Employee’s files are maintained by the City Clerk’s Office and are considered confidential. Managers and department heads other than City Clerk or City Administrator may only have access to personnel file information on a need-to-know basis. A manager or department head considering the hire of a former employee or transfer of a current employee may be granted access to the file.
Upon request, current employees will be permitted access to their file within three (3) business days of the request. Current employees are allowed to view any documents they have signed or created. Files or copies of files are not available to terminated employees.
Representatives of government or law enforcement agencies, in the course of their business, may be allowed access to file information.
Attendance and Standard Working Hours Policy
City of Hillsboro expects that every employee will be regular and punctual in attendance. This means being in the office, ready to work, at the starting time each day. Absenteeism and tardiness place a burden on both co-workers and City of Hillsboro.
When you are unable to work due to illness or an accident, please promptly notify your department head. In the event your immediate department head is unavailable, you must speak with a manager. Leaving a message with another staff member or on voicemail does not constitute an accepted notification of absence. If you do not report for work and City of Hillsboro is not notified of your status, it will be assumed after three consecutive days of absence that you have resigned, and you will be removed from the payroll.
If you become ill at work or must leave the office for some other reason before the end of the workday, be sure to inform your department head of the situation.
You will be compensated for authorized absences according to the provisions described in this handbook. Authorized absences beyond the time allowed under that policy are authorized without compensation.
If you will be absent from work during standard working hours for any reason, you must contact your department head as soon as possible to avoid disciplinary action.
City of Hillsboro carefully selects quality employees. Background checks help to ensure that new employees have the skills for the job and have performed well in the past.
Some departments, including but not limited to Law Enforcement, may conduct background checks on all job candidates after a contingent offer of employment has been extended. A background check may also be completed during reassignment or promotion of an employee to that department. A third-party administrator may be used to conduct the background checks, and all background checks will be compliant with applicable laws.
The information that may be collected includes, but is not limited to:
• Criminal background
• Employment history
• Education
• Credit (if position warrants)
• Professional and personal references
Criminal background checks may not be used as the sole reason for denying employment, unless it is job-related. Regardless, the City has the right to make the final decision about employing an individual after the background check is complete.
Checking professional and personal references is an important part of the background check process. This provides the City with information on the potential employee’s work ethic, skills and performance.
Information obtained from the background check process, including information from professional and personal references will be used by the City only as part of the employment process and will be kept confidential by the City Clerk’s office.
City of Hillsboro strives to provide a healthful, safe and comfortable working environment for all employees and visitors. Tobacco use by employees and visitors is therefore prohibited throughout all buildings and vehicles. Tobacco use includes all smokeable tobacco products, e-cigarettes, vaping produces and smokeless tobacco products. Employees or visitors who wish use tobacco products must leave buildings or vehicle. Employees are permitted to leave the building to use tobacco products only on scheduled break times. Employees and visitors are prohibited from using tobacco products within 30 feet of a public entrance to a city facility.
Online Social Networking Policy
City of Hillsboro is committed to maintaining a good relationship with its employees and the marketplace. The way the public views the City of Hillsboro is vital to maintaining business, gaining new business, retaining first-class employees, recruiting new employees and marketing our products and services.
While City of Hillsboro has no intention of controlling employee actions outside of work, employees should practice caution and use discretion when posting content on the Web. Employees have the right to use social media for personal expression on their own time, and City of Hillsboro will not violate employee privacy by attempting to access content that has not been made available publicly. This policy serves as a notice on the practice of social networking for all employees to read and understand. As more concerns develop and legislation is released, this policy is subject to change.
The purpose of this policy is to:
• To guarantee a constructive relationship between the city and its employees
• To manage risk and preserve City of Hillsboro’s positive reputation
• To discourage the use of city time for personal social media activities
• To promote awareness among employees of the number of individuals who can access information presented on social networking sites
Definitions:
Social networking and social media refer to any activity that involves interaction in online communities. This interaction includes, but is not limited to, browsing profiles and photos, reading messages sent through social networking forums and participating in instant messaging services.
