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Welcome to the 6th issue of the HRA Policy & Compliance Advisory Newsletter. In this issue, you will find guidance on administering paid court leave for employees required to appear in court, a Spotlight on Success that shares best practices in recruitment and selection, a State Personnel Board update, and a Drug Testing Corner with information on US DOT Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors. Also included is a special bulletin on a new Executive Order.
If you have questions or would like additional information about the topics covered in this newsletter, please contact your HRA Consultant or any Policy & Compliance Team member.
Thank you
HRA Policy & Compliance Team
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Paid Court Leave
The State recognizes and supports employees’ obligations to perform civic duties when summoned to court. For this reason, employees who meet certain guidelines may not only be excused from duty when required to appear in court, but may also be compensated for work time missed without having to use their accrued leave, in accordance with the State Personnel Board Rules. Furthermore, the State provides protection against penalizing employees for absences from work under these same circumstances. Eligible employees who are incorrectly penalized for an absence from work to appear in court may seek relief under Board Rule 20, Employee Complaint Resolution Procedure.
To view the language from State Personnel Board Rule 16, Absence from Work, that provides the criteria under which paid court leave may be granted, click here. Please note this Rule is currently under review, so look for further guidance to come later in the year. In the meantime, to learn more about how to administer court leave under existing Board Rule 16, click on the questions below.
Q1: If my employee receives a summons for jury duty, must I grant the employee paid court leave? Answer
Q2: If my employee is summoned to court to appear as a witness, must I grant the employee paid court leave? Answer
Q3: If my employee is summoned to attend another court proceeding, such as an arbitration hearing, must I grant the employee paid leave? Answer
Q4: If the employee is dismissed from court after two hours, must I provide paid court leave for the entire day? Answer
Q5: Can I require my employee to provide proof of the jury summons before granting leave? Answer
Q6: Must I compensate non-exempt workers for overtime if the court requires the employee to stay in court more than 8 hours per day? Answer
Q7: How should I compensate non-exempt employees on alternative work schedules of more than 8 hours for a day of court leave? Answer
Q8: My employee is on court leave for jury duty and has asked if he may keep the juror fees the court gave him. May he do so? Answer
Q9: So long as I excuse my employees’ absence from work for the purpose of attending court and pay them, can I still discipline them for missing an important deadline due to the absence? Answer
Q10: If my employee is summoned as a witness by a court outside of Georgia, how should I manage pay issues? Answer
Q11: If my employee must appear in court as part of his or her job, is that time charged to court leave? Answer
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Governor Deal signs “Ban the Box” Initiative
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On Monday, February 23, 2015, Governor Deal signed an executive order providing for a “Ban the Box” hiring policy, effective immediately. For most applicants, “Ban the Box” removes the requirement to disclose felony convictions on the state employment application. Rather than soliciting this information at the time of application, state entities will now delay discussion of criminal history until later in the selection process. Such delay will better allow qualified applicants to be considered initially and provide an opportunity to explain their unique circumstances, such as inaccuracies, relevance of the criminal record to the prospective job, and rehabilitation efforts. Read More
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Georgia Department of Labor
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The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) was recently identified as a model agency in the Recruitment and Selection Module in the FY2015 HR Audit. Bo McDaniel, HR Director, says that a dedicated staff and collaboration with hiring managers are two of the linchpins in their steps to success.
Click here to read more about the process used by GDOL to achieve a successful Recruitment and Selection program.
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State Personnel Board Rules Activity:
- The State Personnel Board recently adopted modifications to Rule 478-1-.23, Family and Medical Leave. The modifications have been approved by the Governor, and the Rule is posted on the DOAS and Secretary of State websites. Click here to view the newly modified Rule.
- In addition, a new FMLA Toolkit is now available on the DOAS website. It contains links to items such as sample templates, tracking tools, FAQ’s, and other tools to assist agencies with administering Family and Medical Leave. Please click here for direct access to the toolkit. You may also access the toolkit from the DOAS home page by selecting “State HRA,” then selecting “HR Resources” from the “Features” section. The toolkit materials are listed under the heading “Family and Medical Leave Toolkit.”
If you have questions about the revised rule or toolkit, please contact the DOAS helpdesk at 404-656-2705, 1-877-318-2772, or hra@doas.ga.gov, your agency’s HRA Consultant, or any member of the HRA Policy & Compliance Team.
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Training now available on DOAS Website!
Thanks to the state’s partnership with FirstLab, US DOT Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors is now available on-line and can be accessed from the DOAS/HRA – Substance Abuse Webpage. This program satisfies the training prerequisite required by the US Department of Transportation for agency staff responsible for referring a transportation employee for reasonable suspicion drug or alcohol testing.
The training provides great information on signs and symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse. It may benefit any staff involved with reasonable suspicion drug or alcohol testing, regardless of whether the organization has transportation employees.
This training is designed to require trainee participation and provides a downloadable Training Manual to be completed while watching multiple video segments. The training will take a minimum of two-hours to complete and can be self-paced and accessed from an individual’s workstation or presented in a classroom setting.
To assist organizations desiring to host the Reasonable Suspicion Training as a class with multiple trainees, additional materials are available upon request, including a Facilitator’s Guide and a Certificate of Completion template that can be used to document each participant’s training. You may request these materials by contacting Gail Stowers at Gail.Stowers@doas.ga.gov or 404-463-7060.
Collection Site Reminder
As a reminder, the in-network collection site list used for state drug testing changes at times, as sites drop out of the network and others are added. A recent example is the removal of US HealthWorks sites from the list due to a change in their pricing structure. It is good practice to check the collection site list on our vendor’s (FirstLab’s) website prior to sending your employees or applicants for testing.
By using an in-network collection site, your drug testing fee to FirstLab covers the cost of collection, and you avoid having to pay collection fees to a collection site in addition to the drug testing fee to FirstLab. Should you have additional questions, please contact your FirstLab account manager, Katie Marino, at kmarino@firstlab.com or 1-800-732-3784 ext. 5565. |
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| HRA Policy and Compliance Contacts | | |
Katy Townsend
katy.townsend@doas.ga.gov
404-657-2186
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Gail Stowers
gail.stowers@doas.ga.gov
404-463-7060
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Robbie Zell
robbie.zell@doas.ga.gov
404-657-8458
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Jennifer Statham
jennifer.statham@doas.ga.gov
404-657-8345
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