four hours per calendar month. The staff person is responsible for arranging adequate coverage for the time away from the worksite. Individuals must obtain approval from their supervisor at least two weeks prior to doing paid volunteer work.
    • Time off must be taken within the Sunday through Saturday workweek and the same pay period in which the volunteer work takes place. Whenever practicable, the time off is to be taken the same day as the volunteer work. Verification of volunteer work must be attached to the time sheet.

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