Title
An Ordinance Amending Chapter 4 of the Carrboro Town Code Related to Employee Benefits
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is to request that the Town Council amend the personnel policy to reflect proposed benefit changes for Town employees.
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Department
DEPARTMENT: Human Resources
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Contact
CONTACT INFORMATION: Julie Eckenrode, Human Resources Director jeckenrode@carrboronc.gov <mailto:jeckenrode@carrboronc.gov>
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Council Direction
COUNCIL DIRECTION:
_X__ Race/Equity ____ Climate _X___ Comprehensive Plan ____Other
Council Direction Statement
The proposed amendments address several equity and inclusivity issues related to benefits. Additionally, this item addresses Chapter 10 of the comprehensive plan, specifically goal 2 under the Human Resources section.
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Information
INFORMATION:
After the implementation of the compensation and classification study completed in 2022, the Human Resources Department conducted a comprehensive benefits review consisting of three main components: a) benchmarking the Town’s current benefits against eleven (11) peer and competitor organizations b) employee listening sessions c) employee focus groups. From this review, six recommended changes require amendments to Carrboro Town Code Chapter 4 (Attachment A). A brief explanation of each is below.
Section 4-8 Definitions
The proposed amendments will expand the definition of immediate family to be more inclusive of various family structures.
Section 4-39 Group Health and Hospitalization Insurance
The proposed amendments will remove a delineation in qualified retirees hired before and after 2007. All qualified retirees, according to the policy, will have access to the Town’s medical insurance.
Section 4-54 Annual Leave: Use by Probationary Employees
The proposed amendments will allow our Fire-Rescue and Police department sworn employees to use annual (vacation) leave after six months employment in line with all other Town employees.
Section 4-62 Sick Leave: Accrual Rate, Accumulation, and Manner of Taking
The proposed amendments will increase shift fire personnel’s annual sick leave accrual day by 24 hours. This amount equates to a comparable percentage of annual hours worked as other Town employees.
Section 4-73 Personal Time Off
The proposed amendments will expand personal time off for all employees with consideration of needs related to wellness and mental health. The proposed time amounts equate to approximately 1.15% of total annual hours worked for the Town’s various work schedules.
Section 4-78 Paid Parental Leave
The proposed amendments will expand paid parental leave to paid caregiver leave which is still inclusive of parents but also considers our employees’ needs to be the primary caregiver of other family members and mirrors leave allowed under the Family Medical Leave Act.
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Fiscal and Staff Impact
FISCAL IMPACT: Minimal staff impact will result in the implementation of these changes. Fiscal impact is also expected to be minimal.
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Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION: The Town Manager recommends that the Town Council approve the proposed ordinance amendments (Attachment B).
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