Search

ARTICLE 13 - PROTECTION OF CITY PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

A. It shall be the responsibility of all employees having custody of or assigned to
operate any equipment or property to see to it that it is properly cared for kept clean and returned
to proper storage place at the end of the work shift. No City owned vehicle will be used by a
City employee for other than City business.

B. All truck drivers and equipment operators will be required to check oil, water,
tires and accessories (wipers, defrosters, etc.) daily before operation. All drivers and operators
will be held responsible to notify the garage foreman when the equipment being operated is in
need of any mechanical adjustment or correction. The operator’s vehicle condition report will be
completed and turned in on a daily basis. Failure on the part of such employees to comply with
the above will be grounds for disciplinary action or reclassification.

Cc. The City agrees to furnish two-copy deficiency report slips of which truck drivers
and equipment operators are to indicate any mechanical adjustments or corrections believed to be
necessary. The foreman of equipment maintenance or designee shall sign one copy of the
deficiency report for retention by the employee.

Dz. When skating rinks are being flooded, all available Park Department vehicles
shall be assigned to the flooding operations.

ARTICLE 14 - GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A, It shall be the purpose of this grievance procedure to settle grievances between the
City and Union as expeditiously and fairly as possible. Any difference as to the interpretation of
this Agreement in its application to a particular situation, or as to whether it has been observed
and performed, shall be a grievance under this Agreement and the parties shall observe the
following procedure for the adjustment and settlement of such grievance.

An employee may present an oral grievance without the intervention of the Union. Until
the grievance is reduced to writing, the Union shall be excluded from any meetings if the
employee so requests. Any resolution of the grievance shall not be inconsistent with the terms of
this agreement. The Union shall be notified of the resolution of the grievance.

Without intending to expand the definition of a grievance beyond violations of this
agreement, all written grievances will be submitted on an AFSCME Council 93 Official
Grievance Form, which is appended hereto as Appendix C.

Grievance Mediation may take place, at no cost to either party, in the grievance
procedure at any time if agreed by both parties. Either party may submit a request to the other
requesting Grievance Mediation. Mediator services through the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service shall be used. Mediation shall not be binding and cannot be used by either
party in further proceeding should mediation fail.

Step I: Within eight (8) workdays of the incident leading to grievance, if the parties
involved have not reached a verbal agreement, then the grievance shall be
reduced to writing, signed by the employee and the union, and presented to
the Superintendent or his designated representative. If the grievance remains

13

unresolved following a discussion which is not to exceed one (1) hour, the
Superintendent shall respond in writing within two (2) workdays.

Step II: Within two (2) workdays of receiving the response, the Union may notify the
Director of Public Works, in writing, that a hearing on the grievance is
requested. The Director will investigate the grievance to determine if a
grievance exists under the Agreement and if it can be settled under the
policies of the City as well as under the Agreement. If the matter has not
been settled by the Director within one (1) week, then,

Step III: The Union, within three (3) days, may notify the Board of Public Works, in
writing, of the grievance. The Board shall, within thirty (30) days after the
grievance is presented to the Superintendent under Step I, consider the
grievance and within two (2) working days thereafter, notify the Union in
writing of their disposition of the grievance. In the event the employee and
the Union are not in accord with the disposition by the Board, then

StepIV: The parties hereto agree that any grievance which involves the interpretation
or application of a specific provision of this agreement shall be settled by
arbitration. The parties agree to submit such grievances to the N.H. Public
Employees’ Labor Relations Board, as the agency to coordinate the
arbitration, and to abide by the rules and procedures set forth by said Board.
Determinations and decisions set forth by the said Board shall be final and
binding upon the parties. All costs submitted by the Board are to be shared
equally by the parties. Any grievance which is not submitted to arbitration
under this step IV within ninety (90) working days after receipt of the written
decision of the Board of Public Works under step IV shall be deemed
waived.

B. Presentation of grievances under Step I and Step II only, if done during working
hours, shall not result in loss of straight time pay to either the steward or the aggrieved employee
involved. If more than one (1) aggrieved employee is involved, only one (1} employee shall be
entitled to receive straight time pay during such presentation. No overtime or any other premium
pay shall be paid for time spent in such presentations.

e. In the event an employee is discharged, demoted or suspended, the Union may
request a hearing before the Board and Steps I and II of the grievance procedure will be waived.
Such request must be made in writing within seven (7) days from the date of such discharge,
demotion or suspension and the Board must grant said hearing within seven (7) days from the
date the request is received. If the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of both parties,
Step IV of the grievance procedure may be utilized.