A social networking site is any website that links individuals electronically and provides a forum where users can connect and share information. These websites can be tailored to specific interests or to certain types of users. Examples of popular social networking sites include Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Flickr, Friendster, Classmates.com, LinkedIn, Xanga and Bebo. The list of social networking sites is constantly growing and changing because of the nature of the Web.
A social networking profile is a user’s personalized page within a specific social networking site, usually containing personal information such as name, birthday, photo and interests.
Micro-blogging is the practice of publishing your recent whereabouts, thoughts or activities on a social networking site for other users to see. While not all social networking sites use micro-blogging, this is a primary focus of sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Business purposes are considered using a social networking site for the city’s gain, usually as a task or assignment given by a manager or department head. This can be done either through a specific city account on a given social networking site or through a personal account set up for the purposes of recruiting or marketing for City of Hillsboro.
The term Working Hours includes any time employees are being paid to conduct city business. Standard working hours are from (insert hour) to (insert hour), Monday through Friday. This timeframe may vary based on job type and responsibilities.
Procedures:
Prohibited Use
It is important that employees use their time at work for business purposes. Employees are not blocked from access to social networking sites on City of Hillsboro computers because, under some circumstances, social networking is a powerful business tool that can be channeled to gain positive publicity for the city and to connect with clients. However, access to such websites should follow city policy. The following actions are prohibited during working hours:
• Using social networking sites to conduct personal or non-city business with a city computer or device.
• Browsing social networking sites for non-city business on city time with a city computer or device.
• Reading e-mail alerts regarding personal social networking account activity or using City of Hillsboro e-mail to correspond with personal social networking contacts.
• Updating information, uploading photos or otherwise engaging with one’s personal social networking profile for non-business purposes with a city computer or device.
• Micro-blogging for a non-business purpose on a social networking site throughout the day, whether it is on a city-provided computer or a personal smart phone device.
Prohibited Conduct
Having your own individual social networking account and using it on your own time is certainly permissible. However, keep in mind that some actions on your personal site are visible for the entire social networking community and may no longer be considered private matters. City of Hillsboro has put it in place a set of conduct guidelines to protect its brand and prevent the unwanted disclosure of confidential information. Please follow these guidelines:
• Do not use micro-blogging features to disclose trade secrets, publish internal reports, provide tips based on inside information or participate in other activities that may be considered insider trading.
• We urge you to consider resolving workplace grievances internally. If you choose to address a grievance using social media, we recommend you refrain from posting comments and materials that could be viewed as malicious, obscene, threatening, and intimidating or that could create a hostile environment on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion or any other status protected by law.
• We also recommend you refrain from posting any opprobrious, reckless or maliciously untrue comments. These communications may not be protected by law.
• Do not impersonate City of Hillsboro or its employees, make statements on behalf of City of Hillsboro without authorization, or make statements that can be construed as establishing City of Hillsboro’s official position or policy on any particular issue.
As stated above, the purpose of this policy is to protect City of Hillsboro’s brand and prevent the disclosure of confidential information. It is not City of Hillsboro’s intent to interfere with its employees’ legal rights. Whenever state or federal law governs an area of social media participation, City of Hillsboro policies should be interpreted as to comply with them.
City of Hillsboro wants to ensure that our employees remain safe and injury-free at all times. The City intends to comply with all applicable safety laws. In order to guarantee that accidents are avoided whenever possible, we expect our employees to refrain from horseplay, careless behavior and negligent actions. It is the City’s policy to maintain a safe and secure working environment for all employees and clients.
While working, employees must observe safety precautions for their safety and for the safety of others. All work areas must be kept clean, and free of clutter and debris. Any hazards or potentially dangerous conditions must be corrected immediately or reported to a department head.
If you are involved in an accident, you must:
• Report the accident to your department head or the City Administrator immediately
• Obtain any necessary medical treatment
• Fill out an Accident Report, regardless of the severity of the injury
• If you must seek additional medical treatment, obtain your department head’s consent before leaving the premises
Employees who fail to comply with this procedure may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge.