Maintenance of Credentials

Date Established: October 19, 2020
Date Last Updated: October 19, 2020

Purpose
To establish an orderly procedure for the maintenance of credentials of City employees.

Policy Statement
The maintenance of qualifications is the responsibility of every employee and is an essential function of all City jobs. As a condition of continuing employment, an employee must maintain any licenses or certification credentials specified in the current class specification for the employee’s job, or required by federal, state, or City law. An employee shall notify the department head immediately in the event of loss of a required credential. Failure to maintain required credentials shall be considered grounds for discipline, up to and including termination of employment.

1. An employee who fails to maintain required credentials may be disciplined, up to and including termination, if:
-The activity requiring the credential is the core defining function of the job, e.g., Attorney, Transit Driver, Water or WPC Plant Operator; and/or,
-The department is unwilling to allow the employee to continue to work because of cost, lost productivity or other negative impact; and/or,
-The employee will be without the credential for six (6) months or more; and/or,
-It is the employee’s second loss of credential during City employment; and/or,
-The employee’s past disciplinary record warrants termination; and/or,
-The employee refuses to accept an unpaid leave of absence under the provisions below; and/or,
-The employee is still on probation.

2. However, an employee may be granted an unpaid leave of absence upon request for the period without the credential if:
– The activity requiring the credential is not the defining function of the job; and,
-The employee will be without the credential for not more than six (6) months; and,
-The department is able to continue to provide an acceptable level of service to the public in the absence of the employee; and,
-The department is unwilling to allow the employee to continue to work because of cost, liability, lost productivity, or other negative impact; and,
-The employee’s disciplinary record does not warrant termination.

Leave without pay shall be granted only for that portion of the absence beyond the period of the suspension.

3. An employee may be allowed to continue working without performing the activity requiring the credential during the period without the credential for not more than six (6) months if:
-The activity requiring the credential is not the defining function of the job; and,
-The department is able to continue to provide an acceptable level of service; and,
-The department is able to identify productive temporary work activities that would normally be conducted by that employee, which do not require the missing credential; and,
-After considering the potential impact on other factors such as cost, liability, productivity, and morale, the department is willing to allow the employee to continue to work.

4. If an employee who loses a required credential is permitted to continue employment, and it has been determined that the required credential was lost due to the employee’s negligence or the employee’s act of misconduct, the employee may receive discipline, up to and including suspension without pay not to exceed the period without the credential, to a maximum of thirty (30) days, in addition to any unpaid leave. See the “Suspension” section of the Discipline Policy.

Following the suspension, a condition of allowing the employee to continue working may include a reduction in pay for the remainder of the period without the credential due to the employee’s diminished productivity.

5. In the case of newly hired or promoted employees, the individual must, as a condition of continuing employment, obtain any required licenses or credentials within the time period specified in the class specification or by the appointing authority. An employee who fails to obtain such required credentials within the specified time limits may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.

6. In cases where the activity requiring the credential is not the core defining function of the job, the discipline provisions of (1) or (2) may be waived if the employee submits to the department head a plan by which the duties requiring the credential can be performed without the credential without increased cost to the City, loss of productivity, reduced service levels, or other negative impact. The plan must be in writing, submitted in a timely manner, and acceptable to the department head. If the employee fails to carry out the plan, or if the plan does not result in satisfactory performance of the activity, or results in other negative impact on the City, the employee shall be subject to discipline in accordance with (1) or (2). Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the employee may be subject to discipline, up to and including suspension, as provided elsewhere in this policy.

7. The administration of the Maintenance of Credentials policy shall be the responsibility of the department head. Actions taken under this policy shall be reviewed by the Human Resources Director and approved by the City Manager. If, in the opinion of the City Manager, the strict application of this policy in a specific case would not serve the best interests of the City, the City Manager may waive or modify provisions of this policy. Examples of such circumstances include loss of a credential for a brief period, or other situations in which the loss of the credential would have such minimal impact on cost, productivity, etc., that the strict application of this policy would be inappropriate.

Contact Information
Human Resources Department
hr@cityofames.org
515-239-5199

City Manager’s Office
515-239-5101