UNION AGREEMENT - FISCAL YEARS 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007
AGREEMENT
between
CITY OF CLEARWATER
and
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, AFL-CIO
Local 1158
FISCAL YEARS
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
Our Mission is to work
cooperatively with labor
and management to provide
cost effective, top quality
Emergency services while
ensuring and improving the
safety and benefits for our Members
Preamble
ARTICLE 1
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
ARTICLE 2
ARTICLE 3
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
ARTICLE 4
ARTICLE 5
ARTICLE 6
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
ARTICLE 7
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Pal!e No.
........................................................................................................................... .1
Recognition and General Provisions ..............................................................1
Exclusive Bargaining Agent..............................................................................l
New Classifications......... ..................................................................................1
Contract Constitutes Entire Agreement.... ..................... ....... .......... ...... .............1
Representatives of Parties ................... .......... ........................ ....... .......... .........1
Rights of Parties ...............................................................................................2
Management Rights.... ......... ...............................................................................2
Emergency Conditions.......................................................................................2
Union Rights ......................................................................................................2
Stewards............................................................................................................ .2
Checkoff....... ...................... ... ....... ............ ....... .................................... ............. ..3
Posting of Agreement............. .,..........................................................................3
Bulletin Boards ................... ........................................................................... ....3
No Discrimination..............................................................................................4
No Strike ...........................................................................................................4
Labor-Management Cooperation ......... .................. ... ......... ....... ....... ..... ...... ...4
G rievan c e Procedure .......................................................................................5
Definition........................................................................................................... 5
Filing Procedures............................................................................................... 5
Arbitration.......................................................................................................... 6
Grievance Initiated by the City.... .............. ...................... .......................... ........ 7
Time Limit Exceptions...................................................................................... 7
Grievance Initiated by Employee....................................................................... 7
Personnel Practices ...... .............. ............ .......... ... ... ..... .......... ....... ....................7
Shift and Inspection Schedules.. ...................... ........ .......... ........... .....................7
Work Schedule Adjustments...... ...................................... ..................................8
Scheduling Overtime........ ............................................... ..................... .............8
Exchange of Duty Time (Swaps) ............. ...... ......................... ........ .................10
Call- In, Holdover, and Court Time...... ............. ............... ........... ............... ......10
Daylight Savings Time.... ............................................................................... .11
State EOC/FEMA Deployment....................................................................... .11
Pay Plan Administration................................................................................. .12
Promotions.. .... .......... ...... ........ ...... ... .... ............. ... ............................... ............ .12
Demotions....................................................................................................... .12
Acting Pay....................................................................................................... .13
Fair Labor Standards Exemption .. ..... ....... ....................... .............................. ..14
ARTICLE 7
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
Section 24
ARTICLE 8
Section 1
Section 2
Pa2;e No.
Personnel Practices (cont.)
Promotional Process....................................................................................... ..14
Announcements............................................................................................... .14
Eligibility........................................................................................................ .14
Disqualification of Applicants....................................................................... ..15
Scope and Character of Evaluation Process........ .................... ....... ................. .15
Notification of Results.................................................................................... .16
Appeals from Ratings..................................................................... ............... ..16
Open and Promotional Eligibility Lists.. ....... ......................... ..... ................... .16
AppointInents .................................................................................................. .16
Probation......................................................................................................... .17
Light Duty....................................................................................................... .18
Line-of- Duty Injury Pay............................................................................... ...18
EMS Classifications........................................................................................ .20
Firefighter/Driver-Operator ........................................................................... ..21
Work Rules and Prevailing Rights................ .......................................... ...... ...21
Subcontracting................................................................................................ .22
Indemnification............................................................................................... .22
Sports Activities On Duty.......... .................................................................... ..22
Lawn Maintenance.. ......... .................. ......... .... .................................... ............ .22
Physical Examination...................................................................................... .23
Frequency of Physicals.... ............................................................................. ...23
Types of ExaIIls............................................................. ................................. ..23
Immunizations and Inoculations.................... ......................... ............ ..... ........23
Physical Fitness............................................................................................... .23
Department Physician..................................................................................... .23
Wellness Re-Opener .... ...... ... ...... .... ....... ........ ............................ ........ ........ .... ..23
Residency Requirement ...... ............................................ .................... ....... ..... .24
Tobacco Product Usage..... ............................................................................ ..24
Leaves of Absence ..................... ......... ........ ............... .... ............ ... ...... ... ...... ...24
Holidays.......................................................................................................... .24
Observed Holidays............. .......................................................................... ....24
Floating Holidays.. .................... ..................... ................................................. .24
Selection of Floating Holidays.............................................. ....................... ....25
Payment for Floating Holidays....................................................................... .25
Conversion of Floating Holidays to Personal Leave .......................................25
Vacation.......................................................................................................... .26
Accrual of Vacation Leave............................ ................................................. .26
Use of Vacation Leave............................. ......... .............................................. .27
Accrual During Military Leave...................................................................... ..29
Conversion to Other Leave.................................... ........... .............................. .29
Payment for Unused Vacation ................ .............. ....... ....................................29
Banking of Vacation ....................................................................................... .29
ARTICLE 8
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
ARTICLE 9
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
ARTICLE 10
ARTICLE 11
ARTICLE 12
ARTICLE 13
ARTICLE 14
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
ARTICLE 15
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
APPENDIX A
Pae:e No.
Leaves of Absence (cont.)
Sick Leave........................................................................................................3 0
Accrual of Sick Leave........ .................................. ........................................... .30
Payment for Unused Sick Leave......... ...................... ......... ...................... ........31
Sick Leave Incentive Program .........................................................................33
Sick Leave Pool............ .................................................................................. .33
Funeral Leave................................................................................................... 34
Absence Without Leave. ............................................................. .....................35
Time Off From Duty........................................................................................3 5
Right to Contribute Work........... ......... ........................................................... .36
Integrated Disability Management Re-Opener .............. ......... ................ .........36
Wages and Compensation ...... ...... .......................... ........ ...... .... .... .......... .... ...36
Pay Schedule ........... ..... ............... .....................................................................36
Pay Schedule F onnat ..... ..................................................................................3 7
Merit Step Review........................................ ...................................................38
Rates of Pay..................................................................................................... 3 8
Annual Personal Resource Allowance........................... ..................................39
Mileage Reimbursement .... ...... ..................................................................... ...39
Special Teams. ....................... .... .................... ................................ ................. .40
EMS Wages............ ... ................. .............. ...................................................... .41
Training and Tuition Refund................... ............................... ....................... ..42
Clothing and Equipment............... .................................................................. .43
Standby...... ... ........ ............ ........ ........ ...... .............. .............. ............. ............... .44
Paycheck Issuance............................ ............................. ................................. .45
In s uran ce ........................................................................................................4 5
Perfo rmance and Discipline ......... ............... .......... .... ..........'............... .......... .46
Drug and Alcohol Policy............................. ...... ............... ........... ...... ..... ...... ..46
Retire m en t ......................................................................................................4 7
Seniority, Layoff, and Recall............................ ..... ..................... ............... ....47
Seniority........................................................................................................... 4 7
Layoffs............................................................................................................ .48
Reemployment Rights....................... ............................................................. ..48
30-Day Notification ....... ..... ........................................................................... ..48
Duration, Modification, and Termination ...................................................50
Amendments .. ..... .... ......... ...... ..... ...... .............................................................. .50
Severability and Waiver................................................. ................................ ..50
Duration........................................................................................................... 50
Wages .. ............. ... ........ ................... .................... ..... ....... ...... .............. ............... i
PREAMBLE
This Agreement is entered into by the City of Clearwater, Florida, hereinafter referred to as the
"City," and Local 1158 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO, hereinafter referred to
as the "Union". The Agreement has been negotiated in good faith for the purpose of promoting
harmonious relations, establishing an orderly and peaceful procedure to settle differences which might
arise, and setting forth the basic and full agreement between the parties concerning wages, rates of pay,
hours of work, and all other terms and conditions of employment.
ARTICLE 1
RECOGNITION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1.
Exclusive Bargaining Agent
The City recognizes the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative in accordance with
Chapter 447, Florida Statutes, as amended, for all employees in the bargaining unit defined by the Public
Employees Relations Commission and issued Certification number 122 in Case No. 8H-RA-756-1129
dated September 3, 1975. All persons in the classifications designated Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-
Operator, Fire Medic, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Medic Lieutenant, and Fire Prevention Inspector shall be
included in the bargaining unit. All others shall be excluded.
Section 2.
New Classifications
Should the City and the Union agree to establish new job classifications within the Fire Department
which may be in the bargaining unit, the City shall provide notice to the Union not less than 30 days prior
to staffing such classification. The parties shall submit a Union Clarification Petition to the Public
Employees Relations Commission and shall negotiate appropriate wage rates, hours, and terms and
conditions of employment for such classification.
Section 3.
Contract Constitutes Entire Agreement of the Parties
This Agreement contains the entire contract, understanding, undertaking, and agreement of the
parties hereto, and finally determines and settles all matters of collective bargaining for and during its term,
except as may be otherwise specifically provided herein. However, the parties agree that the City
Employees Pension Plan may be separately negotiated at any time upon mutual agreement of both parties.
ARTICLE 2
REPRESENTATIVES OF PARTIES
Section 1. The City agrees that during the term of this Agreement it will deal only with the
authorized representatives of the Union in matters requiring mutual consent or other official action called
for by this Agreement. Authorized representatives shall be defined as the elected Officers of the Union
and duly elected or appointed stewards. The Union agrees to notify the City of the name of such
authorized representatives as of the execution of this agreement, and any change in elected Officers or
appointed stewards shall be provided by the Union to the Office of the Fire Chief within 72 hours of the
change.
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Section 2. The Union likewise agrees that during the term of this Agreement the Union and
the employees covered hereunder shall deal only with the City Manager or his/her representative in matters
requiring mutual consent or other official action. The Union specifically agrees that neither the Union nor
the employees covered hereunder shall seek to involve the City's elected officials in the administration of
this Agreement or otherwise in the operation of the City's Fire Department; provided that nothing
contained herein shall restrict an employee's opportunity to present non-employment related matters to
such. elected officials.
ARTICLE 3
RIGHTS OF PARTIES
Section 1.
Management Rights
Except as expressly limited by any provision of this Agreement, the City reserves and retains
exclusively all of its normal and inherent rights with respect to the management of its operations, whether
exercised or not, including, but not limited to, its rights to determine, and from time to time redetermine,
the number, location and type of its various operations, functions and services; the methods, procedures
and policies to be employed; to discontinue the conduct of any operations, functions or services, in whole
or in part; to transfer its operations, functions or services from or to, either in whole or in part, any of its
departments or other divisions; to select and direct the working force in accordance with requirements
determined by the City; to create, modify or discontinue job classifications; to establish and change working
rules and regulations; to establish and change work schedules and assignments; to transfer, promote or
demote employees; to layoff, furlough, terminate or otherwise relieve employees from work for lack of
work, lack of funds, or other legitimate reason; to suspend, discharge or otherwise discipline employees for
proper cause; to alter or vary past practices and otherwise to take such measures as the City may determine
to be necessary to the orderly and efficient operation of its various operations, functions and/or services.
Section 2.
Emergency Conditions
If in the sole discretion of the City Manager or Mayor it is determined that civil emergency
conditions exist, including, but not limited to, riots, civil disorders, strikes, hurricane conditions, or similar
catastrophes or disorders, the provisions of this Agreement may be suspended by the City Manager or
Mayor during the term of the declared emergency provided that wage rates and other direct monetary
payments shall not be suspended.
Section 3.
Union Rights
A. Stewards: There shall be one (1) Union Official or designee for all bargaining unit members on each
shift in addition to the Union Official for Fire District Chiefs. An employee working in the
classification of Fire Inspector shall be represented by the "on-duty" or other union official.
An employee having a grievance shall have the right to take the matter up with his/her Shift
Steward or other Union Officer during working time, provided that neither the employee nor the Shift
Steward may leave their assigned Fire Station or work area outside a Fire Station without prior
permission of the Fire Chief or his/her specifically designated representative, and, provided further,
that the employee and the Union Official shall not interfere with the normal operations of the
Department.
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All members of the bargaining unit may wear the LA.F.P. pin on their uniforms.
B. Checkoff: The City shall deduct and provide to the Union on a biweekly basis dues and uniform
assessments owed by the employee to the Union in an amount certified to be correct by the Union
Secretary-Treasurer. Prior to such deduction. the Union shall provide the City with a signed statement
from each employee authorizing such deduction in a form satisfactory to the City.
Any authorization for dues deduction may be canceled by the employee upon 30 days written
notice to the City and the Union.
The Union shall indemnify, defend and hold the City, its officers, officials, agents, and employees
harmless against any claim, demand, suit, or liability (monetary or otherwise) and for all legal costs
arising from any action taken or not taken by the City, its officials, agents, and employees correctly
complying with this Section. The Union shall promptly refund to the City any funds received in
accordance with this Agreement which are in excess of the amount of basic and uniform membership
dues which the City has agreed to deduct.
Nothing contained herein shall require the City to deduct from a salary or be otherwise involved in
the collection of Union fines, penalties or special assessments.
In the event an employee's salary earnings within any pay period, after deductions for withholding,
pension or social security, health and/or other standard deductions, are not sufficient to cover dues it
will be the responsibility of the Union to collect its dues for that pay period from the employee.
C. Posting of Agreement: The City and the Union agree that this Agreement shall be posted by the
City in a conspicuous place at each Fire Station. Further, the City agrees that it will print the required
amount of copies, no later than 75 days after such Agreement has been ratified by all concerned parties,
and distribute same to the Union. The Union agrees, within 30 days after receipt of copies of this
Agreement, to supply individual copies of this Agreement to each current member of the bargaining
unit and thereafter to provide an individual copy to each new bargaining unit member within 30 days of
their becoming a bargaining unit member or allow the City to retain copies to provide at new employee
orientation. The City and the Union shall each bear one-half of the cost of production of the copies of
the Agreement, the number of which shall be mutually agreed upon prior to printing. The City and the
Union shall agree on the format.
D. Bulletin Boards: The City agrees to provide a 2 feet x 4 feet space on bulletin boards at each Fire
Station for posting by the Union of notices of meetings or other official Union information; provided,
the Assistant Chief or his/her designee shall first review such posting, and if found to be outside of the
scope of this Section, such posting shall be modified to the mutual agreement of the parties. The
District Chief will continue to include the Union notices in the intra-departmental mail which he/she
delivers to the stations.
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Section 4.
No Discrimination
The City and the Union specifically agree that the provisions of this Agreement shall be equally
applicable to all employees covered herein without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin,
membership or non-membership in labor organization, or age, as provided by law.
Any claim of discrimination under Federal or State civil rights laws by an employee against the City,
its officers or representatives shall not be grievable or arbitrable under the provisions of Article 6 but shall
be subject only to the method of review prescribed by law. Nothing herein contained shall preclude the
right of an employee to grieve and arbitrate disciplinary action taken by the City, except as otherwise herein
provided.
