ITEM TITLE:
#25-02 - Adopting Updates to City of Valdez Employee Personnel Regulations, and a New Effective Date Assigned.
SUBMITTED BY: Rhea Cragun, Human Resources Director
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt updates to City of Valdez Employee Personnel Regulations, and a New Effective Date assigned
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Resolution #25-0002 adopts the updated City of Valdez Employee Personnel Regulations.
The current Personnel Regulations were last approved 7-5-2023.
Since that time there have been changes to current state regulations. In addition, feedback from employees and staff has identified sections needing additional information or specific clarification.
• Section 4.3 - Work-Related Incidents and Injuries: Updated to align with State of Alaska 2025 compliance standards by reducing the reporting requirement from 30 days to 15 days.
• Section 6.6 - Pay Range and Wage Adjustment: Removed the salary hold at the end of the pay range to enhance long-term employee retention. This change allows the 1.5% merit-based lump-sum payment to be issued annually on the employee’s anniversary date after reaching the "M" step.
• Section 6.6.10 - Employee Recognition Program: Replaced references to the “Employee Efficiency Program” with the updated “Employee Recognition Program.”
• Section 6.10.03 - Flexible or Alternate Schedules: Introduced a Flexible and Alternate Schedule policy to provide employees with greater work-life balance options.
• Section 7.6 - Family Medical Leave (FML) Modified Sections D and E: Begin “Paid FML” at the start of an approved leave event instead of after exhausting other leave types. And increase the extension for spouse-shared leave from 5 calendar days to 14.
• Appendix B - Definitions: Added a definition for “insubordination” for clarity and consistency.
• Numbering System Update: Improved clarity in subsection numbering by introducing decimals. (For example: Current: 6.101 and 6.1001 to Updated: 6.1.01 and 6.10.01.) This change is particularly beneficial for sections with more than nine (9) subsections.
• Minor Edits: Corrected grammatical and spelling errors without altering the policy’s meaning or intent.
These updated Personnel Regulations will replace the current Regulations previously adopted in 2023. A summary of changes is attached.
We are asking that these changes and updates to the City of Valdez Personnel Regulations be adopted and a new effective date be assigned.