RESOLUTION NO. 362
AMENDING THE RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ALBANY COUNTY EMPLOYEES REGARDING CHANGES TO ACCRUALS AND HEALTH COVERAGE
Introduced: 6/10/24
By Personnel and Audit and Finance Committees:
WHEREAS, By Resolution No. 136-b for 1999, as amended, this Honorable Body adopted the Rules and Regulations for Albany County Employees, and
WHEREAS, The Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources has reviewed the Rules and Regulations for Albany County Employees, and has recommended numerous changes to the benefits provided, and
WHEREAS, The Commissioner indicated that changes include establishing a paid parenting leave program for County employees, expanded surviving spouse coverage, amending the donated leave program for Albany County employees, and increasing the cap on liquidation of vacation accruals on separation, and
WHEREAS, The Commissioner has indicated that such changes will allow the County to better address recruitment and retention issues for positions throughout Albany County government, and
WHEREAS, Amendments to the Employee Rules and Regulations are necessary to effectuate said changes, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, By the Albany County Legislature that the Albany County Employee Rules and Regulations, adopted pursuant to Resolution No. 136-b for 1999, as amended, are hereby amended as follows:
Article VI Section L is hereby amended as follows:
“L. Donated Leave Program. A regular employee absent from work, due to personal illness or due to the need to provide care to an immediate family member (as defined by FMLA) suffering from a serious health condition, and who has exhausted all accumulated sick, personal, floating holiday, compensatory time and vacation leave credits may apply to the Department of Human Resources to participate in the Albany County Leave Donation Program. This program authorizes the County to solicit an employee’s coworkers for the donation of sick time credits in excess of 13 weeks, as well as personal, vacation and (in some instances) compensatory time credits to be transferred to the requesting employee’s sick leave account. Leave donation is a voluntary program, and an eligible employee may elect not to participate. Information regarding eligibility, application procedures, limitations and requirements may be obtained from the Department of Human Resources.”
Article VI Paid Leaves of Absence is hereby amended by adding a new Section “P” following Section “O” as follows:
“P. Paid Parenting Leave. Under the Paid Parenting Leave an employee shall be granted a paid leave of absence for twenty (20) consecutive standard work days to care to the employee’s child after birth, placement for adoption or foster care.
Eligibility for the Paid Parenting Leave expires at the end of the twelve month period beginning on the date of birth or placement.
Employees must be eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) under are Article VII of Albany County Rules and Regulations in order to qualify for Paid Parenting Leave.
Paid Parenting Leave shall run concurrent with the qualifying FMLA absence.
Twenty (20) consecutive Paid Parenting Leave days shall be utilized prior to the use of any other accruals or unpaid absences during the FMLA leave.
No portion of the Paid Parenting Leave is transferrable, cashable or eligible to be saved for the use at another time. In the event that both parents are Albany County employees, only one parent may qualify for the Paid Parenting Leave at any given time.”
Article IX Section B(3)(b) is hereby Deleted in its entirety, and Replaced with the following:
“Spousal/Dependent Coverage.
Spouses and eligible dependents of County retirees (employees) remain covered as long as the retiree maintains an active enrollment. At the time of death of a retired, or active, County employee, spouse and dependent coverage may be extended as follows:
Spouses and eligible dependents will be covered for a three (3) month period. At the end of three months spouses and eligible dependents have the option of electing COBRA benefits or as specified in b.
For all full-time employees or retirees with a minimum of fifteen (15) years of full-time equivalent County service coverage will be extended with a premium contribution as follows:
|
Years of Completed Full Time Equivalent County Service |
Number of Years Eligible for Continuation of Health Insurance Benefits |
Premium Contribution Rate |
|
15 - or more |
Continuous |
Same Contribution Rate as Employee or Retiree |
.”
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That Resolution No. 37 for 2013 regarding liquidation of vacation accruals upon separation is hereby repealed and revoked in its entirety, and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the County Legislature is directed to forward certified copies of this resolution to the appropriate County Officials.