ARTICLE 4
NO STRIKE
Section 1. The Union agrees that during the term of this Agreement, it shall not authorize,
instigate, condone, excuse, ratify or support any strike, slowdown, sit-down, work stoppage or any other act
of like or similar nature likely to interfere with the efficient operation of the City's affairs engaged in or
supported by members of the Union and/or employees represented by the Union or other agents or
representatives of the Union. The parties specifically incorporate herein the provisions of FS. 447.505,
447.507 and 447.509.
Section 2. Should the Union or employees covered by this Agreement within the City's Fire
Department breach this Article, the City may then proceed against the Union as covered in FS 447 and
such sections of state and federal law that may apply. The City would also be entitled to obtain an
injunction with notice at ex-parte hearing for breach of this Article.
Section 3. Should any member of the bargaining unit be found guilty of striking as defined in
Chapter 447, Florida Statutes, he/she shall be subject to dismissal, and it is expressly agreed that such
violation constitutes just cause for dismissal.
ARTICLE 5
LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
The City and Union agree to maintain a single cooperative Labor/Management committee for both
IAFF Local 1158 bargaining units. The committee shall consist of an equal number of members of each
party not to exceed a total of eight (8) members. It is understood that this committee in no way is a
substitute for the grievance procedure or the right of collective bargaining but has been established for the
purpose of discussion and input from both sides on matters that may be mutually resolved by the parties or
may eventually become items of collective bargaining, grievances, or litigation.
4
ARTICLE 6
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
Section 1. A grievance shall be defined as any difference, dispute or complaint regarding the
interpretation or application of the terms of this Agreement, including Civil Service Rules and Regulations,
except as exclusions are noted in other articles of this Agreement. The grieving party must state in writing
the remedy sought to resolve the grievance.
Section 2. All grievances filed shall be submitted on the appropriate form (City form #9900-
0061, IAFF Grievance Form), and shall refer to the specific Article and section of this Agreement or Civil
Service Rules and Regulations upon which the grievance is based, and shall contain a concise written
statement of the facts alleged to support the grievance, and shall be signed by the grievant or
representative. A Grievant may be accompanied by a representative of the Union at any time during the
Grievance Procedure. Newly hired probationary employees shall not have access to the Grievance
Procedure for any matter of discipline (including discharge), assignments, scheduling, or access to training
opportunities during the probationary period. Any grievance by a permanent employee relating to
suspension or dismissal shall be initiated at Step 2.
A grievant is prohibited by law from filing an appeal with the Civil Service Board once a grievance
is filed. This shall specifically include grievances relating to suspensions, demotions, and dismissals.
Grievances may be filed and processed by the Union except grievances of discipline that must be
initiated by the disciplined employee.
As used in this Article, the term "employee" may also mean a group of employees having the same
grievance. In such event, one employee shall be designated by the group of employees to act as a
spokesperson and shall be responsible for processing the grievance. All employees in the group shall be
identified, however only the spokesperson needs to sign the grievance.
For purposes of this Grievance Procedure, normal working hours shall be considered 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. and normal workdays shall be considered Monday through Friday, holidays excepted.
STEP 1
The grievant shall present his/her grievance in writing to his/her Assistant Chief or Fire Marshal
within 10 work days after the grievant has knowledge or constructive knowledge of the occurrence of the
action giving rise to the grievance. The Assistant Chief or Fire Marshal shall arrange for a meeting with the
grievant within 10 work days of receipt of the grievance. Discussions will be informal for the purpose of
settling differences in the simplest and most direct manner. The Assistant Chief or Fire Marshal shall
review the grievance and submit a decision in writing to the grievant within 10 work days from the date of
the meeting. If the grievance is not resolved at Step 1, the grievance may be appealed to Step 2.
5
STEP 2
If the grievance is not settled at the first step, the grievant shall, within 10 work days of the date of
written notification from the Assistant Chief or Fire Marshal, present the written grievance to the Fire
Chief or his/her designee. The Fire Chief or his/her designee shall obtain the facts concerning the alleged
grievance and shall, within 10 work days following receipt of the written grievance, meet with the grievant.
The Fire Chief or his/her designee shall review the grievance and notify the grievant of his/her decision in
writing not later than 10 work days following the meeting day. If the grievance is not resolved at Step 2,
the grievance may be appealed to Step 3.
STEP 3
If still unresolved, the grievance may be submitted to the City Manager or his/her designee within
10 work days of the date of written notification from the Fire Chief or his/her designee. At the request of
the grievant, the City Manager or his/her designee shall meet with the grievant. The grievant must make
this request to meet with the City Manager at the time of submission of the grievance to the City Manager
or designee. If so requested, the City Manager or designee shall arrange a meeting with the grievant within
10 work days of the request. The City may determine who shall meet with the employee. Within 10 work
days of the meeting, the City Manager or his/her designee shall notify the employee, in writing, of his/her
decision.
Ifno meeting is requested by the grievant at the time of submission of the grievance to the City Manager
or designee, the City Manager or designee shall notify the employee of his /her decision in writing within 10
work days of receipt of the grievance. If a grievance is not submitted to the City Manager or his/her
designee, it shall be deemed to have been resolved at Step 2 to the grievant's satisfaction. The City shall
notify the Union in writing of any change in the City Manager's designee for the receipt or hearing of
gnevances.
Section 3. In the event that the grievance is still unresolved, the matter may be submitted to
final and binding arbitration as provided in this section.
A Within 10 work days of the decision of the City Manager, the aggrieved party shall notify the City
Manager of his/her intent to arbitrate. Concurrently, said party shall request from the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service a list of seven names of qualified arbitrators. After the receipt of
such a list, representatives of the parties shall meet and each party shall strike three names. A flip of the
coin shall determine who shall strike the first name, and then the other party shall strike a name. The
process shall then be repeated until one name remains and the remaining name shall be the arbitrator
selected and notified of his/her selection as arbitrator. As promptly as can be arranged, the arbitration
hearing shall be held. Each party shall pay its own expense for its representative, counsel and
witnesses. The charges of the arbitrator shall be shared equally by the City and the aggrieved party.
The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on both parties, except that either party may
seek review as provided by law. The arbitrator shall have no power to add to, subtract from, modify or
alter the terms of this Agreement.
B. Copies of the decision of the arbitrator made in accordance with the jurisdiction and authority of this
Agreement shall be furnished to both parties within 30 calendar days from the close of the hearing or
as otherwise agreed to by both parties.
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Section 4.
Formal Processing of Grievance Initiated By The City
Where any provision of this Agreement involves responsibility on the part of the Union which, in
the view of the City, is not properly being carried out, the City may present the issue to the Union as a
grievance. If such grievance cannot be resolved by discussion between the City and the unit representative
on an informal basis, the grievance may be formally filed in writing by the City Manager or his/her
designee by giving written notice to the business agent of the Union. Such notice shall indicate the
provision(s) of the Agreement which the City contends is/are not properly being carried out by the Union.
If not resolved within 10 work days following receipt by the Union of the written grievance, the City may
submit the grievance to arbitration under the provisions of Section 3 of this Article.
Section 5. All of the time limits contained in this Article may be extended by mutual written
consent of the parties.
Section 6. If an employee chooses to process his/her own grievance, the Union must be
invited to attend any meeting where the resolution of the grievance may occur. FS 447.301 (4)
ARTICLE 7
PERSONNEL PRACTICES
Section 1.
Work Schedule
A Hours and Days of Work: Shifts shall start at 8:00 AM. each work day and end at 8:00 AM. the
following morning. Total: 24 hours. Coverage shall consist of three shifts: "A", "B", and "C", which
will work in the following rotation (see sample monthly work schedule below):
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 work 2 off 3 work 4 off 5 work 6 off 7 off
8 off 9 off 1 0 work 11 off 12 work 13 off 14 work
15 off 16 off 17 off 18 off 19 work 20 off 21 work
22 off 23 work 24 off 25 off 26 off 27 off 28 work
29 off 30 work, etc.
B. Inspection Division: Fire Inspectors will work in shifts of 8:00 AM. to 4:30 P.M. and 7:30 AM. to
4:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, with a 30-minute lunch break for each inspector. The Chief
reserves the right to assign the necessary personnel to each shift which, in his/her judgment, provides
for most effective departmental operations.
C. Upon ratification of this Agreement by the City Council, the work week will be reduced for shift
personnel by utilizing the "Kelly" day system. During the term of this contract, the following
reductions will be accomplished:
Phase One: Beginning approximately January 1, 2006, employees will be awarded a Kelly Day
for every 30 days worked. This means they will be scheduled to work 30 consecutive shift days
and will be scheduled off the 31 st scheduled shift day. This will result in a 54.1935 hour work
week.
7
Phase Two: Beginning approximately January 1, 2007, employees will be awarded a Kelly Day
for every 18 days worked. This means they will be scheduled to work 18 consecutive shift days
and will be scheduled off the 19th scheduled shift day. This will result in a 53.0526 hour work
week.
Section 2. New and existing employees may be reassigned for Light Duty, training, out-of-
area deployments, or voluntary special project opportunities. Employees shall continue to be paid their
standard biweekly pay during such assignments. All hours actually worked during such assignments shall
be counted toward the calculation of overtime at the end of the established FLSA cycle in accordance with
Article 7, Section 8, D.
Section 3. Department policy may require the scheduling of overtime. The department shall
attempt to equalize overtime to the extent practicable. The selection of certified and/or trained individuals
may be required and shall be allowed. The current practices regarding overtime compensation shall be paid
as defined in this Agreement. The duties detailed below shall be performed at the Fire District Chief or
Fire Assistant Chief level except as otherwise assigned by the Fire Chief or his/her designee.
A Overtime Lists
1. Relief (employees assigned to the same job classification who are coming off of a shift) and Back-
up (employees assigned to the same job classification who are on four days off) lists shall be
maintained for the assigning of overtime. The overtime lists shall be maintained as an electronic
document to be accessible through the department's computer share directory.
2. The lists shall be updated daily by an assigned Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief.
3. The lists shall consist of those employees who elect to work overtime. At the start of each shift,
employees shall notify the Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief if they desire to be eligible for
overtime on subsequent shifts.
4. Names will be arranged on the overtime list by classification in ascending order of overtime credits.
B. Overtime Credits
1. Employees shall be assigned credits hour for hour based on the overtime hours worked.
2. Employees who refuse an overtime assignment when contacted between 7 :30 and 8:00 a.m. after
agreeing to be available for a shift shall be assigned credits equaling the number of hours of the
shift refused. No credits will be added for refusal after 8:00 a.m.
3. No credits shall be added for the refusal of shifts less than 12 hours, nor shall credits be added for
working a shift of less than 8 hours.
4. Inability to contact an employee who has agreed to be available shall not be cause for adding
credits.
5. Credits shall be deducted when an overtime shift for which an employee is scheduled is canceled.
6. New employees shall be placed on the list after six months of service with the number of credits, as
calculated by the Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief, equal to the average accumulated by all
employees in the same classification on the list at that time.
7. Overtime credits shall not be carried over from year to year and shall be zeroed out effective
January 1 of each year. Initial overtime assignments each year shall be made on the basis of
Department seniority among employees in the same classification on the list.
8
C. Selection Procedures
Every effort shall be made by the Department to complete the necessary assessments to implement the
process below within six months of the effective date of this Agreement. Bargaining unit personnel
shall be required to cooperate and assist with the administration and completion of the assessment
process as directed by the Department and shall be accountable for the doing so in accordance with
Department guidelines. Until the process below is implemented, the parties shall be governed by
Article 25, Section 3, C. of the Agreement between the parties for years 2003-2004.
1. The Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief shall be responsible at the beginning of each shift for
the assignment of on-duty personnel to provide adequate coverage within the Department's
minimum staffing requirements. Employees who are on current eligibility lists or who are placed
on established "Acting" eligibility lists upon meeting the minimum qualifications and having been
deemed qualified by the Department for the necessary classification shall be transferred, assigned
laterally, or utilized in an Acting capacity prior to the scheduling of overtime. Employees shall be
chosen who will result in the least amount of disruption to operations, first from those employees
who are on the respective eligibility list and who have been determined qualified by the
Department, then from those employees on the "Acting" eligibility list who have been determined
qualified by the Department. When the number of on-duty personnel is sufficient to provide
coverage to meet the Department's minimum staffing requirements, no assignment of an individual
to an Acting capacity shall occur if it will result in the necessity of overtime. Should the number of
on-duty personnel be below the established minimum staffing threshold, the Fire District Chief or
Fire Assistant Chief shall be responsible for the scheduling of overtime by contacting the
appropriate employee position for position by classification who has the lowest number of credits
on the list.
2. The Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief shall attempt to fill the overtime position by utilizing
the "Relief' list and then by the "Back-up" list.
3. Should no employee in the necessary classification be available from either the Relief or Back-up
list, then the Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief shall attempt to fill the position by utilizing
an employee on his/her own shift who is on the eligibility list for the classification. If the Fire
District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief is successful, he/she shall then attempt to fill the newly
created opening by proceeding from step 1 above.
4. If the Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief is unsuccessful in step 3, he/ she shall attempt to fill
the position by utilizing an employee from the overtime lists who has the lowest number of credits
and is on the eligibility list and who has been determined qualified by the Department for the
necessary classification.
5. If the Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief is unsuccessful in step 4, he/ she shall attempt to fill
the position by utilizing an employee who meets the minimum eligibility requirements and who has
been determined qualified by the Department for the necessary classification first from his/her
own shift and then from the overtime lists.
6. Failing all of the above, the Fire District Chief shall contact the applicable Fire Assistant Chief to
determine whether the affected unit may be taken out of service.
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Section 4.
conditions:
Employees within the Department may exchange on-duty time upon the following
A. That the person filling in be acceptable to the company officer and shift commander prior to the
change.
B. That the persons desiring the exchange notify the company officer of the anticipated change not less
than 24 hours prior to the start of the anticipated change unless such exchange arises under emergency
situations.
C. That no person may be allowed to exchange more than 120 hours per fiscal year unless the Fire
Assistant Chief or Fire Deputy Chief/Operations in his/her discretion allows persons to exceed such
limitation.
D. That the member working the time will be covered by all applicable benefits in case of injury while
filling in, but will not receive pay for this period.
E. If the person agreeing to loan or fill in time is sick or fails to appear for the exchange, his/her
appropriate leave account or pay will be charged.
F. The person agreeing to fill in for another member is obligated to remain on duty in the absence of the
person with whom the exchange is made.
G. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary above, the City shall not be required to allow an
exchange if doing so would impose upon the City liability for any additional overtime compensation
over what persons may otherwise be entitled to. Prior to discontinuing the exchange allowance for this
reason the City shall notify the Union concerning the legal basis for the decision to do so.
H. Time exchange is subject to a one hour minimum and at one hour increments. Any premium of acting
pay shall be in accordance with Departmental policy.
Section 5.
Call-in/Holdover/Court Time
A When an employee is called in at least 30 minutes prior to the start of his/her regularly scheduled shift
to perform the duties and responsibilities of an established Fire Department job classification, he/she
will be paid a minimum of four hours at the overtime rate of pay. The City may require the employee
to remain on duty for the duration of the four hour period or for as long as he/she is needed, at the
option of the City.
