Section 1.1 The employees of the judicial branch occupy a unique position in county government. The operations of the judicial branch are required by law to be fully funded by the Board of Commissioners of Carbon County. Most judicial branch employees are paid by and receive all benefits, at the direction of the County Commissioners.

Notwithstanding the obvious dependence of employees of the judicial branch upon the County Commissioners for financial and logistical support, the management and administration of business for the judicial branch and its employees is vested by the Judicial code in the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Carbon County.

With respect to court employees, the court is the employer as to hiring, dismissal, performance standards, supervision, and disciplinary considerations while the county is the employer with respect to pay and benefits.

Section 1.2 This manual does not constitute an employment contract. This manual creates no rights in any employee, and it creates no obligation on the part of the Court and/or County. The Court has the right to make changes in any or all of the policies and procedures outlined in the Manual unilaterally, in its sole discretion, without prior notice.

Section 1.3 The purpose of this personnel policy manual is to acquaint employees with the human resource policies and procedures and establish uniform procedures which will act as a guide for personnel action pertaining to judicial employees within the Court of Common Pleas of Carbon County. It is the responsibility of each employee to become familiar with these policies.

Section 1.4 The Department Heads and District Justices, in coordination with the District Court Administrator, or his/her designee, shall administer the provisions of this manual under the direction of the President Judge. These human resource policies and procedures shall be as consistent as practical with county policies and procedures.

Section 1.5 Questions regarding the interpretation of the policies and procedures shall be directed to the Department Head, District Justice, and the District Court Administrator.

Section 1.6 The personnel policy manual is applicable to all court employees as defined in each article of the policy.

Section 1.7 The personnel policy manual may not be applicable to a specific department due to unique situations; i.e., union contracts, special agreements approved by the President Judge, District Court Administrator and Department Head/District Justice before an employee is hired.

Section 1.8 Copies of this manual shall remain Court property, shall not be duplicated or given to non-Court personnel without the authority of the President Judge or designee, and shall be returned to the source from which obtained upon leaving Court employment.

ARTICLE 2

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Section 2.1 The Court of Common Pleas of Carbon County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment practices and policies including, but not limited to recruitment, selection, promotion, training, and retention of employees shall be implemented without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, disability or any other status or condition protected by applicable state laws, except where a bona fide occupational qualification applies.

Section 2.2 Problems or complaints with regard to equal employment should be directed to the District Court Administrator or designee.

Section 2.3 The Court is committed to an Affirmative Action program to promote equal opportunity in every aspect of employment policy and practice.

Section 2.4 All employees should take proper measures to ensure that other employees are treated fairly during employment without regard to their race, color, religious creed, sex, age, national origin, or handicap.

Section 2.5 Court Administration periodically conducts analyses of all personnel actions to assure compliance with this policy.

Section 2.6 This policy should be known to all employees so that it may be considered in their dealings with the general public and their fellow employees.

ARTICLE 3

IMMIGRATION LAW COMPLIANCE

Section 3.1 The Court, through Carbon County, complies with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and is committed to employing only United States citizens and aliens who are authorized to work in the United States.

Section 3.2 As a condition of employment, each new employee must properly complete, sign and date the first section of the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9, Court Form 1). Before commencing work, newly rehired employees must also complete the form if they have not previously filed an I-9 with the County, if their previous I-9 is more than three years old, or if their previous I-9 is no longer valid.

ARTICLE 4

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Section 4.1 The Court shall provide reasonable accommodations to those qualified individuals with a disability that may impair their ability to perform their job.

Section 4.2 The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the following terms:

1. Reasonable Accommodation: Any modification or adjustment that enables a qualified individual with a disability to be considered for the position such qualified individual desires, and which will not impose an undue hardship on the covered entity's business.

2. Qualified Individual: One who satisfies the requisite skill, experience and education requirements of the employment position such individual holds or desires, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of such position.

3. Essential Functions: Primary job duties that are intrinsic to the employment position the individual holds or desires.

4. Disability: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities (walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working) of an individual, the perception of such a disability, or an association with a person with such a disability.

There is no finite or definitive list of disabilities that will fall under this policy. Each circumstance will be considered on its own merit and will be handled accordingly. This policy will apply to all current employees, as well as to job applicants.

Section 4.3 The Court will ensure that all managers, supervisors, employees, and job applicants are aware of this policy and that all adhere to it.

Section 4.4 It is the responsibility of any employee or applicant to initiate a request for a reasonable accommodation. The Court may request a reasonable accommodation for an employee, if it is believed such an accommodation will improve the employee's performance, but it has no obligation to do so.

If it is determined that an accommodation is necessary, the Court will provide one that is sufficient to meet the job related needs of the individual. It does not necessarily have to be the "best" accommodation possible.

Section 4.5 All requests for reasonable accommodation should be carried out in the following manner:

1. Submit request, in writing, to supervisor with an explanation for the request.

2. Submit medical documentation of the medical or physical impairment.

3. Should a satisfactory adjustment not be reached at one level, the employee shall follow the complaint procedure outlined in this manual.

Section 4.6 The time period for a decision concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be one (1) week from date submitted to the Department Head and one (1) week from date submitted to District Court Administrator. If the employee wishes to appeal the decision further, final disposition of the request by the President Judge will take no longer than two (2) weeks after the District Court Administrator receives it.

Each case will be judged separately, on its own merit, and all information will be confidential.

ARTICLE 5

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Section 5.1 Purpose: Sexual harassment, either physical or verbal, is a violation of the law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, age, or national origin. Sexual harassment is included among the prohibitions. The intent of this policy is to clarify the Court’s position in matters relating to compliance, discovery, and remedy.

Section 5.2 Policy: It is the intent of the Court to maintain a workplace free of sexual harassment from any source and to discourage any instance of malicious accusation. This policy applies to all employees of the Court, as well as non-employees who do business with the Court, i.e., County employees, attorneys, vendors, contractors, etc.

Section 5.3 Definition: Sexual harassment, according to the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), consists of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical acts of a sexual or sex based nature where

(1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment;

(2) an employment decision is based on an individual’s acceptance or rejection of such conduct; or

(3) such conduct interferes with an individual’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

It is also unlawful to retaliate or take reprisal in any way against anyone who has articulated any concern about sexual harassment or discrimination against the individual raising the concern against another individual. Examples of conduct that would be considered sexual harassment or related retaliation are set forth in the Statement of Prohibited Conduct (Section 5.4) that follows. These examples are provided to illustrate the kind of conduct prescribed by this policy; however, the list is not exhaustive.

Sexual harassment is unlawful, and such prohibited conduct exposes not only the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas and the County of Carbon, but individuals involved in such conduct, to significant liability under the law. Employees at all times should treat other employees respectfully and with dignity in a manner so as not to offend the sensibilities of a co-worker. Accordingly, Court management is committed to vigorously enforcing its sexual harassment policy at all levels.

Section 5.4 Statement of Prohibited Conduct: The Court considers the following conduct to represent some of the type of acts which violate the sexual harassment policy:

A. Physical assaults of a sexual nature, such as:

1. Rape, sexual battery, molestation, or attempts to commit these assaults; and

2. Intentional physical conduct which is sexual in nature, such as touching, pinching, patting, grabbing, brushing against another employee’s body or poking another employee’s body.

B. Unwanted sexual advances, propositions or other sexual comments such as:

1. Sexually oriented gestures, noises, remarks, jokes, or comments about a person’s sexuality or sexual experience directed at or made in the presence of any employee who indicates or has indicated in any way, that such conduct in his or her presence is unwelcome;

2. Preferential treatment or promise of preferential treatment to an employee for submitting to sexual conduct, including soliciting or attempting to solicit any employee to engage in sexual activity for compensation or reward;

3. Subjecting, or threats of subjecting, an employee to unwelcome sexual attention or conduct or intentionally making performance of the employee’s job more difficult because of that employee’s sex.

C. Sexual or discriminatory displays of publications in the work place, such as:

1. Displaying pictures, posters, calendars, graffiti, objects, promotional materials, reading materials, or other materials that are sexually suggestive, sexually demeaning, or pornographic. A picture will be presumed to be sexually suggestive if it depicts a person of either sex who is not fully clothed or in clothes that are not suited to, or ordinarily accepted for the accomplishment of routine work at all county facilities, owned, or leased.

2. Displaying signs or other materials purporting to segregate an employee by sex in any area of the work place, other than restrooms and similar semi-private lockers/changing rooms.

D. Retaliation for sexual harassment complaints, such as:

1. Disciplining, changing work assignments, providing inaccurate work information to, or refusing to cooperate or discuss work related matters with any employee because that employee has complained about, or resisted harassment, discrimination or retaliation; and

2. Intentionally pressuring, falsely denying, lying about or otherwise covering up or attempting to cover up conduct such as that described in the item above.

E. Other acts:

1. The above is not to be construed as an all inclusive list of prohibited acts under this policy;

2. Sexual harassment is unlawful and hurts other employees. Any of the prohibited conduct described here is sexual harassment of anyone at whom it is directed or who is otherwise subjected to it. Each incident of harassment, moreover, contributes to a general atmosphere in which all persons who share the victim’s gender suffer the consequences. Sexually oriented acts or sex based conduct have no legitimate business purpose; accordingly, the employee who engages in such conduct should be and will be made to bear the full responsibility for such unlawful conduct.

Section 5.5 Procedures for Making, Investigating, and Resolving Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Complaints:

A. Complaints:

1. Complaints of acts of sexual harassment and retaliation that are in violation of the sexual harassment policy will be accepted in writing or orally, and anonymous complaints will be taken seriously and investigated. A complaint need not be limited to someone who was the target of harassment or retaliation. Anyone who has observed sexual harassment or retaliation should report it to their immediate supervisor. In the event that it would be inappropriate to report such concerns to one’s immediate supervisor, the report should be made to the District Court Administrator or President Judge. In the event that a female employee would prefer to report a concern about sexual discrimination or harassment to another female, the District Court Administrator or designee is designated as the proper person to receive such communications. In the event that a male employee would prefer to report a concern about sexual discrimination or harassment to another male, a male department head or Judge is designated as the proper person to receive such communications.

Only those who have an immediate need to know, including the person to whom a report was made, the alleged target of harassment or retaliation, the alleged harasser or retaliator, and any witnesses will or may find out the identity of the complainant. All parties contacted in the course of an investigation will be advised that all parties involved in a charge are entitled to respect and that any retaliation or reprisal against an individual who is an alleged target of harassment or retaliation who has made a complaint, or who has provided evidence in connection with a complaint, or any other person who has made a complaint, is a separate actionable offense and subject to discipline under this policy.

B. Cooperation:

An effective sexual harassment policy requires the support and example of personnel in positions of authority. The Court’s agents or employees who engage in sexual harassment or retaliation or who fail to cooperate with officially sponsored investigations of sexual harassment or retaliation may be severely sanctioned by suspension or dismissal. By the same token, officials who refuse to implement remedial measures, obstruct the remedial efforts of other court employees, and/or retaliate against sexual harassment complainants or witnesses may be immediately sanctioned by suspension or dismissal.

Section 5.6 Penalties for Misconduct: Any employee’s commission of acts of sexual harassment or retaliation against a sexual harassment complainant will result in appropriate sanctions, up to and including dismissal, against the offending employee, depending upon the nature and severity of the misconduct.

A written record of each action taken pursuant to this policy will be placed in the offending employee’s personnel file. The record will reflect the conduct, or alleged conduct, and the warning given, or other discipline imposed.

Section 5.7 Training: The District Court Administrator or designee shall be responsible for insuring that all managers and supervisors are fully trained in their responsibilities under this policy. This training should include all details of this policy. It should also attempt to sensitize managers and supervisors to the full range of practices that might constitute sexual harassment and to build sensitivity to the feelings of employees.

Section 5.8 Sexual Harassment Acknowledgement: Every employee must sign a Sexual Harassment Acknowledgement Form. See Form #3.

ARTICLE 6

INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND OTHER LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESSES

Section 6.1 The Court is committed to providing a nondiscriminatory and harassment-free work environment that allows employees with life-threatening diseases, such as but not limited to AIDS, cancer, or heart disease to continue working as long as their condition allows and they meet acceptable performance standards. Reasonable accommodations will be made to permit handicapped employees to maintain acceptable performance standards. We will endeavor to offer information regarding AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses to all employees as needed in order to maintain our commitment. Each employee of the Carbon County Court System is expected to support the dignity and self-respect of their co-workers. Unlawful discrimination or harassment against employees with illnesses as described above will not be tolerated and is subject to corrective action. The Court stands firm on continuing to provide a safe and healthy work environment for all its employees.

Section 6.2 Any incidents of unlawful discrimination, harassment, or compromise of human dignity should be promptly reported to the District Court Administrator or designee. An investigation will occur and appropriate corrective action taken.

Section 6.3 Employees desiring information or educational materials regarding AIDS/HIV infections and other life threatening diseases should contact the District Court Administrator.

ARTICLE 7

EMPLOYEE CLASSIFICATIONS

Section 7.1 The purpose of this article is to define the status of employee classifications.

Section 7.2 - REGULAR EMPLOYEES - An employee who is employed on a long-term basis with the Court.

Section 7.3 - TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES - An employee who is hired for an approved full-time Court position for a period of time, which is to be terminated at a specific date or occurrence.

Section 7.4 – FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES - An employee who is hired to work a minimum of 35 hours per week for an approved court position, who is either regular or temporary, and who is eligible for all benefits, including retirement plan.

Section 7.5 – PART-TIME EMPLOYEES - An employee who is hired for an approved Court position and is normally paid on an hourly basis for hours actually worked, not to exceed 20 hours.

Section 7.6 - PER DIEM EMPLOYEES - An employee who is hired for an approved Court position and is normally paid on a daily rate. Per diem employees are not eligible to participate in benefit or retirement plans.

Section 7.7 - Temporary full-time, temporary part-time, and regular part-time employees, while covered by all legally mandated benefits, are ineligible for the County's other benefit programs, with the exception of the Retirement and Deferred Compensation Plans. Employees are required to contribute to the Retirement Plan during the 12-month period commencing with their employment date and subsequent 12-month periods, during which they are expected to be scheduled to work at least 1,000 hours (20 hours per week).

Section 7.8 - Each employee is designated as either "non-exempt" or "exempt" from Federal and State wage and hour laws. Non-exempt employees are entitled, for example, to overtime pay under specific provisions of Federal and State laws. Exempt employees are excluded from specific provisions of Federal and State wage and hour laws.

ARTICLE 8

INITIAL EMPLOYMENT PERIOD

Section 8.1 Your first six (6) months of employment with the Court is called your "initial employment period".

Except for observed holidays, all absences during the first six months of your employment will be without pay.

ARTICLE 9

ORIENTATION OF NEW EMPLOYEES

Section 9.1 An orientation session will be conducted to acquaint each new employee with the overall functions of the Court and the job. Orientation is intended to familiarize the employee with Court departments, Court operations, human resource policies and benefits, and general Court and County information.

Section 9.2 It is the policy of the Carbon County Court that all new employees be oriented to information about the policies and procedures of the Court and their new jobs. Unless other arrangements are made in advance, new employees are to be scheduled for a brief orientation with a representative of the Court Administration Office on their first day of employment. During this session, new employees will be given a copy of this Manual and other pertinent information about employment with the Carbon County Court. An appointment will be scheduled with the County Human Resource Department to sign a tax withholding statement and to provide any other information, which may be required.

It is also your supervisor's or department head's responsibility to arrange for your general orientation to your job description and your responsibilities within your first week of employment. You will be given a tour of your work area and appropriate safety and fire prevention instructions. Depending upon your work site, you may also be given information about your work site's policies and procedures, which are in addition to the policies discussed in this Manual.

ARTICLE 10

WORK SCHEDULE

Section 10.1 The purpose of this article is to provide a standard working schedule.

Section 10.2 The Court of Common Pleas and other court-appointed offices are open for business from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, Monday through Friday, except for designated holidays. Some offices may provide services on a different time basis and work schedules which are subject to the approval of the District Court Administrator and/or President Judge.

