Happy Fri~YAY! This on is for the dogs; today is NATIONAL DOG BISCUIT DAY. All dog owners, remember that February 23rd is National Dog Biscuit Day! This day is also observed around the world as International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day. #NationalDogBiscuitDay-Dog biscuits come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and flavors. They serve to reward a man’s best friend for good behavior as part of their training. Dog owners may also give a biscuit to show their canine companions just how much they love them, too. Sometimes, dog biscuits serve to deliver vitamins and medicines we may have difficulty getting our pooches to take otherwise. 

NATIONAL DOG BISCUIT DAY - February 23 - National Day Calendar

Black “Her”story Spotlight: Shirley Chisholm (1924 – 2005)

Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress in the 1960s. She represented New York’s 12th District from 1969 to 1983, and in 1972, she became the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Her campaign slogan: “Unbought and Unbossed” rings even louder today.

Employee Handbook Acknowledgment Forms (in Setworks): Thanks to everyone so far who’s completed the Employee Handbook Acknowledgement on Setworks! There are some forms being completed incorrectly – if you received a separate email earlier today, please go back and ensure you sign-off correctly. If you’re struggling with Setworks, you can also send an Employee Handbook Acknowledgment through the BIS website under Annual Trainings. This will also go directly to me. Anyone who’s still missing an acknowledgement will receive a separate email or message on Setworks. OR you can also review and sign off on the Employee Handbook on the BIS website under the “Employee Handbook” tab. This can be found under the “Employee Resources” tab, Here is the link to access the updated Handbookà https://behaviorinterventionservices.com/employee-handbook/. Then sign off on the Annual Training Acknowledgement tab hereà https://behaviorinterventionservices.com/employee-handbook-acknowledgement/

Policy Spotlight: *Policy Update*

Employees are required to work all scheduled shifts unless they communicate by phone (leaving a detailed message if not answered) that they are unable to work their scheduled shift due to illness or personal reasons. All schedules posted on the current scheduling website should be checked and confirmed each time a new schedule is published, or at minimum on a weekly basis by all direct support staff. 

All schedules will be published at least 30 days in advanced via the agency’s scheduling website.  Any shifts listed for any employee are their responsibility to work; they can either work the shift themselves or find another qualified team member to replace, trade or pick up any shift. 

315 Paid Time Off (PTO) and Requested Time Off (RTO)

Effective Date: 1/1/2015 Revision Date: 11/28/2023

Paid Time Off (PTO) is an all-purpose time-off policy for eligible employees to use for vacation, illness or injury, personal business and to supplement any shortage in their required per week hours when they are not able to meet the expectations of their position.

It combines traditional vacation and sick leave plans (if applicable) into one flexible, paid time-off policy. Employees in the following employment classification(s) have the ability to accrue and use PTO as described in this policy:

All full time employees are required to work a minimum amount of hours each week to maintain  their full time status, either through direct support hours as deemed a requirement for their  position or by the use of Paid Time Off as supplemental hours.

·         Full time hourly employees – 32-40 hours of work each week

·         Full time salaried employees – minimum of 40 hours of work each week

Once employees enter an eligible employment classification, they have the ability to accrue PTO according to the schedule based on years of service. Before PTO accrues or is available for use, a waiting period of 30 days from their first week in a full time capacity must be completed. After that time, employees can request the use of their accrued PTO hours. Requests for planned PTO must occur at least 2 weeks in advance of any time off granted.

Variable Hour (or part time) employees accrue PTO for hours worked. Part time employees can use their PTO at any time. PTO supplement cannot exceed 40 hours in any week.

In the event that a full time employee does not work the minimum requirement of hours for any given week and they do not have the available PTO time to supplement their total hours and, if salaried, will be subject to a decrease in pay based on the total shortage of hours for the week.

·         Exception of Day Habilitation staff  the week of Christmas break.

·         RBT’s are not expected to meet minimum requirements during BIS recognized holiday weeks.

The amount of PTO employees may accrue each year increases based on the length of their employment. (*Schedule listed below is based on a 40 hour work week for salaried employees. Salaried employees that have a set number of billable hours each week as part of their work week requirement will also accrue PTO based on a 40 hour work week but all PTO will be required to be used as 8 hours for a full day off or 4 hours for a half day off)

·         Upon initial eligibility the employee has the ability to accrue PTO at the rate of 3.07 hours per pay

period through 2nd year of full time service.

·         After 3 years of eligible service the employee has the ability to accrue PTO at the rate of 4.61 hours per pay period.