B. When an employee is held over past the end of his/her regularly scheduled shift to perform the duties
and responsibilities of an established Fire Department job classification, the time held over shall be
counted as time worked. The employee shall be guaranteed pay at the overtime rate for actual time
worked with no minimum guarantee. The City may require the employee to remain on duty as long as
the employee is needed, at the option of the City.
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C. Any employee whose appearance is required in Circuit Court or County Court as the result of a matter
arising out of the course of his/her employment, shall receive a minimum of two hours pay if such
attendance is during the employee's off-duty hours. This time will be counted as hours worked toward
the calculation of overtime. This same provision shall also apply when the employee is subpoenaed to
appear at the State Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office, or a private attorney's office, in a
criminal case arising from the employee's course of employment. However, this provision shall not
apply when an employee or the Union has brought an action against the City or any City official.
D. Employees who participate in meetings or on committees at the request of the City shall have all such
time counted as hours worked and shall be paid at their regular rate of pay. The holdover and call-in
provisions as outlined in this Section shall not apply to time spent participating in meetings or on City
committees.
Section 6.
Daylight Savings Time
All bargaining unit members on the regularly scheduled shift in the Fall that as a result of
Daylight Saving Time actually work (sweat) twenty-five hours shall receive their standard biweekly rate
of pay plus one additional hour in the affected pay period. The additional hour actually worked shall be
counted towards the calculation of Overtime at the end of the respective FLSA cycle.
All bargaining unit members on the regularly scheduled shift in the Spring that as a result of
Daylight Saving Time actually work (sweat) twenty three hours shall receive their standard biweekly rate
of pay in the affected pay period. The additional hour not actually worked shall count as hours actually
worked and shall be counted towards the calculation of Overtime at the end of the respective FLSA
cycle.
Vacation, Floating Holiday, and Sick Leave days used on the affected days shall count as 24 hours
in either of the above instances. Exchanges of on-duty time (swaps) on the affected days shall be treated in
accordance with Section 4 of this Article. As such, the regularly scheduled employee shall be entitled to
credit for the additional hour in the Fall.
Section 7.
State EOC/FEMA Initiated Emergency Deployment
It is understood that the Department may deploy personnel to render aid and assistance to other
jurisdictions in accordance with State EOC and or FEMA initiatives. No bargaining unit employee will be
involuntarily assigned to deploy under this paragraph. Such deployments shall not be subject to the call-in
provisions as outlined in Section 5 of this Article. Employees subject to such deployments shall not suffer
a loss of any regular pay the employee would otherwise have received if not dispatched as a result of the
assignment. However, any pay above and beyond the employee's regular pay shall be based upon and
subject to Section 2 of this Article and the reimbursing agency guidelines. Where such guidelines are
available, they shall be provided to the employees at the time of assignment.
Employees who are deployed in accordance with the provisions above shall be eligible for any
applicable insurance, including Workers Compensation, to the extent provided by the plan terms or
applicable law for the duration of such deployment.
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Section 8.
Pay Plan Administration
A Promotions:
1. Upon promotion from one classification to a higher level classification, an employee shall be placed
into the step number in the higher level classification which is the same as the step number to
which he/she is assigned in his/her current classification (for example, a Step 6 Firefighter would
be promoted into Step 6 of the Fire Medic range or a Step 5 Fire Medic would be promoted into
Step 5 of the Fire Lieutenant range), except for promotions to the classification of Fire District
Chief, whereby employees who are promoted shall be placed at the Fire District Chief pay range
minimum or shall receive a 5% promotional increase, whichever results in a greater increase in pay.
Any portion of the promotional increase which, when annualized, exceeds the established pay range
maximum shall be paid as a one time lump sum bonus payment, and such employee's base rate of
pay shall be adjusted to the pay range maximum. Under no circumstances will the employee's
promotional base rate of pay exceed the established pay range maximum.
2. A higher level classification shall be deemed to be one having a higher maximum rate of pay. A
promoted employee shall maintain his/her existing annual performance review date for the
purpose of determining eligibility for subsequent annual performance reviews.
3. If an employee was among personnel "grandfathered-in" to E.M.T. pay by the original and
subsequent City-IAFF Contracts, such employee shall, upon promotion, be promoted in
accordance with paragraph A above and shall thereafter have the E.M.T. pay added as a
supplement to the new base pay in the higher class.
B. Demotions:
1. An employee who is demoted voluntarily. for lack of work occasioned by consolidation of a
municipal function by another governmental agency, for lack of work generally, for lack of funds,
or for other causes beyond his/her control, shall be placed into the step number in the lower level
classification which is the same as the step number to which he/she is assigned in his/her current
classification (for example, a Step 6 Fire Medic would be demoted into Step 6 of the Firefighter
range or a Step 5 Fire Lieutenant would be demoted into Step 5 of the Firefighter/Driver~Operator
range).
An employee may be allowed, with the prior approval of the Fire Chief, to demote only to a lower
level classification for which a position vacancy exists and for which the employee meets the
minimum eligibility requirements at the time of demotion. A demoted employee shall maintain
his/her existing annual performance review date for the purpose of determining eligibility for
subsequent annual performance reviews. A demotion shall be defined as any change of an
employee from a position in one class to a position in a class of a lower level. A lower level
classification shall be deemed to be one having a lower maximum rate of pay. For non-voluntary,
non-disciplinary demotions, such employee shall be placed at the head of the reemployment list for
the class from which he/ she was demoted.
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2. An employee who is appointed from layoff from the reemployment list to a poslt1.on in the
department in which he/she previously served shall be paid at the step in the pay range which is
equivalent to the step he/she was receiving when he/she was separated and shall be eligible for
advancement to the next step when he/she shall have been re-employed a sufficient number of
days to make up the number of days he/she lacked for eligibility at the time of separation. An
employee who is appointed from the reemployment list to his/her previous higher level
classification after having taken a non-voluntary, non-disciplinary demotion shall be placed into the
corresponding step in the higher level classification that is the same as the step number to which
he/ she is assigned in the current classification and shall maintain his/her annual review date for the
purpose of determining eligibility for subsequent annual performance reviews.
3. An employee who is appointed from the reemployment list to a position in another department
than that in which he/she was previously employed may be paid at the same step or rate of pay in
the pay range as that which he/ she was being paid when separated, or any step or rate of pay within
the range which is not above the step or rate of pay at which he/ she was previously paid.
C. Acting Pay
1. Acting pay shall be provided to any employee who is assigned in an acting capacity to a position in
a class of a higher level for a minimum of four hours. An employee shall be deemed qualified and
shall be required to act in a higher level classification if he/ she is on the existing eligibility list, or if
he/ she is placed on an established "Acting" eligibility list upon being determined, after agreeing to
participate in a process to be conducted by the Department, to meet guidelines established by the
Department for the higher level classification. The Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief shall
fill Acting assignments when the Department is at or above minimum staffing levels by choosing
employees who will result in the least amount of disruption to operations and in accordance with
Article 7, Section 3, C.
2. Acting Pay shall be 5% above the employee's current base rate of pay.
3. Acting Pay Removal
Acting pay shall cease to be paid to a bargaining unit member when:
The employee is reassigned, transferred, demoted or promoted to any pOSItion not
involving the performance of the acting function, or the acting position is removed by the
Department or other appropriate authority pursuant to provisions of the collective bargaining
Agreement. Acting pay terminates at the time of the job function change or at the time of the
formal assignment removal.
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Any employee who has elected to be included on the established "Acting" eligibility list
may, with 30 days notice, be voluntarily removed from the list. The Department at its discretion
may at any time remove an employee from the "Acting" eligibility list. The Department will
provide the employee with the reason for removal from the list. Those Paramedic certified
employees who are assigned to the non-Paramedic classifications of Firefighter and
Firefighter/Driver-Operator, and who elect to voluntarily be removed from the "Acting"
eligibility list and no longer be eligible for a Paramedic certification pay differential, shall not be
permitted to request reinstatement to the established "Acting" eligibility list for a period of six
months from the time they are removed from the list.
4. Acting Eligibility List Shortages
In the event the Department determines that an insufficient number of employees are
willing or qualified to serve in an Acting capacity for a given job classification, the Union agrees to
discuss and, if necessary, negotiate changes or impacts as required by law. This includes but is not
limited to changes such as qualification requirements for classifications and promotion,
modification of external hiring and employment criteria, modification or elimination of job
classifications, or changes to Acting requirements.
D. Fair Labor Standards, Section 7(k) Exemption
1. The City of Clearwater Fire Department, pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Section 7(k)
exemption, has established a 27-day work cycle for employees in the bargaining unit who work 112
hours biweekly.
2. All employees in the bargaining unit, with the exception of Fire Prevention Inspector, shall be paid
overtime only for all regular hours actually worked in excess of 204 hours during the designated 27-
day work cycle. Fire Prevention Inspectors assigned to a 40-hour weekly schedule shall be eligible
for overtime for all hours actually worked in excess of 40 hours per work week.
Section 9.
Promotional Process
A Promotional evaluation announcements will be posted in each station at least 30 days prior to the filing
deadline.
B. Each announcement of a promotional evaluation shall state:
1. The title of the class for which the eligibility list is to be created.
2. The nature of the work to be performed.
3. The minimum qualifications which may be required for admission to the evaluation process.
4. The general scope of the evaluation process to be used.
C. Eligibility for promotional evaluation processes may be restricted to persons employed in designated
lower classes and/or in designated organizational units.
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D. Disqualification of Applicants
The Human Resources Director, on behalf of the City, may reject the application of any person for
admission to any evaluation process or refuse to evaluate any applicant or to certify the name of an
eligible for appointment if, in his/her opinion, it is found:
1. That the applicant fails to meet the established qualification requirements for the classification.
2. That the application was not filed on or before the closing date for receipt of applications specified
in the public announcement.
3. That the applicant has made an intentional false statement as to any material fact, has practiced or
attempted to practice deception or fraud in his/her application or in securing eligibility or
appointment. This provision shall be interpreted to include the use of any other than the
applicant's legal name in making application.
4. That the applicant has a record of previous unsatisfactory service in City employment or elsewhere
for the past two years of such a nature as to demonstrate unsuitability for employment in a position
of the class for which he/ she is applying.
5. That the applicant fails to meet standards for the position that are required by State and/or Federal
law or applicable rules under such laws.
6. Any person who, by order of the Human Resources Director, is denied permission to compete in
any promotional evaluation process or whose eligibility is canceled under the provisions of this
section may make a written appeal to the City Manager for a final decision.
E. Scope and Character of Evaluation Processes
1. Provisions applying to promotional evaluation processes:
a) All promotional evaluation processes shall be competitive.
b) All evaluation processes shall be of such character as to fairly determine the qualifications,
fitness and ability of applicants to perform the duties of the classification to which appointment
is to be made.
c) Evaluation processes may be written, oral, physical or performance, or a combination of these
types. They may take into consideration such factors (including experience, education, aptitude,
capacity, knowledge, character, physical fitness, and other qualifications) as, in the judgment of
the Human Resources Director, enter into the determination of the relative fitness of the
applicants and may include inquiry into the moral character, or any other pertinent quality or
attribute of the applicant.
d) Evaluation processes shall include established criteria for determining a passing grade, score, or
mark.
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F. Notification of Results
Each candidate shall be notified in writing of his/her name being placed on the eligible list or his/her
failure to attain a place on the list. Any candidate may, within 15 calendar days following the mailing
date of his/her notice of results, request permission from the Human Resources Department to review
his/her evaluation results, and will be given reasonable opportunity to do so, provided the test is not
proprietary. If the test is proprietary, then a summary of his/her results shall be furnished to the
applicant upon request, provided such request is made in writing within 15 days after the last section of
the examination is administered and the summary is made available by the vendor. Any costs
associated with the summary shall be paid one-half by the employee and one-half by the Fire
Department.
G. Appeals from Ratings
1. Any candidate who fails to attain status on an eligibility list may, within 15 calendar days from the
date of notification of such, notify the Human Resources Director in writing that error, other than
error of judgment, exists. The Human Resources Director shall thereupon conduct a review. If
upon review, errors other than error of judgment, are found, such errors shall be corrected. In the
event such review discloses error affecting other candidates, the other candidates shall also be
corrected.
2. An error correction may cause names to be added or subtracted from the eligibility list, however no
change made in the ratings of any candidate shall be deemed to invalidate or in any way affect any
certification or appointment previously made.
Section 10. Open and Promotional Eligibility Lists
The names of all persons who may be lawfully promoted or appointed shall be placed ill
alphabetical order on an open or promotional list which will be posted in the Department.
All employees deemed eligible through the evaluation process shall be placed on the appropriate
eligibility list for a period of two years from the date of placement on and establishing of such list be the
Human Resources Department. The individual dates of initial eligibility shall appear next to the candidates'
names and may differ when concurrent eligibility lists exist.
Section 11. Appointments
A Selection from the open or promotional list shall be at the sole discretion of the Fire Chief. Selection
criteria shall be developed and may include such factors as seniority, experience, education, aptitude,
capacity, knowledge, character, physical fitness, and other qualifications.
B. Selection criteria shall be announced at least 30 days prior to the selection process.
16
C. Selection processes shall be competitive; shall be of such character as to fairly determine the
qualifications, fitness, and ability of applicants to perform the duties of the classification to which
appointment is to be made; may be written, oral, physical, performance, or a combination of these
types; shall include criteria to determine the relative fitness of applicants; and shall not include
questions or evaluations framed to be discriminatory in nature. When skills and qualifications are
substantially equal, seniority shall prevail in selection determinations for positions within the bargaining
unit.
D. The Department shall counsel with any eligible employee who is not selected for promotion upon the
written request of the employee. Such counseling shall include an explanation and written summary of
the selection criteria whereby improvement may make the employee not selected better qualified.
Section 12. Probation
A A newly hired employee or an employee promoted from a class outside the bargaining unit to a class
within the bargaining unit shall serve a probationary period of 12 months of active service during which
he/ she shall have the opportunity to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Fire Chief his/her suitability
for the job. In the event the employee is, for any reason, absent from duty for any reason other than
floating holidays or on light duty for an accumulated period equal to two weeks scheduled work hours
or more, then all such time shall be added to the probationary period.
B. A newly hired employee who, during the probationary period, does not demonstrate suitability for the
class, as determined by the Fire Chief, shall be notified in writing of the reason(s) and shall be
terminated. An employee promoted from a class outside the bargaining unit to a class within the
bargaining unit who, during the probationary period, does not demonstrate suitability for the class as
determined by the Fire Chief, shall be returned to his/her position held prior to the promotion or to
another position at the same or lower level for which the employee is determined to be qualified,
provided there is no cause for dismissal. An employee shall not have access to the grievance procedure
regarding the termination during probation.
C. An employee promoted from a class within the bargaining unit to a class within the bargaining unit
shall serve a probationary period of six months of active service during which he/she shall have the
opportunity to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Fire Chief his/her suitability for the job. In the
event the employee is absent from duty for any reason other than scheduled leave or on light duty for
an accumulated period equal to one week scheduled work hours or more, then all such time shall be
added to and thereby extend the probationary period.
