Transition Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding Professional Unit and Clerical & Para Professional Unit
This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) contains the agreement by and between AFSCME Council 40 and the Western Wisconsin Cares (WWC) long-term care district concerning specific terms and conditions of employment for employees hired by WWC who are covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreements. This Transition Agreement deals generally with policies on transferring employees. Transition items specific to particular named employees will be outlined in Offers of Employment. 1. Seniority – Employees of WWC shall retain the seniority date in effect at the time of transfer to WWC. WWC shall prepare a list with seniority dates and provide it to the Union. The Union shall revise the list as necessary and return the list to WWC with requested corrections/changes. Once finalized, the list shall become the starting point for WWC and employees transferring from each county shall be placed appropriately into the list based on the seniority date in effect at the time of transfer. Non-represented staff joining the Union shall start seniority as of the day they enter into a union represented position, regardless of prior non-represented service. 2. Union Dues – Dues paid as part of the normal payroll deduction shall not be refunded if the employee transfers to WWC after the deduction. Dues paid to the County shall cease as of the end of the month in which the employee transfers to WWC, and dues shall be deducted by WWC beginning in the month after the employee transfers. 3. Probation – Employees transferring to WWC into a position with the same or substantially similar function to that performed in County employment shall not be required to serve a probationary period if they have completed the probationary period for that same or similar position at the County. All other employees offered employment shall serve a probationary period. Partial time served toward the probationary period will be recognized when the job functions are substantially similar. 4. Years of Service for Benefit Purposes – Prior years of service with the transferring employee’s county shall be recognized by WWC for any benefit provided for which years of service may affect the provision of the benefit, including entitlement to Family Medical Leave. The benefit entitlement date in effect at the time of transfer shall be the date used by WWC for determining benefits. This provision does not apply to compensation offered by WWC. 5. Vacation –Employee vacation balances and vacation entitlement shall be presented to the employee prior to transfer to WWC. Upon transfer, employees shall be entitled to: a. Vacation Earning Level – Employees will be placed on the vacation earnings schedule using the vacation earnings date in effect at the time of transfer. b. Vacation Balance- All accrued, earned, and unused vacation while in the employment of La Crosse County shall transfer over to WWC. All other employees transferring to WWC may mutually agree with WWC as to the handling of beginning vacation balances
at the time of transfer, including the option for the employee or the employee’s county to fund a beginning balance. c. Maximum Vacation Accumulation –The effective date for the maximum accumulation of 25 vacation days (i.e. 187.5 hours for fulltime employees) as referenced in Article 8.02 shall be January 1, 2010. Employees of WWC shall have until December 31, 2009 to use vacation to avoid losing any. WWC and the employee may agree to a payout of vacation in December 2009 if the workload prohibited the usage of said vacation. 6. Sick Leave - Employee sick leave balances shall be presented to the employee prior to transfer to WWC. All accrued and unused sick leave while in the employment of La Crosse County shall transfer over to WWC. All other employees transferring to WWC may mutually agree with WWC as to the handling of beginning sick leave balances at the time of transfer, including the option for the employee or the employee’s county to fund the beginning balance. On date of transfer, the employee shall be entitled to earn and use sick leave balances in accordance with Union Contract and WWC policy. 7. Holidays – The holiday schedule established for WWC shall be effective as of the date of transfer. All employees hired by WWC shall be entitled to the WWC holidays arising on or after the date of transfer to WWC, regardless of holidays celebrated prior to transfer. WWC Floating Holidays will be prorated for employees joining WWC during the year, based on the months remaining in the year of transfer, rounded to the nearest quarter (1/4) hour. 8. Compensatory Time Off Balances – Accumulated compensatory time off will not transfer. All employees should use up or have paid out, as allowed by current Union Contract, any comp time balances and entitlement prior to transfer to WWC. 9. Classification and Rate of Pay – Employees transferring from La Crosse County shall be placed in the same Pay Grade and Step in effect at the time of transfer, with the exception of the transition from Social Worker 00 to Case Manager and Case Management Liaison, whom shall be offered a Classification and Step prior to transfer. All other transferring employees will be offered employment with WWC at a rate of pay not less than they are receiving for the same or similar functions at the time of transfer, provided there has not been an usually high rate adjustment from the rates in effect as of June 1, 2008. Whenever possible, employees will be placed at a Step in the classification of natural progression that provides the same pay or the smallest increase, keeping in mind any limitations that may be established by Union Contract or WWC policy in regard to qualifications and career progression (i.e. limitations as to the qualifications required to be a SWI, II, III, IV and the number of positions appropriated to a given classification). When the transferring employee’s rate of pay in effect prior to the transfer exceeds the maximum rate of pay for the classification assigned, the employee shall be redcircled (pay will remain the same and will not be reduced to fit in the pay range) and that employee shall be entitled to future wage adjustments as negotiated with the Union during the collective bargaining process. The rate of pay used to transition employees from a 2080 annual work hour schedule to a 1950 annual work hour schedule will be determined by using the annual base compensation (i.e. hourly rate at transfer multiplied by 2080 divided by 1950.)
10. Return to Former Job – Once employees have accepted employment with WWC, there will be no ‘return to former job’ rights to County positions. 11. Duration of this Agreement – This agreement is a transition document covering individuals who are employed by the eight original counties who created the west central region long-term care district. This agreement is effective beginning on the date the first employee transfers from a county enjoined with the WWC long-term care district and the agreement will continue until two months following the first employee transferring from the eighth and final original county enjoined with the WWC long-term care district, or December 31, 2009, whichever is sooner. The provisions of this entire agreement shall apply to county employees who transfer within two (2) months of the first employee transferring from the specific county who is enrolled in the WWC long-term care district (for example, the first La Crosse County employee transfers October 1, 2008, the provisions of this entire agreement apply to subsequent La Crosse County employees until November 30, 2008; the first Vernon County employee transfers November 1, 2008, the provisions of this entire agreement apply to subsequent Vernon County employees until December 31, 2008, etc.) If an individual who is employed by a county participating in the district is offered employment with WWC prior to the first transfer of an employee from that individual’s county of employment and/or prior to that county being enrolled with WWC, only the provisions of Items 4, 5a, 7, 8 and 10 of this agreement shall apply to that individual.
For the Employer
For the Union
_________________________________ Bev Monahan Date _________________________________ Tim Garrity Date
______________________________ Dan Pfeifer Date ______________________________ Houston Parrish Date