Okaloosa County BOCC — September 2, 2014 — reading text

staff and the County Attorney. Fluid Positions - During the FY15 budget process, Fleet Operations requested the creation of a Certified Equipment Technician. This policy change allows for the addition of the Certified Equipment Technician to fall within the already existing Equipment Technician/Master Equipment Technician fluid position structure. Traffic Operations has also requested during the FY15 budget process the reclassification of the Traffic Signal Technician and Senior Traffic Signal Technician positions to Traffic Signal Technician I and Traffic Signal Technician II positions, respectively. This policy change would allow for these positions to be considered fluid and the employee's classification would be based on the level of certification they hold. Drug-Free Workplace Policy - Request modification of the drug testing policy to be consistent with provisions of a drug free workplace program as prescribed by Florida Statutes Chapter 440; specifically, the definition of job applicant for a public employer. Applicants for safety sensitive positions will successfully complete a pre-employment drug test prior to beginning employment. OPTIONS: Approve/Provide other direction as needed. RECOMMENDATIONS: Approve the Code of Conduct and Outside Employment & Contractual Relationship policy changes effective September 2, 2014. Approve the following policy changes to be effective September 29, 2014: Fluid Positions Policy, provided the FY15 budget is approved to implement the affected positions; and Drug-Free Workplace Policy. Packet Pg. 592 RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: Ernie Padgett, County Administrator Packet Pg. 593 CHAPTER XIII – CODE OF CONDUCT 1) Any attempt by an employee or officer to realize personal gain through conduct which is inconsistent with the proper discharge of the employee’s duties shall have committed a breach of public trust which constitutes a conflict of interest. Employees who believe they may have a potential conflict of interest in regard to their County employment, regardless if it is actual or perceived, are required to disclose the details of such conflict on the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form at least annually or more frequently if their situation changes. Any employee who violates these standards of conduct is guilty of misconduct and may be subject to discipline up to and including dismissal. 2) No employee shall accept gifts, gratuities, or loans from organizations, business concerns, or individuals with whom the employee has official relationships or business of the Okaloosa County government. These limitations are not intended to prohibit the acceptance of articles of negligible value which are distributed generally, not to prohibit employees from accepting social courtesies which promote good public relations, nor to prohibit employees from obtaining loans from regular lending institutions. All employees must guard against relationships that might be construed as evidence of favoritism, coercion, unfair advantage or collusion. 3) No employee or, officer or agentof Okaloosa County shall participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract funded by public financial assistance which includes contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, appropriations, etc. if a real or apparent conflict of interest would be involved. Such a conflict would arise when the employee, officer or agent, any member of his/her immediate family, his/her partner, or an organization which employs or is about to employ any of the parties indicated, has a financial or other interest in the firm selected for an award. Employees, officers or agents shall neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value from contractors or parties to subcontracts. Any employee who violates this policy is guilty of misconduct and is subject to discipline up to and including dismissal. 4) No employee acting in his/her official capacity as a purchasing agent or officer of Okaloosa County (as defined by F.S. 112.313) shall either directly or indirectly purchase, rent, or lease any realty, goods, or services in excess of $500.00 per calendar year for Okaloosa County from any business entity of which the employee, the employee’s spouse or employee’s child has a material interest or is an officer, partner, director, or proprietor. 5) No employee or officer of Okaloosa County acting in his/her private capacity shall rent, lease, or sell any realty, goods, or services in excess of $500.00 per calendar year to Okaloosa County. 6) No employee or officer of Okaloosa County shall participate directly or indirectly in any procurement when they know that: a) The employee or officer, or any member of their immediate family, is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment with any person, business, or organization that will be participating in such procurement; or b) The employee or officer or any member of their immediate family has a financial interest pertaining to the procurement. However, any employee or any member of an employee’s immediate family who holds a financial interest in a disclosed blind trust shall not be Packet Pg. 594 deemed to have a conflict of interest with regard to matters pertaining to that financial interest. Packet Pg. 595 CHAPTER XIV – OUTSIDE WORKEMPLOYMENT & CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS 1) No employee shall have or hold any employment or contractual relationship with any business entity or any agency which: a) is subject to the regulation of, or is doing business with Okaloosa County; or b) in any way creates a continuing or frequently recurring conflict between his/her private interests and the performance of his/her public duties; or c) would impede the full and faithful discharge of his/her public duties. 