D. An employee promoted from a class within the bargaining unit to a class within the bargaining unit
who, during the probationary period, does not demonstrate suitability for the class, as determined by
the Fire Chief, shall be notified in writing and shall be demoted to his/her former classification. A
promoted employee serving a probationary period within the bargaining unit shall not be entitled to
appeal his/her non-successful probationary period and his/her return to his/her former position.
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Section 13. Light Duty
Light duty shall be defined as those activities which an employee can perform which do not
require any type of physical activity which may aggravate an existing injury. An employee must be
released by the treating physician for light duty and must have approval from Risk Management and the
Fire Chief. Employees on either a job-related or non-job-related injury, illness or other medical
condition may be assigned to light duty.
56-hour schedule employees placed on light duty shall continue to be paid their standard biweekly
pay in accordance with Article 7, Section 2. All hours actually worked while in a light duty status shall be
counted toward overtime at the end of the FLSA cycle in accordance with Article 7, Section 8., D.
Employees who are authorized time off while assigned to light duty shall have the number of hours
equivalent to the time off deducted from the applicable leave balance. Employees injured on duty who are
approved for light duty shall continue to receive Special Teams pay if applicable. For off duty injuries,
Special Teams pay shall cease after 90 calendar days of assignment to light duty.
40-hour schedule employees shall maintain their 40-hour schedule while on light duty.
All employees on light duty shall have their medical status reviewed periodically as directed by the
City to determine whether maximum medical improvement has been achieved and/or the employee is fit
to return to full duty. If needed, the City may require a second medical evaluation; and if so required, this
shall be done at the City's expense. Light-duty assignments may be limited in number and scope at the sole
discretion of the Fire Chief.
Section 14. Line-of-Duty Injury Pay
The City hereby agrees to pay the following compensation to any employee injured in the line of duty in
accordance with the following definitions, terms and conditions.
A Compensation shall be payable under this section only with respect to disability as the result of injury to
an employee where such injury is incurred in the line of duty.
B. An injury shall be deemed to have been incurred in the line-of-duty if and only if such injury is
compensable under the Florida Workers' Compensation Law.
C. The amount of compensation paid shall be the amount required to supplement funds received from
the Florida Workers' Compensation Law and any other disability or other income plan provided by the
City, either by law or by agreement, to the point where the sum of the supplement herein provided and
all other payments herein described equal the employee's regular rate of pay at the time of the injury.
D. No compensation under this section shall be allowed for the first seven calendar days of disability;
provided, however, that if the injury results in disability of more than 21 calendar days, compensation
shall be paid from the commencement of the disability. (It is understood that this paragraph is so
stated to be in compliance with current workers' compensation law. Changes in workers'
compensation law will modify this paragraph accordingly.)
E. The term disability as used in this section means incapacity because of the line-of-duty injury to earn in
the same or any other employment the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of injury.
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F. It is the intent of this section to provide supplemental compensation for line-of-duty injuries only, and
this section shall not be construed to provide compensation in the event of death or injury incurred in
any manner other than in the line of duty. In the event of any dispute or disagreement concerning the
interpretation of the terms of this section, then the decisions concerning definition of those terms
issued under the Florida Workers' Compensation Law shall control.
G. The maximum period for which payment may be made under this section shall be 90 calendar days
from the date of injury for each injury, including recurrences thereof. If the employee's injury results in
disability for more than 21 calendar days, no payment made by the City during said period shall be
charged against any sick leave which the employee may have accrued.
H. Line-of-duty injury pay will be provided from the first day of injury for those defined in (G) above;
however, the amount paid shall be only that amount required to supplement funds received by the
employee from the Florida Workers' Compensation Law and any other disability or other income plans
provided by the City, to the point where the sum of all payments is equal to the employee's regular base
pay rate at the time of injury. At such time as the employee receives his/her initial workers'
compensation payment, the City shall approximate the differential needed to equal the employee's base
pay and shall provide such line-of-duty injury pay to equal the employee's regular base pay rate at the
time of injury. Any adjustment to the City's line-of-duty injury pay under this policy will be made
following the employee's return to work or at the expiration of the period for which line-of-duty injury
pay is provided.
L It is the intention of the parties that nothing in this Agreement shall interfere with the normal
procedures under the Workers' Compensation Laws or the requirements of the City's workers'
compensation insurance carrier. Should any language of this Agreement conflict with provisions of the
Workers' Compensation Law, the provisions of the Law shall prevail. An employee may choose
his/her approved Workers' Compensation treating physician if prior approval is obtained through the
Risk Management Division.
]. If an employee is killed in the line of duty, the City shall pay to the spouse, or if there is no surviving
spouse, the estate, of such deceased employee his/her accumulated severance pay. Within 48 hours of
the death of the employee, the City shall deliver to the spouse or surviving children or the employee's
dependent beneficiary a check for the sum of one month's current salary of the employee.
K. Upon return from working a fire, the employee may request a physical examination by the City
physician to ensure the employee is stable and capable of returning to work. This right may be
rescinded on an individual basis if repeatedly abused.
L. Failure to immediately report a line-of-duty injury to the employee's immediate supervisor or to the
Risk Management Division within 24 hours of the time of occurrence of the injury shall result in a loss
of allline-of-duty pay under this Article unless such failure to report was: (a) caused solely by and as a
direct result of the employee's injuries or (b) resulted from the occurrence of an event over which the
employee had no control in the opinion of the City Manager.
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Section 15. EMS Classifications
A The paramedic classifications of Fire Medic and Fire Medic Lieutenant are employees within the City's
Fire Department who are appointed by the Department to perform emergency medical services in an
emergency medical services program and who have successfully completed and passed a Paramedic
training program recognized by the Department and approved by Florida Statute and the Pinellas
County Medical Director's office. A Fire Medic is a classification which is responsible for maintaining
EMS equipment and performing emergency medical services on an ALS Unit in the area of medical
procedures and patient care in addition to any assigned fire suppression duties.
B. Should the City cease to operate emergency medical services, those employees classified as Fire Medic
or Fire Medic Lieutenant shall continue to be employed by the City on the same basis as any other
employee in the bargaining unit, provided that employees who are demoted shall have their
compensation fIxed at the same step in the respective range as that which they are assigned in their
classification prior to demotion.
Employees assigned through initial hire or promotion to the classifications of Fire Medic and Fire
Medic Lieutenant are required to maintain the appropriate Paramedic certifications as determined by
the Department as a condition of continued employment. Depending on the staffing level of
Department Paramedic positions and the availability of vacancies in non-Paramedic positions, Fire
Medics and Fire Medic Lieutenants may be permitted to voluntarily demote to non-Paramedic
positions for which they are determined by the Department to be qualified, with the corresponding
reduction in pay in accordance with Article 7, Section 8. Approval of such demotions shall be at the
sole discretion of the Fire Chief. If voluntary demotion is not approved by the Fire Chief and there is
no other vacant position in the City for which such an employee is deemed by the City to be qualified,
the employee may be subject to applicable provisions of the City's policies and procedures. The City
reserves the right to hire into the classification of Fire Medic new employees who possess the
appropriate Paramedic certifications, and to require that such certifications be maintained as a
condition of continued employment.
C. EMS Status
1. The Fire Department and all bargaining unit members shall comply with Florida Statutes and the
Pinellas County EMS Rules and Regulations regarding Quality Assurance and ACLS and BTLS
certification. The decisions of the County Medical Director in such matters shall not be subject to
the City grievance procedure but shall be addressed through the appropriate appeals procedure.
2. The demotion of a Fire Medic or Fire Medic Lieutenant or the removal of Paramedic certification
pay shall not be subject to the contractual grievance procedure or Civil Service appeal procedure
when the demotion or removal of pay is based upon clinical or ethical issues in the judgment of the
Fire Chief and staff and/or the office of the Medical Director of Pinellas County and as defined in
the County Rules and Regulations governing EMS.
3. The demotion of a Fire Medic or Fire Medic Lieutenant or the removal of Paramedic certification
pay shall not be subject to the contractual grievance procedure or Civil Service appeal procedure
when the demotion or removal of pay is based upon the judgment of the Department that the
affected employee was not performing to the standards desired by the Department or the Pinellas
County Medical Director.
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4. The demotion of a Fire Medic or Fire Medic Lieutenant or the removal of Paramedic certification
pay shall be subject to the contractual grievance procedure or the Civil Service appeal procedure
only if such demotion or removal of pay is the result of a disciplinary action.
5. The Arbitrator shall not have the power to substitute his/her judgment for that of the Department
or the Medical Director with whom Fire Medics and Fire Medic Lieutenants work in relation to
performance of employees to the standards of excellence desired by the City or the Medical
Director.
D. The parties agree that Fire Medics and Fire Medic Lieutenants are healthcare professionals but shall not
be considered "professional" employees within the meaning of the Florida Public Employees Relations
Act.
E. If the application of this Article, or any part thereof, whether or not relating to pay, is superseded by
action of a superior governmental agency, then the City will be absolved of complying with this
Agreement to the extent of the conflict.
F. TemporaryReassignment
The Fire Chief shall determine when a Fire Medic or Fire Medic Lieutenant is eligible to transfer
temporarily from an ALS unit without loss of payor a demotion for the purpose of employee
development.
Section 16. Firefighter/Driver-Operator
A Classification
The classification of Firefighter/Driver-Operator shall be for those employees within the Fire
Department who are the drivers and operators of the following type vehicles: Fire Engines, Aerial
Apparatus, and Squad.
B. Appointments
All Firefighter/Driver-Operator positions shall be filled by a promotional process. The minimum
qualifications shall be determined by the Department.
C. Wages
All employees shall receive pay in accordance with Appendix A.
Section 17. Work Rules and Prevailing Rights
A It is understood and agreed by both parties that the duties performed by members of the bargaining
unit cannot always be covered by job descriptions and, therefore, members of the bargaining unit may
be required to perform duties in addition to all those listed within the current job descriptions which
are, in the judgment of the City, related to the purposes of the Fire Department, which judgment shall
not be arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable.
21
B. Any Fire Department Rule or Regulation in conflict with this Agreement shall be of no force and
effect.
C. Prior to the implementation of any changes in the existing Fire Department Rules and Regulations, the
Fire Chief must provide ten days notice. If requested by the Union, the change will be referred to the
next Labor/Management Committee meeting, which shall be scheduled within 10 work days to meet
and discuss such change. The rule will be implemented after the initial 10-day notice unless the time is
extended by the Chief. The issue of whether such change conflicts with this Agreement shall be
subject to the grievance procedure contained herein. The time for filing said grievance shall commence
on the date the rule is implemented.
D. All rights and working conditions, enjoyed throughout the Department by the employees at the present
time which are not included in this Agreement shall be presumed to be reasonable and proper and shall
not be changed by the City in an arbitrary or capricious manner; provided that nothing contained
herein shall limit the City's rights under Paragraphs A, Band C of this Section or as expressly provided
elsewhere in this contract.
Section 18.
Subcontracting
During the term of this Agreement, the City shall not subcontract out to private concerns any fire
suppression, Emergency Medical Service and rescue services of the Department. Any action of the state of
Florida or Pinellas County to assume control of any basic fire suppression, Emergency Medical Service or
rescue services shall not be deemed subcontracting.
Section 19. Indemnification
The City agrees to defend any employee when the employee is sued on any claim arising out of
his/her employment with the City and acting within the scope of his/her duties. The employee agrees to
cooperate in his/her defense.
The City also agrees to pay any judgment rendered against an employee for acts committed when
the employee is acting .within the scope of his/her City employment, provided that the employee did not
act intentionally, with malice, or with gross negligence.
Section 20. Sports
Participation in sporting activities while on duty shall be permitted ill accordance with Fire
Department S.O.G.
Section 21. Lawn Maintenance
Employees covered by the contract shall not be required to perform lawn maintenance at the fire
stations.
22
Section 22. Physical Examination
A Employees covered by this labor agreement shall be required to undergo an annual physical
examination during their month of hire each year after the year of hire.
B. The employer shall bear the cost of each examination. Additionally, 56 hour schedule employees shall
be provided an allowance for attending the physical during off-duty hours. The City agrees 40 hour
schedule employees may attend their physical during on-duty hours with no loss of pay. The results of
these physicals shall be made available to the City and to each employee upon completion of the
physical and shall be maintained as confidential medical records in accordance with law. The
Department shall post the name and phone number of the facility where the physical shall be
administered. Physicals shall include but not necessarily be limited to the following:
1. 12 Lead EKG - (Stress, where indicated and at discretion of examining physician).
2. SMA Prof1le 12 (liver, blood sugar, etc.)
3. Chest X-Ray
4. Complete Blood Count
5. Urinalysis
6. Rectal Cancer Exam (optional for employee)
7. Doctor's Physical (eyesight, reflexes, hearing, throat, etc.)
8. Breast/Cervical Cancer Exam (Females - optional for employee)
9. Audiometric Evaluation
10. Spirometry (pulmonary Function)
C. The City agrees to pay all expenses for inoculation or immunization shots for employees and members
of an employee's family residing in his/her household when such becomes necessary as a result of said
employee's exposure to contagious disease where said employee had been exposed to said disease in the
line of duty; provided that the employee first makes all reasonable efforts to have this service
performed at no cost by the County Health Department. The City further agrees to reimburse the co-
pay cost for any preventive inoculation or immunization shots an employee may receive from his/her
City primary care physician.
D. The parties agree that the physical condition of the employee is of great concern to the employee and
to the City. All employees whose physical fitness or medical status is deemed deficient in some manner
as a result of the physical examination shall be advised by the Department and shall be encouraged to
undertake a fitness rehabilitation program in an effort to improve their physical fitness and health.
E. The City agrees to contract with a licensed physician who shall be selected by the City and agreed to by
the Union to act as a Department Physician whose duties shall be to advise the employees and the
department in matters concerning the health of the employees.
F. The City and Union agree that based upon a mutual agreement of the parties, this Article may be
reopened for the purpose of negotiating a Wellness provision only. If the Article is reopened for such
purpose and the parties are not able to reach an agreement, the item shall not be subject to the impasse
procedure and the Article shall remain status quo in whole and part.
23
Section 23. Residency Requirement
All bargaining unit members who commenced employment in the Fire Department on or after
December 15, 1985, shall be required to maintain residence within the geographical boundaries of Pinellas,
Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando Counties. This requirement shall continue during their tenure in any
position within the fire service of the City of Clearwater.
Section 24. Tobacco Product Usage
No smoking or use of tobacco on or off the job shall be permitted for any bargaining unit member
hired in the Fire Department on or after December 15, 1985, as a condition of employment and their
continued employment within the fire service. Violation of this provision shall be deemed just cause of
disciplinary action by the City, up to and including dismissal.
ARTICLE 8
LEAVES OF ABSENCE
Section 1.
Holidays
A The following holidays shall be observed:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veterans'Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
Holiday pay for the above listed holidays will be paid at the employee's current base rate of pay for
the number of hours equaling 10% of the biweekly schedule, except that the following three special
holidays will be compensated at the employee's current base rate of pay for the number of hours equaling
15% of the biweekly schedule:
Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, and New Year's Day.
