Employee Handbook

Friends of the Clearwater Employee Handbook Introduction This manual is intended to act as a guide for employee conduct and to outline job performance expectations. All employees serve "at will" and this manual is not intended to constitute, or be construed as, a contract of employment. The board of directors reserves overall authority to make exceptions to these guidelines when warranted. A copy of this manual is kept on file at the FOC office in Moscow, ID and each employee is given access to a copy. Each employee should be familiar with this manual and will be expected to sign a statement confirming that they have read and understand these guidelines. Section 1. Employment A. Term Period of Employment- Each non-contract employee of the corporation shall serve at the will and enjoyment of the corporation and shall be employed only at the financial ability of the corporation. An employee may be laid off at any time due to lack of funds or an internal restructuring of job duties. In the event of an impending shortage of funds held by the corporation, Friends of the Clearwater (FOC) will make reasonable attempts to provide employees with as much notice as possible. In cases where the nature of the financial problem does not allow for prior notice, FOC will cooperate with unemployment compensation agencies. No guarantee of perpetual employment is given. B. Hiring and Termination- The Board of Directors has the responsibility for hiring and dismissing employees. An employee can be terminated with or without cause during the initial probationary period or if the employee has been placed on probation after the initial probationary period. Employees not on probation may be terminated for good cause. C. Probation- All new employees are hired for an initial probationary period of 3 months. At the discretion of the Board, the probationary period may be extended for up to 6 months. There are two types of probation: 1) the initial probationary period; 2) failure to properly perform duties (see "corrective action"). Any employee may be placed on probation if his or her job performance is substandard. When this happens, the reasons for probation must be discussed with the employee. The duration of the probation, the reasons for the probation, and specific performance criteria will be provided to the employee in writing. If the performance criteria are not adequately met, the employee may be terminated. D. Position Description and Statement of Agreement- Each non-contract employee shall receive a Position Description explaining in detail the duties to be fulfilled, amount of salary for the relevant fiscal year, employee benefits. After reading the Position Description, each employee shall have an opportunity to discuss the Position Description with other staff. Once the employee is in agreement that he or she will, as a condition of employment, fulfill the duties and responsibilities included in the Position Description, the employee shall sign and date the Statement of Agreement portion of the Position Description. Employees may also be required to sign an Oath of Confidentiality. E. Supervision The Board of Directors is authorized, when necessary, to officially reprimand, penalize, suspend, or terminate, with good cause, any employee has failed to meet the conditions of employment with the corporation, or for other lawful reasons. In the case of an official decision to reprimand, penalize, suspend, or terminate an employee, the employee shall be presented with a written explanation from the Board of Directors explaining the causes of the official reprimand, penalty, suspension or reason for termination of employment with the corporation. There is no executive director. Each staff person is responsible for her/his performance and is accountable to the Board. F. Evaluation- . There will be at least one formal self-evaluation of each employee annually. Ordinarily, these evaluations will be written and provided to the Board of Directors. Non-probationary employees who are not satisfactorily completing the duties described in their Position Description will be informed in writing and afforded an opportunity to improve their performance. Employees who repeatedly receive poor evaluations of their job performance or fail to improve in areas previously brought to their attention may be subject to official reprimand, penalty, suspension or termination of employment with the corporation. - The board will convene an employee evaluation subcommittee. The subcommittee, at a minimum, will consist of the President, Vice President, and one new board member, though open to all board members. The process will be for staff to send the board, prior to the first meeting of the year, staff evaluations, job descriptions, the past years workplan, and any other relevant material. The board will meet and provide input at the first meeting. After that, the subcommittee will meet to discuss the evaluations, meet with staff and provide recommendation to the full board on whether to accept the evaluations, provide more information, or suggest changes for the upcoming yea.r E. Resignations- When a non-contract employee plans to resign voluntarily from the FOC, she/he should give at least a two week notice. Last paychecks may be held by the FOC until the employee's letter of resignation has been submitted, keys returned, and files or related materials transferred to other staff. Section 3. Compensation and Reimbursement A. Salaries- Starting salaries are established based on the Position Description and the experience of the employee and set by the Board of Directors. Raises are considered once a year by the Board of Directors. The amount of the salary for the fiscal year is included in the Position Description, which is signed by the employee at the beginning of each fiscal year. B. Paydays- Employees of the corporation will ordinarily be salaried employees and thus not compensated via an hourly wage. For non-contract employees, paychecks shall be issued on the 15th day and last day of each month, unless the the 15th and last day falls on a weekend or a holiday. In that event, paychecks will be issued on the most immediate postceding working day. C. Office Hours/Work Schedule- For general purposes, office hours are 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday. Non-contract employees are expected to be able to achieve the duties outlined in their Position Description within the hours per week associated with their salary (full time = 40 hours/week, 3/4 time = 30 hours/week). In those cases when work in the evening or on weekends is required, an