PURPOSE
OF MANUAL
This manual summarizes the rules and regulations which govern
the Rent Guidelines Board employees. It is to be used as
an authoritative guide by all RGB employees.
When the staff office was established in 1980 it was with
the understanding that staff employees would be treated like
City employees with respect to matters such as compensatory
time, annual leave, fringe benefits and that annual salary
adjustments would track those for municipal employees in
the prior years. Some adjustments have been made to accommodate
the unique obligations of the office.
I.
THE WORKDAY
A. The
Workday
The normal workday is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. unless prior
arrangements have been made with the Executive Director.
Flex time may be arranged so that the workday may begin as
early as 7:30 a.m. or as late as 10:00 a.m., and as early
as 3:30 p.m. or as late as 6:00 p.m. with the prior approval
of the Executive Director.
During the period from February 15th through June 30th staff
may be requested to work weekend hours. All staff members
are expected to be reasonably flexible with these work demands.
Compensatory or weekend hours must be requested by or otherwise
pre-approved by the Executive Director or Director of Research.
B. Lunch Period
Employees are allowed to take one hour for lunch at a set
time unless approval is received for other arrangements by
the Executive Director or Director of Research. Employees
are not supposed to work for more than five hours before
taking their lunch break. Employees responsible for phones
wishing to take lunch at a different time should make arrangements
to switch hours with another employee.
The
lunch hour cannot be shortened to provide for late arrival
or early departure. If employees are requested to shorten
their lunch period, or remain in the office and work through
lunch, they may receive credit at the end of the day for
each quarter hour of lunch time lost. Such credit must
be authorized by either the Executive Director or Director
of Research in advance.
Employees
are expected to return from their lunch periods promptly.
C. Lateness
Employees should arrive at work on time and be ready to begin
their work at the start of their work schedule. It is
important that every employee report to work on time
every day. If you are unable to report to work for whatever
reason, or expect to be more than 15 minutes late, you
should call the Executive Director or the Director of
Research. If they are unavailable when you call, leave
a message with whomever answers the phone.
Lateness without good reason is not acceptable in this office.
D. Management Hours
The Director of Research and Executive Director will arrange
to assure that at least one Director is generally present
in the office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
If necessary, either Director may be contacted at home during
these business hours.
E. Public
Meeting and Hearing Days
All employees are expected to report to work at least 1 hour
prior to scheduled time of Public Meetings or Hearings in
order to prepare any last minute materials needed by the
Board members.
All employees are expected to help in setting up the meeting
rooms prior to the start of the meetings or hearings. The
set up involves arranging tables and chairs, recording equipment,
coffee/tea, placing material in the Board Members' folders,
etc.
II. TIME RECORD
A. Weekly
Attendance Sheets
Time sheets must be filled out promptly with each arrival
and departure.
III. ANNUAL LEAVE
Annual
leave is a combined vacation, personal business, and religious
holiday leave allowance.
A. Accrual of Time
Employees are credited with the monthly accrual of annual
leave after being in full pay status for at least fifteen
(15) calendar days that month. Annual leave for employees
hired after July 1, 1985 is as follows:
Rate
of accrual:
Years in ServiceAnnual
leave allowanceMonthly
accrual
The beginning of the 1st 10
work days 1
day per month after
year the
first month.
The beginning of the 2nd 13
work days 1
day per month plus
year 1
additional day at the
end
of the 2nd year.
The beginning of the 3rd 13
work days 1
day per month plus
year. 1
additional day at the
end
of the 3rd year.
The beginning of the 4th 15
work days 1
1/4 days per month.
year
The beginning of the 5th 20
work days 1
2/3 days per month.
year.
The beginning of the 8th year 25
work days 2
days per month plus
1
additional day at the
end
of the leave year.
The beginning of the 15th 27
work days 2
1/4 days per month.
year.
Employees requesting annual leave in any amount must notify
and receive prior approval from the Executive Director. Annual
leave for employees who commenced service with the Rent Guidelines
Board or the City prior to July 1, 1985 is as follows:
Rate of accrual: 1
2/3 days per month in the 1st through
7th year.
The beginning of the 8th year 25
work days 2
days per month
plus
1 additional day
at
the end of the leave year.
The beginning of the 15th year 27
work days 2
1/4 days per month.
During the period from February 15th through June 30th annual
leave can be used only with permission of the Executive Director.
Leave will be granted during this period only for compelling
circumstances.
IV.
SICK LEAVE ALLOWANCE
Sick
leave is to be used only for the employee's personal medical
purposes.
A. Accrual of Time
Sick leave allowance is one day per month. There is no limit
on the amount of sick leave an employee may accrue. There
are no restrictions on the use of sick leave based on length
of service.