B. In addition to the holidays listed in Section 1, each employee may receive up to four additional "floating
holidays". Floating holidays shall be awarded at the beginning of each calendar year, subject to the
restrictions below. For such floating holidays the employee shall receive his/her regular rate of pay for
such day if he/ she does not work that day, but shall not receive additional compensation. Any day for
which an employee is not scheduled to work may not be designated as a floating holiday. Floating
holidays shall be subject to the following requirements and conditions:
1. No employee may utilize floating holidays until 30 calendar days after the date of hire.
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2. Any person employed between January 1 and March 31 shall receive 100% of floating holidays to
be utilized during the year of hire; any person employed between April 1 and June 30 shall receive
75% of floating holidays to be utilized during the year of hire; any person employed between July 1
and September 30 shall receive 50% of floating holidays to be utilized during the year of hire; and
any persons employed between October 1 and October 31 shall receive 25% of floating holiday to
be utilized during the year of hire. Persons employed after October 31 shall not be eligible for any
floating holidays during the year of hire.
3. Floating holidays may not be carried over from one calendar year to another calendar year and if
not taken are forfeited except as provided in Paragraph D of this Section.
4. After the year of hire, employees shall receive four" floating holidays" each calendar year.
5. Upon an employee's separation from the City, the employee may receive a lump sum payment for
any remaining floating holiday balance per Paragraph D of this Section, or the remaining floating
holiday balance may be used to advance the employee's date of retirement.
C. Floating holidays will be selected in reverse seniority after all vacation days and longevity days have
been scheduled. It is not necessary for an employee to schedule his/her floating holidays during the
vacation selection process. Any employee selecting floating holidays after the vacation selection
process will give the Department 48 hours' notice in writing of his/her request. This notice will be
given to the Fire District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief for approval based on vacation selection criteria.
This permission shall not be arbitrarily withheld. In case more than one employee requests a particular
day and the Department determines that both employees may not be off duty on that particular day,
the senior employee shall be given preference.
D. If the employee chooses not to take one or more floating holidays, he/ she may make a written request
to the Fire Chief on or before November 15th to receive 24 hours of regular pay for 56-hour week, or
8.0 hours of regular pay for 40-hour week in lieu thereof payable in the payroll period which includes
December 1 st. Any floaters not taken or requested for payment are forfeited. No more than four
floating holidays shall be approved for payment each year.
E. Each calendar year, members of the bargaining unit may elect to take one floating holiday as "Personal
Leave Time." This personal leave day may be broken into blocks of 4 hours and will be taken in 4-
hour increments. Personal Leave Time will be selected after all vacation days, extra vacation days and
floating holidays have been scheduled. Any employee selecting Personal Leave Time after the vacation
selection process will give the Department 48 hours' notice in writing of his/her request. All requests
for Personal Leave Time must comply with all the criteria pertaining to the vacation selection process.
If an employee chooses not to use all blocks of Personal Leave Time, he/she may make a written
request to the Fire Chief on or before November 15th to receive pay for such remaining blocks,
payable in the subsequent payroll period which includes December 1 st.
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Section 2.
A Accrual of Vacation Leave
Vacations
1. Vacation leave shall be granted for all full time employees in accordance with the number of
completed years of credited service. A full-time employee shall be deemed to have earned and be
eligible for vacation on the first anniversary of his/her employment. For newly hired employees,
such vacation shall be prorated for the year of hire according to the following schedule:
56 Hour Schedule Employees
January/February Hire Date ........................... ...... ............... ................. ......6 Duty Days
March/April Hire Date ...............................................................................5 Duty Days
May/June Hire Date .................................................................................... 4 Duty Days
July / August Hire Date ................................................................................ 3 Duty Days
September/ October Hire Date .................................................................. 2 Duty Days
November/December Hire Date ................................................................1 Duty Day
40 Hour Schedule Employees
January/February Hire Date.. ............................................ .......... ................. ....80 Hours
March/April Hire Date .......... ....... ....................................... ....... .......... ......... ...64 Hours
May/June Hire Date ....... ........... ...................... ........... ................. ....... ........ .......48 Hours
July/August Hire Date .......... ............................................ ................ ..... ......... ..32 Hours
September/ October Hire Date ........................................................ ................24 Hours
November/December Hire Date ....................................................................16 Hours
Thereafter, employees shall be deemed to have earned and be eligible for vacation accrual each
January. As such, employees on the 56-hour schedule shall accrue paid vacation as follows:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
Year 14
Year 15
Year 16
Year 17
Year 18
Year 25 and higher
1. year anniversary of Hire
January following 1 year anniversary of Hire
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following]anuary
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January Thereafter
26
Pro-rated Days
6 Duty Days
6 Duty Days
7 Duty Days
7 Duty Days
7 Duty Days
8 Duty Days
8 Duty Days
8 Duty Days
8 Duty Days
9 Duty Days
9 Duty Days
9 Duty Days
9 Duty Days
10 Duty Days
10 Duty Days
10 Duty Days
11 Duty Days
12 Duty Days
Employees on the40-hour schedule shall accrue paid vacation as follows:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
Year 14
Year 15
Year 16 and higher
1 year anniversary of Hire
January following 1 year anniversary of Hire
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January
Following January Thereafter
2. The vacation year shall be the calendar year.
Pro-rated hours
80 hours
88 hours
96 hours
104 hours
112 hours
120 hours
128 hours
128 hours
128 hours
136 hours
144 hours
152 hours
152 hours
152 hours
160 hours
3. Vacation leave granted in January is deemed to have been earned during the previous calendar year.
4. All unused vacation balances are forfeited at the end of the calendar year, except as determined by
the Fire Chief.
B. Use of Vacation Leave
1. The use of vacation leave shall be authorized in accordance with Fire Department Regulations.
Vacation leave shall be utilized in full day increments only, except when operational demands
require an employee to work part of a day for which vacation leave has been previously approved.
For 56 hour schedule employees, a maximum of seven employees shall be permitted to be absent
from any shift for the purpose of personal leave including vacation and floating holidays. For 40
hour schedule employees, including Fire Prevention Inspectors and 56 hour schedule employees
provided with Light Duty assignments, the Department shall determine the number of employees
who may be permitted leave use in accordance with operational demands. 56 hour schedule
employees who are provided a 40 hour Light Duty schedule shall not be denied the use of
previously approved vacation leave, provided they notify the Fire Chief prior to the beginning of
the Light Duty assignment of their intent to utilize the previously approved vacation leave.
However, should such employees elect to not utilize previously approved vacation leave while on
the 40 hour schedule, they shall be responsible for the subsequent scheduling of the days within the
available slots or will risk losing the days.
2. The borrowing of vacation time prior to its accrual is prohibited.
3. There is no advancing of vacation pay.
4. New employees may not take vacation until they have completed one year of continuous service.
27
5. If a holiday occurs during vacation leave, the employee will be paid holiday pay.
6. An employee who has more than 90 calendar days of unpaid leave shall receive no vacation leave
for that calendar year.
7. Scheduling of Vacation
a) Bargaining unit members will be contacted in the order of department seruonty for the
selection of vacation. Vacation days may be picked in either a 3- or 6- duty day block for 56
hour schedule personnel or a 5- or 10- duty day block for 40 hour schedule personnel the first
time through. A block, as published on the vacation schedule issued by the Department, shall
consist of a designated 3 or 6 duty day grouping beginning and ending with 4 days off for 56
hour schedule personnel, or a designated 5 or 10 duty day grouping beginning and ending with
a weekend for 40 hour schedule personnel. After all personnel have been contacted for their
fIrst pick, the second round will begin. All 56 hour schedule personnel who have selected a 3-
day block and all 40 hour schedule personnel who have selected a 5-day block on the fIrst
round will be recontacted in the order of department seniority for their second selection on the
second round.
b) After all personnel have been provided the opportunity to pick their primary six or ten days of
vacation in blocks, any employee to be awarded during the year bonus days for 25 years of
service shall choose such days, and then all personnel will be contacted by department seniority
for the picking of additional vacation days. Finally, all personnel will be contacted by reverse
seniority for the choosing of floating holidays and sick leave incentive days.
c) Should a person elect to pass on choosing any days, they shall be responsible for the scheduling
of their days. If the employee waits too long and there are no available slots left, they will risk
losing the days. Floating holidays may be submitted for pay in accordance with this Agreement.
Additional vacation days will be lost or can be donated to the Department leave pool.
However, no employee shall be permitted to donate more than three days of leave per year to
the pool.
d) All vacation days not submitted are subject to forfeit in accordance with the above except by
permission of the Fire Chief.
e) The linking of scheduled days for 56 hour schedule personnel shall not exceed 9 consecutive
duty days;except by special permission of the Fire Chief. If more than 9 days are linked, the
employee shall be responsible for any training required to maintain certification that is missed
during the scheduled time off. The Department will make every effort to schedule this training
while the employee is on duty. If this cannot be done, then it is the employee's responsibility to
complete the required training on his/her own time.
f) The changing of sick leave incentive days for previously used floating holidays is not allowed.
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C. Payment and Accrual During Military Leave
1. An employee granted an extended military leave of absence shall be paid all accrued vacation leave
when the employee begins the extended military leave.
2. An employee returning from an extended military leave of absence shall accrue vacation leave as
provided by law.
D. Conversion To Sick Leave or Funeral Leave During Vacation Leave
1. The employee may request that vacation leave be changed to sick leave if the employee or
member of the employee's immediate family becomes ill while the employee is on vacation
leave.
2. The employee may request that vacation leave be changed to funeral leave provided the request
is consistent with the article on Funeral Leave.
3. Requests for such changes must be made in writing to the Fire Chief or designee within 72
hours of the employee's return to work.
E. Payment of Unused Vacation Leave
1. Payment of unused vacation leave and banked vacation hours will be paid at the employee's
current base rate of pay upon separation of the employee, provided the employee was not
dismissed for cause and that the employee has more than one year of continuous service, or
such hours may be utilized to advance the date of retirement.
2. When a bargaining unit member is required to work a partial day on any day that he/she has
previously been approved for vacation leave, the employee's vacation leave balance shall not be
charged for the hours worked and such hours worked shall be paid at the overtime rate of pay
but shall not be subject to the minimum hours assigned to holdover or call back in accordance
with this Agreement. Should the number of vacation hours not charged due to such
circumstances equal twelve hours or more, the employee shall be permitted to request to use the
portion of such hours equaling a twelve hour block in accordance with Paragraph B.,7. above.
The employee shall be permitted at the end of the calendar year to request payment for any
remaining balance of less than twelve vacation hours not charged due to having worked a partial
day, in accordance with the established provision for the payment of floating holidays as
outlined in this Agreement.
F. Banking of Vacation
1. The practice of banking vacation for retirement shall be limited to 240 hours for 56 hour
schedule employees and 172 hours for 40 hour schedule employees.
29
Section 3.
Sick Leave
A Accrual Rate
1. Members of the bargaining unit shall accrue sick leave in accordance with the schedule below:
Biweekly
Hours
112
80
Total
Hours
134.42
96.01
Accrual Rate
Per Pay
5.170
3.693
Hours
Capped
2184.00
1560.00
2. The number of yearly pay periods sick leave is accrued is 26.
B. Sick leave may be accumulated for each of the 26 accrual pay periods the employee actually works,
up to a maximum as shown above. Actual work includes periods when the employee is using
accumulated sick leave (but not sick leave pooD, holidays, vacation with pay, and the no-Ioss-of-pay
sick time. Employees shall not accrue sick leave during any other period of time when they are in a
non-paid status or utilizing "retirement advancement".
C. All accumulated unused sick leave shall be credited to any employee recalled from a layoff, transferred,
or certified to another department or classification without break in service, appointed from a
reemployment list or returning from a leave of absence. If the employee is promoted, demoted or
transferred to another City position with a different Scheduled Pay Period Hours other than that
defined above, that employee's sick leave balance will be adjusted to reflect equivalent days of sick leave
earned, consistent with his/her new scheduled pay period hours.
D. In the event an employee has been separated and paid for accumulated unused sick leave as hereinafter
provided, or has been dismissed for cause and subsequently is re-employed by the City, his/her
subsequent sick leave accumulations shall be calculated as a new employee.
E. Under the provisions of this section, an employee may utilize his/her sick leave for absences from duty
resulting from illness or injury to the employee or a family member on any of his/her regularly
scheduled work days for the number of regular hours he/she would otherwise have been scheduled to
work on that day had not such absence occurred. Absence for a fraction of a day that is chargeable to
sick leave in accordance with these provisions shall be charged by rounding to tenths of an hour
according to the following:
Minutes
1 - 6
7 - 12
13 - 18
19 - 24
25 - 30
31 - 36
37 - 42
43 - 48
49 - 54
55 - 60
Tenths of an Hour
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
.6
.7
.8
.9
1.0
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F. Sick leave shall not be considered a privilege to be used at the employee's discretion, but shall be used
only for absences:
1. Due to personal illness or physical incapacity caused by factors over which the employee has no
reasonable immediate control.
2. Necessitated by exposure to contagious disease in which the health of others would be endangered
by his/her attendance on duty.
3. Due to medical or dental appointments, or other personal sickness prevention measures, the
scheduling of which at times other than during his/her regular working hours is impossible or
unreasonable.
4. Due to illness of a member of his/her immediate family which requires his/her personal care and
attention. The term "Immediate Family" as used in this paragraph shall mean parents, stepparents,
children, stepchildren, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters or husband/wife of the
employee and the immediate family as herein referenced of the husband/wife, or other relative who
is a member of the immediate household.
Sick leave will be accrued on a biweekly basis based on hours in a paid status. An employee may
utilize his/her accumulated sick time due to an illness in his/her immediate family (as that term is
defined above).
5. If an employee is under a doctor's care or if a member of the employee's immediate family is under
a doctor's care and the doctor certifies that the employee's personal care and/or attention is
required, said time of absence shall not be considered as grounds for any discipline, provided that
personal sick leave is not used in excess of accumulated sick leave.
G. An employee absent for one of the reasons mentioned above shall inform his/her immediate
supervisor as early as possible on the first day of absence. Failure to do so may be the cause for denial
of sick leave with pay for the period of absence. In any event, the Departmental Rules shall govern the
notification requirements.
H. Payment for Unused Sick Leave
Upon separation from City service, an employee shall be paid one-half of his/her accumulated unused
sick leave. The rate of payment shall be based on the regular hourly rate (excluding shift differential or
any other addition to base pay) of the employee on the last day worked prior to separation. The
employee may request that one-half the payment for unused sick leave be made at separation and one-
half the payment be made in the first payroll period in the next calendar year.
31
The employee qualifies for payment if:
1. The employee has had at least 20 years of continuous service with the City. Leaves of absence
without pay, suspensions and layoffs followed by subsequent re-employment shall not be
considered as breaks in service. The length of such time off or layoff shall be deducted from the
total length of service. Military leaves and leaves during which the employees are receiving
Workers' Compensation shall not be deducted from continuous service; or
2. The separation is involuntary on the part of the employee including disability (incurred on or off
the job) and layoffs; or
3. The employee's estate shall receive payment if an employee dies.
An employee who has been dismissed for cause or who resigns voluntarily shall have no claim for
sick leave payment.
