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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-17 City Commission Packet Materials - SP-MP. Equal Pay Day Commission Memorandum REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission FROM: Bethany Jorgenson, Human Resources Manager SUBJECT: City Progress Report – Equal Pay MEETING DATE: April 3, 2017 AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Special Presentation RECOMMENDATION: Review progress, listen to proclamation, ask questions, and provide comments. BACKGROUND: On June 8, 2015, the City Commission passed Resolution 4601, Equal Pay for Equal Work which committed that the City would work to collect data, identify best practices, evaluate employment practices against the “Thrive Index”, and commemorate Equal Pay Day annually. Since Resolution 4601 was issued, City of Bozeman Human Resources has thoroughly analyzed pay for existing employees. The City’s existing hiring practices and pay practices strictly prohibit discrimination of any type based on gender, and the data and subsequent analysis did not highlight any gender-based pay issues. Where there are discrepancies in pay among employees in the same job class, further analysis has shown the following: • Difference in length of time in position; • Difference in education and experience at the time of hire or promotion; and/or; • Collective bargaining agreement pay plan differences at time of hire 121 Human Resources has collected all position history and pay history data from paper employment files and entered that information into the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). Human Resources is now able to have a complete report of each employee’s pay and position history at a glance. For example, if Employee A and Employee B have the same position but earn different rates of pay, Human Resources can now run a system report which provides information that informed the pay decision: education and experience at the time of hire, length of time in position, and pay grade information that speaks to collective bargaining and its history. This information, readily available, makes for a more meaningful discussion regarding pay. Human Resources has compared City of Bozeman employment practices against the “Thrive Index” and found that by-in-large, the City has been upholding the objectives put forth, as hiring and employment practices are designed to be fair and equitable to all applicants and employees. CITY OF BOZEMAN AND THE THRIVE INDEX Adequate wages and benefits City of Bozeman Comment Are part-time workers paid the same (per hour, including benefits) as full-time workers performing the same or similar tasks? Y Are most part-time workers guaranteed a minimum number of hours per week? If not, are there ways they could be? N Some departments guarantee a range of hours vs. a set schedule - i.e. at least 12, but not more than 18 Are workers who remain on the job for a specified period of time eligible for a pay increase? Y Are workers who remain on the job for a specified period of time eligible for paid sick leave for themselves or to care for a family member? Y When job-skill demands or responsibilities increase, are wages adjusted upward? Sometimes The City works to ensure employees are working within their class specification. Reclassifications and/or promotions are the 122 avenue for pay increases, and department heads request those during the annual budget process. Are workers paid for their entire scheduled shift, even if business is slow? Sometimes Employees get paid for the hours they work. Shifts are not typically cut short, but if there is an urgent need to close a facility, employees would not be paid for the closure. This rarely happens. Are hourly wages higher for nonstandard shifts, such as nights or weekends? Sometimes Depending on the Collective Bargaining Agreement, there may be shift premiums. Opportunities for Upward Mobility Do low-wage workers have opportunities for on-the-job or cross-task training or outside educational opportunities that can lead to upward mobility? Y Can schedules accommodate workers’ pursuit of educational opportunities? Sometimes The City makes every effort to accommodate employees’ requests for time off and/or modified schedules. However, based on the need to efficiently and safely operate City business, not every request can be granted every time. When skill demands or job responsibilities increase, is training provided for newly assigned tasks? Y 123 Can workers cross-train in different areas to increase their flexibility and value to the company (recognizing that outsourcing of some functional areas or other factors may prohibit this)? Y Are there opportunities for upward mobility within the company that do not require geographic relocation? Y Support for personal and family needs Can worker breaks be scheduled to accommodate the need for phone calls at pre-specified times for working caregivers? Y Are occasional calls for urgent matters allowable? Can children or caregivers call an employee at work when necessary? Y Are workers who remain on the job for a specified period of time eligible during their regular work hours to care for their health or a family member’s without losing pay (e.g., able to leave for an hour or two for a trip to the doctor)? Y Can personal time be taken in small increments of an hour or two (for doctor’s appointments, parent-teacher conferences, educational opportunities, etc.)