During the period from March 15-June 30, sick leave will
only be granted for illnesses which require a visit to the
doctor or the hospital. The requirement of a doctor's note
may be waived by the Executive Director or Director of Research
if a full explanation as to why a doctor's visit is not necessary
is given by noon of the day in which sick leave commences.
Any absence of more than three (3) days will require a doctor's
note at any time without exception. Employees taking sick
leave at any time of year are obligated to notify the office
as soon as sick leave commences.
AUTHORIZED ABSENCES WITH PAY
Absences for which the employee must notify the Executive
Director and provide documentation:
1. Absence up to four (4) days paid leave will be granted
to any employee who suffers the loss of an “Immediate
family” includes only the following: spouse; natural,
foster or step parent, child brother or sister; father-in-law
or mother-in-law, or any relative residing in the household.
When a death in in an employee's family occurs while the
employee is on annual leave, such time as is excusable for
death in the family shall not be charged to annual leave.
The employee must submit a copy of the death certificate
in order to be excused for this time. In cases of the relative
residing in the household, documentation to this effect must
also be presented. This material must be submitted no later
than thirty (30) days after the death to the Executive Director.
2. Absence required because of Department of Health quarantine.
V.
COMPENSATORY TIME
Authorized
voluntary overtime beyond the normal work week is compensated
by time off at the rate of straight time. An employee receives
credit for overtime only when the overtime exceeds one
(1) hour in a work week.
Compensatory time may be used in units of one-half (1/2)
hour except when reporting to work. In this case, the minimum
charge is one (1) hour. The use of compensatory time must
have the prior approval of the Executive Director or Director
Research.
Although compensatory time should be used within three months
of its accrual, the Board's schedule may make this impossible
for individual staff members. Therefore, staff members with
large overtime balances should consult with the Executive
Director regarding its use.
During the period from February 15th-June 30th compensatory
time can be used only with the permission of the Executive
Director. Leave will be granted during this period only for
compelling circumstances.
VI.
INFORMATION ON TIME BALANCES
All
questions relating to your time balances should be directed
to the Executive Director.
At the end of each month all employees will be given a summary
attendance sheet, which will show the amount of overtime,
sick leave and annual leave you have earned and how much
you have used for the prior month.
VII. MEAL ALLOWANCE
If
employees are required to work overtime and if dinner is
not provided for them, they will be entitled to a monetary
allowance for meals.
The
allowance is provided according to the following schedule:
For
two continuous hours of overtime $6.00
For
five continuous hours of overtime $6.50
An
employee should apply for a meal allowance immediately
after earning it by notifying the Executive Director or
Director of Research. This will be reimbursed in cash after
the next pay period.
VIII. HOLIDAYS
A. Our
regular holidays with pay are:
1. New Year's Day
2. Martin Luther King's Birthday
3. Lincoln's Birthday
4. Washington's Birthday
5. Memorial Day
6. Independence Day
7. Labor Day
8. Columbus Day
9. Election Day
10. Veteran's Day
11. Thanksgiving Day
12. Christmas Day
When a holiday falls on Saturday, it shall be observed on
the preceding Friday. When a holiday falls on Sunday, it
shall be observed on the following Monday.
IX.
WORK HABITS
All staff members are expected to complete their work in
a timely fashion. Anyone who has completed their assignments
should inform the Executive Director or Director of Research
as soon as possible.
Staff members will meet with the Executive Director and Director
of Research every three months on a formal basis for a briefing
on their work and, of course, on an as needed basis in between.
All staff members are responsible for proofreading their
own work. No correspondence, table, chart, etc. should be
circulated unless it has been proofread twice. Staff members
are expected to cooperate in proofreading each other's work.
Correspondence from the Executive Director or Director of
Research will be proofread by the person who typed it and
at least once by another Director or staff member.
All employees (with the exception of the Executive Director
and the Director of Research) will be expected to answer
the phone if, for whatever reason, the Public Information
Assistant and Office Manager are unavailable to handle the
phones.
If you have any work to be typed it must go to the Public
Information Assistant. All employees are expected to type
their own work as composed, but the Public Information Assistant
may assist where time-savings are needed.
The central files are located in the conference and public
information area. These are common files and must be treated
with care. After you have finished with a file folder, please
put the file in the bin marked "To Be Filed" on
the Public Information Assistant's desk and she will return
the folder to its proper place in the files.
RGB Staff Library - The
library is located in the conference
room. There are copies of various
reports and other documents from
various other agencies. When you
have finished with any item taken
from the library return it to the
bin located in the library area
so that it can be placed on the
proper shelf.
Dress Code - As general rule employees of the Rent Guidelines
Board may dress informally except for the following times:
a. If you have to attend a meeting outside the office or:
b. If there is a public meeting or hearing of the Board,
then in both instances employees are required to dress appropriately.
All employees are expected to be generally neat and clean.
