Human Resource Policy

Section 4: Employee Benefits

CRCPL offers a competitive benefit package to employees classified as Regular full-time and Regular part-time.  We are also able to offer a select number of benefits to part-time employees scheduled to work less than 30 hours per week and seasonal workers, as defined below.  Student employees who are employed as part of a Practicum/Internship are not benefit eligible.

Definitions:

• Regular full time = employee regularly scheduled to work 40 hours per week
• Regular part time = employee regularly scheduled to work 30-39 hours per week
• Part time or Seasonal = employee regularly scheduled to work 20-29 hours per week

4.1 INSURANCE COVERAGES

Employees working at least 30 hours weekly are eligible for medical, dental and vision insurance benefits.  CRCPL will pay a portion of insurance premiums at a rate determined by the Board.

Part time employees working 20-29 hours per week are eligible for dental and vision insurance benefits. CRCPL will pay a portion of insurance premiums at a rate determined by the Board.

Open enrollment for health and life insurances will be held once a year.  Exceptions may be made if the employee notifies the Human Resources Manager of a change in status/qualifying event within 30 (thirty) days of its occurrence.

The employee must notify the Human Resources Manager of their divorce, separation, Medicare eligibility, or change in dependent status in writing within 30-days of the event.

Upon resignation or termination the employee and their dependents may have the right to continue health insurance coverage via COBRA. Employees will receive notification of their rights by mail and must respond within the established time frame.

4.2 FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)

Rules and interpretations of the FMLA are constantly being revised. CRCPL follows all Federal guidelines concerning the FMLA including any changes enacted that may override current library policy. Employees are advised to become aware of their rights and protections contained therein.

4.2.1 Eligibility

Employees who have been employed for at least twelve (12) months and who have completed at least one thousand, two hundred and fifty (1,250) hours of service during the twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the commencement of leave shall be eligible for Family and Medical Leave (FML) as provided herein.

4.2.2 Amount and Usage

Eligible employees shall be entitled to a total of twelve (12) workweeks of leave during the twelve (12) month period measured forward from the date the employee’s first Family Medical Leave may be taken for the following reasons:

• Birth of a child of the employee or placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care; and to bond with the newly-placed child.
• Employee is needed to care for their family member due to a serious health condition. Family member is the employee’s spouse, parent, child under age 18, or child 18 years or older and incapable of self-care due to mental or physical disability or
  Employee’s own serious health condition.
• Family military leave for the spouse, child of any age, or parent of a Service member who is on active duty or who is called to active duty of the Armed Forces (including the National Guard or Reserves) in support of a contingency operation, in the event of a qualifying exigency.
• Caregiver military leave for the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a covered Service member of the Armed Forces (including National Guard and Reserves) in order to care for the Service member who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list for a serious injury or illness incurred by the Service member in line of duty on active duty. For this cause you may be eligible to take up to 26 weeks of unpaid, job-protected FMLA leave in a single 12-month period.

4.2.3 Use of Leave Time

Employees shall be required to use all accrued, sick leave, personal leave, vacation, wellness, and compensatory time for all or part of the FML twelve (12) week period prior to being granted an unpaid Family and Medical Leave.  The combined period of leave, including paid and unpaid Family and Medical Leave shall not exceed the total of twelve (12) workweeks during the twelve (12) month period measured forward from the date the employee’s Family and Medical Leave began.

4.2.4 Intermittent/Reduced Leave

Leave due to the serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s spouse, child, or parent may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary.  The Employer may require an employee taking leave in this manner for planned medical treatments to transfer temporarily to an alternative position which has equivalent pay and benefits and better accommodates the recurring periods of leave.

The taking of leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule shall not result in a greater amount of leave to which the employee is entitled in accordance with this policy.  Intermittent or reduced leave may not exceed the total hours an employee would have worked during their regular twelve (12) week schedule.