1) No employee shall take employment outside his/her regular duties with the county that will in any way conflict with or impair the performance of his/her work with the County. 2) Prior approval to engage in private outside employment must be obtained in writing from your department director on the Outside Employment & Contractual Relationship Form. 3) If the specific conditions of the outside employment or contractual relationship change, a new request for approval must be submitted. 4) Failure to secure required approval may cause you to be suspended or dismissed. 5) Approval will at all times be subject to review and cancellation. Packet Pg. 596 Section G – Fluid Positions 7) The positions of Equipment Technician, Certified Equipment Technician and Master Equipment Technician have been designated as fluid positions. The designation of a position as an Equipment Technician, Certified Equipment Technician or Master Equipment Technician may be determined by the certification held by the incumbent or designated candidate for hire. When employees who are Equipment Technicians receive at least one ASE Certification, their titles and grades will be changed to that of a Certified Equipment Technician subject to the approval of their Department Director. Certified Equipment Technicians who fail to maintain at least one ASE Certification will have their title, grade and pay changed to that of Equipment Technician. When employees who are Equipment Technicians or Certified Equipment Technicians receive either ASE Master Automobile Technician Certification or ASE Master Medium/Heavy Truck Technician Certification, their titles and grades will be changed to that of Master Equipment Technician subject to the approval of their Department Director. Master Equipment Technicians who fail to maintain their ASE Master Automobile Technician Certification or ASE Master Medium/Heavy Truck Technician Certification will have their title, grade and pay changed to that of Certified Equipment Technician if the employee continues to hold at least one ASE Certification or Equipment Technician if the employee does not hold any ASE Certifications. 9) The positions of Traffic Signal Technician I and Traffic Signal Technician II have been designated as fluid positions. The designation of a position as a Traffic Signal Technician I and Traffic Signal Technician II may be determined by the certifications held by the incumbent or designated candidate for hire. When employees who are Traffic Signal Technician I’s receive an IMSA Traffic Signal Bench Technician Level II or IMSA Traffic Signal Field Technician Level II Certification, their titles and grades will be changed to that of Traffic Signal Technician II. Packet Pg. 597 CHAPTER XXIII – DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE POLICY Section A – Drug-Free Workplace Policy (Effective September 9, 1997) 3) Policy and Work Rules d) Pre-Employment Drug Screening Consistent with the county policy opposing drug abuse and our commitment to a safe working environment, we have implemented a pre-employment drug testing policy. AllSafety-sensitive job applicants shall undergo screening for the presence of illegal drugs as a condition of employment. Safety-sensitive Jobjob applicants will be required to voluntarily submit to a urinalysis test at a laboratory chosen by the County after signing a consent and release form. Safety-sensitive Jobjob applicants must successfully pass the drug screen urinalysis prior to beginning work. The County will not discriminate against applicants for employment because of past drug abuse. This Drug-Free Workplace Policy concerns current abuse of drugs that may prevent employees from properly and safely performing their job duties. All testing will be done by certified laboratories. All test results will be checked by a MRO to assure accuracy. All testing, sample collection, storage, handling and chain of custody will be done in accordance with the Florida Agency on Health Care Administration rules and regulations. f) Testing iii) Extended Absence Drug Testing Safety-sensitive Employeesemployees who return to work after an extended absence of six (6) months will be required to take a drug test comparable to the pre- employment screening. Section C – Substance and Alcohol Misuse Policy DOT FTA – For Employees Performing Maintenance on Revenue Service Vehicles or Equipment (Revised: August 7, 2007) 7) Circumstances Requiring Testing a) Pre-Employment Testing Drug tests will be performed for all selected applicants. In order to be hired, an individual must pass a drug test with a negative test result. All applicants for safety-sensitive positions shall undergo urine drug testing prior to hire or transfer into a safety-sensitive position. All offers of employment for safety-sensitive positions shall be extended conditional upon the applicant passing a drug test. An applicant shall not be hired into a safety-sensitive position unless the applicant takes a drug test with verified negative results. A non-safety-sensitive employee shall not be placed, transferred or promoted into a Packet Pg. 598 covered