T E A

T i m e s

December 15 2009

December 16th Membership Meeting Canceled
WW Contract Update

Rules for Furlough Replacement Time
Transit Overtime Retro Checks Distributed
Over 480 VL Hours? Use-it, Donate-it or Lose-it
January TEA Meeting Schedule

1. December 16th Member Meeting Canceled

The Board voted on December 9th to postpone the December 16th membership meeting in the absence of any pressing business. The next general membership meeting is scheduled for January, 20, 2010.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

2. WW Contract Update

Wastewater Staff Contract
The new labor contract is being implemented and your December 10 paycheck should reflect your new payrate including the 2009 COLA. King County has indicated that the retro pay for the 2009 COLA will be distributed in the February 4 paycheck. TEA is working with the County to accelerate the processing of the retro payment. Benefit Time becomes effective January 1, 2010.

Wastewater Supervisor Contract
Bargaining is scheduled for December 21st for a successor contract.

The bargaining team members are:
Roger Browne, Laura Wharton, Bill Wilbert, Jim Cline, and John Phillips, Chair

Alternate bargaining team members are:
Dirk Apgar and Stan Hummel

3. Rules for Furlough Replacement Time

TEA has just received information on Furlough Replacement Time from KC Labor Relations. For TEA, Furlough Replacement Time only applies to the WW Staff Bargaining Unit. The WW Supervisor unit will likely bargain it as part of their successor contract and Transit Staff will likely be covered by the ULP settlement. Here are the rules:

Dear Union Partners:

Attached please find a document entitled "Furlough Replacement Time - Bulletin - Bulletin #0010 12-11-09." This document sets out the implementation and administration of the 2010 furlough replacement time. Should you have any questions pertaining to it, please contact the labor negotiator(s) assigned to your respective contract(s).
Regards,
Jim Johnson
Interim Labor Relations Manager

Furlough Replacement Time

Bulletin Number: 0010
Issue Date: 12-11-09

PURPOSE

Article 18 of the 2008 "Memorandum of Agreement between the King County Coalition of Unions and King County Addressing the 2009 Budget Crisis Regarding Furlough Days," (and successor agreements collectively referred to as MOAs) provides for furlough replacement time as follows:

The parties agree that employees furloughed in 2009 will receive the equivalent of the time on furlough in furlough replacement time. One half of the time will be awarded in 2010 and one half in 2011, unless the County is in an officially declared and Council sanctioned financial emergency. Any unused furlough replacement time will expire at the end of the calendar year in which it is provided.

Unless an officially declared and council-sanctioned financial emergency is implemented prior to December 31, 2009, furlough replacement time will be made available to affected county employees consistent with the MOAs as set forth below.

IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW

Timing on paychecks: The furlough replacement time will be displayed on the accrued leaves portion of county pay advices and payroll check stubs. The number of hours of furlough taken in 2009 will be credited in equal amounts in 2010 and 2011.

Available furlough replacement days will be itemized on an employee's pay warrant or advice.

The first half of the total furlough replacement time earned will be credited in 2010. The second half of the total furlough replacement time earned will be credited in 2011. The furlough replacement days will be reflected on the January 20th pay warrant or advice covering the first full pay period of 2010 or 2011, respectively.
Eligibility: Benefited employees represented by a labor organization that was a signatory party to the MOAs are eligible for furlough replacement days subject to the following.
1. No eligibility for employees who have submitted a "Declaration of Intent to Retire": Those employees are not eligible for furlough replacement time in 2010 and 2011.
2. Eligibility when there has been a change in the employee's union representation status: An employee who was not represented and later became represented by a labor organizations that was a signatory party to the MOAs will only be eligible for furlough replacement time for the furlough time taken while represented. Conversely, an employee represented by a labor organization that was a signatory party to the MOAs who later became a non-represented employee will only be eligible for furlough replacement time for the furlough time taken while represented. The same holds true for employees represented by a labor organization that was a signatory party to the MOAs who moved to a position that was represented by a labor organization that was not a party to the MOAs.
3. Eligibility for mandatory furlough days only: Mandatory furlough days are the only furlough days eligible for replacement time. Voluntary furlough days are not eligible for replacement time. Should voluntary furlough days be taken in 2010, those days are not eligible for replacement time hours in 2011.
4. Eligibility for current county employees only: Employees must be currently employed by King County to be eligible to receive and to use the furlough replacement days.
5. Eligibility for recalled employees: Employees who were eligible for furlough replacement time who were laid off or resigned and are recalled or rehired by the county into a position represented by a signatory labor organization that was a signatory party to the MOAs may be credited for the furlough replacement time. Replacement time available to a recalled employee is equal to what the employee would have received had they not been laid off.
  
