MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT Improvement Plan Process

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES,

DISTRICT COUNCIL 5, LOCAL NO. 844 (AFSCME)

REGARDING IMPROVEMENT PLAN PROCESS

The Union and District jointly affirm that individual improvement plans are an appropriate method through which to identify job-related performance areas of concern and provide an opportunity for employees to improve performance. This process connects an employee’s step advancement or salary increase to the following improvement plan process.

1. When a supervisor identifies job-related performance areas of concern, he/she shall complete a formal performance evaluation of the employee. A meeting shall be scheduled with the employee and his/her union representative (if desired by the employee) and a Human Resources representative, at which time the performance evaluation shall be discussed. The employee must be given written notice of the meeting at least one (1) working day advance notice of the meeting in order to have time to contact a union representative. The notice shall inform the employee of their right to have a union representative present.

2. The supervisor, employee, union representative (if desired by the employee) and Human Resources representative shall jointly develop a written performance improvement plan that addresses the identified areas of concern with the understanding that the supervisor may implement a plan if no consensus can be reached.

3. Elements of a written improvement plan must include:

a) A statement of the required performance standards and each identified performance concern;

b) A statement of the actions the employee must take to meet expected performance for each identified performance concern;

c) The length of the improvement plan and the schedule of review meetings (at least monthly) between the supervisor and employee along with any other timelines related to specific concerns;

d) Identification of specific resources available to the employee to assist in meeting the improvement plan goals including, but not limited to, mentors, classes, feedback, modeling and employee assistance;

e) Identification of the next level supervisor; and

f) Signatures of the supervisor and employee indicating the plan has been discussed and reviewed along with the date of such discussion (but not necessarily indicating agreement).

4. If consensus is not reached on the written performance improvement plan, the employee may appeal components of and/or timelines related to the plan to the next level supervisor identified as part of the plan. If appealed, any timelines identified as part of the plan are held in abeyance until the completion of the appeal meeting.

a) Notice of the appeal must be sent in writing (including e-mail) within five (5) working days of the discussion meeting.

b) An appeal meeting shall take place within ten (10) working days of receipt of the written appeal notice. The employee must be given written notice at least one (1) working day advance notice of the meeting in order to have time to contact a union representative. The notice shall inform the employee of their right to have a union representative present.

c) The appeal meeting shall be in the form of a “meet and confer” between the employee, the employee’s union representative (if desired by the employee), the employee’s supervisor, the next level supervisor, and a Human Resources representative.

d) Within ten (10) working days following the “meet and confer” the next level supervisor shall review the plan and make any appropriate adjustments. A final version of the written performance improvement plan shall be given to the employee. At a minimum the final plan should include appropriate adjustments to timelines in the original plan to reflect the appeal process.

5. At the end of the improvement plan, the supervisor shall formally evaluate the employee’s performance and make a determination of whether or not the elements of the plan have been met.

a) If the employee has not met the improvement plan expectations, a meeting will be held between the supervisor, the employee, the employee’s union representative (if desired by the employee), the next level supervisor and a Human Resources representative to discuss further options with the appropriate notices as described above. Options that may be considered during the meeting include, but are not limited to, extension of the improvement plan and alternative work assignments.

An employee determined not to have met the improvement plan goals may be subject to discipline pursuant to Article 17 of the Labor Agreement.

ON TRACK

An employee is considered to be “on track” if they are making adequate progress, as determined by the District, toward meeting the goals of the performance improvement plan. It does not mean that an employee has to have met all of those goals.

Throughout the duration of the improvement plan, the supervisor shall meet with the employee on a regular basis as outlined in the plan itself. The goal of these interim meetings is to identify the progress made by the employee and to identify any additional resources that may be available. A supervisor is considered to be “on track” if they have held regularly scheduled meetings with the employee to assess progress towards meeting the expectations of the employee’s performance improvement plan and if they have offered the necessary support to the employee (i.e., access to training, mentors, etc.) to assist the employee in meeting the performance expectations.

STEP INCREASES

If a performance improvement plan is in place for an employee as of March 1^st of the year and the employee is not on track with the components of the plan, the employee’s step as outlined in Section 10.5 may be withheld. If the employee’s supervisor is not on track, the employee’s step as outlined in Section 10.5 may not be withheld. When an employee has met the goals of an improvement plan or the supervisor has not been on track, the employee’s step shall be reinstated retroactive to July 1^st.

OTHER PROVISIONS

Although placement on an improvement plan is not grievable, an employee may grieve a disciplinary action or failure to reinstate a step increase.

Memorandum shall remain in effect for the duration of the 2012-2014 Labor Agreement.

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