Drafter
Clerk 12/1/2005
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AN ORDINANCE authorizing a process that provides a one-time opportunity to allow eligible employees to convert accrued vacation or accumulated compensatory time, or both, to cash to benefit the King County employee charitable campaign; and declaring an emergency.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings.
A. King County currently administers the King County employee charitable campaign, which benefits hundreds of charitable and nonprofit organizations.
B. King County encourages financial contributions to charitable organizations and the county desires to make it easier for its employees to make such contributions through a program allowing for the conversion of an employee's accrued vacation or accumulated compensatory time, or both, to cash.
C. In order to expedite cash conversion donations of this type and administer the program without additional resources, the intent is to have an employee's donation go directly to the King County employee charitable campaign and then be distributed proportionately among all campaign-approved charities.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding K.C.C 3.12.190, the executive may implement a process providing a one-time opportunity to allow employees eligible for benefits to convert accrued vacation or accumulated compensatory time hours, or both, to a cash donation. This process must conform to the following requirements:
A. Starting on the day of the council's approval of this ordinance, there shall be a forty-five day period during which time employees may sign a written request, subject to approval by the department director or designee, to convert accrued vacation or accumulated compensatory time hours, or both, to cash and to authorize a payroll deduction of the cash to benefit the King County employee charitable campaign. The hours must be in full-hour increments, with a minimum of four hours.
B. All King County employees eligible for benefits shall be eligible to participate in this program on a voluntary basis.
C. The department director or designee shall determine the maximum hours that any employee can convert to cash, but the maximum may not be greater than a total of forty hours per fiscal year by each employee.
D. The value of the hours must be determined based on the regular hourly rate of the employee in effect at the time the approved conversion request is processed.
E. If employees elect to convert either accrued vacation or accumulated compensatory time hours, or both, to cash as set forth in this section, the executive shall contribute such amounts as are converted to the King County employee charitable campaign.
F. The cash resulting from converted accrued vacation or compensatory time hours, or both, net of all mandatory deductions, including, but not limited to, deductions for retirement plans and federal income tax and the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, must be transmitted to the King County employee charitable campaign.
G. Employees governed by a collective bargaining agreement may convert to cash either accrued vacation or accumulated compensatory time hours, or both, only if the existing agreement allows for or the agreement is amended to allow for conversions as authorized in this section.
H. For an employee who has earned excess vacation leave or compensatory time, or both, beyond the amount that can be carried over from the 2005 fiscal year to the 2006 fiscal year, the employee may exercise a one-time option to donate a minimum of four hours or a maximum of forty hours. However, donations of excess vacation and/or compensatory time applying to fiscal year 2005 must be submitted by the employee and approved by the employee's department director or designee by December 30, 2005.
SECTION 3. The executive may enter into such agreements or modifications to existing collective bargaining agreements as are necessary to implement the purpose of this ordinance.
SECTION 4. The King County council finds as a fact and declares that an emergency exists and that this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of
public peace, health or safety or for the support of county government and its existing public institutions.