4.2.5 Employment
Any eligible employee who takes leave hereunder shall be entitled, on return from such leave, to be restored to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced or a similar position of equivalent pay and benefits.  The Employer may require that the employee’s physician certify that the employee is able to resume work as a condition of return to employment.

4.2.6 Benefits
During any period that an eligible employee takes leave hereunder, the Employer shall maintain the employee’s group health care coverage under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment for the duration of the leave.  The employee will be responsible for continuing to pay the employee’s share of health insurance costs during the leave.  Payment for the employee’s share of health insurance premium shall be due at to the administrative office no later than the last day of the month preceding the month being paid for.  Failure to pay said amounts within thirty (30) days of the due date will result in termination of CRCPL’s obligation to pay its share of the premium for the employee’s coverage.  If the employee does not return from the leave, the employee is responsible for the total insurance premium paid by the employer.  Insurance premiums may not be recovered if the employee fails to return to work due to the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition or circumstances beyond the employee’s control.  While on unpaid FML, holidays will not be paid and vacation/sick leave will not accrue during the unpaid leave period.

4.2.7 Notification
Eligible employees requiring Family and Medical Leave shall notify the Human Resources Manager not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date such leave is to begin.  In situations where the need for such leave is not foreseeable thirty (30) days in advance, the employee shall provide as much advance notice as possible. Along with the request for leave, employees are required to provide the Employer with certification of the condition from a health care provider. Upon receipt of a Request for Family and Medical Leave, the Employer will provide the requesting employee with a written notice of the employee’s rights and obligations under the leave.

4.2.8 Approval/Denial of Leave Request
The Human Resources Manager shall notify the employee in writing as to the approval or denial of their FMLA request, and that any accrued sick leave, vacation, wellness, and compensatory time will be set off against the leave in accordance with policy 4.2.3.   The Human Resources Manager shall note the starting and ending dates of leave, reinstatement procedures, and utilization of accumulated paid leave.

Employees may be required to give periodic status reports (the first not less than thirty (30) days into FML).

Additional information about the FMLA may be found on the WHD website at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla.

4.3 NURSING EMPLOYEES

Employees who breastfeed their child and/or who need to express milk during the working day, will work with their supervisor to determine how best to accommodate their needs while still accomplishing the performance of their job.

Supervisors may consider flexible working arrangements to allow time for employees to express milk.  Employees may use their break and lunch time to express milk. Breaks to express milk should not last longer than 20 minutes. If an employee needs to take more than two breaks during the workday to express milk, the employee will need to use uncompensated personal time.

Supervisors will work with each nursing employee to determine a private area, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion for coworkers and the public, in which they may express milk. Milk should be placed in cooler-type containers and may be stored in library refrigerators.

4.4 TYPES OF LEAVE

The leave package was developed to assist employees in creating a healthy work/life balance. Employees are responsible for managing their paid time off. Exceeding the limit of authorized paid/unpaid leave will lead to corrective action (HR policy 2.8).

4.4.1 Vacation Leave

Vacation with pay is accrued by regular full-time, regular part-time, and part-time employees.

A new employee who has service credit with the State of Ohio or any political subdivision of the State (i.e., township, municipality, library, school district, health district, etc.) may use prior service credit for the purpose of computing vacation leave.  Employees must submit a service credit statement to certify eligible years of service.  Employees who have retired from a state-offered retirement plan are not entitled to have prior service counted for the purposes of computing vacation leave.

With prior approval of the Executive Director or the Chief Fiscal Officer, an employee may “borrow” against vacation expected to be accrued during the current calendar year, provided such “borrowing” is not in excess of the total vacation for which the employee is eligible to earn in that calendar year.  In no case may an employee “borrow” against vacation to be earned in a succeeding calendar year.

An employee who has “borrowed” vacation time and who leaves employment with a deficit of earned vacation time will reimburse CRCPL for the difference of the value between the vacation time used and the vacation time actually earned by the employee at the date of the employee’s separation from service by deduction from the employee’s paychecks.

