Mandatory Time Off (MTO) Program (FY 10/11 & 11/12)

Purpose

The purpose of the Mandatory Time Off (MTO) Program is to reduce costs and/or mitigate layoffs by having staff take time off without pay.

Participants

MTO shall apply to all regular part-time and full-time employees of the County and any special districts under the jurisdiction of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

Extra-help employees (whether temporary, intermittent, seasonal, emergency, volunteer auxiliary, or student interns) are not eligible to participate in the MTO Program. An increase in extra-help employees may not be used to offset MTO staffing impacts.

Employees who are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act will be considered non-exempt during the week in which they take an MTO day off, and their pay is reduced. Department Heads are responsible for ensuring no overtime is incurred during this time.

Mandatory Time Off and Holiday Office Closure FY 10/11 & 11/12

In Fiscal Year 2010-11

The County shall utilize a 64 hour Mandatory Time Off without pay program for all regular, full-time County employees. MTO will include 40 hours (5 days) of Holiday Closure and 24 hours (3 days) of floating MTO. MTO hours will be prorated based on FTE for part-time employees. The holiday MTO shall occur during a closure of all County departments on the following holidays:

December 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 2010. (December 24 and 31 are the scheduled holidays)

In addition to these 40 hours (5 days) of scheduled Holiday Closure, each regular full-time employee will be required to schedule an additional 24 hours (3 days) of mandatory time off to be taken prior to the end of the last full pay period in the 2010/2011 fiscal year.

In Fiscal Year 2011-12

The County shall utilize a 40 hour Mandatory Time Off without pay program for all regular, full-time County employees. MTO will include 40 hours (5 days) of Holiday Closure. MTO hours will be prorated based on FTE for part-time employees. The holiday MTO shall occur during a closure of all County departments on the following holidays:

December 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 2011 (December 26 is a scheduled holiday)

There may be limited exceptions to the general closure of County Departments due to operational needs, as described below. It is the express intent of the County to maximize the number of MTO participants during the holiday dates. The County Administrator and the affected department head(s) will make alternative arrangements for employees not able to be off during the Holiday closure and in those cases employees will be given alternative MTO days prior to the last full pay period in the fiscal year.

MTO in 24/7 Operations

Employees in 24/7 operations where closure is not possible shall participate by taking 64 hours of floating MTO in fiscal year 10/11, and 40 hours of floating MTO in fiscal year 11/12, that must be taken prior to the last full pay period each fiscal year so that salary savings are realized within the fiscal year. Departments will arrange for the MTO days to be taken off during the fiscal year before granting any vacation request or compensatory time off.

Floating MTO days

Floating MTO days are designed to be flexible to allow the Department Head the ability to determine the best option for obtaining the salary savings with minimal disruption to the department’s operations while not generating overtime to cover for MTO hours taken. Options for some or all of the Floating MTO days include, but are not limited to the following:

• The Department Head chooses to close based on reduced service demands so that some or all of the employees of the department are on MTO simultaneously.
• The Department remains fully or partially open, and the Department Head sets a schedule for MTO days.
• Floating MTO days are scheduled similar to vacation days at the employee’s request with approval from their supervisor.
• Any combination of the above.

Employees

MTO shall be considered time in pay status for the accrual of benefits and eligibility for overtime and holidays. The same level of benefits and deductions shall be maintained for health, vision, life and dental insurance, vacation and sick leave accrual, deferred compensation and retirement credit as if the employee had worked their normal schedule.

Base salary shown on the salary schedules in the respective MOU or Salary Resolution, shall not be adjusted for MTO purposes. Instead, a “deduction” to salary will be the method used to generate MTO savings. Retirement contributions made by the County/Employee for active employees are not affected by the MTO Program. Also, computations used for final compensation for employees retiring are not affected by the MTO Program.

Since the MTO pay reduction is spread out during multiple pay periods, resulting in employees being in a pay status for all hours including the MTO, the hourly cash allowance is not impacted and will be paid for all hours in a pay status. Hours not in a pay status (unpaid and non-MTO hours) shall be treated the same as current practices.

MTO shall apply toward time in service for retirement, completion of probation, eligibility for merit increases and toward seniority.

Employees on MTO may only be assigned to work overtime in case of emergencies. In the event an employee is required to work on a previously scheduled MTO day, shift hours worked will be considered regular hours worked and the employee will be rescheduled for a future MTO day.