? Y Do you offer paid or unpaid maternity or paternity leave for workers? Is the length of this leave negotiable? Y Paid time is offered through employee accruals, our Sick Leave Bank, and our Direct Donation policies, and can be used for the entire absence (at 100% pay) Work scheduling, predictability, and flexibility Is there a systematic way for workers to communicate their preferences for hours and schedules? If not, could some such system be implemented? Y Does the shift/hours scheduling system take account of workers’ constraints and preferences? Y Are work schedules announced more than a day or two in advance? Can workers trade shifts with colleagues when time conflicts develop (allow “shift-swapping”)? Y If workers are asked to stay beyond the end of scheduled shifts to finish assignments or for administrative procedures, are they given advance notice of when this may be required? Y 124 Does the measured workload take into account the quality or difficulty of tasks along with simpler measures of the number of customers, clients, or patients? Y Autonomy, respect, and trust Are workers protected from “no-fault” absence or tardiness policies (ones that lead to disciplinary actions or dismissal, even for excused absences)? Y Are workers allowed or encouraged to contribute ideas to better organize or improve their work teams or work areas? Y Can workers occasionally make personal phone calls? Y Human Resources has continued to analyze recruitment strategies, and utilize best practices in administering pay The City is committed to continually improving processes in order to accomplish goals related to diversity and pay equity. Last year, the City reported the results of a pointed effort to attract more female applicants to historically male-dominated departments, such as Police, Fire, and Public Works, and to attract more male applicants to historically female-dominated departments, such as the Library. While those results showed significant improvement, the results this year show even more progress. Since additional and pointed efforts have begun, the City has: o Increased the number of female applicants for police officer positions  2016 – 30  2015 - 15 o Increased the number of female police officers  Currently - 5 (7.7%)  One year ago – 3 (4.6%)  Two years ago – 2 (3%) o Increased the number of male employees working at the Library  Currently – 7 (17%)  One year ago – 4 (10%) o Increased the number of female employees in the Teamster union  Currently - 7 (7.3%)  One year ago – 5 (5.2%) The City continues to utilize best practices in the administration of pay o Pay based on market data for positions  Collective bargaining agreements apply • BPPA, IAFF, MPEA, Teamsters o Annual increases are based on pre-set steps, and are applied equally 125 o Pay transparency  Pay rates are available for all positions • No prohibition or punishment for discussing pay with anyone, including co-workers, supervisors, or Human Resources o Pay for new hires and promotions in MPEA and new hires in Teamsters can now be based on education and experience (vs. system where all new hires and promotions start at step 1) UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None. ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission FISCAL EFFECTS: This progress report has no immediate fiscal effects. Report compiled on: March 28, 2017 Attached Documents: Proclamation 126 MAYORAL PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING EQUAL PAY DAY Whereas, April 4th, 2017, was recognized as “Equal Pay Day,” which is the day up to which women had to work this year in order to achieve the same earnings that men achieved on January 1st, 2017; Whereas, in the United States, women earn 71 cents to the man’s dollar and in Montana women earn 68 cents to the man’s dollar; Whereas, this wage gap exists in nearly every occupation, in all industries, in every state, across all countries, at all educations levels, and in the private, government, and nonprofit sectors; Whereas, the gender wage gap results in women and their families having less access to financial resources and has unfounded, subtle and unexplained causes that need to be identified and eliminated; Whereas, our Commission passed Resolution 4601 supporting Equal Pay for Equal Work in June of 2015 and our City has, since that time, taken steps to collect data and identify tools that will assist in the diversification of city positions, encouraged the use of innovative and improved HR Resources, and sought to be an active example in the effort to close the gender wage gap; Whereas, in the Equal Pay for Equal Work Resolution 4601 the City of Bozeman committed to commemorate Equal Pay Day each year and to encourage its citizens to recognize the full value of women’s skills and contributions to the labor force, and to take further action as citizens and businesses to help close the gender wage gap; Now, therefore, as the Mayor of Bozeman, I hereby Proclaim that the City of Bozeman, Montana observes and recognizes Equal Pay Day, a day whose meaning and purpose needs to be dissolved by achieving Equal Pay for Equal Work and by reaching a day when men and women earn the same wage for the same work after the same duration of work; and I Further Proclaim that the City of Bozeman encourages local businesses to consider their own hiring, promotional and pay policies and hold them to standards that reflect equal opportunity and gender wage equity; and I Further Proclaim that the City of Bozeman encourages citizens and businesses to actively participate in workshops and dialogue to learn more ways in which we can address and work 127 toward fair pay for all in our community and for all Montanans. The city commission further encourages citizens and businesses to have conversations about gender parity, to explore the equal pay resources available on the State Equal Pay website, and to attend the Governor’s Equal Pay Rally at the Capitol building in Helena tomorrow at 2pm, and to attend the 2017 State Equal Pay Summit at the University of Montana this coming fall. __________________ April 3, 2017 Carson Taylor Mayor of Bozeman 128