An employee who may otherwise be eligible for retirement under the City Employees' Pension Plan
or Federal Social Security, or who may be approaching such eligibility date, and whose purpose in
leaving is to retire under either program, may utilize one-half of his/her accumulated unused sick
leave to the extent thereof to advance his/her retirement date. In that event, the employee shall
execute a resignation to become effective on the date that such accumulated unused sick leave
would be exhausted. Such resignation shall be irrevocable, and retirement shall begin at the time
such resignation becomes effective. In the interim, payment for accumulated unused sick leave
shall be made as a continuation of the employee's regular pay from which all regular payroll
deductions shall be made in order to preserve his/her retirement status. Accumulated unused sick
leave will be charged as outlined in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
L An employee may not utilize his/her accumulated sick leave absence for absences resulting from an
injury arising out of and in the course of employment, other than City employment, for which
monetary or other valuable consideration is received or expected. Any employee who utilizes
accumulated sick leave, or who attempts to utilize accumulated sick leave, for absences resulting from
an injury arising out of and in the course of employment, other than City employment, may be
terminated or suspended, as in the City's judgment, is appropriate.
J. Except in the cases of injury incurred in the line of duty with the City, employees shall not be entitled
to use sick leave until the completion of six calendar months of continuous service following the date
of original appointment.
K. The employee may be required to submit evidence in the form of a medical certificate, of the adequacy
of the reasons for his/her absence during the period of time for which sick leave is granted when
requested by the Department Director~
32
L. An on-duty employee injured in an accident, ansmg out of and in the course of his/her City
employment, may elect to be continued on the payroll to the extent of his/her accumulated unused sick
leave as hereinafter provided. An employee receiving sick leave with pay under the provisions of this
subsection who simultaneously receives income under the Workers' Compensation Act shall receive,
for the duration of such income and to the extent of his/her accumulated unused sick leave, only that
portion of his/her regular rate of pay (see Article 9, Section 4) which will, together with said income
equal his/her regular rate of pay at the time of injury. In that event, the employee's accumulated
unused sick leave shall be charged only in the same proportion as his/her sick leave payment is to
his/her regular biweekly salary which shall be deemed to be that same proportion of the number of
regular hours he/ she would otherwise have been scheduled to work for the day, week or other period
involved, rounded out to the nearest tenth of an hour.
M. The use of sick leave for purposes other than those designated herein will be considered a major rule
infraction.
N. Sick Leave Incentive Program
1. Following any full payroll calendar year period that a bargaining unit employee uses no sick leave,
the employee will be allowed to convert two days of sick leave to Sick Leave Incentive Days or the
cash equivalent based upon the employee's current base hourly rate of pay.
2. Following any full payroll calendar year that a bargaining unit employee uses between one-tenth of
an hour and the equivalent of two days of sick leave the employee will be allowed to convert one
day of sick leave to a Sick Leave Incentive Day or the cash equivalent based upon the employee's
current base rate of pay.
3. Employees shall be required to submit notice of their choice of the above within 30 days of Sick
Leave Incentive eligibility notification or shall have no sick days converted.
O. Leave Pool
A joint leave pool will be established by members of the International Association of Fire Fighters
bargaining unit, such leave pool to be available for use by members subject to the following provisions:
1. The purpose of the leave pool is to provide leave to bargaining unit members who face significant
time off without pay due to a serious illness or injury, whether job-connected or non-job-
connected, or serious illness or injury to a family member covered under the family sick leave
policy. The leave pool may not be used for short time periods where an employee may be without
pay. Short time shall be defined as less than 30 calendar days.
2. A committee shall be formed and the committee shall determine use of the leave pool days, subject
to the above purpose and limitations.
a) The committee shall consist of three members designated by the bargaining unit, one
management employee designated by the Fire Chief, and one management designee of the City
Manager.
33
b) The committee shall review employee needs and circumstances consistent with the provisions
of the leave pool and shall determine eligibility for and the amount of pool leave time that may
be provided to employees. The committee may establish procedures, forms, and other rules
necessary for its effective operation, provided they are consistent with the provisions of this
section.
c) The committee's decisions are final and are not grievable.
3. Bargaining unit members may donate days from their vacation, floating holiday, or sick leave
balances to the leave pool one time per year in January.
a) No employee shall be permitted to donate more than three days of leave per year to the pool.
In the event that the leave pool becomes insufficient to provide leave days, the committee may,
with the prior approval of the City Manager or designee, open up the opportunity for additional
donations to be made during the calendar year. This shall be limited to one time per year;
however, the 3-day donation limit shall not be modified.
b) All donations of pool leave time must be in full-day increments based on the employee's full-
time, regularly scheduled day (i.e. an 8-hour or 24-hour day is a full day).
c) Donations of pool leave time are irrevocable.
d) No dollar value shall be placed on leave donations. All donations and all authorized usage shall
be computed as day for day.
4. When pool leave time is authorized by the committee for use by an employee, it shall be on a day-
for-day basis, irrespective of whether the employee works an 8-hour or 24-hour shift. An employee
using leave pool time shall receive regular base pay and his/her regular shift pay; however, other
pays shall not be provided with leave pool days (e.g., lead pay, acting pay, special assignment pay,
etc.).
5. Pool leave time not used in a given year by the employee receiving the donated pool leave time shall
be returned to the leave pool and carried over to the next year. No donated pool leave time will be
refunded to the donor.
Section 4.
Funeral Leave
A 56 hour schedule employees shall be allowed up to three shifts off with pay and 40 hour schedule
employees shall be allowed up to four duty days off with pay in the event of a death in the immediate
family which shall be limited to spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, stepmother, stepfather, stepchild,
or mother-in-law or father-in-law. This is not chargeable to sick leave.
B. 56 hour schedule employees shall be granted up to two shifts off with pay and 40 hour schedule
employees shall be allowed up to three duty days off with pay in the event of a death in the extended
family, specifically defined as grandmother, grandfather, grandchildren, sister-in-law, or brother-in-law.
This is chargeable to sick leave. The Fire Chief may grant funeral leave to employees for the death of
other household members.
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C. Additional time off may be granted by the Fire Chief, or his/her designee and shall be chargeable to
sick leave. Furthermore, any employee availing himself/herself of a provision in this section must
notify the Fire Chief or his/her District Chief or Fire Assistant Chief of such intent as soon as possible.
Section 5.
Absence Without Leave
A Any employee who is absent from duty for two consecutive work days for 56-hour employees and
three consecutive work days for 40-hour employees without notice and valid reason therefore shall be
deemed to have voluntarily terminated his/her City employment and to have vacated his/her position
and will be separated from the payroll as a dismissal, unless a leave of absence is subsequently granted
under any of these rules.
B. The failure of an employee to report for duty at the expiration of a leave of absence or vacation leave
with or without pay, shall be deemed an absence without leave.
Section 6.
Time Off From Duty
A An employee may be granted necessary time-off from his/her duties with compensation for any of the
following reasons, when such time off does not, in the judgment of the Fire Chief, interfere with the
operation of the Department.
1. Attendance at professional or other conventions, institutes, courses, classes, seminars or meetings
when such attendance is approved in advance by the Fire Chief or his/her designee. Attendance
will be at the discretion of the Fire Chief except when the requested leave is for promotional exams
which will get first priority.
2. Attendance at in-service training and other in-service meetings when approved by the Fire Chief or
his/her designee. The provisions of this paragraph shall be deemed to include authorized safety
meetings.
3. The President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Union shall be granted Union time-off to attend state
and international conventions, provided a minimum of one month's written notice is given to the
Fire Chief.
B. The Union may, upon request, be allowed up to 400 duty hours per fiscal year to be excused for Union
business, conferences, training, and Executive Board meetings pertaining to the City of Clearwater.
Any such request must be initiated in writing through the chain of command, via the District Chief,
and will give the name of the person wanting off, date the person is to be off, and the number of hours
the person will be off. Time off from duty under this provision must be approved by the Fire Chief or
his/her designee and must be taken in not less than four-hour increments. Absences for Union time
excluding the Union president/designee shall count toward the total number of seven employees
permitted to be absent for personal leave on any given shift. Any unused portion of the balance is to
be carried over into the next contract year.
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Any use of City facilities for Union-related business shall require written request at least 48 hours in
advance to the Fire Chief, which may be granted or denied at his/her sole discretion. Executive Board
members only shall be permitted to conduct/attend Executive Board meetings while on duty with no
charge to the aforementioned Union time, with the prior approval of the Fire Chief or his/her
designee, provided 48 hours notice is given, and further provided that such meetings will cause no
adverse impact to Department operations. Off-duty Executive Board members shall not be eligible to
receive any compensation for time spent attending such meetings.
Union officials utilizing union time shall not be eligible during the time of utilization for Worker's
Compensation benefits in case of injury. In any event, absence from duty for union business shall not
be approved which requires a union official to be off duty for periods in excess of three consecutive
scheduled work shifts. Extension of any consecutive time off for union officials, over and above the
three consecutive shifts, may be granted solely at the discretion of the Fire Chief. Requests for union
time off must be made on the designated form.
Jointly related business between the City and the Union shall not be subject to deduction from the
bank, however, the Union acknowledges that such time needed for arbitration hearings will be
chargeable to the account. In any event, the Fire Chief or his/her designee, may at his/her discretion
deny any request not made at least 72 hours in advance and submitted by a Union Officer, or which
renders the Department staffed below that level which the Chief determines to be necessary.
Section 7.
Right to Contribute Work
In the event that an employee's illness or physical incapacity should continue beyond the point
where his/her accumulated sick leave, if any, has been exhausted, he/she may request to have other
qualified employees of the Department perform his/her regular duties; provided that such substitution
would not require overtime compensation for the substitute and the maximum allowable contributed time
to anyone employee is a total of 90 calendar days for the duration of this contract.
Section 8.
IDM Re-Opener
The City and the Union agree that based upon a mutual agreement of the parties, this Article may
be reopened for the purpose of negotiating the implementation of a program of Integrated Disability
Management. If the Article is reopened for such purpose and the parties are not able to reach an
agreement, the item shall not be subject to the impasse procedure and the Article shall remain status quo in
whole and part.
ARTICLE 9
WAGES AND COMPENSATION
Section 1.
Pay Schedule
The pay schedule shall be in accordance with Appendix A.
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Upon ratification of this Agreement by the City Council, the job classification of Fire Medic is established
and the job classifications of Firefighter/Paramedic and Firefighter/Lead Medic are abolished. Vacant
positions may be converted to the Fire Medic job classification at the sole discretion of the Fire Chief. The
City retains the right to hire qualified external applicants into the Fire Medic job classification, or to offer
promotional opportunities to qualified existing bargaining unit or other City personnel.
Upon ratification by the City Council, the pay ranges for Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-Operator,
Firefighter/Paramedic, Firefighter/Lead Medic, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Prevention Inspector, and Fire
. Lieutenant/Rescue-Paramedic shall be adjusted by 5% effective for the beginning of the payroll period in
which falls the date of October 1, 2004. All bargaining unit members who are in an active employment
status as of the date of ratification of this Agreement by the City Council shall receive the 5% pay
adjustment retroactive to the aforementioned date or their date of hire, whichever is later.
Effective for the beginning of the payroll period following ratification by the City Council, employees
assigned to the job classifications of Firefighter/Paramedic and Firefighter/Lead Medic shall be
reclassified to the Fire Medic job classification and shall be converted to the corresponding step
number in the Fire Medic pay range that is the same as the step number they are allocated to prior
to the reclassification. The classification of Fire Lieutenant/Rescue-Paramedic shall be retitled Fire
Medic Lieutenant.
Effective for the beginning of the payroll period following ratification by the City Council, employees
assigned to the job classification of Fire Lieutenant and Fire Prevention Inspector shall have their
pay adjusted in accordance with Appendix A.
The City shall provide a 5% general wage increase effective for the beginning of the payroll period in which
falls the date of October 1, 2005 for all bargaining unit members who are in an active employment status as
of the aforementioned date.
The City shall provide a 5% general wage increase effective for the beginning of the payroll period in which
falls the date of October 1,2006 for all bargaining unit members who are in an active employment status as
of the aforementioned date.
Section 2.
Pay Schedule Format: Merit Step Increases
A The classes of Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-Operator, and Fire Medic shall have twelve merit steps.
The classes of Fire Prevention Inspector, Fire Lieutenant, and Fire Medic Lieutenant shall have nine
merit steps. Merit steps two through six shall provide for approximately a 5% increase over the
preceding step, and merit steps seven through twelve shall provide for approximately a 2-1/2%
increase over the preceding step.
B. Pay increases are not automatic but are management review rates and may be granted only upon
receiving a rating of satisfactory or better on the annual performance review. Eligibility for review for
within pay schedule increases shall be as follows:
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Appointment and Merit Step Review and Advancement:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
Step 11
Step 12
Original appointment or promotion
At the end of one year of satisfactory service in Step 1.
At the end of one year of satisfactory service in Step 2.
At the end of one year of satisfactory service in Step 3.
At the end of one year of satisfactory service in Step 4.
At the end of one year of satisfactory service in Step 5.
At the end of two years of satisfactory service in Step 6.
At the end of two years of satisfactory service in Step 7.
At the end of two years of satisfactory service in Step 8.
At the end of two years of satisfactory service in Step 9.
At the end of two years of satisfactory service in Step 10.
At the end of two years of satisfactory service in Step 11.
If an employee's evaluation by management is rated satisfactory or higher, the approved merit pay
increase shall become effective as of the date of the employee's eligibility therefore, except as provided in
Section 3 below.
Section 3.
Merit Step Review - Increases and Delay or Denial
Employees who receive a merit eligibility evaluation rating of Satisfactory or higher shall be
advanced as provided in Section 2 above.
Employees who receive a merit eligibility evaluation rating of less than Satisfactory shall not be
granted a merit step advancement. Such employees shall be reevaluated after three months and if then
rated satisfactory, shall be granted a merit step adjustment as of the date of the three-month follow-up
evaluation. The effective date of the increase shall be utilized for the purpose of determining eligibility for
future merit evaluation review and advancement to the next higher step.
If the initial three months follow-up evaluation rating is still less than Satisfactory, the employee
shall be evaluated again in three more months. If then rated Satisfactory or higher, the employee shall be
granted a merit step adjustment as of the end of that second three-month follow-up period. The effective
date of this increase shall be utilized for the purpose of determining eligibility for future merit evaluation
review and advancement to the next higher step.
If the employee is rated less than Satisfactory on the second three-month follow-up evaluation, no
merit step advancement shall be made; and the employee will be evaluated again one year from the date of
the initial annual evaluation which was less than Satisfactory.
Section 4.
Rates of Pay
A Base rate of pay is defined as compensation at the rate prescribed for the job class in the Pay Schedule.
B. Regular rate of pay is defined as base pay and any assignment pay if regularly assigned.
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C. Overtime is defined as one and one-half times an employee's regular rate of pay.
D. School pay is defined as regular rate of pay and shall be counted as hours worked for the purpose of
computing overtime when duly authorized by the department.
Section 5.