Section 10.3 All employees are expected to work their regularly scheduled hours. Employees requesting to leave early, report late, or unable to report due to emergency situations will be considered in a no-pay status but may request such time-off, subject to the approval of the Department Head/District Justice, to be charged against accumulated vacation time, compensatory time, or personal time. If an employee cannot report to work at his/her regularly scheduled time, he/she is required to notify his/her immediate supervisor as soon as possible (see Article 12 & Article 19 for the desired notification timeframes). Sick pay is not authorized to cover lost time due to emergencies.

Section 10.4 The workweek consists of five (5) workdays, from Monday through Sunday at most of the Court's and County's work locations. For regular full time employees, the workweek will normally be thirty-five (35) hours and the workday will not be more than eight (8) hours with one (1) unpaid hour for lunch.

ARTICLE 11

ADVERSE WEATHER/EMERGENCY CLOSING

Section 11.1 Only the President Judge, in coordination with the County Commissioners, has the authority to close the Court offices and to excuse or dismiss employees early.

Section 11.2 During bad weather the Carbon County Emergency Management Department will be requested to keep the President Judge informed of the road conditions as well as the weather forecast. Based on these reports, the President Judge, or his designee, will contact the County Commissioners to ascertain their position on closing the Courthouse. The President Judge or his designee will then attempt to effect a joint decision with the County Commissioners. The President Judge will inform the District Court Administrator of his decision. The District Court Administrator and/or Assistant Court Administrator will then inform the other court departments of the decision. During the winter months, the Court realizes that snow or ice storms can cause delays of arrival at work or requests for early dismissal. Unless otherwise reported through the news media, or informed by their supervisor, staff employees are expected to report for work as soon as possible and practical under such circumstances.

During periods of hazardous road and/or weather conditions, supervisors are authorized and encouraged -- when operationally possible -- to allow the liberal use of vacation, personal, or compensatory leave by those individuals who indicate that they do not wish to report to work or want to leave early because of the existing hazardous conditions. NO ONE BUT THE CARBON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND THE PRESIDENT JUDGE CAN CLOSE THE OFFICES.

Employees choosing to use leave to avoid hazardous road and/or weather conditions will have such leave charged against their vacation or personal leave in no less than 1/2 day increments. Compensatory time leave can be charged with actual time used.

Section 11.3 If the physical office buildings used by Court departments are closed by the Board of Commissioners, Court personnel will not be required to make-up any lost time because of the inaccessibility to the work place for the performance of services. If the President Judge authorizes the delay of the start of the Court work day, cancels the Court work day, or excuses employees to leave for the day due to hazardous weather or road conditions or other emergency situations, all employees will be expected to charge this lost time to accumulated vacation time, personal time, or compensatory time or make a request, in writing, to the Department Head/District Justice and/or District Court Administrator or designee to allow the employee to make-up such time within two (2) weeks of the time off.

ARTICLE 12

TARDINESS AND ABSENTEEISM

Section 12.1 All court employees have a responsibility to the public to control costs and provide efficient, effective service. Disruption to the work schedule and hardships on fellow employees caused by unnecessary absenteeism must therefore be controlled.

Section 12.2 The District Court Administrator or designee will monitor and analyze attendance via a system which will involve both the employee and the supervisor in a commitment to maintain dependable service to the Court system.

Section 12.3 The value of an employee is determined in a large measure by dependability. Absence from work weakens this dependability and creates an undue hardship on fellow employees. If an employee finds it necessary to be absent or late for work because of sickness or personal circumstances, notify your immediate supervisor as soon as possible.

Section 12.4 The immediate supervisor shall be notified no later than one (1) hour from beginning of the shift of any absence or tardiness. In many instances the Department Head/District Justice needs hours, not just minutes, to adequately maintain services within the department/office.

Section 12.5 Repeated tardiness or absence will be subject to disciplinary action and, if continued, may result in dismissal. One element considered in the evaluation of your satisfactory performance of your job responsibilities will be attendance and dependability.

Section 12.6 Absence for three (3) consecutive working days without permission from, and proper notification to the immediate supervisor, may be considered a voluntary resignation from employment and the employee shall be removed from the payroll.

Section 12.7 Non-exempt employees requesting to leave early, reporting late or unable to report due to emergency situations will not be paid for such time-off. You may request that such time be charged against your accumulated vacation time or personal time, but under no circumstances may accumulated sick days be used to cover these absences. Provisions requiring them to compensate for portions of days absent from work do not govern employees who are exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

ARTICLE 13

COMPENSATORY TIME

Section 13.1 The purpose of this article is to provide non-exempt and exempt employees compensatory leave when at the specific direction of their supervisor or a higher authority an employee is required to work in excess of forty (40) hours in any workweek.

Section 13.2 Full-time, non-exempt employees -- those employees who are covered by the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act -- will be eligible to receive compensatory leave at a rate of time and one-half for each hour which they are required to work in excess of forty (40) hours in any workweek.

Section 13.3 Exempt employees not covered by the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act may, at the sole discretion of the District Court Administrator or President Judge, be granted compensatory leave on an hour-for-hour basis when, at the specific direction of the District Court Administrator or President Judge, they are required to work MORE THAN FORTY (40) HOURS in any workweek.

Section 13.4 When attending approved training, the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act shall apply in determining whether travel time to and from the approved training is considered hours worked for purposes of compensatory time.

Section 13.5 Compensatory Leave must be used within six (6) months of the date that such leave was earned -- unless otherwise specifically authorized by the District Court Administrator or President Judge. It is the responsibility of each employee to monitor his/her own use of compensatory time within the prescribed timeframes.

Section 13.6 Sick leave, paid or unpaid, and all unauthorized hours are excluded from hours worked for the purpose of computing overtime hours in that week. All other time, including Personal Days, will be considered hours worked.

Section 13.7 All requests to work overtime must be submitted in writing by the Department head to the District Court Administrator for approval. (Form #6) Overtime requests in the District Justice Offices should be submitted for approval to the District Justice. Requests must be made prior to working the overtime except in instances beyond normal control. If prior approval is not obtained, no compensatory time will be approved. The District Court Administrator or Assistant Court Administrator shall keep an accurate record of all approved compensatory time earned and used.

ARTICLE 14

FLEXTIME (Rescinded as of July 1, 2004)

Section 14.1 Dependent on the needs of the Court and with regard to an employee’s request, employees will be permitted to work a flexible schedule. Acceptable reasons for flextime schedules shall include, but not be limited to, training, seminars, childcare, elder care, and ADA accommodations.

Section 14.2 Prior to implementation, the proposed flexible schedule is to be submitted by the employee to the individual’s immediate supervisor, who must then approve or deny it. The request must then be forwarded to the District Court Administrator or designee for approval.

Section 14.3 This policy applies to all employees, whether regular, temporary, or part-time.

Section 14.4 Under normal conditions, all Court employees are expected to be at work between the hours of normal operation unless a flexible schedule has been approved or an alternate work schedule has been implemented by the Court.

Section 14.5 The Court reserves the right to deny such requests based on the needs of the Court and/or the services provided to the public.

Section 14.6 In order to ensure compliance with the wage and hour requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, all flextime schedules must guarantee that the number of hours worked per week will not exceed thirty-five (35) hours. A workweek is from Monday to Sunday. The Court, on an individual’s extenuating circumstances, will grant exceptions.

Section 14.7 The Department Heads and District Justices, in coordination with the District Court Administrator, shall administer the provisions of this policy under the direction of the President Judge.

ARTICLE 15

EMPLOYEE'S ATTENDANCE RECORD

Section 15.1 The purpose of this article is to provide an accurate record of employee's attendance and earned leave time.

Section 15.2 All regular full-time employees are covered by this article.

Section 15.3 An employee's attendance record shall be maintained manually or electronically by the employee. The employee will submit bi-weekly a signed timesheet. The timesheet is reviewed, verified, and signed by the Department Head/District Justice for all full-time regular employees. The purpose of this record is to provide an accurate account of the employee's attendance and will be used as the basis for calculating vacation and sick pay upon termination.

Section 15.4 Absence of any nature shall be recorded electronically or manually. The following codes will be used in recording absence.

H - Holiday

S - Sick Leave

V - Vacation

A - Paid Absence

PH - Personal Day

Section 15.5 A summary of employee's attendance may be included on all Performance Appraisal reports.

ARTICLE 16

HOLIDAYS

Section 16.1 The Court normally recognizes the holidays listed below subject to the annual approval of the County Commissioners. Regular full-time employees of the Carbon County Court System are eligible for paid time off for these holidays:

New Year's Day Columbus Day

President's Day Veteran's Day

Good Friday Thanksgiving Day

Memorial Day Day After Thanksgiving Day

Independence Day Christmas Day

Labor Day

Section 16.2 Holidays which fall on Saturday will be observed on the preceding Friday. Those which fall on a Sunday will be observed on the following Monday.

Section 16.3 To be eligible for holiday pay, an employee must work his/her scheduled work day before and after the holiday, unless he/she is on a paid leave status approved by the appropriate Department Head/District Justice.

Section 16.4 Holiday pay is based on an employee's regularly scheduled straight time hours and base rate of pay.

Section 16.5 If an employee is required to work on an observed holiday, he/she may schedule an alternate day off, with pay, within thirty (30) days of the holiday. Scheduling of an alternate day off is subject to the approval of the employee's Department Head/District Justice. It must be taken in full-day increments only and must be requested in writing at least five (5) days in advance. If an employee is terminated, he/she will not be paid for any unused holiday time.

ARTICLE 17

VACATION

Section 17.1 Vacation time is credited during a calendar year for use during the following calendar year. Vacation leave is credited according to the schedule below for periods of service as a regular full-time employee.

During the FIRST CALENDAR YEAR of employment (January through December), the employee shall accrue one-half (½) day per month for each continuous month of employment in which the employee is compensated for at least sixteen (16) days. The employee can accrue up to a maximum of six (6) days. New employees accrue vacation credits during the Initial Employment Period, but will not receive pay for any vacation time until successful completion of the Initial Employment Period.

Thereafter, in order to qualify for vacation credit, an employee must be compensated for a minimum of 175 days during a calendar year. Vacation leave is credited according to the schedule below for completed years of service as a regular full-time employee.

Completed Years of Service Vacation Credit

1 year 8 days

2 years 10 days

3 years 12 days

4 years 15 days

5 years and over 20 days

Note: A completed year of service is defined as any calendar year in which an employee is compensated by the County for a minimum of 175 days.

Section 17.2 Vacation pay is based on the regularly scheduled straight time hours and base rate of pay in effect when an employee’s vacation leave starts or when his/her employment terminates.

Section 17.3 The Court believes that in order to remain healthy and productive, every employee needs to take full advantage of the time off this vacation policy offers. Vacation leave credited for a calendar year is to be taken by the end of the following calendar year. Employees with ten (10) or more vacation days are expected to take at least one-half of their vacation leave in units of five (5) consecutive workdays. Vacation credit may not be used in increments of less than one-half (½) day.

Section 17.4 Scheduling is fundamental to many of our service areas and for this reason his/her Department Head must approve an employee's vacation schedule. All employees with earned vacation time must fill-out a Time Off Request (Court Form #2). Although every effort will be made to accommodate an employee’s requested vacation schedule, final approval will be determined both by the Court’s need to have adequate staffing to accommodate public service requirements and by requests from other employees for vacation at the same time. To help us accommodate these requirements, vacation requests received during the first three (3) months of the calendar year will be considered on a seniority basis. Thereafter, vacation requests will be considered in the order in which they are received. In the event of conflicting vacation requests, the Department Head and District Court Administrator or designee will approve vacation requests by reference to both the Court’s needs and the affected employees’ seniority. The further ahead an employee plans his/her vacation time, the more likely the Court will be able to accommodate the employee’s wishes.

Section 17.5 When an observed holiday falls during an employee’s vacation period, he/she will be paid for the holiday instead of vacation pay for the holiday. Accrued vacation leave will be paid to an eligible employee in his/her final paycheck when his/her employment terminates for any reason.

Section 17.6 It is the responsibility of each employee to monitor his/her own use of vacation time within the prescribed timeframes.

ARTICLE 18

PERSONAL DAYS

Section 18.1 In offering personal leave days, it is the intention of the Court that eligible employees will use these days to conduct personal business, schedule routine appointments or simply extend vacation time in a manner which will not interfere with their work and the work schedules of the Court. The Court provides that regular full-time employees may take personal leave days with pay and use of accrued personal days must be approved by your department head.

Section 18.2 Personal days are accrued according to the following schedule:

Calendar Period During Which Personal Leave Credit

Employee Works at Least 5 Days

January through April 1 day

May through August 1 day

September through December 1 day

One additional personal day may be taken at any time during the year and is subject to the approval of your department head.

Section 18.3 Personal days must be taken in increments of not less than one-half (½) day. Personal days must be taken during the period in which they are earned. In no event will personal days be accrued beyond the end of a calendar year.

Section 18.4 New employees begin to accrue personal days and become eligible to be paid for personal leave after the completion of their first six (6) months of employment.

Section 18.5 Pay for a personal day is calculated according to the number of straight time hours an employee is scheduled to work that day and the employee's normal base rate of pay.

ARTICLE 19

SICK DAYS

Section 19.1 The Court maintains this sick leave policy to provide time off with pay for regular full- time employees who are unable to work due to illness or injury, including pregnancy. Sick leave is a privilege extended to employees and is to be used in a responsible manner.

Section 19.2 Eligible employees are credited with sick leave at the end of each month of continuous service as follows, to a total maximum accrual of ninety (90) days. A month is defined as any calendar month in which an employee is compensated for at least sixteen (16) days. Any days earned in excess of ninety (90) will be bought back by the County. The buy back amount is 75% of the rate of pay for the employee. The buy back amount will be paid the following year in which the excess sick days were earned.

Years of Annual Monthly

Service Accrual Accrual

Up to 3 years 6 days ½ day

3 to 10 years 9 days 3/4 day

over 10 years 12 days 1 day

Section 19.3 New employees earn sick leave during their initial employment period, but will not receive any sick leave pay for absences, which occur during the first six (6) months of employment.

Section 19.4 Should an employee be unable to report to work due to illness or injury, he/she is expected to personally notify his/her immediate supervisor within one (1) hour of the employee's normally scheduled starting time each day that the employee will be unable to report. Employees are also expected to keep their immediate supervisor advised as to their expected return date.

Section 19.5 Any absence of three (3) days or more must be substantiated by a doctor's statement for sick pay to be paid. An employee may at any time be required to undergo examination by a doctor selected by the Court to substantiate any aspect of a temporary disability when sick pay is being claimed. And, if requested, an employee is expected to authorize his/her physician(s) to release to the Court medical information regarding the absence.

Section 19.6 Sick pay is paid according to the number of straight time hours an employee is scheduled to work and the employee's base rate of pay. If an employee reports for work and then must leave work due to illness, sick leave will be charged in one-half hour increments. For example: An employee will be paid for time worked and will be charged sick time for the balance of the workday, the hours of which are calculated using the employees scheduled hours of work.

Section 19.7 If a holiday should occur while an employee is on a paid sick leave, he/she will receive holiday pay for that day and not sick leave pay. This means that employees who return to work will not be entitled to an additional day off or an additional day's pay. Employees may use up to five (5) days of accumulated sick leave per calendar year to take time off to care for an ill or injured member of their immediate family. For this purpose "immediate family" is defined to include only an employee's spouse, child, brother, sister and parent.

Section 19.8 Sick Leave may be used for medical and/or dental appointments which cannot be scheduled during non-work hours. This benefit applies to both the employee and immediate family members whose appointments cannot be scheduled during non-work hours. Prior approval by the Department Head/District Justice is required. If the employee leaves work, sick leave will be charged in one-half (1/2) hour increments.

An employee will be paid for time worked and will be charged sick time for the balance of the workday, the hours of which are calculated using the employees scheduled hours of work.

Section 19.9 Employees will be compensated for any accrued but unused sick days upon retirement at the rate of fifty (50%) percent.

ARTICLE 20

ABUSE OF SICK LEAVE

Section 20.1 Any abuse of sick leave will be treated as an unauthorized absence subject to disciplinary action. Excessive absences (excused or unexcused) will not be tolerated and are also grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. Excessive absence is defined as more than six (6) occurrences in any consecutive twelve-month period. An occurrence is defined as any number of consecutive full day absences. In the case of an employee who is under a physician's care for illness or injury, only the first day of an absence period will be considered in determining excessive absences. Recurrent absences will be closely scrutinized.

