Temporary H Ou Rly Employees at Th E C Ity of P Alo a Lto Policy Brief O Ctober 2004
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Temporary H ou rly Employees at th e C ity of P alo A lto Policy Brief O ctober 2004 In 1994, follow ing a comprehensive on temps each year, w hile red!cing permanent organizational review commissioned by the C ity positions$ any of today#s ho!rlies have been of Palo Alto, the C ity anager fo!nd one of the w or2ing for the C ity since before the 1994 st!dy ma"or problems in the C ity#s organization to be came o!t 3 ten, fifteen, even tw enty years as a the over!se and mis!se of temporary ho!rly %temporary) w or2er, doing the same w or2 as employees$ %A n!mber of &temporary ho!rly' permanent employees b!t w ith no health positions have contin!ed on a year-to-year benefits, no time off and no "ob sec!rity$ And basis, and need to be made permanent for the ,ebr!ary -..4 C ity A!ditor#s 4eport once reasons of efficiency and e(!ity,) she concl!ded$ again recommends that %* !man 4eso!rces %* o!rly positions w hich are performing the sho!ld clarify C ity policies regarding the same d!ties as reg!lar positions and remain in appropriate !ses of ho!rly employees, and the b!dget year after year, can not be view ed as establish standard definitions and practices for +temporary# and therefore are recommended for hiring and monitoring temporary employees$) conversion$) A decade later, the C ity has made little if any progress in fi5ing its system of temporary ,ast-forw ard to -..4$ /he C ity employs over employment$ 01. temporary ho!rlies and is spending more K ey Fin d in g s ° Growth of Temp Work. As of 6!ly -..4, the C ity employed 074 temps$ 8!dgeting for temps has grow n by 4.9 in the past 4 years$ ° M ost Temp Jobs Not Temporary. /he average temporary ho!rly employee has w or2ed for Palo Alto for 0 years and - months$ :i5 percent of temps have w or2ed for the C ity for over 1. years -- some more than -. years$ ; irt!ally all temps are engaged in w or2 that is ongoing and long-term$ ° U rgent Need for H ealth Coverage. Altho!gh reg!lar w or2ers receive f!ll health benefits, the C ity offers no health coverage to its temps$ As a res!lt, 099 of temps are !nins!red, w ith many more !nderins!red$ /he temps ran2ed health benefits as their single most important w or2place iss!e$ ° Cost to City and Comm nity. /he grow ing !se of ho!rly temps has led to inefficiency, raising costs for the C ity$ And !nins!red or !nderins!red temp w or2ers m!st t!rn to p!blic programs, clinics, or emergency rooms, at a cost to ta5payers that may total h!ndreds of tho!sands of dollars each year$ ° The Co nty ! ffers a M odel. In the mid-199.s, :anta C lara C o!nty faced similar challenges emerging from temporary w or2$ In cooperation w ith w or2ers, the C o!nty has s!ccessf!lly reformed its system to largely eliminate misclassification of permanent "obs as temporary and to move tow ards e(!ity for temps$ Palo Alto sho!ld loo2 to the co!nty as a model for reforming its ow n organization$ - 1 - Tem p Em ployees at the C ity of Palo A lto O ctober 2004 /his brief s!mmarizes the c!rrent state of temp w or2force is in some sort of contingent w or2 w or2ers at the C ity of Palo Alto and presents the relationship$ /emporary w or2ers s!ch as those findings from a new s!rvey of Palo Alto temps$ employed by Palo Alto are one of the fastest 8ased on these findings, it offers grow ing forms of contingent w or2$ /he n!mber recommendations for reform, incl!ding a of temporary employees in :anta C lara C o!nty profile show casing how another large p!blic more than tripled betw een 19@4 and -..., employer, the C o!nty of :anta C lara, has ta2en grow ing more than tw ice as fast as the overall steps to address its !se of temp w or2ers$ /his labor force$ research and analysis is part of <or2ing Partnerships = :A#s ongoing st!dy of contingent /emporary w or2 can generate benefits for both and temporary w or2 in :ilicon ; alley$ employers and employees, letting w or2ers test o!t a new "ob, or allow ing employers to fill a short-term position$ 8!t the shift from G row th of Temporary Employmen t in San ta C lara permanent to temporary "obs also comes w ith C ou n ty, 1 ! " #$ % % & serio!s costs$ /emps have disproportionately 41,... low earnings and access to benefits? they are 07,... s r hardest hit by "ob and income insec!rity$ :ome e r ->,... o w of these problems are ca!sed by the temporary p 1@,... m e T ind!stry#s str!ct!re and the fail!re of 9,... employment law to adapt to the changes in w or2 . arrangements$ 8!t others stem from certain @4 @7 @@ 9. 