Department Conditions

In order to achieve the desired savings from the MTO program, there shall be no backfilling of furloughed employees by utilizing extra-help employees, temporary registry/agency employees, contractors, volunteers, students, trainees, interns, or volunteer auxiliary during the applicable fiscal year. An exception may be permitted when the furloughed employee and all qualified employees have declined an offer or are unavailable to work a furlough day or in cases where extra-help is regularly used to cover “fixed post” positions.

Vacation and Compensatory Time Buyback

Vacation and compensatory time buybacks for fiscal year 2010/2011 shall be suspended except for any employee who commits in writing to resign, retire, resign and defer retirement or who is laid off during fiscal year 2010/2011. The buyback shall be reversed if the separation did not occur as scheduled.

Vacation and compensatory time buybacks for fiscal year 2011/2012 shall be suspended except for any employee who commits in writing to resign, retire, resign and defer retirement or who is laid off during fiscal year 2011/2012. The buyback shall be reversed if the separation did not occur as scheduled.

Vacation and Compensatory Time Off Negotiated Maximums

Vacation Accrual for fiscal year 10/11

Maximum vacation accumulation shall be raised by 64 hours (above MOU stated limits) during the 2010/2011 fiscal year.

Vacation Accrual for fiscal year 11/12

Maximum vacation accumulation shall remain raised by 40 hours (above MOU stated limits) during the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

Vacation Accrual for fiscal year 12/13

Normal vacation accumulation maximums will be reinstated the first pay date of fiscal year 2012/2013.

Employees will not lose any vacation hours accrued above the MTO adjusted caps, however, additional vacation hours will not accrue until the vacation accrual balance falls below the established MOU cap for the corresponding fiscal year.

Compensatory Time Off (CTO) For fiscal year 10/11

Compensatory time off (CTO) accrual limits shall be raised to 144 (64 hours above MOU stated limits) through the last pay period of the 2010/2011 fiscal year.

Compensatory Time Off (CTO) For fiscal year 11/12

Maximum CTO accumulation shall drop back to 120 hours (40 hours above MOU stated limits) during the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

Compensatory Time Off (CTO) For fiscal year 12/13

Normal CTO accumulation maximums will be reinstated the first pay date of fiscal year 2012/2013. CTO accumulated in excess of the reinstated maximums must be used on or before the last pay period of the fiscal year 2012/2013. At the end of fiscal year 12/13, any remaining accrued CTO hours, above the MOU stated limits will be paid to the employee.

MTO Program Details

Pay Deductions - Amortization

Deductions in pay for all MTO hours shall be amortized over multiple pay periods in the corresponding fiscal year and will be determined by the number of pay periods remaining after adoption. The deduction each pay period will allow for payment of the employee consistently throughout the year, including the closure periods. Each participating employee shall receive their normal paycheck, less the MTO deduction. The deduction will be prorated for part –time employees.

MTO Accounts and Balances

Payroll will set up accounts for each employee for MTO accumulated each pay period by payroll deduction, and MTO taken which will be credited each pay period for Holiday Closure or floating MTO days taken.

It is the Department’s responsibility to monitor, authorize and schedule MTO days to ensure employees are given the opportunity to take the full number of MTO hours assigned per fiscal year, and that employees do not exceed the full number of MTO hours assigned per fiscal year through the last full pay period of the corresponding fiscal year.

At the close of the 2011/2012 fiscal year any balance in the MTO accumulated account (MTO due to the employee) will remain in the employee’s account to be taken during following fiscal years until depleted. Employees must use any accumulated MTO prior to using vacation or compensatory time off.

If at the close of the 2011/2012 fiscal year any employees with a balance remaining in the MTO taken account (MTO owed to the County), MTO deductions will continue into the next fiscal year until the balance is offset.

MTO shall be prorated for part-time employees based upon their FTE (full-time equivalent). The goal of the amortized reductions is to accrue the necessary salary saving equitably over the same multiple pay periods.

Amortized MTO hours shall continue to apply to periods of vacation, holiday, compensatory time off, or sick leave hours taken.

MTO Deduction - New Employees

New Full time employees hired will have the same amortized deduction as all other County employees. New employees shall be required to take a prorated number of MTO hours during the fiscal year, to be determined based on their date of hire.