Annual Personal Resource Allowance
A. All members of the bargaining unit who are actually working shall be provided an annual allowance
of $950 for calendar year 2004 and $1,000 per year for calendar years 2005 and 2006, which shall be
utilized to cover (1) the costs of purchasing and laundering coat, shirts, pants, jumpsuit, and bed
linens, (2) the replacement of personal items such as glasses, watches, hearing aids, etc., and (3) time
spent attending the annual physical except for 40-hour schedule personnel who shall attend on duty,
but shall still receive the allowance.
B. An employee who is on extended sick leave (60 days or more) or has been approved for regular
disability retirement by the Pension Advisory Committee shall no longer be eligible for the personal
resource allowance.
C. The annual resource allowance shaUbe paid on a quarterly basis to eligible bargaining unit members
who are actually working at the time of the quarterly payment, and shall reflect the appropriate
amounts subject to withholding and not subject to withholding for tax purposes.
Section 6.
Mileage Reimbursement
A For each move a Firefighter is required to make, and use his/her own vehicle, after he/she has
reported to his/her duty station, the City will provide reimbursement to the employee in accordance
with Sec. 2.328 of the City of Clearwater Code of Ordinances; or, the City may elect to provide
transportation.
B. The mileage reimbursement rate shall be consistent with City Policy.
C. This distance will be computed by the City, so that both the City and employee can refer to a standard
table to ascertain the distance between any two Fire Stations.
D. Written requests for mileage reimbursement must be made to the Fire Chiefs office on or before
September 15. Requests received after September 15th shall be void and no reimbursement shall be
required of the City.
E. The Department will post a reminder notice at least 30 days prior to September 15.
F. The money shall be paid by September 30 of each year.
G. In the event that an employee is transported in a City vehicle under the provisions of this part, the City
will provide the employee transportation back to his/her duty station at or before the end of the
employee's tour of duty if the employee so requests.
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Section 7.
Special Teams
Effective from the date of ratification by the City Council through September 30, 2005, any employee who
meets the current certification guidelines set forth by the Fire Chief and is specifically assigned to a Special
Team on a scheduled shift shall receive twenty dollars per payroll period in addition to the current base rate
of pay. Bargaining unit members who meet the current certification guidelines set forth by the Fire Chief
and are assigned as team leaders shall not receive the Special Team pay as described above, but shall instead
receive twenty five dollars per payroll period in addition to the current base rate of pay.
Effective at the beginning of the payroll period in which falls October 1,2005, any employee who
meets the current certification guidelines set forth by the Fire Chief and is specifically assigned to a Special
Team on a scheduled shift shall receive twenty- five dollars per payroll period in addition to the current
base rate of pay. Bargaining unit members who meet the current certification guidelines set forth by the
Fire Chief and are assigned as team leaders shall not receive the Special Team pay as described above, but
shall instead receive thirty five dollars per payroll period in addition to the current base rate of pay.
Special Team training and assignments shall be made at the discretion of the Fire Chief or his/her
designee and Special Team Pay will be provided to a maximum number of employees as follows:
Dive Team - 6 per shift plus one team leader
Technical Rescue Team - 8 per shift plus one team leader
Emergency Response (SW A 1) Team - 4 per shift plus one team leader
Employees may participate on more than one Special Team but shall be eligible to be compensated
for one Special Team only. Additional employees may be permitted to participate in the training process
only based on availability of funds. The department shall provide the initial issue of clothing and
equipment particular to Special Teams and the replacement of clothing (shirt, pants, coat, and jumpsuit)
will be the responsibility of the employee through the use of the annual Personal Resource Allowance.
Initial issue Special Team clothing shall be the following:
Dive Team
Coati] acket 1
Jump Suit 1
Swim Trunks 1
Tee Shirt 1
Shorts 1
Technical Rescue Team
Tech Shirt 3
Tech Pants 3
S.W.AT. Team
Shirt 2
Pants 2
An employee may be removed from a Special Team assignment if he/ she is unable to participate
for a period of 30 days or more for reasons other than scheduled leave. Special Team pay may be
discontinued at any time should the City no longer continue to provide the designated service.
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Section 8
EMS Wages
A All employees shall receive pay in accordance with Appendix A
B. Employees of the Department who currently receive "grand fathered" EM.T. pay shall continue to
receive such pay, provided the employee meets additional certification as required by Pinellas County
EMS System and retains his/her State of Florida and Pinellas County certification as an E.M.T. If a
"line" Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-Operator, or Fire Lieutenant is receiving 5% "grand fathered"
E.M.T. pay and is subsequently promoted or assigned in an acting capacity to Fire Medic or Fire Medic
Lieutenant, said employee shall receive the appropriate promotional or acting pay and the
"grandfathered" E.M.T. pay shall be deemed to be incorporated therein.
C. Beginning with the payroll period following ratification of this Agreement by the City Council,
employees assigned to the non-Paramedic classifications of Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-Operator,
and Fire Lieutenant who are State of Florida and Pinellas County certified as a Paramedic, and who
agree in writing to be willing to serve in an acting capacity as a Fire Medic or to be assigned as a
Paramedic on an ALS unit when called upon by the Department to do so, shall begin to receive a
Paramedic certification pay differential of $100.00 per payroll period. Such employees shall be eligible
to receive Acting Pay in accordance with Paragraph D below in addition to the biweekly certification
pay. Such employees who elect to receive the Paramedic certification pay differential shall be required
to provide written notice of their intent to no longer be willing to serve in an Acting capacity as a Fire
Medic or as an assigned Paramedic on an ALS unit and thereby no longer receive the $100.00 per
payroll period certification pay differential at least 30 calendar days prior to the end of the payroll
period in which they wish to effect the change. Upon the effecting of such requests by the
Department, the affected employees shall not be eligible to receive the Paramedic certification pay
differential for a period of six months. Employees assigned to the non-Paramedic classifications of
Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-Operator, and Fire Lieutenant who are State of Florida and Pinellas
County certified as a Paramedic and who do not agree to be willing to serve in an Acting capacity as a
Fire Medic or as an assigned Paramedic on an ALS unit and thereby not receive the $100.00 per payroll
period certification pay differential shall be eligible to elect to be assigned as a Paramedic to an ALS
unit on a voluntary basis, and when so assigned on an ALS unit: shall be compensated in accordance
with paragraph D below.
D. Employees assigned to the non-Paramedic classifications of Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-Operator,
or Fire Lieutenant who are state and county certified as an E.M.T. or Paramedic, and who are not
receiving Acting payor "grand fathered" E.M.T. pay, and who are assigned as a Paramedic on an ALS
unit will receive assignment pay of 5% above the employee's current base rate of pay for all hours
served on the ALS unit.
E. The Department agrees to publish a semiannual list of the dates of expiration of all E.M.T. and
Paramedic certifications.
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Section 9.
Training and Tuition Refund
A Members of the bargaining unit shall be entitled to participate in a tuition reimbursement program
provided that all classes are off-duty, except for promotional courses for the positions of Lieutenant
and/ or Fire District Chief where department policy will be followed. However, the City and the Union
may agree to pro rate such tuition reimbursement for classes which cross both on-duty and off-duty
time.
B. The tuition refund for members of the bargaining unit shall be $1,000 per year for each year of the
agreement. However, if classes taken by a bargaining unit member consist exclusively of those
pertaining to an advanced degree program as part of a partnership between the City and an accredited
college or university, then $1,200 of tuition paid for such classes shall be reimbursable.
C. Participation in Tuition Refund will not imply any eligibility for school time pay nor will it impose any
obligation to the City under FLSA
D. Except for training requirements occasioned by extended vacations, when a bargaining unit member is
directed by the Department to attend classes, the member will be compensated for the hours spent in
accordance with the law.
E. The City shall provide and maintain reasonable training grounds and facilities.
F. The City agrees to pay the tuition only for classes required as part of a State of Florida Paramedic
certification program for up to one bargaining unit member per shift or 3 members total, whichever is
greater, provided that the classes are offered in such a manner that the employees may attend the
classes during non-duty hours, and such class hours shall not be counted as hours worked. Should
such classes not be available in a manner that the employees may attend during non-duty hours, the
Fire Chief in his/her sole discretion shall determine whether to release the employees from duty for
only the hours necessary to attend the classes. In such case, the employees shall be expected to serve
the remaining hours of any shift for which they are scheduled. Any prerequisite classes necessary to
participate in a State of Florida Paramedic certification program shall only be subject to the tuition
reimbursement provisions outlined in Paragraphs A-D above and in accordance with established
Department guidelines to determine whether or not the class hours constitute School Time. Any
existing employee who obtains a State of Florida Paramedic certification through the process outlined
in this Section shall be required to comply with the requirements necessary to obtain and maintain
certification as a Paramedic in Pinellas County, and shall be required to remain with Clearwater Fire and
Rescue and serve as a Fire Medic when called upon to do so for a period of five years or shall be
subject to repayment of any costs incurred by the Department for such classes. Should an employee
voluntarily leave the department or be permitted to voluntarily demote to a non-paramedic
classification in accordance with this agreement before the end of the five year period, the amount of
such repayment shall be prorated by 3-month increments with the employee being required to pay the
prorated amount corresponding to the number of remaining full 3-month periods not served.
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Section 10. Clothing and Equipment
A The City shall continue to provide the initial clothing and protective devices currently supplied, or their
equivalent, and initial safety equipment currently supplied, without cost to the employee. The
employee will replace any lost or abused equipment that has been supplied by the Department by
purchasing the lost or abused equipment from the Department at the value of the lost or abused
equipment, as determined by the Fire Chief.
B. The following equipment will be supplied initially to each employee:
Item
Coat or Windbreaker
Pants
Class A Shirts
T-Shirts
Shorts
Sweatshirt
Jumpsuit
Badge
Nametag
Collar Insignia (set, as necessary)
Blanket
Pillow
Bunker Coat
Bunker Pants
Helmet
Firefighting Boots (pair)
Firefighting Gloves (pair)
Air Mask
Nomex Hood
Suspenders
City and County ID
3 cell Flashlight
Ouantity
1 (employee option)
5 (F.P.L 8)
5 (F.P.L 7)
Oong sleeve @ employee option)
3
2
1
1
1
1
2
1 (F.P.L 0)
1 (F.P.L 0)
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 each
1
All employees will be provided an initial issue of any new items in addition to those on the list above
when such items are required by the Department. Equivalent variations of clothing items on the list
above, such as coats, shirts, and pants, may be provided by the Department to all newly hired
employees and shall be available to existing incumbent employees through the use of the personal
resource allowance as defined in this Agreement.
C. The following items, if issued, shall be returned to the Department before an employee leaves the
service of the Department either by termination, resignation, retirement, etc. Should any such items
not be returned, the City shall withhold from the employee's final paycheck an amount sufficient to
reimburse the City at a pro-rated replacement cost of the equipment.
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Item
Badge
City and County ID
Collar Insignia (set, as necessary)
Bunker Coat
Bunker Pants
Helmet
Firefighting Boots (pair)
Air Mask
3 cell Flashlight
Ouantity
1*
1 each as applicable
2
1
1
1*
1
1
1
*(to be mounted and/or returned to employee upon request in accordance with the current practice if
separation is due to retirement)
Any such equipment which becomes worn or unserviceable through no fault of the employee shall
be replaced when returned to the Department.
D. Employees shall be provided an allowance for the replacement of coat, pants, shirts, and jumpsuit
which may become worn or unserviceable in the course of duty. The Fire Department in conjunction
with the Union shall publish annually a list of vendors and the specifications and each employee shall
be responsible for the replacement of coat, pants, shirts, and jumpsuit.
E. The Department shall issue and maintain uniforms and equipment to personnel it determines necessary
in order to provide an Honor Guard presence as the City deems appropriate and subject to the
availability of funds. It is understood that the decision whether to have an Honor Guard, and who
shall be designated to participate, rests with the Fire Chief in his sole discretion. Any items issued to
Honor Guard personnel shall remain the property of the Department and shall be returned upon
separation in accordance with Paragraph C of this Section above.
Section 11.
Standby
A Fire Prevention Inspectors who are assigned to remain in a standby status while not on duty shall be
paid at the following rates during the term of this agreement:
Monday through Friday
Weekends
Extended Time During Designated Holidays
$10.00 per night
$50.00 per weekend
$30.00 per night
B. Standby assignments are mutually exclusive of call-in and holdover provisions of this agreement.
Nightly standby (Monday - Friday) shall begin at the end of each regular workday and shall end at the
beginning of the next workday (16-hour period). Weekend standby shall begin at the time which would
be the employee's normal starting time on Saturday and shall conclude at the beginning of the
employee's regular workday on Monday (48-hour period). An employee assigned to standby and who
continues in standby assignment for an 8-hour extended period on a designated holiday shall be paid
$30.00 instead of $10.00 for a nightly standby period. In addition to the above, an employee who is
called out to work while on nightly or weekend standby duty shall be credited with one hour work time
or the actual hours worked during the entire standby period, whichever is greater.
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C. The Department retains the discretion but is not required to assIgn a take-home vehicle to Fire
Prevention Inspectors who are subject to standby.
Section 12. Paycheck Issuance
Paychecks shall be available on the same day that the paycheck is dated, to be issued to employees
both on-coming and off-going shift at their assigned station.
ARTICLE 10
INSURANCE
Section 1.
Life Insurance
All life insurance premium contributions and plans currently in force shall continue for the duration
of this Agreement. The selection of an insurance company shall be free and without prejudice and of the
employee's choice from the companies offered by the City, with the approval of the Insurance Committee.
The Union agrees to participate with the Insurance Committee in making decisions regarding life
illsurance.
Section 2.
Death Benefits
The current practice of paying accrued rights and benefits to the designated beneficiary or next-of-
kin upon the death of an employee shall continue.
Section 3.
Health Insurance
The City agrees to meet with the LAF.F. and other City of Clearwater union representatives to
review the health insurance program for the purpose of reducing the cost of such program for the City and
the employees. The City further agrees to provide the LAF.F. with such information as would be required
to formulate such a benefit package and to cooperate with the LAF.F. and other unions to obtain
pertinent information from the present carrier.
The City agrees that for the calendar year occurring within the first year of the agreement, the City shall
contribute toward the medical insurance premiums for employees and their dependents in the amount
approved for the plans approved by the City Council. The City agrees to maintain the current Benefits
Committee recommendation process culminating in final action by the City Council to determine
medical insurance premiums for employees and their dependents for the duration of this Agreement.
The City further agrees that during the life of the agreement, the City will make available to employees
the option of at least one health insurance plan for which the City shall pay 100% of the premium for
the employee only base benefit plan cost, it being understood that such base plan may provide a
different level of benefit than that which is currently provided. Additional coverage for the family or
spouse, as well as any enhancements or "buy ups" to the base plan will continue to be paid for by the
employee.
Any information received by either party from the consultant or from another carrier will be shared
with the other party.
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ARTICLE 11
PERFORMANCE AND DISCIPLINE
The City and the Union agree that any system of discipline or performance management should be
continually reviewed for its effectiveness. The system may be modified from time to time to better meet
the needs of the employees and the City. Any changes will be consistent with sound personnel practices.
All discipline will be for just cause and consistent with due process. Employees have the right to Union
representation any time they believe a meeting may lead to disciplinary action.