Section 20.2 The Court reserves the right to either temporarily or permanently fill any position vacated due to an extended absence due to illness or disability. When a medical leave ends, the employee can return to the same position or a similar position for which the employee is qualified. If the previous position or a comparable one is not available, an effort will be made to offer another position that is available and suitable. Although every reasonable effort will be made to place you in a position at the end of a medical leave, the Court cannot guarantee reinstatement in all cases.

ARTICLE 21

JURY DUTY AND OTHER COURT APPEARANCES

Section 21.1 It is the policy of Carbon County Court System to provide regular full-time employees who have completed six (6) months of employment with the opportunity to serve with no loss in pay, service, or any other benefits, when they are called for jury duty, or when they are subpoenaed to testify about County business, or about County/Court related matters, or when they are not a party to the proceedings. Time off will not be charged against any vacation or other leave time that an employee may have accumulated.

Section 21.2 An employee's pay from the County during these periods will be calculated based on the employee's regular straight time rate for his/her regularly scheduled straight time hours of work, less the amount collected as compensation for the Court service. Employees may, however, retain any expense money they receive.

Section 21.3 Employees should notify their immediate supervisor as soon as they are notified of jury duty. This way, work schedules in the employee's area may be reassigned if necessary. A copy of an employee's subpoena or jury duty notice should be submitted to the County Personnel Department along with the Department's payroll report with evidence of any payments they receive so that their pay from the County for the period of service may be adjusted.

Section 21.4 Should an employee need to appear in Court on his/her own personal business, he/she may use accumulated vacation time or personal time, but under no circumstances may accumulated sick days be used to cover such an absence.

ARTICLE 22

BEREAVEMENT PAY

Section 22.1 The purpose of this article is to provide absence with pay in the event of death in an employee's immediate family.

Section 22.2 If an employee is a regular full-time employee of the Court who has completed six (6) months of employment, he/she will be entitled to paid leave as follows:

1. Following the death of a member of an employee's immediate family, the Court will approve up to a maximum of four (4) days leave of absence with pay. For this purpose, "immediate family" is defined as including only an employee's spouse, child, mother, father, step-mother, step-father, and step-child.

2. Following the death of any other member of an employee's family, up to a three (3) day leave of absence will be approved. For this purpose, "any other member of a family" is defined as including only an employee's brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, grandparent, great-grandparent, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law and son-in-law.

3. Following the death of any other relative, an employee will be granted a leave of absence of up to one (1) working day to attend the funeral. For this purpose, "any other relative" is defined as including only an employee's brother-in-law, (spouse's brother or employee's sister's husband), sister-in-law (spouse's sister or employee's brother's wife).

Section 22.3 Bereavement pay shall be calculated at the employee's regular straight time rate according to the hours the employee was regularly scheduled to work.

Section 22.4 If, due to extenuating circumstances, the employee requires more funeral leave than described above, the County will not compensate the employee for that time. You may, however, with the approval of the Department Head/District Justice charge the time to your accumulated vacation or personal days. Under no circumstances may accumulated sick days be used to cover funeral leave.

Section 22.5 As with other absences from regularly scheduled work, the employee is to notify the department head of the death in your family and the day(s) you anticipate being absent from work. Also, the Department Head/District Justice and/or District Court Administrator may require you to provide a copy of the obituary before approving your paid leave.

Section 22.6 This benefit is for the purpose of arranging for and attending the funeral and must be taken immediately adjacent to the date of the funeral. It cannot be accrued for use at any other time, and it is only intended to compensate employees for time lost from their regularly scheduled work hours.

ARTICLE 23

MEDICAL LEAVE

Section 23.1 The Court provides unpaid medical leave to regular full-time employees who are temporarily unable to work due to a medical disability and who have completed six (6) months of service with the Court.

Section 23.2 As soon as an employee becomes aware of a need for a medical leave of absence, a physician's statement must be provided verifying the employee's medical disability and the dates the medical leave is to begin and expected to end. Any changes in this information should be promptly reported to the District Court Administrator or designee.

Requests for an excused absence for medical disabilities associated with a pregnancy will be evaluated in accordance with this medical leave policy. (Requests for time off associated with pregnancy and/or childbirth, apart from medical disabilities associated with pregnancy, will be considered in accordance with the Family Leave Policy).

Section 23.3 Eligible employees will be granted leave for the period of disability, up to a maximum of ninety (90) calendar days in a twenty-four (24) month period. Employees must take any available sick days, personal days, and vacation days prior to the effective date of the medical leave of absence. If this initial period of absence proves insufficient, consideration will be given to a written request for a single extension of not more than thirty (30) calendar days.

If an employee fails to notify Court Administration and fails to report to work promptly at the end of the 90th day (120th with an approved extension) of a medical leave, the Court will assume that the employee has resigned.

Section 23.4 The County will continue to offer health and life insurance benefits until the end of the month next following or coincident with the expiration of ninety (90) days of unpaid medical leave. At that time, an employee will become responsible for the full cost of his/her medical insurance benefits for him/herself and any covered dependents and any life insurance which the employee wishes to continue during his/her leave. The County will resume payment of its portion of the costs of these benefits on the first day of the month next following the employee's return to active employment.

Section 23.5 Benefit accruals such as personal days, vacation, sick leave and retirement will be suspended during any medical leave and will resume on return to active employment with the Court.

Section 23.6 Employees returning from medical leave are required to provide a physician's verification of the employee's fitness to return to work. Employees who sustain a work-related injury will be eligible for medical leave of absence for the period of disability in accordance with all applicable laws covering occupational disability.

Section 23.7 Employees returning at or prior to the expiration of a medical leave may return to the same position or to a similar position for which the employee is qualified. If the previous position or a comparable one is not available, an effort will be made to offer another position that is available and suitable. Although every reasonable effort will be made to place the employee in a position at the end of a medical leave, the Court cannot guarantee reinstatement in all cases.

ARTICLE 24

FAMILY LEAVE

Section 24.1 Family leave without pay is available to regular full-time employees who have completed six (6) months of service and who wish to take time off from work duties to fulfill family obligations relating directly to the birth or adoption of a child or to the illness of a child, spouse or parent. Eligible employees may request up to six (6) months of unpaid family leave over any twenty-four (24) month period.

Section 24.2 Requests for family leave will be evaluated based on a number of factors, including anticipated operational requirements and staffing considerations during the proposed period of absence.

Section 24.3 The Court, through the County, will continue to offer health insurance to the employee and covered dependents and life insurance until the end of the month in which the approved family leave begins. At that time, an employee will become responsible for the full costs of the medical and life insurance benefits if he/she wishes to continue coverage. The County will resume payment of its portion of the costs of medical insurance on the first of the month following your return to active employment.

Section 24.4 Accruals of benefits, such as personal days, vacation, sick leave, and retirement will be suspended during an employee's family leave and will resume when he/she returns to active employment.

Section 24.5 When a family leave ends, the employee will return to the same or a similar position for which he/she is qualified. If the previous position or a comparable one is not available, an effort will be made to offer another position that is available and suitable. Although every reasonable effort will be made to place the employee in a position at the end of a family leave, the Court can make no guarantee of reinstatement in all cases.

Section 24.6 If an employee fails to notify the District Court Administrator and the County Human Resource Department, and fails to report to work promptly at the end of an approved leave period, the Court will assume that he/she has resigned.

ARTICLE 25

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE POLICY

Section 25.1 Policy. If you have worked for the Court for a minimum of one (1) year, and also have worked at least 1,250 hours during the twelve (12) months immediately prior to the requested leave period, you are eligible for leave under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act. ("FMLA").

If you are eligible, you are entitled to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid FMLA leave within a twelve (12) month period for the birth or adoption of a child, to provide either physical or psychological care for a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition, or to care for your own serious health condition.

FMLA leave for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care must begin and end within twelve (12) months after the birth or adoption. FMLA leave may begin prior to birth or placement, as circumstances dictate.

To qualify for medical leave, the health condition or treatment(s) of a serious health condition must be such that it requires you to be absent from work on a recurring basis or for more than a few days for treatment or recovery.

Section 25.2 Notification. You must provide the Court/County with thirty (30) days written notice of your need for FMLA leave, or, if emergency conditions prevent such notice, you must notify the Court/County as soon as is practicable.

You are required to report by phone on a monthly basis to the District Court Administrator or designee, County Human Resource Department, and immediate supervisor concerning your status during the leave period.

Section 25.3 Medical Certification. If you are requesting FMLA leave because of your own serious health condition or to care for your spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition, you must provide medical certification within fifteen (15) calendar days of making the leave request. Failure to provide timely and adequate medical certification may result in denial of leave until the required certification is provided. Certification forms may be obtained from Court Administration. A Medical Certification may be required every thirty (30) days.

If you are taking FMLA leave because of your own serious health condition, you must provide the Court with a fitness-for-duty certificate from your physician before returning to work. A note from your physician is acceptable. This certificate or note will be forward to the County Human Resource Department.

If there is a dispute about either the "Certification" or "Release to Return to Work" medical opinion provided by your physician, the Court and/or County may require you to obtain a second opinion from a physician of the Court's/County's choice, at the County's expense. If a third opinion is necessary, a third doctor, mutually agreeable to you and the Court/County, may be selected. The third medical opinion is final and binding.

Section 25.4 Use of Paid Time Off Benefits. Use of paid time-off benefits does not add to the total length of FMLA leave. Unless paid time-off benefits are substituted for FMLA leave, your pay will be reduced for all full days of unpaid leave taken or for all hours of leave taken within a single day. (i.e. time without pay)

Section 25.5 Intermittent or Reduced Leave. In the case of your own serious health condition or that of your spouse, child, or parent, you may take leave intermittently or on a reduced work schedule when medically necessary. When the leave is for the adoption or birth of a child, you may take leave intermittently or on a reduced work schedule only with the approval of the Court/County.

If you request intermittent or reduced leave status, the Court may temporarily transfer you to another position of equivalent pay and benefits in order to better accommodate your FMLA leave.

Section 25.6 Leave Provisions for Spouses Both Working for the Court/County. If FMLA leave is taken for the adoption or birth of a healthy child, or to care for a parent with a serious health condition, the maximum combined FMLA leave for both spouses is twelve (12) weeks. If FMLA leave is taken for a personal illness, or to care for an ill child or spouse, each spouse is entitled to twelve (12) total weeks of FMLA leave.

Section 25.7 Employee Benefits. During the FMLA leave period, the County will continue to maintain your health insurance coverage at the same level of coverage provided to you prior to taking the leave. However, if you fail to return to work at the end of your FMLA leave for reasons other than the continuance of your own serious health condition or the continuance of the serious health condition of your spouse, child, or parent, or you are a parent who chooses not to return to work to stay at home with a well, newborn child, you must reimburse the County for the cost of all insurance premiums paid by the County on your behalf during the FMLA leave period. (This applies only where leave time was without pay.)

Section 25.8 Job Restoration. Unless your employment would have terminated for reasons that are unrelated to your FMLA leave, upon returning from FMLA leave you will be returned to the same position held prior to the leave or to one that is equivalent in pay, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment.

If you do not return to work at the end of your FMLA leave, you lose the right to be restored to your employment.

Certain highly compensated salaried employees are eligible for FMLA leave but are not guaranteed restoration to their position if they choose to take such leave.

Section 25.9 Language of Act to be Controlling. This policy constitutes only a general overview of the FMLA and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the terms of the Act itself. Where the provisions of this policy and the FMLA conflict, the FMLA is controlling.

Section 25.10 FMLA Enforcement. It is the policy of the Court/County not to discriminate against any employee for exercising his or her rights under the FMLA. If you think you have been treated unfairly, please contact the District Court Administrator.

The U. S. Department of Labor is authorized to investigate and resolve complaints of violations concerning the FMLA. An eligible employee may also bring a civil action against the County for FMLA violations.

The FMLA does not affect any federal or state law prohibiting discrimination or supersede any state or local law or collective bargaining agreement which provides greater family or medical leave rights.

ARTICLE 26

MILITARY LEAVE

Section 26.1 It is the policy of the Carbon County Court System to grant a leave of absence to employees, except those occupying temporary positions, to attend scheduled drills or training or if called to active duty with the U. S. Armed Forces or the National Guard, in accordance with applicable State and Federal Law.

Section 26.2 Any regular full time employee of the Court who is a member of a Reserve Component of the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard will be granted a leave of absence of fifteen (15) calendar days with normal base pay from the County for such time as the employee is engaged in field training or active duty authorized by the U. S. Armed Forces or the National Guard. Such employees taking a leave of absence in excess of fifteen (15) calendar days in one (1) year will not be paid by the County for such additional leave.

Section 26.3 An employee must promptly submit written notice of any authorized military leave to his/her Department Head and/or District Court Administrator and the County's Human Resource Department, along with a copy of the employee's Orders (upon the receipt of such Orders) prior to the commencement of leave so that adequate staffing levels can be maintained. In addition, an employee is required to submit a copy of his/her military pay stub to the Human Resource Department.

Section 26.4 During Military Leaves of up to fifteen (15) days duration for training, the County will continue to offer medical insurance coverage to employees and their covered dependents and life insurance. The accrual of benefits such as vacation, holidays and sick leave will continue during a military leave of absence.

Section 26.5 Whenever any employee is called into active duty as a member of a Reserve Component of the U. S. Armed Forces (other than active duty for training), or is called or ordered into active Federal service or active State duty as a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard under order authorized by law, the County will continue health insurance and other benefits in effect for the first thirty (30) days of such military duty. After the expiration of the first thirty (30) days of such duty, the County will give the Reservist or National Guard member the option of continuing such health insurance and other benefits in effect at his own expense by paying for the insurance or benefits at the same rates previously paid by the County, and the insurance coverage shall continue, except for injuries incurred in the line of military duty.

Section 26.6 Employees on two (2) week active duty training assignments or inactive duty training drills are required to return to work for the first scheduled work day after the end of training, allowing reasonable travel time. Employees on unpaid military leave (in excess of fifteen (15) calendar days in one year) must apply for re-employment in accordance with all applicable State and Federal laws. Every reasonable effort will be made to return qualified employees to their previous position or a comparable one in accordance with applicable State and Federal laws. Such employees will be treated as though they were continuously employed for purposes of determining benefits based on length of service, such as the rate of vacation accrual and seniority.

ARTICLE 27

EDUCATIONAL LEAVE

Section 27.1 Educational leave without pay is available to regular full-time employees who have completed one (1) year of service and who wish to take time off from work duties to pursue educational goals. An employee may request educational leave for a period of up to six (6) months every two (2) years. Requests will be evaluated based on a number of factors, including anticipated operational requirements and staffing considerations during the proposed period of absence.

Section 27.2 The Court, through the County, will continue to offer medical and life insurance benefits until the end of the month in which the educational leave begins. At that time, employees on educational leave will become responsible for the full costs of their insurance benefits if they wish coverage to continue. The County will resume paying its portion of the cost of these benefits when the employee returns to active employment.

Section 27.3 Accruals of benefits, such as personal days, vacation, sick leave, and retirement will be suspended during the employee's educational leave and will resume when he/she returns to active employment.

Section 27.4 When an educational leave ends, the employee will return to the same or a similar position for which he/she is qualified. If the previous position or a comparable one is not available, an effort will be made to offer another position that is available and suitable. Although every reasonable effort will be made to place the employee in a position at the end of an educational leave, the Court can make no guarantee of reinstatement in all cases.

Section 27.5 If an employee fails to notify the District Court Administrator and the County's Human Resource Department and fails to report to work at the end of the approved leave period, the Court will assume that he/she has resigned.

ARTICLE 28

PERSONAL LEAVE

Section 28.1 Personal leave without pay is available to regular full-time employees who have completed one (1) year of service and who wish to take time off from work duties to fulfill personal obligations. Employees may request personal leave for a period of up to sixty (60) days every two (2) years. Requests will be evaluated based on a number of factors, including anticipated operational requirements and staffing considerations during the proposed period of absence.