  For instance, if an employee was eligible for 80 hours of furlough replacement time but was laid off in 2009 and recalled in 2011, the employee would receive 40 hours of furlough replacement time for 2011 because that is the amount of time that the employee would have received in 2011, but for the layoff. The employee would not be eligible for the 40 hours of time in 2010 because the employee was not employed with the county in 2010 and, therefore, not eligible.
Year-end expiration: Furlough replacement time must be used by the employee in the year that it is issued. Per the MOAs, "Any unused furlough replacement time will expire at the end of the calendar year in which it was provided." Notwithstanding the ability to use the time during the calendar year, the time may not be carried over to another calendar year, it may not be cashed out, and it may not be donated.
Hourly employees: Hourly employees will receive and use the equivalent of time on furlough in furlough replacement time on an hour-for-hour basis.

Hourly employees may supplement furlough replacement hours with other leave: An hourly employee may supplement furlough replacement hours with accrued vacation or earned compensatory time hours to equate to a scheduled work day in order to take leave. For example, an hourly employee on a 4/10 schedule who observed 74 hours of furlough and is entitled to 37 hours of furlough replacement time in 2010. The hourly employee may take three-10 hour furlough replacement days and, may supplement the remaining 7 furlough replacement hours with 3 hours of vacation leave in order to be paid for a full 10 hours of leave.
The use of furlough replacement hours will typically not be counted toward the overtime threshold: Furlough replacement leave time will only count toward the weekly overtime threshold for employees whose collective bargaining agreements provide that all compensated hours are counted toward the weekly overtime threshold.

FLSA-exempt employees: FLSA-exempt employees take furlough replacement days in accordance with "a day is a scheduled day" policy per PER 8-1-2 (AEP) "Executive Leave, Pay and Leave Practices for Exempt Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees as Defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Washington Minimum Wage Act" June 1, 2008. This means that furlough replacement time is used in full day, not partial day, increments.

For example, an FLSA-exempt employee who observed 80 hours of furlough in 2009 who was scheduled to work 10 hours each day on Monday though Thursday (4/10 schedule), would use 10 hours of furlough replacement for a day off.
1. FLSA-exempt employees use furlough replacement time in full-day increments: There may be instances when an FLSA-exempt employee observed less than 80 hours of furlough, such as when they were called in to work on a furlough day, and does not have enough furlough replacement hours to cover a full day.
  
  For example, an FLSA-exempt employee on a 4/10 schedule who observed 74 hours of furlough is entitled to 37 hours of furlough replacement time in 2010. The exempt employee will take three-10 hour days of furlough replacement leave and, although the employee only has 7 furlough replacement hours remaining, will still take another full day of furlough replacement leave. In other words, any partial day furlough replace hours (which remain after taking furlough replacement day leave in full scheduled day increments) will be taken as a full day of leave.
2. FLSA-exempt employees may not supplement furlough replacement hours with other leave: An FLSA-exempt employee may not supplement furlough replacement hours with vacation or executive leave hours to equate to a scheduled work day in order to take a full day of leave.
Leave Approval: The same request and approval procedures for the use of vacation leave apply to the use of credited furlough replacement time.
Leave Accruals: An employee will accrue vacation and sick leave when taking furlough replacement leave in the same manner as when taking other paid leaves. An employee will be paid the rate of pay in affect at the time that furlough replacement leave is taken.
Retirement Credit: An employee will be credited for retirement when taking furlough replacement leave in the same manner as when taking other paid leaves.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

For more information, contact Human Resources Division Labor Relations Section or Payroll Benefits and Retirement Operations.

4. Transit OT Retro Checks Distributed

Thanks to the efforts of Transit Bargaining Chair Jerry Williams, Transit TEA members who worked Overtime in 2002-2005 will be receiving additional compensation in the form of a retro check from King County. Based on questions that Mr. Williams raised regarding the County's calculation of Transit's first Interest Arbitration Award, errors in the calculations were identified which resulted in underpayments to about 20 TEA Transit members. The total value of the retro is approximately $19,600, with varying amounts to each eligible member based on the number of OT hours worked. Kudos to Jerry for tracking this issue to a successful conclusion!

5. VL over 480 hrs? Use-it, Donate-it or Lose-it.

For those employees who have Vacation Leave (VL) balances in excess of 480 hours, please note that you have until January 8, 2010 to reduce your vacation hours below the 480 limit. Any hours above 480 will be deleted by Payroll. Deletion of excess vacation hours will occur with the paycheck dated February 4, 2010.

Employees in the position of losing excess vacation hours should begin making plans now to use the hours or to donate them either to other employees or through the county's Employee Giving Program.

If you have any questions regarding excess vacation, please contact Susan Gleason at 206-263-9366 or Vatsala Gopaul at 206-263-9357.

6. January 2010 Meeting Schedule

   January  6 - TEA Board Meeting, 12-1, KSC, 4G
   January  7 - Council of Reps Meeting, 12-1, Location tba
   January 13 - TEA Board Meeting, 12-1, KSC, 4G
   January 20 - TEA Monthly Member Meeting, 12-1, KSC, tba
   January 26 - TEA Grievance Committee Meeting

TEA Board

	Roger Browne, President
	Adé Franklin, Vice President
	Ken Madden, Secretary
	Terry Browne, Treasurer
	John Phillips, Wastewater Bargaining Chair
	Jerry Williams, Transit Bargaining Chair
	Jan Knudson, Council of Reps. Chair