D. The times for taking action stated above may be extended by mutual consent, in
writing, but all of the steps of this procedure shall be handled as expeditiously as possible with a
view to promoting and maintaining complete harmony. Requests of either party for extensions
of time shall not be unreasonably denied.

14

E. In order to expedite resolutions of grievances, the duly accredited area steward,
with or without the aggrieved employee, may investigate and process grievances under Step I
during working hours as detailed in Step I, above.

ARTICLE 15 - PAID HOLIDAYS

A. The following shall be observed as paid holidays:

New Year’s Day Columbus Day (except Park Dept.)
Martin Luther King’s Birthday Presidential Election Day
President’s Day Veterans Day
Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day
Independence Day Friday after Thanksgiving (Park Dept. only)
Labor Day Christmas Day
Floating Holiday*
B. If one (1) of the aforesaid holidays falls on a Saturday and is observed on a

Friday, said Friday shall be a paid holiday. If one (1) of the aforesaid holidays falls on a Sunday,
and is observed on a Monday, said Monday shall be a paid holiday.

C. Regular probationary employees will be eligible for and receive pay at their
straight-time rates for holidays observed after the first thirty (30) calendar days of employment.

D. In order to qualify for pay on an unworked holiday, under paragraph A above, an
employee must work on the last scheduled workday prior to the day the holiday is observed and
the first scheduled workday subsequent to the day on which the holiday is observed.

E. If an employee is absent on authorized sick leave on either or both days stated in
paragraph D, above, the employee shall qualify for holiday pay for holidays which occur during
the first two weeks of such an absence, by presenting a medical doctor’s certificate or other
satisfactory evidence of illness to the employee’s Superintendent. Said certificate shall state that
the employee was unable to work due to illness on the day(s) specified.

F, In the event that an employee is required to work on any of the said holidays, the
employee shall be compensated at the rate of time and one-half (1 1/2) for hours worked, in
addition to the holiday pay, if eligible and otherwise meets all requirements of this article.

G. In the event a paid holiday falls during an employee’s vacation, the employee
shall receive holiday pay or an extra day following the vacation period.

* H. Any employee shall notify his/her supervisor 24 hours in advance of taking a
floating holiday.

ARTICLE 16 - PAID VACATIONS

A. After satisfactory completion of the probationary period and classification as a
regular employee, an employee covered by this Agreement shall receive vacation with pay in
accordance with the following schedule:

15

Less than 5 years of service: up to 2 workweeks (10 days) per year accrued at the rate of
five-sixths of a workday per month worked;

More than 5 but less than 10 years of service: up to 3 workweeks (15 days) per year
accrued at the rate of one and one-quarter workdays per month worked:

More than 10 years but less than 15 years of service; up to 4 workweeks (20 days) per
year accrued at the rate of one and two-thirds workdays per month worked.

Fifteen years of service or more; up to 5 workweeks (25 days) per year accrued at the rate
of two and one-twelfth workdays per month worked.

B. The anniversary date of employment shall be used to calculate an employee’s
length of service with respect to paid vacation eligibility. Length of service shall be measured
from the employee’s most recent date of hire with the City.

Cc. Any month in which the employee has been on the active payroll for more than
fifteen calendar days shall be counted as a month worked, except for those employees receiving
Workers’ Compensation pay, who will earn vacation time for time off the job.

D. Requests for vacation time must be made at least two (2) business days (Monday
—Friday) in advance, although exceptions may be made for reasonable circumstances. In
addition, employees may request vacation time for a Monday on the preceding Friday. All
vacation time shall be approved based on the operational needs of the division. Denial of a
vacation request shall not be made in an arbitrary or capricious manner.

E. The City reserves the right to limit the number of employees to be on vacation
during any one period with seniority to prevail. Employees are allowed to accrue up to one and
one-half (1 1/2) times their annual earned vacation.

E. Any employee who is laid-off, dies, or retires, shall be entitled to accrued
vacation pay in accordance with the eligibility requirements contained in this Agreement. Any
accrued vacation pay to which an employee may be entitled on the date of the employee’s death
will be paid to the employee’s estate.

ARTICLE 17 - PAID SICK LEAVE

A. Sick leave for employees covered by this agreement shall accumulate at the rate
of eight (8) hours per calendar month on the active payroll, cumulative to a maximum of nine
hundred sixty (960) hours.

B. In the event of a prolonged absence because of illness in excess of thirty (30)
days, additional sick leave accumulation will be allowed only for the said first thirty (30) days of
such absence.

Cc. An employee is not entitled to payment for sick leave until completion of the

probationary period and such payments may not be applied retroactively.