Section 28.2 The Court, through the County, will continue to offer medical insurance benefits until the end of the month in which the personal leave begins. At that time, employees on personal leave will become responsible for the full costs of their insurance benefits if they wish coverage to continue. The County will resume paying its portion of the cost of these benefits when the employee returns to active employment.

Section 28.3 Accruals of benefits, such as personal days, vacation, sick leave and retirement will be suspended during the employee's personal leave and will resume when he/she returns to active employment.

Section 28.4 When a personal leave ends, the employee will return to the same or a similar position for which he/she is qualified. If the previous position or a comparable one is not available, an effort will be made to offer another position that is available and suitable. Although every reasonable effort will be made to place the employee in a position at the end of a personal leave, the Court can make no guarantee of reinstatement in all cases.

If an employee fails to notify the District Court Administrator and the County's Human Resource Department and fails to report to work at the end of the approved leave period, the Court will assume that he/she has resigned.

ARTICLE 29

MEDICAL INSURANCE PLAN

Section 29.1 The Court, through Carbon County, provides eligible employees with protection against catastrophic medical expenses through its Medical Insurance Plan. The Plan gives employees an added measure of security by helping to protect them against the financial hardship which can accompany illness or injury.

Section 29.2 Eligibility and Effective Date of Coverage. Employees and their eligible dependents may begin participation in this Medical Insurance Plan on the first of any month after they have completed sixty (60) calendar days of service as a regular full-time employee of the Court. Employees must properly complete and return the enrollment application forwarded from the County Human Resource Department.

Section 29.3 Dependents. If an employee participates in this Plan, he/she may also include eligible dependents under this coverage. Eligible dependents, for the purpose of this coverage, include:

1. A spouse, unless legally divorced from the employee;

2. Unmarried dependent children to the end of the

calendar year in which they attain the age of 19;

3. For the purposes of Major Medical coverage only,

unmarried dependent children to age 23, if

they are full-time students in an accredited

college or university or in a technical or

specialized school and are pursuing a course of

study requiring at least two (2) years which will

lead to a degree or certificate upon completion.

The term "full-time" as used here does not include

those students attending night school or summer

school only, or those attending school on a

part-time basis.

Section 29.4 Description of the Medical Insurance Plan. A booklet which describes the main features of the Medical Insurance Plan for employees of Carbon County will be provided to all employees by the County Human Resource Department. This booklet is prepared by the insurance carrier to more fully describe eligible dependents, what is covered by the Hospital, Medical-Surgical and Major Medical portions of this Plan, what is not covered, and how an eligible employee may claim benefits under the Plan.

Section 29.5 Cost of coverage. Currently, this Plan is offered to eligible employees at no cost.

Section 29.6 Changing Your Coverage. Forms to request changes in coverage, may be obtained by contacting the County's Human Resource Department.

Section 29.7 Coverage in the Event an Employee Becomes Disabled. In the event an employee becomes disabled and is unable to work, his/her medical coverage and coverage for eligible dependents will terminate at the end of the month following ninety (90) days of unpaid leave due to disability.

Section 29.8 Termination of Coverage. Medical coverage for employees terminates at the end of the month during which their employment terminates for any reason (including layoff and retirement), or during which they cease to be an eligible employee. An employee's dependents' coverage terminates whenever his/her coverage terminates.

Section 29.9 Continuation Coverage When an Employee or a Dependent is No Longer Eligible. Employees will have an opportunity to enroll in continuation coverage for a maximum period of eighteen (18) months in the event their employment terminates (for any reason other than gross misconduct) or their hours are reduced so that they are no longer eligible.

The eighteen (18) months may be extended to twenty-nine (29) months if an individual is determined to be disabled (for Social Security disability purposes) and the County is notified of that determination within sixty (60) days. The affected individual must also notify the County within sixty (60) days of any final determination that the individual is no longer disabled.

An employee's covered dependents will also have an opportunity to enroll in continuation coverage for a period of eighteen (18) months when regular coverage under the Plan is not available to his/her dependents because employment terminates (for any reason other than gross misconduct) or an employee's hours are reduced.

An employee's covered dependent may be affected by more than one such event during a period of continuation coverage. In this case, continuation coverage may be elected for a period up to a maximum of thirty-six (36) months of continuation coverage for any covered dependent.

Each covered dependent has a right to continue coverage:

1. At the employee's death;

2. In the case of an employee's spouse, when

such spouse ceases to be an eligible

Dependent as a result of divorce or legal

separation.

3. The employee becomes entitled to Medicare;

4. In the case of a dependent child, when such

child no longer satisfies the eligibility

requirements for coverage as a Dependent

under the Plan.

Coverage will cease earlier if one of the following events occur:

1. The employer ceases to provide group health insurance to any employee;

2. The qualified beneficiary fails to make timely payments of any premium required;

3. The qualified beneficiary is covered under another group health plan that does not contain any exclusion or limitation with respect to any pre-existing condition that the qualified beneficiary may have;

4. The qualified beneficiary is entitled to benefits under Medicare; or

5. The qualified beneficiary extended coverage for up to twenty-nine (29) months due to a disability and there has been a final determination that the qualified beneficiary is no longer disabled.

Continuation coverage for an employee or a dependent will be identical to the coverage available under this Plan just prior to the time the coverage would otherwise have terminated.

If continuation coverage is elected, an employee or his/her dependent(s) will be required to pay 102% of the Plan's cost for the coverage. The County will bill the employee or dependent(s) for this coverage and if payment is not received within forty-five (45) days of the election to continue coverage and, in all other cases, within thirty-one (31) days of the due date, continuation coverage will terminate and will not be reinstated even if payment is received at a later date. The employee or covered dependent is responsible for notifying the County within sixty (60) days if he/she becomes divorced or if a dependent child is no longer eligible. If notification is not received before the end of this sixty (60) day period, the covered dependent will not be eligible for continuation coverage.

Section 29.10 Conversion to Non-Group Insurance. Whenever an employee or a dependent is no longer covered under this Group Medical Plan, the employee may make arrangements with the insurance carrier to convert to a direct payment type of Subscriber Agreement. This conversion privilege is available when either regular or continuation coverage under this Plan terminates. More information about conversion from this Plan to non-group coverage may be obtained by contacting the County's Human Resource Department.

Section 29.11 Future of this Plan. The County reserves the right to require employees to pay for any portion of the cost of participating in this Plan and/or to modify or discontinue this Plan.

ARTICLE 30

LIFE INSURANCE PLAN

Section 30.1 The Court, through Carbon County, provides eligible employees with a Life Insurance Plan.

Section 30.2 Eligibility, Effective Date and Amount of Coverage. Employees automatically participate in this life insurance plan on the first of the month after the date on which they complete sixty (60) calendar days of service as a regular full-time employee. The amount of an individual employee's life insurance coverage is $25,000.

Section 30.3 Designating a Beneficiary. Before an employee's coverage under this Plan is scheduled to become effective, he/she will be provided with a form on which to designate a beneficiary, or beneficiaries, under this Plan. Additional important information about beneficiary designations is provided in the accompanying handbook provided by the insurance carrier.

Section 30.4 Cost of Coverage. Currently, this Plan is offered to eligible employees at no cost.

Section 30.5 Additional Information. Employees should refer to the accompanying handbook prepared by the insurance carrier for information about coverage in the event they become disabled, converting the coverage to an individual contract in the event employment terminates, and other important information about the Carbon County Life Insurance Plan for eligible employees.

Section 30.6 Future of this Plan. The County reserves the right to require employees to pay for any portion of the cost of participating in this plan and/or to modify or discontinue this Plan.

ARTICLE 31

RETIREMENT PLAN

Section 31.1 The Court, through Carbon County, provides eligible employees with a Retirement Plan. The Retirement Pension Plan is designed to provide eligible employees a lifetime income in their retirement years. The Plan is established and maintained under the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's "County Pension Law" Act 96 of 1971, PL 398, as amended by Act 136 of 1990.

Section 31.2 Employees must become members when they first become eligible. Elected officials may, however, become members at a later date. An employee must participate in the Plan on employment if scheduled to work at least 1,000 hours during the first twelve (12) months of employment and/or at the beginning of any succeeding twelve (12) month period during which scheduled to work at least 1,000 hours.

Section 31.3 If an employee is eligible to participate, he/she is required to contribute five percent (5%) of his/her salary before taxes to the Plan through regular payroll deductions. Employees may voluntarily elect to contribute up to an additional ten percent (10%) of their salary. When an employee is first employed or such later date as he/she becomes eligible to participate in this plan, the employee will be requested to designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries for his/her contributions to this Retirement Plan.

Section 31.4 The booklet accompanying this Handbook gives employees additional important information about their County Retirement Pension Plan, including how retirement income is calculated and when an employee becomes eligible for benefits. Any questions about this plan should be referred to the Carbon County Controller's Office.

ARTICLE 32

DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN

Section 32.1 In addition to the Retirement Plan, the County has entered into an agreement with a third-party administrator to establish a deferred compensation plan in which any regular full-time employee of the County may participate. This Plan has been established and is maintained subject to the provisions of Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 32.2 Generally, participating employees may contribute through regular payroll deduction from 1 to 25% of their salary before taxes to the Plan up to a maximum of $8,000 in a calendar year. When employees enroll in the Plan, they must designate how much of their salary they want to defer and their choice of investment(s) from the options then currently available through the third-party administrator. The types of investment options available include life insurance contracts, annuities, and mutual funds.

When employees enroll in this Plan they also designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive the value of their contributions to this Plan in the event of their death. If an employee does not designate a beneficiary, the value of his/her account will be paid to the employee's estate.

The County will transfer the employee's plan contributions to the third-party administrator who will establish an account in the employee's name. The value of the account at any specific time is the market value of the employee's accumulated contributions as they have been invested. The value of the account will change as market values of the investments selected by the employee change and as any required administrative fees are deducted from the account.

While participating in this Plan, the value of the employee's contributions are not taxed. Because of the tax advantages of this Plan, the IRS imposes restrictions on the availability of the funds in the account while an employee is employed. Employees may not withdraw funds from their account while employed unless they experience a "severe financial hardship". If an employee can substantiate such a hardship to the County, the amount he/she may withdraw is then limited to the amount required to cover that hardship. Future contributions to the Plan will also be suspended for the remainder of the plan year. An employee may, however, re-enroll prior to the beginning of the next Plan year.

Once employees begin contributing to this Plan, they will receive regular statements from the third-party administrator showing the value of their contributions to the Plan in the various investment options they select. They will also receive regular reports of the investment performance of the various options available.

Section 32.3 Whenever an employee leaves employment within the County, the value of his/her contributions to this Plan are one hundred percent (100%) vested. The employee's contributions to the Plan will be discontinued and he/she should contact the third-party administrator at that time to learn about the options then currently available to the employee upon termination of employment.

Additional information about this deferred compensation plan will be distributed to employees. All eligible employees will receive information about the investment options currently available, any administrative and service fees charged by the third-party administrator, potential tax savings and the impact on take-home pay. A representative of the third-party administrator will also be available to answer any questions employees may have about the Plan.

If employees have questions about the Plan between these enrollment periods, they should contact the County's Human Resource Department for assistance and they may be put in contact with a representative of the third-party administrator for further assistance.

ARTICLE 33

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Section 33.1 The purpose of the hiring procedure is to provide standard procedures for recruitment and employment of individuals to authorized positions.

Section 33.2 The Department Head/District Justice will notify the District Court Administrator when a vacancy occurs or an additional employee is required. An addition to the staff requires approval of the Salary Board before a position is created and filled. The District Court Administrator, on behalf of the President Judge, will present any such request to the Salary Board. Department Heads will provide the appropriate Salary Board letter, Personnel Requisition form, and any other supporting documentation to the District Court Administrator.

Section 33.3 The District Court Administrator or designee will assist the Department Head/District Justice in the recruitment and selection of qualified applicants. It is the policy of the Court to recruit and select the most qualified persons for positions in the Court system and to do so in a manner to provide equal employment opportunity, ensure open competition, and to prohibit discrimination.

Section 33.4 Any person expressing a desire to apply for employment with the Court will be given the opportunity to complete an application for employment and be considered for employment for the job for which the individual has applied or for which the individual may be qualified, as employment vacancies become available. A timed, written employment test will be given to all applicants.

Section 33.5 Employment opportunities will be announced internally for application purposes. As needed and determined by the Department Head/District Justice in cooperation with the District Court Administrator, recruitment in outside sources such as the local newspapers, professional trade publications, college placement offices, and professional publications, etc. may occur.

Section 33.6 Any vacancy may be filled through an internal promotion process as approved by the Court.

Section 33.7 Employment announcements shall include the position title, pay information, hours of work, minimum job requirements, time and place for making application, and other pertinent information for applicants.

Section 33.8 A background investigation shall be conducted for all new hires. If an employee is hired prior to the completion of the background check, the employee shall be hired subject to the results of the investigation. A mandatory pre-employment drug test is required and the results must have a negative result (See Article 56).

Section 33.9 Furnishing false information on an employment application may be cause for dismissal or rejection.

Section 33.10 New employees will normally receive the starting salary for their job classification.

Section 33.11 An employee transferred from part-time or temporary to regular status is considered a new hire.

Section 33.12 The District Court Administrator or designee will insure that all new hires receive information on County benefit plans and complete necessary enrollment forms.

Section 33.13 All prospective employees are required to fill out an Application For Employment (see Form #2), and upon request, produce a valid Social Security Card.

Section 33.14 Any minor employed by the Court is required to follow the standard procedure outlines for individuals seeking employment with the Court. With the exception of student co-operative program participants, a minor (under age 18) must conform these requirements of state law and provide a valid working certificate before employment by the Court. The number of hours a minor is permitted to work varies according to age and school attendance.

ARTICLE 34

PROMOTIONS

Section 34.1 To encourage employee development, the Court provides opportunities for the individual to accept greater responsibilities and through advancement to positions of increased skill, authority, and salary.

Section 34.2 The Court will provide, when practical, a continuing means of recruiting for non-management positions.

Section 34.3 Decisions on promotions in the Court will be based on merit without regard to any circumstance other than the employee's qualifications, work habits and experience.

Section 34.4 Promotional positions will be announced internally for application purposes. Employees who believe they are qualified are encouraged to apply for promotional opportunities.

Section 34.5 The department head where the vacancy exists will recommend the promotion of the employee selected by submitting a letter to the District Court Administrator. The President Judge will make all final approvals.

ARTICLE 35

TRANSFERS

Section 35.1 In order to achieve maximum utilization of personnel, transfers are provided to move employees into different positions in the same salary grade involving comparable skills and responsibilities.

Section 35.2 The Court may transfer personnel as needed or desired for a variety of reasons, such as:

1. Relocation of an employee into a position more

suitable to the individual's talents;

2. Elimination or restructuring of the employee's

position;

3. To comply when practical with a request by a supervisor

or employee; and

4. To satisfy a staffing need as determined by Court

management.

Section 35.3 Employees may request a transfer.

Section 35.4 An employee who voluntarily transfers from a position in one class to a position in another class which has a lower maximum rate of pay will be paid at the lower classification rate.

ARTICLE 36

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Section 36.1 It is the policy of the Court to insure that each employee has a job description which lists the main functions, duties, and responsibilities of his/her job.

Section 36.2 The first step in composing a job description is the drafting of a Job Specification by the department head which lists the duties, responsibilities, and other pertinent information related to the job. After the specification is drafted, the Department Head must prepare a formal job description and submit it to the District Court Administrator for approval from the District Court Administrator and the President Judge.

Section 36.3 If a department head believes that a particular job description is in need of revision or re-evaluation, he/she should submit his/her recommendations to the District Court Administrator and obtain proper approval before implementing any job change.

Section 36.4 Periodic Wage and Salary surveys will be conducted to insure that competitive levels of wages are maintained.

Section 36.5 Periodical reviews of Job Descriptions will be conducted to keep abreast of workloads or task assignment changes that may accrue within the Court system.

ARTICLE 37

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION SYSTEM

Section 37.1 The objective of the performance and evaluation system is to improve employee performance by:

1. Evaluating how the job has been performed, discussing

this performance with the individual concerned, and,

where possible, determining how it can be improved.

2. Evaluating short-term and long-term potential.

Section 37.2 Performance appraisal is a continuous process and supervisors should carry out informal, regular discussions with employees throughout the year and summarize progress more formally and in writing in the annual performance appraisal.

