R2006-019 02-13-06
RESOLUTION NO. R2006-19
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PEARLAND, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTERS 5 AND 6 OF THE CITY
OF PEARLAND EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND,
TEXAS:
Section 1. That Chapters 5 and 6 of the City of Pearland Employee Handbook,
attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and made a part hereof for all purposes, are hereby
amended.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 13th
Februarv , A.D., 2006.
day of
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<:::
TOM REID
MAYOR
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
a~ J1~UA-
DARRIN M. COKER
CITY ATTORNEY
CHAPTER 5
SECTION 5.05
GROUP HEALTH
AND RELATED
BENEFITS
EMPLOYEE
EDUCATIONAL
ASSISTANCE
Purpose
The City of Pearland has established an educational assistance
program to help eligible employees develop their knowledge, skills,
and abilities, and upgrade their performance.
Discussion
All regular full-time employees who, at the time of application for
assistance have completed a minimum of one (1) year of service are
eligible to participate in the program.
Under this program, the City of Pearland hopes to encourage upward
mobility, employee development, and excellence of performance by
sharing the expense of approved courses and educational programs
offered by accredited colleges, universities, secretarial, and trade
schools.
Courses must be, in the opinion of the department head and City
Manager, directly related to the essential functions of an employee's
present job or, in line with a position that the City of Pearland believes
an employee can reasonably achieve. Employees making application
for educational assistance must be able to describe the applicability
of the courses sought, to the essential functions of the position.
Courses must be required as part of a degree plan, course of study,
or other program determined to be in the best interest of both the City
and the employee, must not interfere with the employee's job
responsibilities and must be taken on the employee's own time.
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Section 5.05
Tuition reimbursement does not include books, tools, and/or supplies.
Mandatory fees will be reimbursed as part of the tuition rate charges
if those fees do not relate to items or services that are retained or
continue on after completion of the course.
The availability of tuition reimbursement is subject to approved
funding levels. The total amount of annual tuition reimbursement (not
to exceed $3,000 in a calendar year) will be based on the following
schedule:
Grade Received
Amount of Reimbursement
A
B
C
D
100%
750/0
50%
0%
Courses that give only a pass/fail grade will pay 750/0 for "Pass" (i.e.,
computer courses, etc.)
Employees eligible for reimbursement from any other source (e.g., a
government-sponsored program or scholarship) may seek assistance
under the City's educational assistance program but shall be
reimbursed only for the difference between the amount received from
the other funding source and the actual course cost up to the
maximum reimbursement allowable under this policy based on the
grade received.
Employees must give written acknowledgement that if they leave the
City of Pearland's employ for any reason within twenty-four (24)
months following the date of reimbursement, the total amount of
education assistance shall be reimbursed to the City.
To be eligible for reimbursement, an employee must:
· Submit an Application For Educational Assistance form (see
Appendix) to their supervisor prior to beqinninq the course(s);
· Receive advance written approval from the supervisor;
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Section 5.05
· Submit the Application For Educational Assistance with approval
from Supervisor to Human Resources. Human Resources will
verify that the employee has completed a minimum of one
consecutive year of service, that the last two (2) evaluations have
been in the competent range or higher, and that at the time of
course completion, the employee remains actively employed).
On completion of the course, an employee must submit to the Human
Resources Department, the official transcript from the accredited
school indicating the grade received, and a receipt or other proof of
payment from the educational institution.
Applications For Educational Assistance forms are available in the
Human Resources Department.
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Section 5.05
CHAPTER 6
SECTION 6.18
EMPLOYEE
CONDUCT
ACCEPTANCE OF
GI FTS
Purpose
Acceptance of gifts by City of Pearland employees IS prohibited
except in certain special situations outlined below:
Discussion
An employee is prohibited from soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to
accept any gift for himself/herself and/or his/her family or friends that
could be reasonably construed as affecting the employee's objectivity
in the performance of their duties. These restrictions reduce the
likelihood of undue influence by outsiders and employee conflicts of
interest. Even when no impropriety is intended, employees who
accept gifts may open the organization to criticism and suspicion from
citizens and from others with whom the employer does business.
Employees are prohibited from accepting gifts of money, property,
service, entertainment, free travel, tickets to sporting events, vacation
trips, or professional fees from customers, suppliers, person(s) with a
financial interest in contracts, or from any source except by or
through the City's compensation plan and benefits accruing to an
employee as provided by the policies of the Employee Handbook.
The prohibition of the acceptance of gifts does not apply to requests
for free easements, park sites, foundation grants, or any gift that is
made to the City of Pearland and intended to benefit the City at large.
In addition, the prohibition of acceptance of gifts does not include
small perishable items or modestly priced gifts of no more than
$30.00 from any source during the year end holiday season;
reasonably priced business lunches where specific business is
discussed; or small office supply advertisement tokens. Where
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Section 6.18
possible, such gifts shall be made available for the enjoyment of all
the employees of that particular department or division.
Nothing required herein shall be construed to permit what is
otherwise prohibited behavior under current law or regulations, or to
authorize acceptance of any gift which may give even an appearance
of impropriety.
Violation of this policy will be treated as a major violation and,
depending on the circumstances, may be grounds for disciplinary
action, up to and including termination.
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Section 6.18