Eligible employees accrue pro-rated hours based on their regular weekly schedule. Half-hour increments are rounded to the next whole hour. In the event that a regular full-time employee has a pre-approved reduced schedule, their usual accrual rate will be prorated proportionally.

Vacation leave accrues at the following rates:

4.4.2 Sick Leave

Sick leave is accrued by all regular full-time employees, regular part-time and part-time employees.

A new employee may transfer accumulated sick leave credit from another Ohio public library or Ohio public agency up to the maximum accumulation permitted above. The Chief Fiscal Officer will require an official accounting of hours from the employee’s previous public employer.

Sick leave accrues at the following rates:

Sick Leave Accrual Rates
Employee Hours	Sick leave accrued per pay period (biweekly)	Maximum hours accrued
20-29 hours per week (part-time)	2.3 hours	780 hours
30-39 hours per week (regular part-time)	3.46 hours	1170 hours
40 hours per week (regular full-time)	4.61 hours	1560 hours

At the discretion of the Executive Director, absences may require relevant documentation. Sick leave may be used only in the following instances

• Illness or injury to the employee.
• Illness in the immediate family requiring the presence of the employee.
• Other FMLA qualifying events.
• Death in the immediate family: spouse, children and stepchildren (whether dependent or not), siblings, parents, grandparents, and grandchildren; or death of a relative living in the same household; or at the discretion of the Executive Director.
• Time used for visits to doctors and other medical professionals may be counted as sick leave.

With approval of the Executive Director or the HR Manager, an employee may borrow a scheduled amount of sick leave one-time within a 12-month period. The request is not to exceed the equivalent of two weeks of the employee’s regular schedule.

An employee who has borrowed sick leave time and then leaves employment with a deficit of time will reimburse CRCPL for the difference by deduction of the employee’s final paycheck(s).

4.4.3 Personal Leave

Regular full-time employees are entitled to 24 hours of personal leave, and regular part-time employees working at least 30 hours weekly are entitled to 18 hours personal leave, in each calendar year in which they work.  Personal leave must be used in the calendar year in which it is earned, and is not eligible to be paid out upon separation of employment.

4.4.4 Wellness Leave

All employees who participate in the Wellness program, regardless of their current benefits, are eligible to receive 4 hours of paid Wellness Leave each year they participate in the program. This leave must be taken within 12 months from when it’s earned, and is not eligible to be paid out upon separation of employment.

4.4.5 Administrative Leave

Administrative leave is granted at the discretion of the administration. Any library employee is eligible for administrative leave. Administrative leave must be reported and tracked in accordance with current time-keeping procedures.

Reasons for granting Administrative Leave may include, but are not limited to the following circumstances:

• During an emergency: Leave with pay (and benefits when applicable) may be allowed during public emergencies that effectively prevent an employee from attendance at work or continuance of work in a normal and orderly manner. An emergency may include fire, natural disaster, pandemic illness, or other comparable occurrences as determined by the Executive Director. An emergency declaration may continue until work can be resumed in a safe manner.

When an employee is absent because of personal reasons resulting from an emergency that does not affect library operations, the employee should charge this absence to accrued leave or leave without pay.

• During an investigation of misconduct: An employee may be placed on administrative leave with pay (and benefits when applicable) at the discretion of the Executive Director during an investigation of allegations of misconduct or as a result of actions taken in direct violation of library policies or procedures. The staff member may be required to surrender any library keys and equipment and will be relieved of any work-related responsibilities. The employee may be prohibited from entering the workplace for any reason during the course of the investigation.
• Other circumstances: Employees may be granted administrative leave with pay (and benefits when applicable) for absences involving an administrative decision or a situation for which other types of leave do not apply, including conference attendance and trainings.

4.5 HOLIDAYS

The purpose of the holiday policy is to ensure that eligible employees paid hours remain consistent with their regularly scheduled hours, but do not exceed their regularly scheduled hours when the library is closed due to a recognized holiday.