Section 37.3 Performance reviews are performed annually. Newly hired employees and employees who are transferred and/or promoted, are reviewed six (6) months from date of hire, transfer, or promotion.

Section 37.4 All supervisors may prepare special performance reviews of any employee at times other than stated above when it is warranted.

Section 37.5 Completing the appraisal process allows both supervisor and subordinate to express their views. The process should be beneficial for both.

Section 37.6 Evaluation of job performance will be done using the following guidelines:

1. The main tasks of the job will be

discussed with the employee being

evaluated by the supervisor.

2. Performance rating under each main task

will be judged in the context of:

a. knowledge of the job;

b. ability to apply knowledge of the job;

c. application of knowledge and ability

with/without supervision; and

d. dependability in doing a job well

with/without supervision.

e. ability to communicate both in writing

and orally, clearly, and concisely; and

f. effectiveness of job performance as

related to organizational objectives.

Section 37.7 The supervisor will discuss the performance evaluation with the employee. Both the employee and the supervisor will then sign the evaluation form, indicating that each has reviewed the form. If an employee disagrees with any portion of the evaluation, it will be clearly noted in the employee comment section. The employee has the option to further discuss the evaluation with the supervisor by marking the correct box on the evaluation form. The employee may also submit written comments, which will be attached to the evaluation, within thirty (30) days of the evaluation date by indicating this request on the evaluation form.

Section 37.8 If an employee is performing his or her job unsatisfactorily, it is the responsibility of the supervisor to give immediate feedback to the employee and to recommend methods of improving work performance, including training or other development. The employee shall be reevaluated within three (3) months to monitor progress.

Section 37.9 Any employee who is leaving a supervisory position is required to submit a performance evaluation form for each employee under his or her supervision who has not been evaluated within the previous six (6) month period.

Section 37.10 The Employee Performance Report (Form #9) will be provided to all supervisory personnel and shall be made available to all employees upon request.

Section 37.11 Evaluation of job performance will be accomplished in accordance with laws and orders regarding Equal Employment Opportunity and all employees will be treated equally.

ARTICLE 38

EMPLOYEE TRAINING

Section 38.1 The Court provides employee training for its employees in order to assist them in achieving increased skills and proficiency within the Court system.

Section 38.2 The District Court Administrator with the aid of Department Heads/District Justices should encourage training for all employees. It is recommended that each court employee attend some training that is recommended by the Department Head and approved by the District Court Administrator or designee. The training should also enhance the value of the employee to the Court.

Section 38.3 The District Court Administrator must approve all seminar reimbursement requests for Department Heads that are submitted. The Department Heads must approve all seminar reimbursement requests for their respective employees (Form #10). It is the responsibility of the Department Head/District Justice to budget necessary funds for training and that such funds are available prior to recommending employees to attend training seminars.

ARTICLE 39

RESIGNATION

Section 39.1 Employees who intend to resign shall submit their resignation in writing to the President Judge with copies given to the District Court Administrator and Department Head/District Justice. The resignation shall be signed and dated setting forth the effective date of the resignation.

Section 39.2 Resignations shall be submitted with at least two (2) weeks’ notice prior to the effective date, unless emergency situations dictate to the contrary.

ARTICLE 40

WORK FORCE REDUCTION

Section 40.1 The Court may impose a reduction in personnel for budgetary reasons, change in procedures or management methods, abolition of a position(s) or other reasons deemed appropriate by the Court.

Section 40.2 The Court will make an effort to treat all employees equitably and in accordance with statutory rights.

Section 40.3 An employee who is terminated or furloughed will be notified in writing by the individual's supervisor in the format prescribed by the District Court Administrator at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the effective date of the separation. Exceptions will be when emergency conditions necessitate more immediate action.

Section 40.4 Reductions in work force shall be determined by considering factors including, but not limited to, experience, training, performance, length of service, applicable Federal and Commonwealth laws, and the needs of the Court.

Section 40.5 Recall or rehire of any individual may depend upon adequate funding, availability of suitable openings, and the staffing needs of the Court.

ARTICLE 41

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

Section 41.1 The Court recognizes the need for administering disciplinary action when necessary.

Section 41.2 Before administering disciplinary action, the Department Head/District Justice should document events leading to said action and review the problem with the District Court Administrator. The Department Head/ District Justice should discuss the situation with all persons involved and provide an opportunity for the affected employee to respond to the action/behavior in question.

Section 41.3 Serious disciplinary infractions may subject the employee to immediate discharge without prior warning. Such serious infractions include, but are not limited to:

1. Possession, consumption, or being under the influence of intoxicating beverages or narcotics in the Courthouse, or during duty hours;

2. Stealing or attempting to steal property from any individual on Court premises, or stealing or attempting to steal property or services from the Court or County;

3. Bodily assault upon any person, or fighting on Court or County premises;

4. Impeding and/or providing false information or statements to an immediate supervisor or higher authority during the investigation of a complaint or policy infraction.

5. Possession of firearms or any dangerous weapons(or explosives) on Court or County property without, specific authorization;

6. Insubordination to supervisor, refusal to perform supervisor's assignments, or the utterance of abusive or threatening language at any Court supervisor, employee, representative, or client;

7. Falsification of records or reports;

8. Disclosure of confidential data;

9. Conviction of a misdemeanor or a felony. If an employee is charged with any crime that would have a disparaging negative impact on the Court and/or the ability of the employee to honestly carry forth with his/her duties (i.e., DUI, theft, possession of narcotics) that person will be suspended without pay pending the outcome of the charges. If the employee is acquitted of all charges, then back pay will be reimbursed.

Section 41.4 The following disciplinary progression will otherwise generally apply:

1. FIRST VIOLATION - Verbal Warning

2. SECOND VIOLATION - Written Warning

3. THIRD VIOLATION – Suspension or Probation:

Suspension – 1st, 2nd, or 3rd day unpaid (A written explanation of the situation with instructions to suspend without pay for 1, 2, or 3 days.)

Probation – A memo describing the performance inadequacy with a defined period (up to six [6] months) to bring performance to a satisfactory level or result in termination.

4. FOURTH VIOLATION - Dismissal

NOTE: Progressive discipline should not be read as requiring four violations of the same employment work rule in order to justify dismissal. For example, an employee could be late for work, which could lead to a verbal warning. If the same employee was no longer completing work in a timely fashion, a second written warning would be given. Even though the second violation is not the same as the first violation, this illustration shows that the employee would be on their second violation level, regardless of the type or nature of the violations.

Section 41.5 Prior to the imposition of disciplinary action involving suspension and/or dismissal, the Department Head/District Justice shall submit the matter to the District Court Administrator and President Judge or designee for review. All disciplinary action shall be recorded in the employee's personnel file including verbal warnings and all written action taken.

Section 41.6 During a suspension period an employee may not accrue leave benefits.

Section 41.7 An employee may review any disciplinary action.

Section 41.8 Discipline depends on the circumstances. The procedure outlined above is intended as a guideline, and the Court may deviate from this policy in its sole discretion.

ARTICLE 42

DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM

Section 42.1 Recognizing the importance of the individual employee to the organization and the desirability of prompt consideration and disposition of problems affecting his/her status and welfare, the Court has established the following policy for the orderly hearing and equitable handling of employee grievances.

Section 42.2 Definitions and General Procedures

1. The procedures set forth in this article shall be applicable to grievances arising from conditions which are in whole or part subject to the control of the Department Head/District Justice and which involve policy administration or terms and conditions of employment. The Procedures shall not be applicable to dismissals.

2. Any complaint or dispute which may arise between a Court employee and supervisor, another employee or any other Court official shall be settled in the manner provided by this policy.

3. The term "days" when used in this policy shall mean calendar days. If the last day of any time period or time limit specified in this policy falls on a non-working day, the time period or limit shall be extended to the next following working day.

4. It is important that a complaint be processed as rapidly as possible. The number of days indicated at each level should be considered a maximum. Failure to appeal the complaint within the appropriate time limit will make the complaint void. By mutual agreement, extensions to the time limits may be made at each step of the procedure. However, extensions must be confirmed in writing.

5. All complaints shall be presented as soon as practical, but no later than ten (10) days after the employee reasonably should have known of its occurrence. Failure to submit a complaint within this period shall constitute a bar to further action.

Section 42.3 FIRST STEP. Immediate Supervisor/Department Head/District Justice. The employee shall orally and in written form explain his grievance to his immediate supervisor within five (5) calendar days after knowledge of the grievance or reason the grievance has occurred. The supervisor shall attempt to resolve the grievance to the mutual satisfaction of both parties within five (5) calendar days after its presentation. If the employee does not proceed with his grievance to the second step within five (5) calendar days after receiving his supervisor's decision, the grievance shall be considered satisfactorily resolved.

Section 42.4 SECOND STEP. District Court Administrator. If satisfactory settlement is not reached at the first step, the employee shall submit the grievance, in writing to the District Court Administrator within five (5) days after receiving the first step decision. The District Court Administrator shall review the grievance with the employee and the Department Head/District Justice and render a written decision within ten (10) calendar days after review.

Section 42.5 THIRD STEP. President Judge. Failing to reach a satisfactory settlement at the second step, the employee may request a review of the grievance by the President Judge. This request must be submitted in writing to the President Judge within five (5) days after notification of the second step decision.

Section 42.6 FOURTH STEP. Within ten (10) days after the review, the President Judge, or a person or persons appointed by the President Judge, shall render a final decision, in writing, to the employee, the District Court Administrator, and the Department Head/District Justice specifying the grounds relied upon in reaching a decision.

ARTICLE 43

REEMPLOYMENT

Section 43.1 If an employee resigns for any reason and is subsequently rehired by the Court, he/she is considered to be a new employee. Any repurchase of pension benefits under the Retirement System will have no affect on the employee's status as a new employee under all other policies and procedures of the Court or the County.

ARTICLE 44

CONFIDENTIALITY

Section 44.1 Employees may be in a position to receive confidential information during the performance of their duties. Employees shall never use information obtained confidentially for any purpose and shall respect the privacy interests of individuals. Violations of this confidentiality requirement shall be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal.

ARTICLE 45

POLITICAL ACTIVITY

Section 45.1 By Order of The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on June 29, 1982, political activity by Court-appointed employees is prohibited. Court employees shall not be involved in any form of partisan political activity.

Section 45.2 Partisan political activity includes, but is not limited to, running for public office, serving as a party committee-person, working at a polling place on Election Day, performing volunteer work in a political campaign, soliciting contributions for political campaigns, and soliciting contributions for a political action committee or organization but shall not include involvement in non-partisan or public community organizations or professional groups.

Section 45.3 Employees may attend political functions where attendance at such functions is for the specific purpose of becoming informed about the merits of a particular candidacy and where the attendance does not imply that the employee is openly campaigning for or supporting the candidate.

Section 45.4 Court-appointed employees shall include, but are not limited to, all employees appointed to and who are employed in the Court system at the county level, including state district personnel.

Section 45.5 A Court-appointed employee engaging in partisan political activity must cease such partisan activity at once or he/she shall be terminated.

Section 45.6 A Court-appointed employee who chooses to become a candidate for any office shall be terminated, effective the close of business on the first day of circulating petitions for his/her candidacy.

Section 45.7 The President Judge shall be responsible for the implementation of the political activity policy. Any questions concerning political activity shall be submitted in writing to the District Court Administrator, who in turn, will forward the question(s) to the President Judge.

Section 45.8 All employees must acknowledge in writing that they have read this section, that they understand this Political Activity policy, and that they are not engaged in any partisan political activities.

ARTICLE 46

PROFESSIONAL DEMEANOR

Section 46.1 Court employees are required to conduct themselves in a professional, courteous manner at all times. Conduct that reflects poorly on the individual, will reflect poorly on the Court. Unprofessional demeanor will not be condoned.

Section 46.2 Employees shall not commit or omit any acts which constitute a violation of any policy, procedure, regulation or order of the Department Head/District Justice, District Court Administrator, and President Judge, either written or verbal.

Section 46.3 Employees shall conduct themselves at all times in such manner as to reflect favorably on their department. Unbecoming conduct shall include any conduct which adversely affects the morale or efficiency of the department, or any conduct which has a tendency to destroy public respect for court staff or confidence in the operation of the Court. Such conduct may result in disciplinary action, and, if continued, may result in dismissal.

ARTICLE 47

DRESS CODE

Section 47.1 Each employee is expected to dress appropriately for the job. Department Heads/ District Justices are responsible for setting appropriate dress standards for their departments. In setting dress standards, supervisors should consider these factors:

1. The nature of the work;

2. Safety considerations, such as necessary precautions when working near machinery;

3. The nature of the employee's public contact, if any, and the normal expectations of the outside parties with whom the employee will work;

4. The prevailing practices of other workers in similar jobs; and

5. The preferences of higher management, including considerations of the type of image the Court wishes to project.

Section 47.2 When an employee's attire does not comply with established standards, the normal response should be to discuss the matter with the employee. If continued counseling fails to bring the desired response, the Department Head/District Justice may initiate disciplinary action upon consultation with the District Court Administrator.

Section 47.3 An employee who disagrees with a Department Head/District Justice's judgment on matters of dress shall have recourse through the Dispute Resolution System. No disciplinary action shall be taken until the dispute resolution process has been completed.

Section 47.4 The standards for women's dress shall be, to the extent that it is practical, comparable with that for men.

ARTICLE 48

OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT

Section 48.1 All employees must discuss with their Department Head/District Justice the matter of accepting outside employment. While there is no objection to outside employment, it is important that no employee accept outside employment which might prove embarrassing to the Court or conflict in any manner with Court employment.

Section 48.2 Employees participating in outside employment shall not be permitted to use court supplies, equipment, or utilities in the completion of said employment.

Section 48.3 An employee shall not be engaged in outside employment during his/her regularly scheduled Court hours. Employment with the Court shall take preference over any outside employment.

ARTICLE 49

GIFT POLICY

Section 49.1 Court employees are not permitted to accept gifts, gratuities, or any other form of material favor. Acceptance of any gift by a Court employee will result in discipline, including dismissal.

ARTICLE 50

TRAVEL EXPENSES

Section 50.1 The purpose of this article is to provide reimbursement of travel expenses to employees on trips authorized (and budgeted) for the purpose of conducting official Court business.

Section 50.2 All employees are eligible to receive travel expenses.

Section 50.3 Transportation. Transportation includes all necessary travel on railroads, streetcars, buses, airplanes, taxicabs, and automobiles. Local transportation such as taxicabs, airport limousines, car rentals, etc. is allowed when justified by the travel assignment. Employees will be reimbursed for the use of their personal automobile when on official business at the current rate established by Carbon County, plus applicable charges for parking, toll-bridges and toll roads. Mileage will be reimbursed based on the point of origin and point of termination.

Section 50.4 Lodging. Lodging costs will be reimbursed based on the going rate of the area of travel or the requirements to stay at a particular hotel/motel due to the nature of the business. Reimbursement for lodging is not allowable for an employee within reasonable commuting distance from the employee's residence or headquarters, unless justification can be provided.

Section 50.5 Subsistence. Reimbursement for meals for each twenty-four (24) hour period spent in a continuous overnight travel status is established by Carbon County. For less than a twenty-four (24) hour period, individual meal allowance is $35.00 per day. Meal reimbursement is not allowed when traveling within the County of Carbon.

Section 50.6 Approvals. Department Heads/District Justices are responsible for establishing internal controls for approval of staff traveling. All requests for out of County travel require approval of the Department Head/District Justice. All requests for overnight travel require prior approval by the Department Head/District Justice.

Section 50.7 Expense Report. Travel expenses may be paid only upon submission of an expense report (Form #7). The form must be reviewed and approved by the Department Head/District Justice. Department Head expense reports require approval of the District Court Administrator. Receipts are required for all items.

Section 50.8 Advance Payment for Travel Expenses. Advance payment for travel expenses may be requested for travel and requires the approval of the Department Head/District Justice. Where travel expenses have been advanced, the expense report is to be completed within five (5) calendar days after return from the trip. Amounts due the County are to be submitted with the expense report.