16

D. Sick leave shall not be considered as a privilege which an employee may use at
the employee’s discretion, but shall be allowed only in the case of necessity and actual sickness
or disability of the employee, or to take physical and dental examinations or other sickness
prevention measures. The City reserves the right to verify all claims for paid sick leaves. In case
of sickness of spouse, employee’s significant other residing with the employee, or children of the
employee necessitating employee’s absence from work, the employee’s Superintendent may
grant absence from work with sick pay.

E. An employee must notify the Superintendent’s Office prior to starting time, in
order to draw sick leave pay. In order to qualify for paid sick leave of four (4) consecutive
workdays or more, an employee must present a doctor’s certificate or other satisfactory evidence
to the superintendent. Said certificate shall state that the employee was unable to work due to
illness during the period claimed.

F. If it is found that an employee is abusing sick leave, the employee shall be
disciplined for just cause in accordance with Article 12B.

G. When an employee retires, resigns or is laid off, the employee shall receive
payment for the balance of sick leave accrued in his or her account in a lump sum calculated at
the rate of pay in effect on the day of retirement. No accrued sick leave will be paid to an
employee who is discharged. An employee who retires or resigns will receive accrued sick leave
pay only if that employee has five (5) years of continuous service with the Division on the date
of retirement or resignation.

H. Any accrued sick pay to which an employee may be entitled on the date of the
employee’s death will be paid to the employee’s estate.

ARTICLE 18 - BEREAVEMENT LEAVE

A. Up to three (3) days leave per occurrence in any fiscal year may be granted for a
death of a member of the immediate family of an employee or employee’s significant other
residing with the employee for which there shall be no deduction in pay. The intent of “residing
with” is not to exclude the employee if the significant other is placed for medical care into a
facility prior to death. ‘Immediate family” shall include: mother, father, step-parent, spouse,
children, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law, grandparents, and grandchildren.

B. Up to three (3) days total leave in any fiscal year may be granted for a death of a
close relative of an employee for which there shall be no deduction in pay. “Close relative” shall
include: aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, and close friends, provided the close friend lives in the
employee’s home.

. In the event the death for which leave is taken occurs during a vacation period
allowed under Article 16, and the employee desires to take bereavement leave during that
vacation period, the bereavement leave taken during the vacation period shall not be charged
against the time allowed the employee for the vacation allowed under Article 16.

17

Dz In order to receive bereavement pay the employee, shall upon request, provide
documentation of death and relation. Should documentation be requested, such request shall not
be arbitrary or capricious.

ARTICLE 19 - MILITARY LEAVE PAY

An employee called to serve not more than a seventeen (17) day annual training tour of
duty with the National Guard or Armed Forces Reserves will be paid the difference between his
or her pay for such government service and the amount of straight time earnings lost by the
employee by reason of such service, based on the employee’s regularly scheduled straight time
rate. Such payments are to be made following the showing of satisfactory evidence of the
amount of pay received for such service on the Personnel Claim for Pay form.

ARTICLE 20 - JURY DUTY PAY

An employee called as a juror will be paid the difference between the fee received for
such service and the amount of straight time earnings lost by the employee by reason of such
service Satisfactory evidence must be submitted to the employee’s immediate supervisor.
Payment of meals and/or mileage shall not be considered as part of the fee for purposes of this
agreement. Claims under this agreement are to be made on the Personnel Claim for Pay forms.
Employees serving less than a full day on jury duty must report back for work within one hour of
being dismissed in order to be paid for the partial day.

ARTICLE 21 - PERSONAL LEAVE

An employee may use three (3) days of personal leave per fiscal year for personal
business. Notification of intent to utilize a “personal day” must be provided to the supervisor no
later than the workday twenty-four (24) hours prior to the “personal day”. Personal leave cannot
be carried over from one fiscal year to another.

ARTICLE 22 - LONGEVITY BONUS PAY

A. Regular full-time employees who have been employed by the City for five (5) or
more years, on an uninterrupted basis except by reason of lay-off or approved leave of absence
are eligible for a longevity payment on the anniversary of their date of hire. Effective July 1,
2011, longevity payments are as follows:

5 to 9 years of service $ 400.00

10 to 14 years of service $ 600.00

15 to 19 years of service $ 800.00

20 to 24 years of service $ 1,000.00

25 years of service and over $1,200.00

B. An employee eligible to receive longevity pay, who quits his or her employment

or is dismissed for just cause prior to his/her anniversary date of employment, shall forfeit his or
her right to entitlement to all or any portion of longevity pay to which the employee would
otherwise be entitled.