CRCPL recognizes the following holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Presidents’ Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day

Prorated defined: paid holiday hours approved based on each employees regular weekly schedule.

Holidays with pay for regular part-time employees working at least 30 hours weekly shall be prorated. If an eligible employee is scheduled to work on a holiday, they will not work that day and will receive regular pay for the week. If the holiday occurs on a regular day off, they will receive time off to be taken that week on a prorated basis to the nearest whole hour, according to the percent of full-time which is normally worked. For example, a 30-hour per week employee could be eligible to receive up to six hours off during a week when a holiday fell during their normal day off.

Holidays on days off will be taken during the same week in which the holiday falls, according to scheduling determined by their scheduler. A holiday which falls within a vacation period will not be counted as a vacation day.

When a part-time or seasonal employee is regularly scheduled to work the day of the week that a recognized holiday falls, they will receive holiday pay on a prorated basis up to six hours not to exceed their normal weekly-scheduled hours.

4.6 EMERGENCY CLOSINGS

When the Main library or a branch is closed due to an emergency (snowstorm for example), employees will be paid for the hours they were regularly scheduled to work during the time the facility was closed.  When CRCPL is open but the employee is excused because of weather, the employee may elect to take vacation time, leave without pay, or make-up time within the week scheduled at the discretion of the supervisor.

4.7 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

4.7.1 Jury Duty
Employees are asked to provide notice of jury duty to their supervisor within a week of receiving the summons. While serving jury duty, a staff member will receive full wages for the time the staff member was scheduled to work. If dismissed from jury duty before the end of their scheduled work day, the employee should contact the manager to determine if they should report to work. The employee may keep any compensation received from the courts for their work.

4.7.2 Volunteering and Participating in Community Affairs
CRCPL employees are encouraged to participate in civic and community affairs through membership with and/or service to charitable, educational, religious, fraternal, and other organizations provided such participation does not adversely affect the employee’s job performance or work schedule and is not detrimental to CRCPL’s interests or place the employee in the position of serving conflicting interests.

Time spent on community affairs, when not undertaken at the request of CRCPL, should normally be outside the employee’s regular working hours, and therefore, will not be considered for pay purposes. However, certain activities may qualify as work time, including: volunteering in schools to benefit a library initiative, donating blood, jury duty and working election polls (see separate policies), and other events as approved by the Executive Director. Employees are expected to adhere to all applicable library policies and to represent CRCPL in a professional manner.

4.7.3 Election Poll Judges
Employees who work the election polls will receive the wages equal to the time the staff member would normally be scheduled to work on the day of the election (not to exceed 8 hours). Employees will not be paid or compensated for leave to attend training required to be a poll worker.

Service as an election judge is voluntary. Employees should notify their manager of their intention to work the polls as soon as possible. If several employees request the opportunity, the manager will make the final decision based on maintaining appropriate levels of service to the public.

If the employees are dismissed from the polls before the end of their normal work day, they should contact their manager to determine if they should report to work. Employees may keep any compensation received from the Board of Elections for their work.

4.8 MEALS AND BREAKS

CRCPL allows for an uncompensated meal time of at least 30 minutes, which is scheduled in accordance with business needs. This time should be duty free and it is advised that employees take their full meal time away from their workstations. Employees are free to leave the premises and use their meal time as they choose. Supervisors will coordinate meal times to ensure that work areas are sufficiently staffed; there may be occasions when meal times cannot be accommodated. Employees are expected to return to work promptly following their meal time.  Failure to report promptly may result in corrective action.

