LTC 211-2010 Temporary Employees
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
No. ETC # Zii-ZOlo LETTER TO COMMISSION
To: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members oft e_ City Commission
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager , t-, ~, h,
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Date:- July 26, 2010 ~ c
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Subject; Temporary Employees '-;-"
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This Letter to the Commission (LTC) is being provided in response to a rece tit,,' request
made regarding the number of "temporary" employees retained by the City. _'} .~-
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The City hires a number of different types of full-time and part-time employees including:
probationary, regular and temporary.
"Probationary" employees are those appointed to classified positions who are still
serving in a trial period. Probationary employees may be terminated by the City at any
point prior to passing their probationary period. The probationary period varies
depending on the position. Unclassified employees are at-will and therefore do not
serve a probationary period.
Once an employee successfully competes their probationary period, they are referred to
as "regular" employees. Since Unclassified employees do not serve a probationary
period they are regular employees from the first date of hire.
Probationary and regular employees can work either full-time or part-time. The benefits
(such as pension, health insurance, leave accrual, etc.) .available to each group of
employee is different, depending on their status (probationary or regular; full-time or
part-time).
Temporary employees are those individuals who work for the. City a limited specific
.period of time. The number of temporary employees working at the City fluctuates
seasonally depending on various programs that .may require temporary staffing,
particularly in the Parks and Recreation Department (Recreation Division) and the Fire
Department (Ocean Rescue Division). However, other areas of the City may utilize
temporary employees on a consistent basis without much fluctuation, such as in the
Public Works Department (Sanitation Division) and Parks and Recreation Department
(Greenspace Management Division).
The City also has the following two (2) different types of temporary employees:
• "City" temporary employees are individuals that are employed by the City.. They
receive a paycheck from the City for actual hours worked, and are not entitled to
any type of benefits (i.e. pension, health insurance, leave accrual, etc.). The City
does pay two and one half percent (2.5%) of the employee's earnings toward the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 COBRA) as required by Federal law,
in lieu of Social Security or a pension benefit (the employee contributes seven
We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live, work and play in our vibrant,, tropical, historic communiy
Temporary Employees
June 30, 2010
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and one half percent (7.5%) of their earnings). ,City temporary employees
typically are employed by the City for a period of up to one (1) year, with some
exceptions based on the City's need. City temporary employees are most often
used in the Parks and Recreation Department as. Recreation Leaders or
Seasonal Recreation Aides for summer camp and other types of programs; and
in the Fire Department for staffing in the Lifeguard I classification in the Ocean '
Rescue Division.
• "Agency" temporary employees are individuals that are brought to work for the
City from a staffing agency that the City .has. under contract. These individuals
. do not receive a paycheck from the City. Instead; the .staffing agency bills the
• City through the accounts payable .process and the staffing agency pays the
individual directly. Agency temporary employees are most often used in areas
• such as .the Sanitation Division and the Greenspace Management Division.
Agency temporary employees frequently are used in classifications such as
Municipal Service Worker I and various administrative support positions.
The City tracks the number of temporary employees (both City and Agency temporary
employees) for those positions covered by the Communications Workers of America
(CWA) and the American. Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME) bargaining units, pursuant to the provisions of their respective. Collective
Bargaining Agreements. The City also tracks the City temporary employees, but not the
Agency temporary employees, for those classified positions covered by the Government
Supervisors of America (GSA), classified positions not covered by a collective
bargaining unit ("Others"), and Unclassified salary groups.
As a way to provide a sense of the number of "temporary" employees retained by the
City, below~is the number of "City" and "Agency" temporary employees for each month of
this calendar year:
Month City Temporary
Emplo ees Agency Temporary
Em to ees Monthly
Total
Janua 2010 20 13 33
February 2010 56 73 129
March 2010 67 77 144
April 2010 69 87 156
Ma 2010 73 96 169
Monthly Average 57 69 126
Should you have any questions, or need additional information, please feel free to
contact me or Ramiro Inguanzo, Director of Human Resources, at x6697.
JMG/H /ri/kt - ~.
F'\huma\$all\Kristin\JMG and RI Correspondence\Temporary Employees LTC.doc