Article submitted by Jamie Fleury, The Pilot News Staff Writer
The Plymouth Common Council heard Ordinance No. 2022-2201 An Ordinance to Amend the Code of Ordinances of the City of Plymouth Concerning Adoption of Personnel Policy by Reference on first read during the regular meeting Monday.
The proposed revisions to the City of Plymouth Employee Handbook (August 2022) include a “Consideration of Benefit Time and Longevity Pay in Recruitment of Lateral Transfers and Other Employees” section which states: As a recruitment tool, notwithstanding other provisions of this employee handbook or the applicable salary ordinance, with the written approval of the Mayor, the Clerk-Treasurer, and any applicable department head, a prospective employee may be offered vacation leave, sick leave, personal time, or longevity pay in increments not ordinarily afforded to new hires. Such benefits may begin on the employee’s date of hire or after completion of the introductory period, however designated in the written approval described above. This provision is intended to be used by the City’s leadership when necessary to recruit skilled talent to a given position. An example of a lateral transfer includes, but is not limited to a Police Officer, Firefighter, or EMT/Paramedic already serving with a department in another jurisdiction.
Jennifer Klingerman, Human Resources Manager, confirmed that the use of the Lateral Transfer Policy for a candidate will be up to the discretion of the Department Head.
After some discussion among council members regarding certain limitations, City of Plymouth Attorney Sean Surrisi added that in order for the City of Plymouth to enter into such an agreement, the Department Head, the Clerk-Treasurer, and the Mayor will all have to agree upon the final negotiation of that transfer in writing.
The updated provision is meant to aid in the hiring process for the City of Plymouth as employers across the county, state and nation struggle to find qualified candidates to fill vacant positions.
To comply with the Hands-Free Law, the employee handbook was also updated with the following section under Phone Systems and Cellular Phones: In compliance with Indiana’s Hands-Free law, I.C. 9-21-8-59, any employee driving on City business must refrain from using a cellular phone (either personal or City of Plymouth-owned) unless it is being used in conjunction with hands free or voice operated technology, or it is being used to call 911 to report a bona fide emergency.
Previous language “encouraged” employees to refrain from using their cellular phones while driving. Surrisi confirmed that the state law was passed in 2020 and the City of Plymouth is required to comply with State Law regardless of internal policies. The updates to the handbook clearly states the requirement to refrain from cellular phone use outside of hands free or voice operated technology, or to call 911 to report an emergency which includes emergency responders and law enforcement officers.