9- 94 97 9@ .. .- 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 -. -. employers# ab!se of temporary w or2$ 4ather than !sing temp w or2ers to fill positions The G row th of C ontingent W or that are act!ally temporary, these employers ta2e positions that have been or co!ld be C ontingent w or2ers 3 incl!ding temporary, permanent and fill them w ith temps 3 either contract, free-lance and part-time w or2ers 3 are hiring a s!ccession of temporary w or2ers, or becoming an increasingly large and permanent 2eeping one temporary employee in the same part of the American labor force$ /his trend position for years$ /hese %permatemp) w or2ers began in the 19>.s, w hen employers began to are denied benefits, "ob sec!rity, and other o!tso!rce and eliminate permanent, f!ll-time advantages of permanent w or2$ = ltimately, this "obs that w ere not considered part of their %core practice is costly for employers, w or2ers, and competency)$ As part of the drive for fle5ibility, the comm!nity$ ,or employers, it increases employers t!rned to contingent w or2ers to t!rnover and training costs and red!ces morale, replace these permanent positions? by some leading to inefficiency? and the comm!nity is estimates, 0.9 of the American w or2force is often left paying the bill for health care, now contingent$ And it contin!es to grow $ !nemployment benefits, and other s!pports for permatemps$ C ontingent employment is more w idespread and increasing more (!ic2ly in :ilicon ; alley than in the co!ntry as a w hole? over 4.9 of the - - - Tem p Em ployees at the C ity of Palo A lto O ctober 2004 Palo A lto Tem porary ! o"rly W or ers# positions that are short-term or pro"ect-based$ Bac gro"n$ an$ %"r&ey /he remaining 9@9 are in "obs that involve ongoing and long-term w or2$ /he vast ma"ority /he C ity employs three types of temp w or2ersA of ho!rlies clearly do not fit into any reasonable %temporary limited ho!rly employees), w ho can definition of %temporary w or2ers)$ w or2 no more than 1,... ho!rs per year, b!t are often rehired year after year? %temporary e5empt Incl!ding all active temporary ho!rly ho!rly employees), temps in certain employees, the average ho!rly has w or2ed for classifications w hose ho!rs are !nlimited, b!t the C ity for 0@ months 3 more than three years$ w ho can w or2 for no more than five years Ba2a :i5ty-tw o percent of ho!rly temps have been %PC4: e5empt)D? and a small n!mber of retirees w ith the city for a year or more, 1>9 for five employed as temporary ho!rlies, w ho are years or more, and 09 for fifteen years or more$ limited to 97. ho!rs per calendar year$ If w e e5cl!de most s!mmer seasonal w or2ers, As of 6!ly -..4, employees actively w or2ing for the remaining temps have w or2ed at the C ity for the C ity incl!ded @ ho!rly retirees, -@ an average of nearly fo!r years, and eight o!t of temporary e5empt ho!rlies, and 0-@ temporary ten have been w ith the C ity for a year or more$ limited ho!rlies, totaling 074 temp w or2ers$ :everal of these %temporary) employees have BE nly those employees w ho w or2ed at least 4 been w or2ing for Palo Alto for more than ho!rs in the previo!s (!arter are considered tw enty yearsG active$D E f these, at least >> are s!mmer seasonal w or2ers hired in 6!ne -..4 for "obs /he disadvantages of temporary "obs at Palo s!ch as lifeg!ard$ :ince many s!mmer seasonals Alto incl!de not "!st lac2 of benefits and "ob are st!dents, their employment sit!ations and sec!rity, b!t also a cap on the n!mber of ho!rs concerns tend to be different from other one is allow ed to w or2$ C5cept for a handf!l of temporary w or2ers, and they are therefore e5empt ho!rlies, most temps are limited to e5cl!ded from most of the s!bse(!ent 1,..