18

ARTICLE 23 - UNION ACTIVITIES

A. When an employee is elected President of Local #365 and has to do work which
takes him/her away from his/her regular employment with the City, he/she, at the written request
of the Union, may be granted a leave of absence without pay, not to exceed twenty-four (24)
months, with no loss of seniority, provided satisfactory arrangements can be made for a
substitute during such leave of absence. An employee on a leave of absence under this Article
shall not be eligible for benefits contained in this agreement.

B. Employees elected as delegates to either the AFSCME International Convention,
the N.H. Public Employees Convention Council #93, or the N.H. State Labor Council
Convention shall be allowed a leave of absence with pay not to exceed one working day per
contract year. This leave of absence may be granted to a maximum of four (4) union members
per contract year; however, no more than two (2) members may be granted a leave of absence at
any one time.

cc The Local President, Vice President, Treasurer, Chapter Chair, Chief Steward and
Shop Stewards may be granted unpaid leaves of absence to conduct union business not to exceed
a total of forty (40) working days per year for the aforementioned employees, provided twenty-
four (24) hours advance notice is given to the Division.

ARTICLE 24 - EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS

A. The City will reimburse employees for 75% of the total tuition (excluding books)
contingent upon the satisfactory completion of job-related courses approved in advance. The
purpose of the educational assistance policy is to reduce the cost of employment-related
education to the employees. The 75% share of the City will therefore be reduced by any amount
received or receivable by employee for such education from sources other than the City.

B. An employee who desires to participate in this benefit must secure the prior
approval of the appropriate Superintendent, the Director of the Public Works Division, and the
Board of Public Works on a personnel form provided for the purpose with due consideration of
budgetary limitations.

C. Satisfactory completion of any educational course shall be documented in the
Personnel Department records of the employee. This document must be provided prior to
processing the request for reimbursement.

D. Not more than $1,000.00 will be paid to any employee in any fiscal year for
course reimbursement.

ARTICLE 25 - CLOTHING ALLOWANCES

A. The City will initially supply each new employee after the completion of the
probationary period, five (5) sets of wrinkle free permanent pressed sets of work clothes (pants
and shirts), either a cavalry twill jacket designed for liner insert, with liner, or a winter jacket,
and two (2) work caps. Mechanics and servicemen in the Streets and Wastewater Treatment
Plant will be provided with two (2) coveralls. This clothing will be replaced on a direct
exchange basis as needed, and in a timely manner. A boot voucher in the amount of one hundred

19

and ten dollars ($110.00) shall be provided once every twelve months, per employee. Boot
vouchers will also be issued on a direct exchange basis as needed.

B. The Park Department will also provide to employees who have completed their
probationary period, winter jackets for use during the winter maintenance of skating rinks.

C. Shirts, jackets, and caps are to have appropriate departmental emblem affixed.
Uniforms will be wom by employees during working hours.

Dz. Rain gear will be provided to employees when they are required to work in
inclement weather.

E. Work gloves will be provided, as determined by the Superintendent to be
required, and replaced on a direct exchange basis as needed.

ARTICLE 26 - TRADESMAN TOOLS

Mechanics, carpenters and other skilled tradesmen are required to provide their own tools
of the trade. It is agreed that the City will, in exchange for broken tools, provide for the
reasonable replacement of broken tools for such tradesman. The City shall maintain current
casualty/loss coverage for employee-owned tools.

ARTICLE 27 - INSURANCE PROGRAM
A.l. Health Insurance

Subject to the provisions of this Article, the City, upon the request of an eligible member,
shall provide to an employee the amount of the premium specified below for individual, two-
person or family plan, of one of the following:

(a) Point of Service Plan (POS)
(b) Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
(c) High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (HDHP w/ HSA)

The option of the health care plan is at the sole discretion of the City. It is agreed by all
parties that the City reserves and shall have the right to change insurance carriers provided the
benefits to participants are comparable and the City elects the least expensive plan available to
provide such benefits.

Should the City determine that it is in the best interests of the City to offer a
“comparable” plan to either option “‘a” or “‘b”, it shall provide at least one hundred twenty (120)
days prior written notice to the Union and documentation of the cost to members and the benefits
that will provided under the comparable plan. Should the Union determine that the proposed
plan is not comparable, the grievance shall not be subject to the grievance procedure and shall be
submitted directly for arbitration no later than thirty (30) days after the Union is notified of the
proposed change to the comparable plan. The grievance shall be heard in an expedited manner.

The decision of the arbitrator shall be binding on both parties.

20

Comparable Plan Definition: For the purposes of this Article, a comparable plan means
one that offers the same type of benefits, but benefits do not have to be exactly the same. In
addition, the plan must provide reasonable access to health services and physicians, including
specialists and hospitals.

