10/24 Weekly Email

Hi all, 

I do not have any major updates this week so I instead wanted to talk a little bit about discipline. UAEA is more than happy to represent our members in the disciplinary process but we want to make sure you are actively minimizing your possibility of facing discipline. Our goal is always getting members the best possible outcome in the disciplinary process but we can’t work miracles. One extreme example: if you’re credibly accused of drinking on the job while operating a commercial vehicle the likelihood is very low that our intervention will be able to help you avoid termination.

It is very possible that you or members of your workgroup have been doing any of the following over the last few years because some of these things may be tolerated in your area. In all honesty, UAEA does not believe that department management or IT or HR is actively looking for ways to punish employees. That said, if they ever become aware of this behavior they are compelled to investigate and that can lead to major repercussions. It’s also worth noting that if the City is investigating you for any other reason and they become aware of these additional infractions this can seriously affect the severity of your discipline, so it’s really important to avoid these behaviors entirely even if they’ve been tolerated to-date. 

Regarding how I picked the following examples: I looked through some of our old case files and put together a short list of possible reasons employees might be written up. Please reach out to us if you have concerns about possible policy violations, past or present, after reading this - that said, we strongly suggest you use your personal phone and email if you wish to do so. 

Lunch and Breaks

Section 307:C of the City Personnel Rules deals with lunches and breaks. 

UAEA employees receive either a 30 minute or 1 hour lunch break depending on the role. Non-exempt employees may also receive 2x15 minute breaks if they work more than 8 hours in a normal shift. Breaks cannot be combined with the lunch to make it longer, cannot be combined together into 1x30 minute break, and cannot be banked like comp time. Certain areas have additional restrictions on when breaks can be taken - please check with your supervisor if you have questions. 

UAEA employees who drive City vehicles may use the vehicle to travel no more than one mile from where they stopped work (a work site or part of a route) if they wish to visit a restaurant or take their lunch at a park. The lunch time starts when someone leaves their work site, not when they arrive at their preferred location. We’re not endorsing this behavior and want to make it clear that an employee could still be punished for this behavior, but UAEA has never seen an employee disciplined for accidentally taking a minute or two longer on their lunch break than they were scheduled for. We believe most supervisors understand that accidents or poor planning may occasionally happen. What we have seen before is employees written up for a consistent practice of taking long lunches or otherwise consistently violating lunch and break policy. 

This is unrelated to discipline, but please note that non-exempt employees should be “relieved of all job duties” during their lunch breaks. Please let us know if that is not the case in your work area and we will address your concerns in an LMC meeting. 

Drug use

Section 404:C of the City Personnel Rules deals with drug and alcohol use while at work. The very short summary is that you should not use drugs or alcohol at work or show up to work impaired. There are minor exceptions, such as if you need opioids while recovering from an injury, but these require specific authorization. Use of any prescribed substance which may cause impairment should be reported to your supervisor. Please keep in mind that the City of Tempe has both a clear interest in keeping the public safe and an obligation to follow federal and state law. UAEA is not opposed to either of these things and expects our members to follow these policies to the letter. 

Please also note that if you are charged under a criminal drug or alcohol statute while off work (such as being arrested and charged with drunk driving), you must inform HR within 5 days. Not informing HR of this, even if everything happened completely outside of work hours, is still possible grounds for termination. 

Some members have asked and it is worth noting that the City maintains a list of roles that are “Safety Sensitive,” meaning that employees in those roles may never use marijuana, whether for medical or recreational purposes. Only employees in non-safety sensitive roles may use recreational or medical marijuana during their personal time. This DOES NOT mean that use of other drugs is allowed or that any of the above policies do not apply. You can find a list of safety-sensitive roles on the Bridge. 

Outside Employment

The City Personnel Rules Section 401:D covers outside employment. The short version is that employees may have second jobs but not if they interfere with your Tempe role or if they require doing tasks while scheduled for your Tempe role. Employees need to obtain permission from their supervisor and department director prior to starting new secondary roles (401:D-1). Secondary employment can be denied on a variety of grounds, such as if the role looks like a conflict of interest or if the ending hours of the second position seem very close to the starting hours of your Tempe position. 