Section 50.9 Exceptions: Elected Officials (Judges, District Justices and Jury Commissioners) will not require prior approval of their personal travel expenses that are within their Department's budget.

ARTICLE 51

PHONE CALLS

Section 51.1 It is the policy of the Carbon County Court that employees shall not utilize County telephones for personal calls in such a manner as to interfere with normal office procedures.

Section 51.2 Employees who violate the above stated regulation are subject to disciplinary action.

ARTICLE 52

ERRORS AND OMISSIONS INSURANCE

Section 52.1 It is the policy of the Carbon County Court, in accordance with general County policy, that employees who handle money are covered under the County's insurance for Errors & Omissions & Crime.

ARTICLE 53

SAFETY

Section 53.1 The Court is committed to protecting not only the health and safety of each of its employees while on the job, but also to ensure the safety of everyone who comes in contact with the Court; including the general public, vendors, and residents of County facilities. Department Heads/District Justices are to ensure that all employees are provided with the training, equipment, and supervision necessary to safely accomplish their work assignments. Department Heads/District Justices should promote safety on the job through education, encouragement, and example. Employees are required to follow safety procedures established for their work location and their work assignments.

Section 53.2 Employees must report any hazards or unsafe conditions immediately to their Department Head/District Justice. They must also immediately report any injuries, accidents, or illnesses that are work-related.

Section 53.3 Employees should not attempt to lift or push objects that may be too heavy for them. They should ask for help when they need it. To avoid strains and other injuries, they should lift objects "the right way"--bending one's knees, keeping the body erect, and then pushing upward with the legs.

Section 53.4 Employees should take pride in their work place. They should keep it clean and clutter-free. This will help prevent accidents.

Section 53.5 Failure to follow safety procedures established for your work location and your work assignment will result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

Section 53.6 An Employee Health and Safety Suggestion box is located on the first floor of the Courthouse. To help the Court achieve a healthier and safer work environment, use the Health and Safety Suggestion form (Form #21) or the Industrial Hygiene Investigation/Evaluation form (Form #22) to report suggestions for improving the health and safety of your work environment. These forms may be used to report unsafe acts, to suggest ideas for performing tasks safer, or to report safety hazards. The District Court Administrator will review all suggestions, determine if a concern exists and take any necessary measures to rectify the suggestion. Any employee who chooses to sign the suggestion forms will be given a response to their suggestion.

Section 53.7 First Aid and CPR Procedure: The Adult Probation and Juvenile Probation offices do have trained and certified employees with First Aid and CPR skills. If any situation arises that merits the need of First Aid and/or CPR, a call should be made to either office for assistance. If no one is available from either of these two offices, then the alternative is to call 911.

ARTICLE 54

WORK RELATED INJURIES

Section 54.1 If an employee is injured on the job or requires medical treatment due to a work-related illness or injury, he/she must use the following procedure for claims to be paid through Carbon County's Workers' Compensation carrier.

Section 54.2 Any accident or injury on the job is to be immediately reported to the employee's Department Head/District Justice, the District Court Administrator, or designee, and the County's Human Resource Department. Failure to follow the proper reporting procedures will result in disciplinary action.

Section 54.3 If an employee's injury requires medical attention, he/she must select from one of the County approved licensed physicians or practitioners of the healing arts, which appear on the latest listing posted in the County work locations. The posting will also include the procedures to follow to ensure that claims will be considered by the County's Workers' Compensation carrier.

Section 54.4 If an employee is faced with a medical emergency, he/she may secure assistance from a hospital, physician, or practitioner of his/her choice.

Section 54.5 Once an employee qualifies to receive a benefit payment from the County's Worker Compensation carrier, he/she is ineligible to receive any compensation under any other program. (i.e.; vacation time, personal days, sick-time)

Section 54.6 The County will continue to offer health and life insurance benefits until the end of the month next following or coincident with the expiration of ninety (90) days of a leave due to a work-related injury. At that time, an employee will become responsible for the full cost of his/her medical insurance benefits for himself/herself and any covered dependents and any life insurance which the employee wishes to continue during his/her absence. The County will resume payment of its portion of the costs of these benefits on the first day of the month next following the employee's return to active employment.

Section 54.7 Benefit accruals such as personal days, vacation, sick leave, and retirement will be suspended during any leave and will resume on return to active employment with the County.

Section 54.8 Employees returning from absences due to work-related injury are required to provide a physician's verification of the employee's fitness to return to work.

Section 54.9 Employees returning at the expiration of a medical leave due to a work-related injury may return to the same position or to a similar position for which the employee is qualified. If the previous position or a comparable one is not available, an effort will be made to offer another position that is available and suitable. Although every reasonable effort will be made to place you in a position at the end of a medical leave, the Court cannot guarantee reinstatement in all cases.

ARTICLE 55

SMOKING

Section 55.1 In keeping with the Court's intent to provide a safe and healthful work environment, smoking in the work-place is discouraged. Non-smoking areas are clearly designated where smoking is expressly prohibited and employees are asked to respect these designations.

Section 55.2 This policy applies equally to all employees, customers, and visitors of the Court.

Section 55.3 Smoking is not allowed in:

1. Common areas (lobbies, reception areas and around buildings outside);

2. Hallways - 2nd and 3rd floors of the Courthouse;

3. Rest-rooms;

4. Elevators;

5. Stairwells;

6. Areas where records, supplies or equipment would be

exposed to hazard from fire, ashes or smoke;

7. Places where combustible fumes can collect, such as

garbage or other storage areas;

8. Classrooms/training/meeting/conference rooms;

9. County pool vehicles and those County vehicles

assigned to a unit/branch, rather than an

individual;

10. Shared offices or work areas; and

11. All other areas where smoking would create a

safety hazard.

Section 55.4 This policy is not a complete smoking ban. Each facility may establish areas in which smoking is permitted, except that none of the above areas may be designated as a smoking area.

Section 55.5 Smoking is permitted in:

1. Single occupant, private offices with floor and ceiling, walls on all sides, when the occupant has not designated the office as "non-smoking;"

2. Designated areas only in lunch rooms; and

3. Other areas posted as "Smoking Permitted."

Note, however, that the preference of non-smokers prevails when there are differences of opinion regarding the designation of Non-Smoking and Smoking Permitted Areas.

ARTICLE 56

CARBON COUNTY COURT SYSTEM

DRUG-FREE WORK PLACE POLICY AND TESTING GUIDELINES

PART I

This Policy prohibits the possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs by employees, visitors, guests, or any person on County owned property.

The County/Court believes that illegal drugs have no place in the Court environment. Furthermore, Congress passed the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, requiring the certification of federal grantees of a drug-free workplace and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989 requiring governmental entities receiving federal funds to certify adoption and implementation of programs to prevent unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs by employees.

For these reasons, the County/Court adopts the following regulations:

1. The unauthorized and/or unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance is strictly prohibited in all facilities and on all property of the County, in all places where County/Court employees work, including all County-owned vehicles, and at any County/Court activities. All employees are required to abide by this prohibition as a condition of employment. Every County/Court employee is required as a condition of employment, to notify the County/Court of any criminal arrest or conviction relating to the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance, as required by paragraph two (2) below.

2. Any employee who is arrested or convicted of any criminal violation

related to the manufacture, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance shall notify the Court Administrator or their designee in writing of any such arrest or criminal conviction. Such notice must be provided by the employee no later than five (5) days after the date of such arrest or conviction. If an employee is charged with any crime that would have a disparaging negative impact on the Court and/or the ability of the employee to honestly carry forth with his/her duties (i.e., possession of narcotics) that person will be suspended without pay pending the outcome of the charges. If the employee is acquitted of all charges, then back pay will be reimbursed.

3. Within thirty (30) days after determining that a violation of this policy has

occurred or after receiving notice of any employee being convicted as described in section two (2) above, the Court will:

a. Take appropriate action against such an employee, up to

and including termination of employment.

4. Any employee who voluntarily acknowledges an abuse problem will be given an unpaid leave of absence to attend a drug rehabilitation program. Such an employee will be reinstated to his/her former position upon presentation of evidence that he/she has successfully completed a drug rehabilitation program. Prior to reinstatement, it will be necessary for such an employee to successfully pass a drug test. An employee who admits to an abuse problem, but only after being selected for testing, will not be considered as voluntarily acknowledging an abuse problem for purposes of this provision.

5. The County/Court will establish and implement a program to inform employees about the dangers of drugs, the County/Court policy of maintaining a drug-free environment, any available drug counseling or rehabilitation, employee assistance programs, and any penalties that may be imposed upon employees for violations of this policy.

6. The County/Court shall make a good faith effort to continue to maintain

a drug-free environment through the implementation of this policy, and ensure that all new employees are informed of the policy.

II TESTING: DRUG POLICY

Pursuant to the County/Court’s Drug-Free Workplace Policy, the unauthorized and/or unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance, is strictly prohibited in all facilities of the County, in all places where its employees’ work/attend, including all County-owned vehicles, and as any part of the County/Court’s activities. Employees are also subject to disciplinary action if they are found through confirmatory tests to be under the influence of an illegal/unauthorized controlled substance in the workplace.

Under the terms of this policy, urine tests shall be performed to detect the presence of drugs in accordance with the levels recommended and established by the National Institute for Drug Abuse, which are considered to be reasonable under current law. A positive result at the identified thresholds shall be a violation of County/Court policy and subject the violator to discharge.

Any urine specimen, that tests positive indicating the presence of drugs, will have a confirmatory test done on the same specimen. The confirmatory test will be a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry test, which is recognized by the medical profession and the courts, as the most accurate and reliable testing device available.

Compliance with a disclosed Physician’s issued prescription will not result in a violation of this policy.

Drug testing shall be limited to the following circumstances:

A. Prior to employment – A urine drug test is required before any applicant (this includes all regular and temporary employees who are full-time, part-time, seasonal, permanent part-time, per diem, summer or paid interns) will be hired into employment.

Policy & Procedure:

1. Prior to taking a pre-employment urine test, the applicant will be notified by the Human Resource Department to report for a drug test at an approved drug testing facility.

2. All offers to be hired are conditional upon the applicant:

A. Executing a general consent and release to be tested for drugs at the testing site.

B. Taking a drug test within twenty-four (24) hours of being notified by the Human Resource Department and testing negative for drugs.

3. Any applicant will not be considered eligible to work for Carbon County if the applicant refuses or fails to submit to a pre-employment drug test as directed or whose test results are positive.

4. A new applicant will only be notified of the results of the test if the applicant presents a written request to the County’s Human Resource Department for his/her results within sixty (60) days of being notified by the County/Court of its hiring decision.

5. If applicant takes the drug test and the results are negative but the applicant refuses the offer for employment the applicant will be liable to the County for the costs of the drug test.

6. If applicant takes the drug test and the results are positive the applicant, if he/she is determined to be ineligible for employment, will be billed for the cost of the drug test and the confirmation test.

7. For purposes of this policy, the applicant’s test results will be considered positive, and the applicant will not be considered eligible to work for Carbon County, if the test results show:

i. The applicant has taken illegal drugs or other controlled substances.

ii. The applicant has taken prescription drugs even though no medical doctor has prescribed such drugs for the applicant.

iii. The applicant has taken prescription drugs in doses exceeding the dosage prescribed for such prescription drugs by a medical doctor.

iv. The applicant has taken non-description drugs in doses exceeding the dosage directed for such non-prescription drugs.

8. Test results showing that an applicant has taken prescription or non-prescription medication in the appropriate prescribed or directed manner and amount will not preclude the applicant from being considered eligible to work for Carbon County unless the effects of the prescription or non-prescription medication detected would render the applicant unable to perform the job duties of the position into which he/she had been conditionally hired.

B. Reasonable Suspicion

In order to insure the safety and well-being of the County/Court’s staff, the

County/Court may test employees if there is reasonable suspicion to believe that they are under the influence of an illegal/unauthorized controlled substance in the workplace. A determination that there is reasonable suspicion to believe that an employee is under the influence shall be based upon objective factors including, but not limited to, the following: observation, slurred speech, unusual unsteady or erratic movements, or abnormal behavior.

C. Random testing

Random drug testing is required in order to further insure the safety and well being of the Court staff and others. All Carbon County Adult Probation and Juvenile Probation staff shall have random drug testing each year, but no less than once per year, unless the employee has more frequent testing ordered as part of participation in a drug treatment program. Refusal to provide a urine specimen for drug testing will be considered grounds for termination. Failure to report for drug testing will be considered grounds for termination.

D. Post-Accident Testing

1. An employee shall be required to submit to drug testing if the employee is involved in a workplace accident or incident which resulted or could have resulted in personal injury to the employee or to others or damage to property. Accidents, which are clearly unavoidable, will not result in testing.

2. When accident-related testing is required, the employee shall provide a urine specimen (or blood specimen if unable to supply a urine specimen on demand) to be tested for the use of drugs as soon as possible after the accident or incident, but in no case later than twenty-four (24) hours after the accident.

3. An employee who is seriously injured and cannot provide a urine specimen or consent to the taking of a urine specimen, then a blood specimen shall be provided to indicate the presence and level of drugs in the employees’ system.

4. A weapon carrying officer who is involved in a deadly force situation, whereby injuries have resulted from the discharge of a firearm, shall submit to a blood test immediately after the incident at the nearest emergency room, but no longer than one (1) hour after incident.

A refusal to submit to required testing in a timely manner is a violation of this policy.

This Drug Policy will be implemented sixty (60) days after signing of the contract.

SPECIMEN COLLECTION PROCEDURES

FOR THE COUNTY OF CARBON COURT SYSTEM

The Court Administrator will be notified by the contractor of personnel being identified for random drug-testing. The Court will then notify each employee by telephone or in person that he/she is directed to report to the Collection Site at the Carbon County Correctional Facility for drug testing within thirty (30) minutes he/she is on duty and within ninety (90) minutes if not on duty. Failure to report without a valid and verifiable explanation will be considered grounds for termination.

The employee will report to the Carbon County Correctional Facility, proceed to the designated Collection Site, and follow the procedures as follows:

SPECIMEN COLLECTION PROCEDURES

COUNTY OF CARBON COURT SYSTEM

A. Specimen Collection Procedures.

(a) Designated Collection Sites. The toilet facility in the medical area of the Carbon County Correctional Facility has all the necessary personnel, materials, equipment, facilities, and supervision to provide for the collection, security, temporary storage, shipping or transportation of urine specimens to a certified drug-testing laboratory. The collection site shall have an enclosure within which private urination can occur. The site has a source of water for washing hands.

B. Security

(a) The facility will be secured by visual inspection to ensure other persons are not present. Security during collection will be maintained by restriction of access to collection materials and specimens.

(b) The specimen shall remain under the direct control of the collection site person from delivery to its being sealed in the mailer. The mailer shall be immediately mailed, maintained in secure storage, or remain until mailed under the personal control of the collection site person.

(c) Chain of custody. The chain of custody block, located on the drug-testing custody and control form, shall be properly executed by authorized collection site personnel upon receipt of the specimen. Handling and transportation of urine specimens from one authorized individual or place to another shall always be accomplished through chain of custody procedures. Specimens and documentation are sealed in shipping containers that would indicate any tampering during transit. There is no requirement that such personnel document chain of custody for the shipping container during transit. Every effort shall be made to minimize the number of persons handling specimens.

(d) No unauthorized personnel shall be permitted in any part of the designated collection site where urine specimens are collected or stored. Only the collection site person may handle specimens prior to their securement in the mailing container or monitor or observe specimen collection. The collection site person shall have only one donor under his/her supervision at any time. A collection procedure is complete when the urine bottle has been sealed and initialed, the drug testing custody and control form has been executed, and the employee has departed the site (or, in the case of an employee who was unable to provide a complete specimen, has entered a waiting area).

(e) Procedures for collecting urine specimens shall allow individual privacy unless there is a reason to believe that a particular individual may alter or substitute the specimen to be provided, as further described in Section C.