alternate work schedule shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and be subject to approval by the Board. D. Travel Expenses- Employees who use their personal motor vehicles for travel related to official business of the corporation shall be entitled to gas expenses. Employees shall also be provided up to a $25 per day per diem for travel. Employees shall save receipts for all business-related expenses and shall be reimbursed by the corporation for all reasonable expenses approved by the Board. E. Other Expenses- Employees are discouraged from using their own funds while doing corporation business. . Employees who have legitimate expenses incurred while performing official business on behalf of the corporation will be reimbursed for these expenses by the corporation. Copies of receipts for expenses are required to be submitted to the corporation prior to reimbursement. Section 4. Benefits. A. Group Health Insurance- As the financial condition of the corporation permits, each non-contract employee working at least 20 hours/week may participate in a group health insurance plan held under the name of FOC. FOC has an internal medical savings account and provides for insurance. The decision to provide group health insurance is the decision of the corporation and does not represent an entitlement to employees of the corporation. The corporation may choose the group health plan and health plan policy. Family coverage or other individual dependents may be covered at the employees' own expense or at the discretion of the board. B. Paid Leave- (1) Vacation- Each non-contract employee working at least 20 hours/week shall receive 15 working days paid vacation each fiscal year. This paid vacation shall be in addition to paid holidays, to be determined by the corporation. Employees shall not take vacation time at times of the year known to be high activity periods for the corporation. Employees shall cooperate with other employees in planning for vacation time. Vacation time must be taken each year. There is no accumulation of vacation time from year to year. An employee will not be paid for unused vacation time once they have left the corporation and must take all earned vacation time prior to departure (2) Holidays- Each non-contract employee is entitled to the following paid holidays: two days at Thanksgiving, two days at Christmas/Chanukah, one day at New Year's Day, Earth Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the holiday will be taken on the closest work day to the actual holiday. (3) Emergency Medical Leave- Each non-contract employee working at least 20 hours/week is entitled 7 working days of paid sick leave annually. Such leave shall be used only in the case of actual sickness, medical appointments, medical emergency, on the occasion of illness or death of an immediate family member of the employee or his or her spouse/partner, or in conjunction with parental leave. No benefit shall derive to any employee from unused sick leave. Upon termination of employment, employess will not be paid for unused sick leave. These provisions apply only to non-work related illness or injuries. Work-related injuries or illness are covered by workers' compensation programs. (4) Additional Medical Leave- In the event than an eligible employee uses more than 7 days of sick leave in any fiscal year, additional days may either be subtracted from unused vacation leave or the employee will not be compensated for the days of work that are missed. (5) Parental Leave- Non-contract employees are entitled to time off in connection with the birth or adoption of their child. FOC will provide 5 days of paid leave. In addition to these days, the employee may use earned sick leave. Beyond that, employees are automatically entitled to 30 days of leave without pay. Longer leaves without pay may be permitted with the approval of the Board provided that corporate needs can be met. An employee who signifies his or her intent to return at the end of parental leave will be reinstated to his or her original job or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay and accumulated seniority and benefits. (6) Sabbatical- Each non-contract employee working at least 20 hours/week who has five years or more continuous service to the corporation shall be entitled to two months (40 working days) paid sabbatical, subject to approval of the Board of Directors finances permitting. Employees shall be entitled to one paid sabbatical after each five years of service. Timing of the sabbatical shall be worked out by staff and approved by the Board. C. Workers' Compensation and Unemployment- FOC provides workers' compensation and unemployment insurance coverage for all non-contract employees. Section 5. Nondiscrimination. FOC is an equal employment opportunity employer. FOC does not refuse employment or discriminate in compensation or other terms, conditions or privileges of employment based upon race, color, national origin, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, or veteran status. Any applicant for employment with the FOC or employee who believes that he or she has been subjected to discrimination based upon any of these factors should immediately contact the President of the Board of Directors. A. Grievance Procedures Generally- In the event that an employee has a work-related grievance, such grievance must first be presented at a staff meeting. If, and only if, the employee is unsatisfied with attempts to resolve the grievance, the employee may state his or her case in writing to the Board of the corporation. The President shall then bring the grievance to the attention of the full Board for discussion and final action. The President of the Board shall then reply in writing to the employee making the grievance, explaining what, if any, action has been taken by the full Board. B. Sexual Harrassment- Sexual harassment of an employee, or other person at the FOC is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. For general purposes, sexual harassment may be described as unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors and other physical conduct and expressive behavior of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment; (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting that individual; or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's professional performance and creating an intimidating, hostile, or demeaning employment environment. A concerted effort will be made to protect employees and others from sexual harrassment as defined. Sexual harrassment complaints must be registered promptly with the Board of Directors.