While the Fair Labor Standards Act does not mandate that employees be given rest periods, employees who work more than six hours in a day may take up to two 15-minute breaks daily, which will be counted as a part of “time worked”. Employees scheduled to work up to six hours in a day may take one 15-minute break. Employees are compensated while on break. Although supervisors will coordinate rest breaks to ensure that work areas are sufficiently staffed, supervisors may not always be able to provide rest breaks for all employees. Employees should not leave library premises during rest breaks without first obtaining permission from a supervisor. Employees are considered “on call” during rest breaks should their services be needed. Employees may not use rest breaks to extend their meal time or to shorten their workday by arriving late or leaving early.

Employees under 18 years of age who work more than five consecutive hours are required by law to have at least a 30-minute lunch period; this time is unpaid.

4.9 TELECOMMUTING POLICY

Telecommuting allows employees to work at home, on the road, or in a satellite location for all or part of their workweek, temporarily or long term. Telecommuting may be appropriate for some employees and jobs but not for others. Telecommuting is not an entitlement or a system wide benefit, and it in no way changes the terms and conditions of employment.

Telecommuting can be informal, such as working from home for a short-term project or on the road during business travel, or a formal, set schedule of working away from the office as described below. Either an employee or a supervisor can suggest telecommuting as a possible work arrangement.

Any telecommuting arrangement may be discontinued at-will and any time at the request of either the telecommuter or management. Every effort will be made to provide 30 days’ notice of such change to accommodate commuting, child care and other issues that may arise from the termination of a telecommuting arrangement. There may be instances, however, when no notice is possible.

Telecommuting does not excuse employees from attending meetings, scheduled trainings, or other events at which a physical presence is required.

4.9.1 Eligibility
Individuals requesting telecommuting arrangements must have a satisfactory performance record (at the determination of the Executive Director).

Before entering into any telecommuting agreement, the employee and direct supervisor will evaluate the suitability of such an arrangement, reviewing the following areas:

• Employee suitability. The employee and manager will assess the needs and work habits of the employee, compared to traits customarily recognized as appropriate for successful telecommuters.
• Job responsibilities. The employee and manager will discuss the job responsibilities and determine if the job is appropriate for a telecommuting arrangement.
• Equipment needs, workspace design considerations and scheduling issues. The employee and manager will review the physical workspace needs and the appropriate location for the telework.
• Tax and other legal implications. The employee must determine any tax or legal implications under IRS, state and local government laws, and/or restrictions of working out of a home-based office. Responsibility for fulfilling all obligations in this area rests solely with the employee.
  

Evaluation of telecommuter performance will include regular interaction by phone and e-mail between the employee and immediate supervisor, and weekly face-to-face meetings to discuss work progress and problems.

An appropriate level of communication between the telecommuter and supervisor will be agreed to as part of the discussion process. The supervisor and telecommuter will communicate at a level consistent with employees working at the office or in a manner and frequency that is appropriate for the job and the individuals involved.

4.9.2 Equipment

On a case-by-case basis, CRCPL will determine, with information supplied by the employee and the supervisor, the appropriate equipment needs for each telecommuting arrangement.  Equipment supplied by the organization will be maintained by the organization. Equipment supplied by the employee, if deemed appropriate by the organization, will be maintained by the employee. The employee is responsible for damage or repairs to employee-owned equipment.  CRCPL reserves the right to make determinations as to appropriate equipment, subject to change at any time. The telecommuter must sign an inventory of all library property received and agree to take appropriate action to protect the items from damage or theft. Upon termination of employment, all company property will be returned to the company, unless other arrangements have been made.

4.9.3 Safety and Security

The employee will establish an appropriate work environment within their home for work purposes. CRCPL will not be responsible for costs associated with the setup of the employee’s home office, such as remodeling, furniture or lighting, nor for repairs or modifications to the home office space or additional incurred utility expenses.

Consistent with the organization’s expectations of information security for employees working on-site, telecommuting employees will be expected to ensure the protection of patron information accessible from their home office. Steps include the use of locked file cabinets and desks, regular password maintenance, and any other measures appropriate for the job and the environment.