C. For purposes of this part, the following circumstances are the exclusive grounds constituting a reason to believe that the individual may have altered or substituted the specimen:

(i) The employee has presented a urine specimen that falls outside the normal temperature range (32 degrees – 38 degrees C/90 degrees – 100 degrees F), and

(ii) The employee declines to provide a measurement of body temperature (taken by a means other than use of a rectal thermometer), as provided or

(iii) Body temperature varies by more than 1 degree C/1.8 degree C/1.8 degree F from the temperature of the specimen;

(iv) The last urine specimen provided by the employee (i.e. on a previous occasion) was determined by the laboratory to have a specific gravity of less than 1.003 and a creatinine concentration below .2g/L;

(v) The collection site person observes conduct clearly and unequivocally indicating an attempt to substitute or adulterate the sample;

(vi) The employee has previously been determined to having used a controlled substance without medical authorization and the particular test was conducted for follow-up testing upon or after return to service.

D. Integrity and identity of specimen. Employers shall take precautions to ensure that a urine specimen is not adulterated or diluted during the collection procedure and that information on the urine bottle and on the urine custody and control form can identify the individual from whom the specimen was collected.

(1) To deter the dilution of specimens at the collection site, toilet bluing agents shall be placed in the toilet. There shall be no other source of water in the enclosure where urination occurs. If there is another source of water in the enclosure it shall be effectively secured or monitored to ensure it is not used for diluting the specimen.

(2) When an individual arrives at the collection site the collection site person shall ensure that the individual is positively identified as the employee selected for testing. If the individual’s identity cannot be established, the collection site person shall not proceed with the collection.

(3) If the individual fails to arrive at the assigned time, the collection site person shall contact the appropriate authority (District Court Administrator) to obtain guidance on the action to be taken.

(4) The collection site person shall ask the individual to remove any unnecessary outer garments such as a coat or jacket that might conceal items or substances that could be used to tamper with or adulterate the individual’s urine specimen. The collection site person shall ensure that all personal belongings such as a purse or briefcase remain with the outer garments. The individual may retain his/her wallet. If the employee requests it, the collection site personnel shall provide the employee a receipt for any personal belongings.

(5) The individual shall be instructed to wash and dry his/her hands prior to urination.

(6) After washing hands, the individual shall remain in the presence of the collection site person and shall not have access to any water fountain, faucet, soap dispenser, cleaning agent, or any other materials which could be used to adulterate the specimen.

(7) The individual may provide his/her specimen in privacy. The collection site person shall provide the individual with a specimen bottle or collection container.

(8) The collection site person shall note any unusual behavior or appearance on the urine custody and control form.

(9) In the exceptional event that an employee-designated collection site is not accessible and there is an immediate requirement for specimen collection (e.g., circumstances require a post-accident test), a public restroom may be used according to the following procedures: A collection site person shall accompany the individual into the public restroom which shall be made secure during the collection procedure. If possible, a toilet bluing agent shall be placed in the bowl and any accessible toilet tank. The collection site person shall remain in the restroom, but outside the stall, until the specimen is collected. If no bluing agent is available to deter specimen dilution, the collection site person shall instruct the individual not to flush the toilet until the specimen is delivered to the collection site person. After the collection site person has possession of the specimen, the individual will be instructed to flush the toilet and to participate with the collection site person in completing the chain of custody procedures.

(10) The collection site person shall instruct the employee to provide at least forty-five (45) ml. of urine.

D. Split Sample Method

The Split Sample Method of collection shall follow these procedures:

(A) The donor shall urinate into a collection container or a specimen bottle capable of holding at least sixty (60) ml.

(B) (1) If a collection container is used, the collection site person, in the presence of the donor, pours the urine into two specimen bottles. Thirty (30) ml. shall be poured into one specimen bottle, to be used as the primary specimen. At least fifteen (15) ml. shall be poured into the other bottle, to be used as the split specimen.

(2) If a single specimen bottle is used as a collection container, the collection site person, in the presence of the donor, shall pour fifteen (15) ml. of urine from the specimen bottle into a second specimen bottle (to be used as the split specimen) and retain the remainder (at least thirty (30) ml.) in the collection bottle (to be used as the primary specimen).

(C) Nothing in this section precludes the use of a collection method or system that does not involve the physical pouring of urine from one container or bottle to another by the collection site person, provided that the method or system results in the subdivision of the specimen into a primary (thirty (30) ml.) and a split (at least fifteen (15) ml.) specimen that can be transmitted to the laboratory and tested in accordance with the requirements of this Subpart.

(D) Both bottles shall be shipped in a single shipping container, together with copies 1 & 2 and the split specimen copy of the chain of custody form, to the laboratory.

(E) If the test result of the primary specimen is positive, the employee may request that the Medical Review Officer (MRO) direct that the split specimen be tested in a different DHHS-certified laboratory for presence of the drug(s) for which a positive result was obtained in the test of the primary specimen. The MRO shall honor such a request if it is made within seventy-two (72) hours of the employee having been notified of a verified positive test result. Before an employee’s test result will be confirmed positive, the employee will be given the opportunity to demonstrate that there was a lawful medical explanation for the positive test result. If the MRO determines that a lawful medical reason does not exist, the test result will be reported to the employer as a “confirmed positive”.

(F) When the MRO informs the laboratory in writing that the employee has requested a test of the split specimen, the laboratory shall forward, to a different DHHS-approved laboratory, the split specimen bottle, with seal intact, a copy of the MRO request, and the split specimen copy of the chain of custody form with appropriate chain of custody entries.

(G) The test result of the split specimen is transmitted by the second laboratory to the MRO.

(H) Action required as a result of a positive drug test (e.g., removal from performing a safety-sensitive function) is not stayed, pending the result of the test of the split specimen.

(I) If the result of the test of the split specimen fails to reconfirm the presence of the drug(s) or drug metabolite(s) found in the primary specimen, the MRO shall cancel the test, and report the cancellation and the reasons for it to the employer.

(iv) (A)(1) Upon receiving the specimen from the individual, the collection site person shall determine if the specimen has at least thirty (30) specimen collection or forty-five (45) milliliters of urine for a split specimen collection.

(2) If the individual has not provided the required quantity of urine, the specimen shall be discarded. The collection site person shall direct the individual to drink up to forty (40) ounces of fluid, distributed reasonably through a period of up to three (3) hours, or until the individual has provided a new urine specimen, whichever occurs first. If the employee refuses to drink as directed or to provide a new urine specimen, the collection site person shall terminate the collection, and notify the employer that the employee has refused to submit to testing.

(3) If the employee has not provided a sufficient specimen, within three (3) hours of the first unsuccessful attempt to provide the specimen, the collection site person shall discontinue the collection and notify the employer.

F. INSUFFICIENT URINE. The employer shall direct any employee who does not provide a sufficient urine specimen to obtain, as soon as possible after the attempted provision of urine, an evaluation from a licensed physician who is acceptable to the employer concerning the employee’s ability to provide an adequate amount of urine.

(1) If the physician determines, in his/her reasonable medical judgment, that a medical condition has, or with a high degree of probability, could have, precluded the employee from providing an adequate amount of urine, the employee’s failure to provide an adequate amount of urine shall not be deemed a refusal to take a test. For purposes of this paragraph, a medical condition includes an ascertainable physiological condition (e.g., a urinary system dysfunction) or a documented pre-existing psychological disorder, but does not include unsupported assertions of “situational anxiety” or dehydration. The physician shall provide to the MRO a brief written statement setting forth his or her conclusion and the basis for it, which shall not include detailed information about the medical condition of the employee. Upon receipt of this statement, the MRO shall report his/her conclusions to the employer in writing.

(2) If the physician, in his/her reasonable medical judgment, is unable to make the determination, the employee’s failure to provide an adequate amount of urine shall be regarded as a refusal to take a test. The physician shall provide to the MRO a brief written statement setting forth his/her conclusion and the basis for it, which shall not include detailed information about the medical condition of the employee. Upon receipt of this statement, the MRO shall report his/her conclusions to the employer in writing.

G. Post Specimen Collection

1. After the specimen has been provided and submitted to the collection site person, the individual shall be allowed to wash his/her hands.

2. Immediately after the specimen is collected, the collection site person shall measure the temperature of the specimen. The temperature measuring device used must accurately reflect the temperature of the specimen and not contaminate the specimen. The time from urination to temperature measure is critical and in no case shall exceed four (4) minutes.

3. A specimen temperature outside the range of 32 degrees – 38 degrees C/90 degrees – 100 degrees F constitutes a reason to believe that the individual has altered or substituted the specimen. In such cases, the individual supplying the specimen may volunteer to have his/her oral temperature taken to provide evidence to counter the reason to believe the individual may have altered or substituted the specimen.

4. Immediately after the specimen is collected, the collection site person shall also inspect the specimen to determine its color and look for any signs of contaminants. Any unusual findings shall be noted on the urine custody and control form.

5. All specimens suspected of being adulterated shall be forwarded to the laboratory for testing.

6. Whenever there is reason to believe that a particular individual has altered or substituted the specimen, a second specimen shall be obtained as soon as possible under the direct observation of a collection site person.

7. Both the individual being tested and the collection site person shall keep the specimen in view at all times prior to its being sealed and labeled. The specimen shall be sealed (by placement of a tamperproof seal over the bottle cap and down the sides of the bottle) and labeled in the presence of the employee. If the specimen is transferred to a second bottle, the collection site person shall request the individual to observe the transfer of the specimen and the placement of the tamperproof seal over the bottle cap and down the sides of the bottle.

8. The collection site person and the individual being tested shall be present at the same time during the procedures.

9. The collection site person shall place securely on the bottle an identification label, which contains the date, the individual’s specimen number, and any other identifying information provided or required by the employer. If separate from the label, the tamperproof seal shall also be applied.

10. The individual shall initial the identification label on the specimen bottle for the purpose of certifying that it is the specimen collected from him/her.

H. Chain of Custody

1. The collection site person shall enter on the drug testing custody and control form all information identifying the specimen. The collection site person shall sign the drug testing custody and control form certifying that the collection was accomplished.

2. The individual shall be asked to read and sign a statement on the drug testing custody and control form certifying that the specimen identified as having been collected from him/her is in fact the specimen he/she provided.

3. The collection site person shall complete the chain of custody portion of the drug testing custody and control form to indicated receipt of the specimen from the employee and shall certify proper completion of the collection.

4. The urine specimen and chain of custody form are now ready for shipment. If the specimen is not immediately prepared for shipment, the collection site person shall ensure that it is appropriately safeguarded during temporary storage.

5. (i) While any part of the chain of custody procedures is being performed, it is essential that the urine specimen and custody documents be under the control of the involved collection site person. If the involved collection site person leaves his/her workstation momentarily, the collection site person shall take the specimen and drug testing custody and control form with him/her or shall secure them. After the collection site person returns to the workstation, the custody process will continue. If the collection site person is leaving for an extended period of time, he/she shall package the specimen for mailing before leaving the site.

(ii) The collection site person shall not leave the collection site in the interval between presentation of the specimen by the employee and securement of the sample with an identifying label bearing the employee’s specimen identification number (shown on the urine custody and control form) and seal initialed by the employee. If it becomes necessary for the collection site person to leave the site during this interval, the collection shall be nullified and (at the election of the employer) a new collection begun.

6. Collection control. To the maximum extent possible, collection site personnel shall keep the individual’s specimen bottle within sight both before and after the individual has urinated. After the specimen is collected, it shall be properly sealed and labeled.

7. Transportation to laboratory. Collection site personnel shall arrange to ship the collected specimen to the drug-testing laboratory. The specimens shall be placed in shipping containers designed to minimize the possibility of damage during shipment (e.g., specimen boxes and/or padded mailers); and those containers shall be securely sealed to eliminate the possibility of undetected tampering with the specimen and/or the form. On the tape sealing the shipping container, the collection site person shall sign and enter the date specimens were sealed in the shipping container for shipment. The collection site person shall ensure that the chain of custody documentation is enclosed in each container sealed for shipment to the drug-testing laboratory. Since specimens and documentation are sealed in the shipping containers that would indicate any tampering during transit to the laboratory and couriers, express carriers, and postal service personnel do not have access to the chain of custody forms, there is no requirement that such personnel document chain of custody for the shipping container during transit. Nor is there a requirement that there be a chain of custody entry when a specimen which is sealed in such a shipping container is put into or taken our of secure storage at the collection site prior to pickup by such personnel. This means that chain of custody is not broken, and a test shall not be canceled, because couriers, express carriers, postal service personnel, or similar persons involved solely with the transportation of a specimen to a laboratory, have not documented their participation in the chain of custody documentation or because the chain of custody does not contain entries related to putting the specimen into or removing it from secure temporary storage at the collection site.

(i) Failure to cooperate. If the employee refuses to cooperate with the collection process, the collection site person shall inform the employer representative and shall document the non-cooperation on the drug testing custody and control form.

(j) Employee requiring medical attention. If the sample is being collected from an employee in need of medical attention (e.g., as part of a post-accident test given in an emergency medical facility), necessary medical attention shall not be delayed in order to collect the specimen.

(k) Use of chain of custody form. A chain of custody form (and a laboratory internal chain of custody document, where applicable) shall be used for maintaining control and accountability of each specimen from the point of collection to final disposition of the specimen. The date and purpose shall be documented on the form each time a specimen is handled or transferred and every individual in the chain of custody shall be identified. Since specimens and documentation are sealed in shipping containers that would indicate any tampering during transit to the laboratory and couriers, express carriers, and postal service personnel do not have access to the chain of custody forms, there is no requirement that such personnel document chain of custody for the shipping container during transit. Nor is there a requirement that there be a chain of custody entry when a specimen which is sealed in such a shipping container is put into or taken out of secure storage at the collection site prior to pickup by such personnel. This means that the chain of custody is not broken, and a test shall not be canceled, because couriers, express carriers, postal service personnel, or similar persons involved solely with the transportation of a specimen to a laboratory, have not documented their participation in the chain of custody documentation or because the chain of custody does not contain entries related to putting the specimen into or removing it from secure temporary storage at the collection site. Every effort shall be made to minimize the number of persons handling specimens.

Procedure: Notification of Court Employees to be randomly drug tested.

I. The District Court Administrator (or a designee) will receive a list each month by mail from Drug Free, Inc. identifying those employees randomly selected for drug-testing. The mail will be labeled as “personal and confidential”.

II. The District Court Administrator (or a designee) will notify each Department Head in writing of those employees to be drug-tested during a particular month. The notification will be sent in a sealed envelope labeled “personal and confidential”.

III. The Department Head will coordinate having each employee report to the Carbon County Correctional Facility for drug-testing.

A. The employee will be directed to report for drug-testing while he/she is on duty.

1. An exception may be made for persons on extended leave of absence from duty.

B. The Department Head will coordinate scheduling of drug-testing with the Carbon County Correctional Facility Nurse.

C. The employee will be notified in writing and will make acknowledgement of written notification to report to drug-testing. The employee will sign-in on a log in the Medical Area of the Carbon County Correctional Facility. The sign-in log will be initialed by the Carbon County Correctional Facility Nurse.

D. The employee will follow the Carbon County Court Drug-Free Work Place Policy and Testing Guidelines and the Specimen Collection Procedures for the County of Carbon/Court System.

Procedure: Notifying Employee of Drug Test Results

I. The District Court Administrator (or a designee) will receive all Controlled Substance Test Results by mail labeled “personal and confidential”.

A. A photocopy of the drug test results will be sent to each employee in a sealed envelope labeled “personal and confidential”.

B. The President Judge and Department Head will be notified of each positive drug test result.

C. The Controlled Substance Test Results will be filed in the District Court Administrator’s Office.

Drug-Free Workplace Acknowledgement Form. Every employee must sign a Drug-Free Workplace Acknowledgement Form. See Form #4.

Adopted and Approved by the Court of Common Pleas on this 8^th day of May, 2003.

______________________________________________

Richard W. Webb. P.J.

Adopted and Approved by the County of Carbon Board of Commissioners at the weekly meeting of May ________, 2003.

CARBON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

_______________________

Wayne E. Nothstein Tom C. Gerhard Charles Getz

Chairman Vice Chairman Commissioner

Sample Notification Form to Report for Drug-Testing

Employee Name:_______________________________________________

Pursuant to the Carbon County’s/Court’s Drug-Testing Policy you are hereby notified that you are required to present yourself to the medical area at the Carbon County Correctional Facility, for drug-testing.

Failure to report within the required time frame may result in disciplinary action up to and including discharge.