After 5 years of eligible service the employee has the ability to accrue PTO at the rate of 6.15 hours per pay period.

For hourly employees, the amount of PTO employees may accrue each year increases based on the length of their employment and is based on the 40 hour work week.

·         Upon initial eligibility the full and part time employee has the ability to accrue PTO at the rate of .039 per hour worked through 4th year of full-time service.

·         After 5 years of eligible service the employee has the ability to accrue PTO at the rate of .058 per hour.

·         After 10 years of eligible service the employee has the ability to accrue PTO at the rate of .077 per hour.

Employees who have an unexpected need to be absent from work should notify their direct supervisor & the HR Department before the scheduled start of their workday to confirm that PTO time may be utilized. The direct supervisor must also be contacted on each additional day of unexpected absence.

To schedule planned PTO, employees should

·         Submit a Requested Time Off (RTO) entry via the When to Work system. Requests will be reviewed and approved based on a number of factors, including business needs and staffing requirements. Approval or denials will be sent accordingly.

·         When approved, submit a written request via the PTO request form (found on the BIS website)

Employees that have posted work hours in the When to Work system during any time in which they wish  to take PTO must follow the call off/shift coverage guidelines to find coverage PRIOR to requesting their  PTO. PTO time submitted that conflicts with current posted/published work schedules (per W2W), will  be rejected until the employee has followed the correct procedures.

PTO is paid at the employee’s base pay rate at the time of absence. In the event that an employee has two different pay rates for the same position (such as DSP and RBT), that employees PTO time will be paid out at their lower rate of pay. It does not include overtime or any special forms of compensation such as incentives, commissions, bonuses, or shift differential.

PTO will be used to supplement any payments that an employee is eligible to receive from state disability insurance, workers’ compensation. The combination of any such disability payments and PTO cannot exceed the employee’s normal weekly earnings.

Accrued PTO time will be used to supplement any shortage in the required weekly time for full time employees, when they did not meet the minimum expectation of direct support hours and/or total hours as necessary for their position.

The Payroll Department/Supervisor will automatically deduct PTO time to supplement a shortage of hours for any given week. A PTO request form is only required when requesting use for pre-planned  events such as vacation, scheduled time off, etc. and must be approved by the employee’s supervisor.

Positions that require an individual to be on call during specific times of the day will be required to go off call and will be charged PTO time to supplement any hours for the week during which they are unable to fulfill all or any portion of their daily responsibilities.

A full time employee may accrue and bank up to 160 hours at any one time or up to 40 hours for part time employees. Once any employee reaches 160 full time hours or 40 hours part time hours of accrued time, PTO accrual with cease until the time in which that employee utilizes enough accrued time to drop their bank to under 160 full time hours or 40 hours of part time of unused PTO. The employee may also request a buyout of PTO at a rate of 50% of its value. This can only be done one time per year and the employee must maintain a minimum balance of 20 hours in their PTO bank

Employees that need to request time off for an expected absence who do not have accrued PTO available for use, will be required to follow one of the following policies for Unpaid Time Off:

*Medical Leave                                *FMLA Leave                                  *Leave of Absence

These employees may be may be subject to a decrease in salaried wages (based on total shortage of hours), loss of current work status, preferred day/shifts scheduled or be asked to move to a part time position. A demotion to a part time position will forfeit any full time benefits accrued up to that point immediately. Employees that do not follow these policies will be subject to disciplinary action.

Upon resignation of employment, PTO use during the notification period is not permitted without written consent and approval by the Executive Director. An employee can be paid for any unused PTO that has been accrued through their last day of work as long as they have provided the position minimum requested notification period (2 weeks for non-supervisory positions and 30 days for supervisory or administrative positions). This pay out would occur on the next available pay period after they have completed their notification period, as scheduled by the Pay Cycle for the current year.

Employees that fail to work any of the assigned or required hours during their notification period of resignation or termination of their employment will forfeit any remaining accrued PTO time and will not receive any pay out. Additionally, a supervisor (salaried position) that fails to meet the minimum expectations of the position during a notification period may cause an adjustment from a salaried rate to

an hourly rate, depending on the total number of hours in that final week.

Employees that failed to provide or work their minimum notification period will not only forfeit any remaining PTO in their bank but will also have any PTO hours used or paid out within 30 days of their last day recouped out of a final pay check.

Employees that are terminated from employment will forfeit any accrued and unused PTO, to which no pay out is available.

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