Employees are expected to maintain their home workspace in a safe manner, free from safety hazards. Injuries sustained by the employee in a home office location and in conjunction with their regular work duties are normally covered by the company’s workers’ compensation policy.  Telecommuting employees are responsible for notifying the employer of such injuries as soon as possible. The employee is liable for any injuries sustained by visitors to their home worksite.

Telecommuting is not designed to be a replacement for appropriate child care. Although an individual employee’s schedule may be modified to accommodate child care needs, the focus of the arrangement must remain on job performance and meeting business demands. Prospective telecommuters are encouraged to discuss expectations of telecommuting with family members prior to entering a telecommuting arrangement.

4.9.4 Time Worked

Telecommuting employees will be required to accurately record all hours worked using time-keeping system. Hours worked in excess of those scheduled per day and per workweek require the advance approval of the telecommuter’s supervisor. Fraud or failure to comply with this requirement can result in the immediate termination of the telecommuting agreement.

4.9.5 Ad Hoc Arrangements

Temporary telecommuting arrangements may be approved by the Executive Director for circumstances such as inclement weather, special projects or business travel. These arrangements are approved on an as-needed basis only, with no expectation of ongoing continuance.

Other informal, short-term arrangements may be made for employees on family or medical leave to the extent practical for the employee and the organization and with the consent of the employee’s health care provider, if appropriate.

All informal telecommuting arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis, focusing first on the business needs of the organization.

4.10 BORROWING PRIVILEGES

Employees are expected to follow the same rules for borrowing library materials as any library patron. However, they are expected to be considerate in returning borrowed library materials on or before the due date. Employees are also charged for replacement of damaged, lost, or unreturned items, as any patron would be, including any processing or service charges.

Employees may use the request system as any other library patron does, and may not use their position to jump ahead of other patrons in line for an item. Employees may not borrow new library materials before they have been cataloged and processed.

4.11 MILEAGE AND TRAVEL

When practical, employees are to use library owned vehicles for library business. Employees who are required to drive their personal vehicles on library business may be reimbursed mileage for the round trip at a rate established by the Internal Revenue Service. A valid Ohio Driver’s license shall be required of such drivers

Any location at which an employee is regularly assigned to work is considered the employee’s home location. If an employee is regularly assigned to work at more than one location, all of those locations are considered home locations for that employee. If an employee has more than one home location, mileage will be calculated from the home location that is closest to the destination, or from their residence when beginning or ending their work day at the destination if their residence is closer than their home locations.

Employees may be reimbursed for mileage to and from their home location and another library location to which they are assigned to work unless the assigned location is closer to their residence than their home location. Employees may be reimbursed for travel between library locations during the work day, calculated between the two locations unless the assigned location is closer to their residence than their home location.

If an employee is traveling to a non-library location for their entire work day they may be reimbursed for mileage from their home location or residence to the non-library location and back, whichever is less. If an employee is traveling to a non-library location for only a portion of their work day they may be reimbursed for mileage from the location they left and/or returned to during the work day.

Employees may be reimbursed for the cost of meals, parking, and overnight accommodations when traveling on library business outside the county. A limit is set on amount of reimbursement for meals, and the current limits are available from the administrative offices. Meals that are an integral part of a workshop or conference are reimbursed at full cost however, the IRS prohibits reimbursing for meals incurred during library business that do not incorporate an overnight stay. Employees are normally responsible for making their own travel arrangements but CRCPL reserves the right to make or reimburse arrangements that reflect an economical mode of travel.

Time spent traveling to and from a library location is generally excluded from hours worked. However, any time spent traveling during the workday, as part of an employee’s principal activities, will be counted as hours worked. If an employee who normally works at a library location is sent to a non-library location for one day and returns that same day, all time spent traveling to and from that assignment is compensable work time. However, meal period and time spent traveling to and from the employee’s home to the point of departure are not counted as hours worked. If an employee is sent to a non-library location overnight, any time spent traveling that corresponds to the employee’s normal working hours is compensable time.  This includes hours traveled on days the employee normally does not work (e.g., Sunday). If an employee travels during a time that they would not normally be working, the time is not counted as hours worked. Meal time is not compensable.