Tempe resources such as office supplies or internet should never be used for outside employment. Please note that you do not need to be formally working for an outside company to be considered “employed” - selling personal items on Craigslist or doing work for a family member could still be a violation of this policy. 

Internet use

The City Personnel Rules Section 405:A covers internet, cellphone and technology usage. The short version is that you should not do any non-City work on a City-owned device. There is a full page of the Personnel Rules that deals with what constitutes a violation of this policy - I strongly suggest that you review those details. Every time you log in to a City account you agree to abide by this technology access agreement - employees cannot claim in good faith that they were unaware of violations. 

The City has issued cellphones to many of our members for City business. Do not use the phones to chat with friends and family, send text messages to non-City employees or contractors, take it on vacation to snap photos with, or otherwise use it during non work-hours. Keep in mind that the City has the ability to pull phone records/text message records, and internet search history from both your work computer and cellphone. Please note that deleting your history might not prevent IT from finding out what you were accessing. A lot of information is preserved on the City network even if deleted from your computer. Even if they are unable to recover the information you deleted, you may receive additional penalties for “interfering with an investigation.” 

There is a very clear exception to this policy and that is employees may use City equipment for personal use during breaks or during non-work hours if they receive supervisor approval and are doing so on a limited basis. UAEA has not heard of any instance where reasonable requests to do so were denied - let us know if you run into difficulties. We understand that not every employee has a computer at home and that you may need to use City resources to check benefits or schedule appointments - we encourage this as long as you have permission to do so and are not doing so during scheduled work hours. 

Discrimination/Talking About Fellow Employees 

The City Personnel Rules Section 402:A covers what constitutes discrimination. The short version is that discriminating against employees can lead to termination and this covers rude conversations with or about them. There are certain classes of individuals who are protected from discrimination under federal law but UAEA’s expectation is that our members treat everyone with respect regardless of whether or not they fall into one of those categories. Please note that disrespectful behavior can also be punished under Section 406:C - being abusive towards fellow employees or not maintaining basic civility in interpersonal communication may be grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including termination. It may also lead to the termination of your UAEA membership - our bylaws specify that members have “the responsibility to treat all city employees and members fairly,” and that we may terminate your membership if a member “commits acts that are harmful or contrary to the interests of UAEA.”

I’m sure there are some people that read this and think…”what about my first amendment rights to freedom of speech?” It’s a fair question and I think it’s worth explaining that the first amendment protects your right to free speech but very rarely does it also protect you from the consequences of what you say. The distinction is important and is the reason people in the US can be prosecuted or otherwise punished for certain acts of speech. Yes, you are technically allowed to say whatever you want about your fellow employees or supervisor but you should have no expectation that what you said might not lead to punishment. Truth is a defense against accusations of defamation, but it’s very likely that whoever you share information with may forget exactly what you said or someone overhearing your conversation may miss an important caveat. It’s not worth being written up and fighting a disciplinary action because someone misheard or misunderstood you - just avoid the situation entirely by not talking about your peers in a negative way. 

Beyond just keeping the peace in a workplace setting, it’s worth noting that you will have extreme difficulty finding an employment attorney who will help if you’re fired or written up for offensive comments about your coworkers. The NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) protects employees’ right to discuss “workplace conditions,” but that mainly covers pay, benefits, and safety, not what you think of your fellow employees or boss. 

Please also note that employees who constantly talk about their peers in a demeaning or judgemental way may be perceived poorly by admin. Even if everything you say is true and verifiable, this may still impact your opportunity to promote internally. UAEA expects that supervisors treat their subordinates with respect and we would not be opposed to admin making a decision to not promote someone based upon a history of insults or otherwise making an uncomfortable work environment. 

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news if any of the above policies are things you or your peers have violated in the past. My intention with this email is to help members avoid discipline moving forward and correcting any behaviors now could go a long way to reducing the severity of any possible future discipline. 

Please reach out if you have questions or would like clarification. Again, if you believe you may have been violating policy in the past, please use your personal email to connect with president@uaeatempe.com and we can discuss details freely. 

All best,