The City-wide and Fire Department standards shall be in writing. The Union will provide input as
the standards are developed and/or modified. If the Union refuses to participate or provide input, the City
and the Fire Department maintain the right to change the process. The City recognizes that members of
the Fire Department are protected by the "Firefighter Bill of Rights" and any disciplinary action will
conform to the guidelines of that law.
ARTICLE 12
DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY
Section 1. Voluntary use of controlled substances which cause intoxication or impairment on
the job poses risks to the employer, the affected employee and their coworkers.
Section 2. All bargaining unit employees will be fully informed of the employer's for cause
drug testing policy before testing is administered. Bargaining unit employees will be provided with
information concerning the impact of the use of drugs on job performance. Fire District Chiefs and other
management personnel will be trained to recognize the symptoms of drug abuse, impairment and
intoxication. The City will permit five employees selected by the Union to attend such training class on
City time.
Section 3.
City's Drug and Alcohol Program Policy
A The City's Drug and Alcohol Program Policy delineates drug and alcohol test procedures.
Revisions governing testing standards and job classification specifications shall be made as
revisions to laws or regulations of state or federal government or agencies deem permissible.
Union representatives will be furnished with copies of the policies upon such revision. Whenever
the City or the Union proposes to amend or change any policy affecting drug and alcohol testing,
the City or the Union shall provide notice and a copy of the proposed amendments or changes to
the other party a reasonable period of time in advance of the proposed effective date of the change.
The Union and the City shall have the right to bargain such proposed amendments or changes in
accordance with the law and the terms of this agreement.
B References to CDL and "safety-sensitive" employees and positions shall not apply to IAFF bargaining
unit members. As such, IAFF bargaining unit members shall not be subject to the following provisions
of the City Drug and Alcohol Program Policy or agreed to by the parties:
Section II, B.
Section II, C.
Section II, E. 2.
Section II, E. 4.
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ARTICLE 13
RETIREMENT
Section 1. The City and the Union agree that prior to retiring an employee may use his/her
vacation leave balance at 100% value and sick leave balance at 50% value to advance the employee's date of
retirement.
Section 2. The employee will be considered a regular employee for service credit to the
pension plan. The City and the employee will continue to contribute to the pension plan.
Section 3. During the period of "retirement advancement", the employee will not be eligible to
receive or accrue any benefits except retirement credit, "grandfathered" EMT Pay, and Educational
Incentive Pay. The benefits that will stop include, but are not limited to, vacation and sick leave accrual,
insurance premium payments, workers' compensation, holidays and holiday pay, allowances,
reimbursements and special payments of any kind.
ARTICLE 14
SENIORITY AND LAYOFFS
Section 1.
Seniori ty
A Definition -- Seniority is hereby defined as the length of continuous service in City employment
except as applied to vacation preference, promotions, layoffs, and assignments.
B. How Measured
1. In the event an employee transfers from the Fire Department to another position within the City
and, at a later date, transfers back to the Fire Department, the seniority date for the purpose of
layoff, promotions and transfers, shall be the date the employee transfers back into the
Department.
2. Any employee who transfers from another City department to the Fire Department shall retain full
City seniority with regards to vacation and sick leave accrual. However, for purposes of layoff,
departmental seniority shall prevail. In regards to pay and pensions, the applicable civil service rules
or City Pension ordinance shall apply.
3. In the event two or more employees have the same seniority date, the employee whose first letter
of his/her last name is closest to the letter "A" shall have more seniority.
4. The seniority list on the date of this agreement shall reflect names, job titles, and seniority dates
(departmental and City) of all employees.
5. The City will maintain a current seniority list at all times and will provide the Union with copies of
such list in December and June of each year.
6. Emergency, provisional, seasonal and temporary part-time employees shall not accumulate seniority
during any period of such employment.
47
C. Continuous service shall mean employment by the City in a position in the classified service without
interruption or break, except that the following shall not be considered as breaks in employment:
1. Leaves of absence or time off with or without compensation granted pursuant to this Contract.
The length of any such leave shall not be deducted from the length of continuous service in
computing seniority.
2. Layoffs for lack of work, lack of funds, abolition of position, or because of material changes in
duties or organization, not exceeding one year in length, followed by reinstatement or by
appointment from the reemployment list. The length of any such layoff shall not be deducted from
the length of continuous service in computing seniority.
3. Disability retirement if and when followed by reinstatement. The length of any such disability
retirement shall not be deducted from the length of continuous service in computing seniority.
4. Suspensions of less than three months in accordance with this Agreement. The length of any such
suspension of more than three months shall be deducted from the length of continuous service in
computing seniority.
5. Dismissals subsequently withdrawn or modified by the Appointing Authority, arbitration award,
grievance decision, or the Civil Service Board in accordance with this Agreement.
6. Resignations subsequently withdrawn, in accordance with this Agreement, within six months after
acceptance, followed by reinstatement or appointment from the reemployment list; provided,
however, that the actual length of separation from the service shall be deducted from the length of
continuous service in computing seniority.
D. Uses -- In addition to the circumstances and conditions wherein, by the provisions of this Agreement
and/ or these Rules, seniority has been determined to be the controlling factor, it shall also be given
reasonable consideration in determining the order of layoff, the order of names on a reemployment list
and in 'promotions in accordance with the rules governing those procedures.
E. Transfer -- In the event of a transfer or appointment from certification to another department, an
employee shall retain all accumulated seniority.
Section 2.
Layoffs
A In the event of layoffs, all probationary status employees in the class involved shall be laid off before
any permanent status employees in the class involved. The order of layoff of probationary employees
shall be determined by management evaluations of the performance and potential of the employees.
48
B. In the event further layoffs are required, such layoffs shall be accomplished by class groups of
Firefighter, Firefighter/Driver-Operator, Fire Medic, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Medic Lieutenant, and Fire
Prevention Inspector. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement,
Management shall determine the number of employees to be laid off and the class or classes involved.
An employee who is designated to be laid off shall have the opportunity to revert to the position
he/ she held prior to his/her current classification. If this movement requires further reduction in the
work force, the same procedure shall be utilized for subsequent positions in accordance with this
section, and the process continued through the ranks thereafter. Within the involved classes, layoffs
shall be accomplished by the following groupings:
1. Group A
Department.
Employees with one through three years of semce ill the Clearwater-Fire
2. Group B -- Employees with four through six years of service in the Clearwater Fire Department.
3. Group C
Department.
Employees with seven through nine years of service in the Clearwater Fire
4. Group D -- Employees with 10 through 12 years of service in the Clearwater Fire Department.
5. Group E -- Employees with 13 through 15 years of service in the Clearwater Fire Department.
6. Group F -- Employees with 16 through 18 years of service in the Clearwater Fire Department.
7. Group G -- Employees with 19 or more years of service in the Clearwater Fire Department.
All employees in Group A must be laid off before any employees listed in Group B; all employees
in Group B must be laid off before any employees listed in Group C; etc. Within each group, employees
shall be ranked by management and employees laid off by the rank order established. Management rating
of employees can be based upon performance evaluations by management of the preceding 3-year period
(if available), disciplinary actions, and physical ability to perform the job. When other qualifications are
substantially equal, Fire Department seniority will govern. Management will provide a list of the rank order
within Groups prior to the layoff.
Section 3. No new employee shall be hired until the employee on layoff has been given an
opportunity to return to work at his/her original seniority date and position; provided, that after one year
of layoff the employee shall cease to accrue seniority and that such reemployment rights shall cease after
two years from the date of layoff.
Section 4. The Fire Chief shall give written notice to the Human Resources Director and to
the affected employee(s) including the President of the Union, on any such proposed layoff. Such notice
shall state the reason thereof and shall be submitted 30 days before the effective date of proposed layoff.
49
ARTICLE 15
DURATION, MODIFICATION, AND TERMINATION
Section 1.
Amendments
This Agreement may be amended at any time by the mutual written consent of the parties, but no
such attempted amendment shall be of any force or effect until placed in writing and executed or ratified as
required by each party hereto.
Section 2.
Severability and Waiver
A In the event that any clause or clauses in this Agreement shall be finally determined to be in violation of
any law, such clause or clauses only shall be deemed of no force and effect and unenforceable, without
impairing the validity and enforceability of the rest of the contract, including any and all provisions in
the remainder of any clause, sentence or paragraph in which the offending language may appear.
B. The exercise or non-exercise by the City or the Union of the rights covered by this Agreement shall not
be deemed to waive any such right or the right to exercise them in some other way in the future.
C. In the event of invalidation of any article or section, both the City and the Union agree to meet within
30 days of such determination for the purpose of arriving at a mutually satisfactory replacement for
such articles or sections.
Section 3.
Duration
This Agreement shall be effective as of October 1,2004, and shall continue in full force and effect
until September 30,2007. At least 120 days prior to the termination of this Agreement, either party hereto
shall notify the other, in writing, of its intention to modify, amend or terminate this Agreement. Failure to
notify the other party of intention to modify, amend or terminate, as herein above set forth, will
automatically extend the provisions and terms of this Agreement for a period of one year, and each year
thereafter absent notification.
50
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have hereunder set their hands and seals this
I 'I c/I..... day of ~ , 2005.
a
ATTEST:
Approved as to form and correctness:
p~a~kin, City Attorney
WITNESSES:
CITY OF CLEARWATER, FLORIDA
t!}~tf.~A-
William B. Horne II, City Manager
Countersigned:
-i~~
~Hibbard,Mayor
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
FIREFIGHTERS, AFL-CIO, Local 1158
Treasurer, Local 1158
51
Step October, 2004 October, 2005 October, 2006
Biweekly Biweekly Biweekly
1 $1232.27 $1293.89 $1358.58
2 $1295.15 $1359.90 $1427.90
3 $1357.89 $1425.78 $1497.07
4 $1428.72 $1500.16 $1575.17
5 $1499.19 $1574.15 $1652.86
6 $1573.76 $1652.45 $1735.07
7 $1613.03 $1693.69 $1778.37
8 $1652.22 $1734.83 $1821.58
9 $1699.38 $1784.34 $1873.56
10 $1741.87 $1828.97 $1920.41
11 $1786.40 $1875.72 $1969.50
12 $1831.02 $1922.57 $2018.70
FIREFIGHTER
PAY RANGE F-02 (80/112 HOURS)
Step October, 2004 October, 2005 October, 2006
Biweekly Biweekly Biweekly
1 $1293.89 $1358.59 $1426.52
2 $1359.91 $1427.90 $1499.30
3 $1425.79 $1497.08 $1571.93
4 $1500.17 $1575.18 $1653.94
5 $1574.14 $1652.85 $1735.49
6 $1652.45 $1735.07 $1821.83
7 $1693.68 $1778.37 $1867.28
8 $1734.82 $1821.56 $1912.64
9 $1784.37 $1873.59 $1967.27
10 $1828.95 $1920.40 $2016.42
11 $1875.71 $1969.50 $2067.97
12 $1922.58 $2018.71 $2119.64
FIREFIGHTER/DRIVER-OPERATOR
PAY RANGE F-04 (80/112 HOURS)
Step October, 2004
Biweekly ABOLISHED ABOLISHED
1 $1417.13 N/A N/A
2 $1489.42 N/A N/A
3 $1561.58 N/A N/A
4 $1643.02 N/A N/A
5 $1724.09 N/A N/A
6 $1809.83 N/A N/A
7 $1854.95 N/A N/A
8 $1900.06 N/A N/A
9 $1954.29 N/A N/A
10 $2003.13 N/A N/A
11 $2054.34 N/A N/A
12 $2105.68 N/A N/A
FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC
PAY RANGE F-08 (80/112 HOURS)
Step October, 2004
Biweekly ABOLISHED ABOLISHED
1 $1478.73 N/A N/A
2 $1554.18 N/A N/A
3 $1629.47 N/A N/A
4 $1714.46 N/A N/A
5 $1799.01 N/A N/A
6 $1888.53 N/A N/A
7 $1935.62 N/A N/A
8 $1982.68 N/A N/A
9 $2039.29 N/A N/A
10 $2090.25 N/A N/A
11 $2143.66 N/A N/A
12 $2197.23 N/A N/A
FIREFIGHTER/LEAD MEDIC
PAY RANGE F-10 (80/112 HOURS)
11
APPENDIX A - WAGES
FIRE MEDIC
PAY RANGE F-10 (80/112 HOURS)
Step Upon October, 2005 October, 2006
Ra tifica tion Biweekly Biweekly
1 $1478.73 $1552.67 $1630.30
2 $1554.18 $1631.89 $1713.49
3 $1629.47 $1710.94 $1796.49
4 $1714.46 $1800.19 $1890.20
5 $1799.01 $1888.97 $1983.41
6 $1888.53 $1982.96 $2082.11
7 $1935.62 $2032.41 $2134.03
8 $1982.68 $2081.81 $2185.90
9 $2039.29 $2141.25 $2248.31
10 $2090.25 $2194.76 $2304.50
11 $2143.66 $2250.85 $2363.39
12 $2197.23 $2307.09 $2422.44
FIRE LIEUTENANT
PAY RANGE F-12 (80/112 HOURS)
Step October, 2004 Upon October, 2005 October, 2006
Biweekly Ratification Biweekly Biweekly
4 $1738.60 $1800.19 $1890.20 $1984.71
5 $1824.94 $1888.97 $1983.41 $2082.58
6 $1923.03 $1982.96 $2082.11 $2186.21
7 $1966.24 $2032.41 $2134.03 $2240.73
8 $2017.27 $2081.81 $2185.90 $2295.20
9 $2068.21 $2141.25 $2248.31 $2360.73
10 $2119.89 $2194.76 $2304.50 $2419.72
11 $2172.89 $2250.85 $2363.39 $2481.56
12 $2227.20 $2307.09 $2422.44 $2543.56
III
FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTOR
PAY RANGE F-12 (80/112 HOURS)
Step October, 2004 Upon October, 2005 October, 2006
Biweekly Ratification Biweekly Biweekly
4 $1738.60 $1800.19 $1890.20 $1984.71
5 $1824.94 $1888.97 $1983.41 $2082.58
6 $1923.03 $1982.96 $2082.11 $2186.21
7 $1966.24 $2032.41 $2134.03 $2240.73
8 $2017.27 $2081.81 $2185.90 $2295.20
9 $2068.21 $2141.25 $2248.31 $2360.73
10 $2119.89 $2194.76 $2304.50 $2419.72
11 $2172.89 $2250.85 $2363.39 $2481.56
12 $2227.20 $2307.09 $2422.44 $2543.56
FIRE MEDIC LIEUTENANT
PAY RANGE F-13 (80/112 HOURS)
Step October, 2004 October, 2005 October, 2006
Biweekly Biweekly Biweekly
4 $1999.40 $2099.37 $2204.34
5 $2098.70 $2203.63 $2313.81
6 $2211.52 $2322.09 $2438.20
7 $2261.17 $2374.23 $2492.94
8 $2319.86 $2435.85 $2557.64
9 $2378.43 $2497.35 $2622.22
10 $2437.86 $2559.75 $2687.74
11 $2498.82 $2623.76 $2754.95
12 $2561.30 $2689.36 $2823.83
IV