Exception: If the employee is the driver rather than the passenger, all time spent driving is compensable, regardless of when it occurs.

Exception: Any time spent performing work during travel time (e.g., working on a plane) is compensable, regardless of when it occurs.

4.12 PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES, MEMBERSHIPS & CERTIFICATIONS

CRCPL will pay expenses for staff and Trustees to attend library conferences, workshops, and other professional meetings as funds allow and the Executive Director approves.  These expenses may include mileage, registration fees, and meals that are an integral part of the conference or meeting.  If the meeting spans more than one day, room expense may be paid. Opportunities to attend meetings shall be rotated among employees so that as many as possible may benefit from participation.

Technical certifications or re-certifications will be paid 100% when required by CRCPL. Elective certifications must be preapproved by the Executive Director and funds will be allocated based on availability.

Overtime or compensatory time for meetings, workshops, testing, or conferences and associated travel will be allowed only if:

• the employee is required to attend and
• the meeting is directly related to the employee’s job and
• the employee cannot adjust their weekly schedule to total not more than 40 hours.

Professional Membership annual fees where membership benefits CRCPL may be paid by the library for staff in management positions when funds are available as approved by the Executive Director.

4.13 CONTINUING EDUCATION

Within the limits of available resources, CRCPL will offer training to increase an employee’s skills, knowledge, and abilities directly related to work duties. Opportunities generally include, but are not limited to, workshops, and conferences sponsored by other agencies or organizations. Every employee is expected to attend at least two continuing education programs each calendar year. Requests should be submitted to the employee’s direct supervisor first. If payment, travel, or reimbursement is required, the event must be approved by the Executive Director.

4.14 TUITION REIMBURSEMENT

Employee’s education and development are beneficial to both the employee and CRCPL. Employees with at least one year of service are eligible to apply for reimbursement for job-related courses and programs of study. This reimbursement will be available only if funded by the Board of Trustees in each annual budget.

Employees who are planning to enroll in a degree program must discuss their intentions with the Executive Director before formally applying in writing. Reimbursement requests will be presented to the Board for budget consideration. Staffing priorities will determine the number of granted recipients per year.

Courses and degrees must be relevant to library work. Examples include, but are not limited to, a Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program, technical certifications, or other courses directly related to the employee’s essential functions. Reasonable adjustments will be made to an employee’s schedule to accommodate coursework.

If budgeted and approved, employees will be reimbursed 50% of the cost of coursework up to $3,000 per semester (or equivalent) when the employee submits a paid tuition receipt and proof of a grade B or better (“passing” or “satisfactory” when applicable) to the Chief Fiscal Officer within 60 days of completion. Employees enrolled in a semester of coursework will not be reimbursed for parking or travel. In some instances, expenses for books and materials may be reimbursed, but will become library property.

Employees who receive reimbursement commit to the following:

• Presenting on some aspect of the coursework at an all-staff meeting, an annual in-service day, or a regional workshop or conference (when approved by the Executive Director).
• Continued employment for at least twelve months after completion of latest reimbursed coursework. This commitment does not constitute a contract for continued employment. If employment is severed before twelve months, the employee may be responsible for refunding all or part of the money awarded (as determined by the Executive Director and Chief Fiscal Officer).

For more information, contact the Executive Director.

4.15 GIFTS

Library administration may choose to provide meals for library staff and trustees during gatherings such as staff meetings, trainings and staff in-service day. These meals will be kept to a minimum and library administration will do their due diligence in finding meals that are affordable in nature. Also, staff and trustees may be awarded gifts at various times in their library careers. Staff will receive a gift upon their retirement. Staff are also eligible for service awards at each 5-year milestone in their service. Long term library board members may be recognized with a gift upon their departure from the board.