I acknowledge receipt of this notification by my signature below:

Date:_________________________

Time:_________________________

Signature:______________________

ARTICLE 57

HIV/AIDS

Section 57.1 It is the intent of this policy to explain and provide direction to employees of the Court in dealing with realities of the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) or the Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). This policy is based on the likelihood that Court employees may already be dealing with clients, or fellow employees, who would show to be HIV positive, or have AIDS-related complex (ARC) if they were to be tested. Employees shall continue to deal with them, knowing their HIV status or not.

Section 57.2 This policy is based on information currently available and in compliance with the laws in existence, as related to the HIV-AIDS issue at the time of this writing. The policy should be considered as highly flexible, since changes may be necessary based on new information of additional research, as it becomes available. Review of this policy is to occur when annual training on this issue occurs.

Section 57.3 Routine testing or screening to determine a client's antibody status is unnecessary, and will not be done. If HIV antibody testing is requested by any client for any reason, the Court and its employees must keep such a request confidential (pursuant to the confidentiality section herein) and should refer the client to his/her personal physician, or suitable public health agency. It is reasonable to assume that the agency to which the client is referred for testing (public or private) will provide appropriate pre/post test counseling through their "informed consent" procedures, as provided in the AIDS-Confidentiality of HIV related Information Act (ACT 148 of 1990), adopted by the Pennsylvania Legislature as of February 28, 1991.

Section 57.4 The right of the individual client to confidentiality with regard to the HIV antibody status, or AIDS diagnosis will be respected by all Court staff members.

Section 57.5 The Court may assume that each institutional provider with whom the Court contracts has an HIV policy in place, and is doing appropriate screening and using universal precautions when they are dealing with clients. Thus to ensure against discrimination, the Court will not reveal orally or in writing the client's antibody status when making referrals to institutional providers. The sharing of this information will be reserved for the infected individual. The Court may make judgments pertaining to the appropriateness of certain institutional programs for known HIV infected clients.

Section 57.6 Staff Education. All employees of the Court will be informed of this policy by its inclusion in the Policy and Procedures Manual. Updated training for the review of general information and current information that becomes available will occur annually.

Section 57.7 Client Education. Upon receipt of a case at any level of the Court process, the appropriate Court employee shall attempt to identify clients who have exhibited high risk behavior for HIV infection. Examples of high risk behavior/circumstances include: persons engaging in prostitution, or persons using intravenous drugs, persons indicating bisexual experience, persons admitting to having had numerous sex partners, persons admitting to homosexual practice or preference, persons coming from home where there is/are HIV/AIDS infected member(s), persons having had blood transfusions. Upon such identification, the appropriate Court employee shall make information available to clients through handouts, publications, or by referring the individual to agencies or organizations that provide educational service regarding this epidemic. Referral suggestions include, but are not limited to: AIDS Task Force, Planned Parenthood, and the County Health Department. Suggestions made will not constitute endorsement by the Court or its employees.

Section 57.8 Personal/Employment/Safety. Neither mandatory pre-employment testing nor routine screening of employees for knowledge of their antibody status will occur. Employees shall not be terminated, demoted, suspended, transferred, or subjected to adverse action solely on the basis of HIV infection, illness, or perception of infection.

Section 57.9 Employees may not refuse to work with other employees or clients who are HIV infected, since current medical knowledge has shown that casual contact presents no danger. Employees are expected to fulfill assigned responsibilities. Any employee expressing concern about such duties will be referred to the County Health Department for individual counseling and education on HIV infection while continuing to work with the client and/or employee. Refusal on the part of any employee to work with HIV infected clients or employees will constitute a basis for discipline, including dismissal.

Section 57.10 When dealing with body fluids, universal precautions should be exercised. Should a staff member sustain a significant exposure to blood or body fluids, an accident report should be filed with the District Court Administrator. The original accident report shall be filed with the County Human Resource Department.

Universal precautions used to prevent the transmission of AIDS are as follows:

1. Hand washing is an important component of the personal hygiene of both staff and clients, especially where handling or exposure to blood or body fluids may occur.

2. It is recommended that latex gloves be worn when handling blood specimens, blood soiled items, body fluids and excretions, as well as materials and surfaces exposed to blood or body secretions.

3. Care should be taken to avoid contact of open skin lesions from exposure to blood or body fluids. Covering the area with a simple barrier, such as a bandage, will aid in prevention of exposure.

4. If exposure should occur, the area should be washed promptly with a disinfectant solution (1.10 dilution of 5.25% sodium hypochlorite solution (household bleach)).

5. Hands should be washed after removal of latex gloves with a disinfectant solution.

6. Blood spills on surfaces should be cleaned up promptly with a disinfectant solution.

7. If articles of clothing become soiled with blood or body fluids, the clothing should be removed promptly, and washed in a disinfectant solution. The exposed area of skin also should be washed with a disinfectant solution.

ARTICLE 58

CARBON COUNTY PAY ADMINISTRATION

The following is Carbon County's policies on Pay Administration:

Section 58.1 PAYDAYS. All employees are paid biweekly on every other Friday. Each paycheck will include earnings for all work performed through the end of the previous payroll period.

In the event a regularly scheduled payday falls on an observed holiday, employees will receive their paycheck on the work day before the regularly scheduled payday.

Section 58.2 PAY ADVANCES. The County will not provide pay advances or extension of credit on unearned wages to any employee.

Section 58.3 ADMINISTRATIVE PAY CORRECTIONS. The County takes all reasonable steps to assure that employees receive the correct amount of pay in each paycheck and that employees are paid promptly on the scheduled payday.

In the event that there is an error in the amount of an employee's pay, he/she should promptly bring the discrepancy to the attention of the District Court Administrator or designee so that a correction can be made as quickly as possible.

Once underpayments are identified, they will be corrected in the next regular paycheck. Overpayments will also be corrected in the next regular paycheck unless this presents a burden to the employee because there is a substantial amount owed to the County. In that case, the County will attempt to arrange a schedule of repayments with the employee to minimize the inconvenience to all involved.

Section 58.4 PAY DEDUCTIONS. The law requires that the County make certain deductions from every employee's compensation. Among these are applicable Federal, State and local income and Social Security taxes.

The County offers programs and benefits beyond those required by law. Some programs are currently offered to employees without cost, others require that eligible employees voluntarily authorize deductions in their paycheck for contributions to the programs. The Retirement Plan, for example, requires that eligible employees contribute five percent (5%) of their compensation before taxes to the Plan.

At other times the County may be required to take other deductions from an employee's pay in order to help pay off a debt or obligation to someone else.

If an employee has questions concerning why deductions were made from his/her paycheck or how the paycheck was calculated, he/she should contact the County Human Resource Department.

ARTICLE 59

LAPTOP COMPUTER USAGE POLICY

Section 59.1 Policy Overview. The Carbon County Court System provides laptop computers in order that you may perform certain duties when out of the office. This access helps you do your job more efficiently. This laptop computer usage policy is designed to help you understand the Court’s expectations for the use of laptops and the repercussions of misuse.

The Court would like to start by describing its hardware philosophy. The laptop computer you use for this Court is a business tool, provided to you at significant cost, which means that you are expected to use this computer for business-related purposes. You are also expected to follow certain procedures regarding the usage and care of the laptop computer. Employees who fail to comply with the Laptop Computer policy or other Court policies are subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal.

Taking laptop computers out of the office offers a variety of potential benefits. It can also open the door to some significant risks to our data and systems if appropriate security procedures are not followed. This means not allowing the download or installation of any type of software or data files without the permission of the Court Computer Systems Director or designee. It also means limiting the use of these laptops to the employee and not allowing others to access your laptop for any reason. The overriding principle is that security is to be everyone’s first concern. A laptop computer user will be held accountable for any breaches of security or confidentiality.

Section 59.2 Laptop Computer Usage Policy. Procedures for securing and caring for your laptop computer.

1. Do not let anyone use your laptop. It is to be used strictly for business purposes.

2. Do not connect your laptop to any outside network, modem, or to the Internet.

3. Do not install or download any software or files. It is extremely important that you understand that downloading executable files or software onto your laptop is not allowed without the Court Computer System Director’s permission. Such files may contain viruses that could infect one personal computer (PC) or the entire network. If the network would become infected, all PC's in all offices could potentially become infected. Once, we have this type situation, there could be severe damage to the computer systems and data files.

4. Do not insert floppy disks or CD-ROMs from an outside source into your laptop. If you have a disk you want to use, contact the Court Computer Systems Director who will examine the disk for viruses before usage.

5. Do not subject your computer to physical punishment, such as dropping or bumping.

6. Do not place heavy items on your laptop.

7. Do not spill any liquids onto or into your laptop.

8. Do not use your laptop in or near water, to avoid the danger of electrical shock.

9. Do not disassemble your laptop. Only authorized personnel are allowed to repair your l laptop.

10. Do not scratch, twist, or push the surface of the liquid crystal display (LCD) display.

11. Do not place any objects between the LCD display and keyboard.

12. Do not pick up or hold the laptop by the LCD display.

13. Do not turn your laptop over while the AC adapter is plugged in.

14. Do not use or store your laptop where the temperature is below 41 degrees F (41ºF) or above 95 degrees F (95ºF).

15. Do not place your laptop closer than five (5) inches away from any electrical appliance that generates a strong magnetic field, such as a motor, magnet, TV, refrigerator, or large audio speakers.

16. Do not place more than one label on a diskette.

17. Do not touch the lens on the CD-ROM tray.

18. Do not leave your laptop in contact with your lap or any other part of your body for an extended period of time when the computer is functioning or when the battery is charging.

19. Do not leave your laptop unattended. It is your responsibility to protect the laptop from theft and from destruction.

Section 59.3 Laptop Computer Usage Waiver.

Every employee who uses a County laptop computer must sign a Laptop Computer Usage Waiver form. See Form # 14.

ARTICLE 60

COURT EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO PERSONNEL FILE

Section 60.1 All Court employees upon written request to the District Court Administrator or designee may look at his/her own personnel file at a maximum of once per calendar year.

Section 60.2 A Court employee may only look at his/her own personnel file during regular business hours of the Court and only in the presence of the District Court Administrator or designee.

Section 60.3 A Court employee may not make copies of anything in his/her personnel file, but the employee may take notes during his/her review of the file.

ARTICLE 61

REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION ON COURT EMPLOYEES

Section 61.1 The District Court Administrator or designee will be responsible for all inquiries concerning the employment status of all past and present Court employees.

Section 61.2 All requests for information on present and past Court employees (e.g., credit checks, employment recommendations) by parties outside of the Court system shall be referred to the District Court Administrator or designee. No Department Heads, District Justice or other supervisor shall make any comment or answer any request for information pertaining to any past or present Court employee.

ARTICLE 62

INTERNET AND E-MAIL USAGE POLICY

Section 62.1 Policy Overview. The Carbon County Court System provides access to the resources of the Internet to help you do your job more efficiently. The facilities to provide the access represent a commitment of the Court resources for telecommunications, networking software, and storage. The Internet Usage Policy is designed to help you understand the Court’s expectations for the use of those resources and to help you use those resources.

While explicit requirements for Internet usage are set below, the Court would like to start by describing its Internet philosophy. The Internet use for this Court is a business tool, provided to you at a significant cost, which means that you are expected to use Internet access primarily for business-related purposes, i.e., to communicate with suppliers, to research revenant topics and obtain useful business information. The Court insists that you conduct yourself honestly and appropriately on the Internet and that you respect copyrights, software licensing rules, property rights, privacy, and misuse of the Court resources, sexual harassment information and data security, and confidentiality. Employees who fail to comply with the Internet access and electronic mail (e-mail) policies or other Court policies are subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal.

Unnecessary or unauthorized Internet usage causes network and server congestion. It slows other users, takes away from work time, consumes supplies, and ties up printers and other shared resources. Unlawful Internet usage could generate negative publicity for the Court and expose the Court to significant legal liabilities.

The connection to the Internet offers a variety of potential benefits. It can also open the door to significant risks to our data systems if appropriate security procedures are not followed. This may mean preventing machines with sensitive data or applications from connecting to the Internet entirely, or it may mean certain users must be prevented from connecting to the Internet features such as file transfers. The overriding principle is that security is to be everyone’s first concern. An Internet user will be held accountable for any breaches of security or confidentiality.

Section 62.2 Internet and E-mail Usage Policy. The Carbon County Court believes that the Internet’s vast resources should be available. To ensure that this access does not impair network security or result in appropriate use, observe the following rules when using the Internet and the E-mail system in ways that are disruptive to others, harmful to morale, or which violate employees’ confidentiality.

For example, the display or transmission of sexually explicit images, messages, and cartoons is not allowed. Other misuse includes, but is not limited to, ethnic slurs, racial comments, or anything that may be construed as harassment or showing disrespect to others.

Downloading executable files or software from the Internet is not allowed without the Court Computer System Director’s permission. Such files may contain viruses that could infect one (1) personal computer (PC) or the entire network. Materials downloaded from the Internet are to be placed on diskettes first. It is never to be placed on a hard drive. Please check with the Court Computer Systems Director if you need any software from the Internet. The Director will arrange to scan software for viruses immediately.

E-mail over Internet is not a reliable or secure source of information. The confidentiality of any messages should not be assumed. Even when erased, a message can still be retrieved and read. The use of passwords for security does not guarantee confidentiality.

E-mail may not be used to solicit others for commercial ventures, religious causes, political causes, outside organizations, or other non-business matters.

The Court does monitor the use of Internet. The Court also monitors use of our network and computer systems. Any data on Court facilities or its premises may be viewed at any time. Employees have no ownership or privacy expectations in such data. All work created using Court equipment or facilities belongs to the Court.

The Carbon County Court reserves the right to review, audit, intercept, access, and disclose all messages created, received, sent, or stored using the E-mail system for any purpose.

Section 62.3 Internet and E-mail Usage Waiver. Every employee must sign an Internet and E-mail Usage waiver form. (See Form #13).

ARTICLE 63

COURTHOUSE AND OUTSIDE BUILDING ACCESS POLICY

Section 63.1 Remaining After Hours. Employees will be allowed to remain at their workstation after the close of the business day if they have to complete Court-related assignments. If an employee is to remain in the Courthouse or other building past 6:00 p.m., he/she must report to the Carbon County Communication Center and inform them that he/she is still on the premises. Unless there is written authorization from the District Court Administrator, all employees must vacate the Courthouse by 9:00 p.m.

Section 63.2 Reentering the Courthouse After Hours. Only those employees who have been issued keys to the Courthouse or outside buildings by the County will be permitted to reenter the Courthouse or outside buildings after the close of the business day or on weekends. No other employee will be allowed to reenter the Courthouse or outside buildings after hours.

Section 63.3 Contractors/Outside Firms. Any outside contractor or firm doing Court-related work and needing to enter the Courthouse or outside buildings must report to the District Court Administrator so that the Court can make arrangements with the County's Maintenance Supervisor, Michael G. Zavagansky, Extension 3115, to schedule the visit.

ARTICLE 64

TEMPORARY WORKING LEVEL PAY ADJUSTMENT POLICY

Section 64.1 Purpose. To assure the orderly performance and continuity of court services, the Carbon County Salary Board may be required to temporarily upgrade employees on an acting basis to positions of a higher range. It is understood that temporary transfers may be required in order to fill temporary position vacancies, which may exist because of a leave of absence, or while the selection procedure is in process.

Section 64.2 Policy. An employee that is temporarily assigned to duties of a position with a higher pay range than is the employee’s own, shall be eligible for a working level pay adjustment. This pay adjustment shall increase the employee’s base rate of pay to one of the following options:

a) the classification salary base of the higher level position, or the minimum entry rate of the range, or

b) a rate of pay at least five percent (5%) above his/her current base rate of pay.

A temporary working level pay adjustment will be authorized when an employee is acting in the position of higher rank commencing upon completion of thirty (30) compensated working days. This pay supplement shall become effective the first eligible day after completion of the thirty (30) day requirement of the temporary transfer to the higher ranked classification.

The selection of an employee for temporary transfer shall be made at the discretion of the President Judge, District Court Administrator and the Department Head/District Justice, taking into consideration the qualifications and requirements of the position to be filled, the employee’s qualifications and ability to perform satisfactorily in the higher classification, and the employee’s prior job performance.