The POS and HMO Plans shall have the following co-pays and deductibles:

(a) Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per medical visit;

(b) One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per emergency room visit;

(c) Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) Per Person, Five Hundred Dollars
($500.00) Per 2 Person/Family Inpatient/Outpatient Facility Deductible; and

(d) | Three Tier Pharmacy Benefit of $5/$15/$35 ($5/$30/$70 Mail Order).

Effective July 1, 2021 -

POS Co-pays and Deductibles:

The POS Plan sha!l have the following co-pays and deductibles:

(a) Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per medical visit;

(b) One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per emergency room visit;

(c) Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) Per Person, Five Hundred Dollars
($500.00) Per 2 Person/Family Inpatient/Outpatient Facility Deductible; and

(d) Three Tier Pharmacy Benefit of $5/$15/$35 ($5/$30/$70 Mail Order),

HMO Co-pays and Deductibles:
The HMO shall have the following co-pays and deductibles:

(a) Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per medical visit;

(b) One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per emergency room visit;

(c) One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) Per Person, Three Thousand
Dollars ($3,000.00) Per 2 Person/Family Inpatient/Outpatient Facility Deductible;
and

(d) | Three Tier Pharmacy Benefit of $10/$30/$50 ($20/$60/$100 Mail Order).

High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (HDHP w/ HSA):

The deductibles in the High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (HDHP
w/ HSA) are $2,000 individual / $4,000 2-person or family. The City’s contribution to Health
Savings Accounts is $1,500 individual / $3,000 2-person or family. The City HSA contribution
will be distributed in 2 installments, one on or about July 1 and on one or about October 1,
provided however that if an employee is required to pay more towards his / her deductible than
the initial 50% contribution, upon presentation of suitable documentation, the City will
contribute the remaining 50% before October 1. Employees who join the HDHP w/ H.S.A. at
any time other than July 1 will receive a pro-rated City contribution of $125 monthly for a single
plan and $250 monthly for 2-person or family plan for each full month remaining in that fiscal
year.

21

A.2. City Contributions and Enrollment

The City shall contribute 70% of the POS premium of option (a) and 80% of the HMO
and HDHP w/HSA.

Coverage for new employees is available on the 1“ of the month following date of hire if
hired on or before the 15" of the month; and on the 1° of the month following a full month of
employment if hired after the 15" of the month. Employees who do not enroll on their initial
eligibility date may subsequently only do so during the annual open enrollment period or
following a “qualifying event.” Employees may also transfer to another plan during the annual
open enrollment period.

Spouse Rule: In the event that an employee's spouse is employed by the City of Nashua,
the Nashua School District, or another agency of the City, the employee shall be entitled to
health insurance premium coverage either pursuant to this article or pursuant to the coverage
afforded to the spouse, but not both.

A.3. Joint Labor / Management Committee - For the duration of this Agreement,
either party to the Agreement may request that a Joint Labor/Management Commnittee be
convened to consider the performance of the aforementioned plans, any changes thereto.

A.4. Annual Audit - The City of Nashua hereby agrees to conduct a yearly loss ratio
analysis of all Health Insurance plans offered to employees and return all employee
overpayments in the form of a Health Insurance Premium Holiday at the completion of the
analysis.

B. The City agrees to pay fifty percent (50%) of the cost of a Double Indemnity Life
Insurance Program for employees only, in an amount equal to the employee’s annual straight
time wages, rounded to the nearest thousand dollars. Employees may purchase at their expense
such additional group life insurance as may be permitted by the City’s group life insurance
carrier,

c. The City agrees to provide dental coverage, such coverage to be as specified by
the attached schedule of benefits (Appendix D), through a carrier selected by the City.
Beginning on the first of the month of the month following the signing of this agreement, the
City agrees to contribute toward such insurance an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%)
of the cost of one person, two person or family plan as appropriate.

D. It is agreed by all parties concerned that the City reserves and shall have the right
to change insurance carriers or become self-insured, provided the benefits to participants are
equivalent and the costs to participants are not increased above the amounts shown above.

E. Long Term Disability (LTD). Full time employees covered by this agreement
who have been employed with the City for three (3) years on an uninterrupted basis except by
reason of layoff, on the job injury or approve leave of absence, shall be covered for long term
disability under a policy of insurance, the premium for which is to be fully paid by the City,
subject to such eligibility requirements and other terms and conditions as the carrier may
establish. The City reserves the right to change long term disability insurers to another
commercially available program having overall comparability of coverage to that currently in

22