MTO for part-time employees shall be prorated based upon their FTE (full-time equivalent).

Holiday Closure – Alternative Work Schedules

Employees who have a regularly scheduled day off due to their alternative work schedule during any Holiday Closure period shall still be required to take the full number of hours of MTO off by the end of the corresponding fiscal year.

Holiday Pay

Full-Time employees on MTO shall receive eight hours of holiday pay for each holiday, as provided in the applicable MOU or the Salary Resolution. Pro-ration applies for part-time employees. Neither the MTO deduction nor the mandatory time off shall reduce the number of hours used to calculate the pro-ration of holidays for part-time employees.

MTO - Terminating Employees

Employees who were not released from duty during the Holiday Closures and separate from County service shall be paid for any accrued MTO hours not taken at their current rate of pay. If a negative balance exists in the MTO account, employees shall have an amount deducted from their final paycheck equal to the negative balance of hours times their current base hourly rate of pay.

Employee’s who transfer to a bargaining unit or department that is not participating in an MTO program shall be required to use the hours accumulated prior to the last pay period of the applicable fiscal year.

Employees Laid Off – Eligible for Severance

If an employee receives a lay off notice, and is eligible for a severance period that includes any of the Holiday Closure or scheduled floating MTO days, the time will not be charged to MTO, vacation, sick leave, or CTO. Any MTO accrued but unused balances will be paid to the employee at time of lay off.

Holiday Closure - Employees with periods of Leave Without Pay (LWOP)

Employees requesting LWOP during the applicable fiscal year must exhaust any amortized MTO accumulated prior to going into an unpaid status. Employees returning to paid status will have the same MTO deduction taken as regular County employees (pro-rated based on FTE). Each time the employee goes on leave, any MTO accumulated balances will be depleted so there is a zero (0) balance before any other paid or unpaid leave is used.

Any balances remaining at the end of the fiscal year will be reconciled as stated above. (MTO Accounts and Balances)

Workers Compensation Leave

MTO provisions do not apply to employees on Worker’s Compensation leave due to an industrial illness or injury.

If an employee is receiving temporary disability payments during any Holiday Closure and would have been unable to work due to an industrial injury or illness, they will be permitted to utilize accrued but unused time off prior to the end of the fiscal year.

Long Term Disability

Earnings for employees on Long Term Disability will be based on regular salary and not be reduced by the amounts deducted for MTO.

Floating Mandatory Time Off and 24/7 Operations and Departments Required to Provide Mandated Coverage (Example: Court appearances)

The County shall be closed for business for a total of 40 hours in fiscal year 2010/11 (the 3 Floating MTO days in fiscal year 2010/2011 may result in a departmental closure, at the department head’s discretion), and 40 hours in fiscal year 2011/12, as stated above. It is the goal of this program and in the best interested of County administration and service provision to implement a 40 hour County Close to the maximum degree operationally possible.

Employees in operations that cannot completely close for Holiday Closure and who take all MTO as floating MTO days (64 hours in fiscal year 2010/11 and 40 hours in fiscal year 2011/12) shall be treated in the same manner as described for the Holiday Closure as stated herein. The only difference is that an employee who works during the Holiday Closure will take all MTO as floating MTO days.

Due to operational needs there are exceptions to the general closure of County Departments where special circumstances are required to maintain mandated coverage. For those departments that must operate during all or some of the closure period and for departments that must operate 24 hours a day 7 days per week, participation in the MTO program is still required.

It is the intent of this policy to maximize MTO savings while minimizing the use of overtime, standby, or callback to backfill vacant positions.

Scheduling of Floating MTO days

Employees designated to work during any portion of the Holiday Closures will have until the end of the corresponding fiscal year to take off the hours of MTO. Deductions in pay for all hours of MTO will be amortized over multiple pay periods in the corresponding fiscal year. MTO will be used in increments of the length of one of the employee’s regular shifts or less and scheduled with the approval of their supervisor. MTO shall be used before any vacation or compensatory time off, until all MTO hours have been exhausted.

Employees taking floating MTO will be provided the same protections with respect to level of benefits deductions, vacation and sick leave accrual, deferred compensation and retirement credit as employees taking MTO during the closures. MTO taken shall be considered time in pay status for the accrual of benefits and eligibility for overtime and holidays.