Parish Council finetunes changes in personnel policy

St. Mary Parish employees may have a new set of personnel rules by the end of the year after all.
A 2-1/2-hour special meeting Monday put the Parish Council in position to pass the ordinance enacting a new set of personnel policies at the council’s meeting Wednesday.
Passage of the ordinance adopting the new policies appears on the agenda for Wednesday’s regular meeting.
The second regular meeting of the month would normally be on the fourth Wednesday, but has been rescheduled to accommodate the holidays.
A passage vote Wednesday depends on whether the changes for which there was general agreement Monday are held to make fundamental changes in the ordinance that had been advertised as part of the agenda. If not, the proposed ordinance has already met the 20-day requirement that must elapse between introduction and the final passage vote.
The passage vote was on the Dec. 6 regular agenda but was put off when Councilmen the Rev. Craig Mathews of Jeanerette and J Ina of Franklin raised questions, mainly about the matters that can be taken up by the parish’s Personnel Board.
The ordinance limits the personnel sanctions that may be appealed to the Personnel Board to major actions such as termination and demotions. Mathews and Ina had argued that other, more minor actions such as reprimands should be eligible for appeal to the Personnel Board.
Parish President David Hanagriff and Chief Administrative Officer Jean Paul Bourg had argued that a broader scope would amount to micromanaging personnel matters that should be handled by the personnel director and the CAO.
Again on Wednesday, Mathews and Ina asked whether the language outlining matters that can come before the Personnel Board are too vague. Legal counsel Eric Duplantis responded that another section of the policies make it clear that the more minor matters are the responsibility of the personnel director.
Among the issues discussed Monday:
—The probationary period for new hires will be extended from 90 days to 180 days. But the new employee will be eligible for five vacation days at the end of the probation period. Currently, new hires must wait for a full year to get vacation time.
Under one of the changes that received general agreement Monday, people moved to new jobs within parish government would continue to have a 90-day probation period in their new jobs.
Employees will continue to be eligible for employer-provided insurance after 60 days.
—Parish employees will continue to be evaluated annually in time for the pay period that contains the anniversary of their hiring. Supervisors evaluate employees based on their own assessments and on a self-evaluation by employees.
—The new policies give the parish government the option of offering compensatory time off rather than overtime in certain circumstances.
That policy is based on one adopted by Terrebonne Parish, where Hurricane Ida’s aftermath created a cash flow pinch, Bourg told the council.
After Ida, workers piled up lots of overtime, but the parish had to wait for federal reimbursement for hurricane-related expenses.
“It gives you that tool if you need it,” Bourg said.
—Parish employees will be eligible for up to six weeks of paid parental leave.
An employee designated as a primary parent, the parent who takes care of most of a child’s basic needs, can have up to six weeks of leave. An employee designated as the secondary parent is eligible for up to two weeks of leave.
—Councilwoman Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink questioned a provision that requires parish employees to notify managers if they have other jobs. Bourg suggested language that specifically limits the notification requirement to second jobs that could interfere with the employee’s work for the parish.