Ordinance No. (I ~~

Bill No. 4200 , an Ordinance Amending Section 135.140 Pertaining to Employee Background Checks and Adopting a New Section 135.731 Pertaining to of Articles I and VII of Chapter 135 of Title I of the Municipal Code of Ordinances Regarding the City's Personnel Policies, and Matters Related Thereto.

WHEREAS, Chapter 135 of the Municipal Code of Ordinances ("Code") of the City of Wentzville , Missouri (the "City") addresses the City's personnel policies , including , without limitation, hiring and promotion policies and policies regarding ; and

WHEREAS , the City seeks to clarify the scope of and process to be followed for background checks to be performed for applicants and employees as addressed in Section 135 .140 of the Code and;

WHEREAS, the City recognizes the importance of offering excellent employee benefits to its employees, including , without limitation, the importance of encouraging employees to take parental leave to bond with and care for newly born, adopted or placed into foster care children, and therefore intends to establish a parental leave policy for full-time employees by establishing a new Section 135.731 of the Code; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Aldermen of the City desires to amend Section 135.140 of the Code regarding background checks and to adopt a new Section 135 .731 of the Code regarding parental leave .

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WENTZVILLE, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1: Section 135.140 of the Wentzville Municipal Code regarding background checks shall be repealed in its entirety and the following shall be adopted as Section 135 . 140 of the Wentzville Municipal Code in lieu thereof: Sec. 135.140. - Background checks.

(a) Any applicant or employee seeking to provide services to the city shall submit to a background check which may include, but is not limited to : social security verification , prior employment verification , personal and professional references, educational verification , criminal history, motor vehicle records and credit history .

(b) This section is enacted pursuant to Section 43 .535 RSMo., to provide for the criminal history record review associated with the hiring of municipal employees.

(c) The city shall render a fitness determination based upon the results of the background check . In rendering a fitness determination , the city will decide whether the results of the background check bears upon his/her ability or fitness to serve in the capacity for which he/she has applied . 3111__ Ordinance No. ~8ffr6 )

(d) If a decision not to hire or promote a candidate is made based on the results of the background check, there may be certain additional Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requirements that will be addressed by the City Administrator.

Section 2: Section 135.731 of the Wentzville Municipal Code regarding parental leave for full-time employees of the City shall be adopted as follows:

Sec. 135.731 Parental leave

(a) The purpose of this policy is to give parents additional fle xibility and time to bond with and care for their new child. Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leave under this policy is paid leave, not required by law, and is associated with the birth of an employee's own child or the placement of a child with the employee in connection with adoption or foster care. Such paid leave under this policy will not be charged against the employee's other paid leave benefits; however, if the employee is entitled to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act for such event, paid parental leave and FMLA leave will run concurrently. Please refer to the Family and Medical Leave Policy for further guidance on the FMLA.

(b) T his policy will be in effect for births , adoptions or placements of foster children occurring on or after September 1, 2019.

(c) Eligibility - Eligible employees must meet the following criteria:

(1) Be a designated full-time employee with at least twelve months of continuous full- time service at the time of birth or adoption date.

(2) In addition , employees must experience one of the following events:

A. Have given birth to a child

B. Have fathered a child

C . Be a legal spouse or cohabitating partner to an individual giving birth to a child

D. Have had a child under 18 placed in one 's care through adoption or foster care

(3) The placement or adoption of a child by a new spouse (i.e. stepchild) is excluded from this policy

(d) Leave Time - Employees will be granted paid Parental Leave in the amount listed on the below per 12-month period running from the first date of Parental Leave, to cover their regularly scheduled shifts for time off to bond with and care for the child. In the event more than one child is born or adopted at the same time, a maximum of the hours listed below will be 3q17 Ordinance No .-flD #-BB76) granted . In the event both parents are employees of the City , a ma ximum of the hours listed below will be given in total to the parents . The hours listed below are the ma xi mum that will be granted per occurrence.

(1) Full-time Employees (with the exception of non-exempt commissioned personnel) shall be granted paid Parental Leave at the rate of 240 hours (six, 40 hour workweeks) per birth or adoption event.

(2) Full-time hourly commissioned personnel shall be granted Parental Leave at the rate of 256.5 hours (six , 42 . 75 hour workweeks) per birth or adoption event.

(3) All Parental Leave described in this Policy shall be available for a si x- month period following the birth , adopt ionor placement of a ch ild .

(4) Leave may be used intermittently during the six-month period , but must be used in a minimum of one-week increments for ease of scheduling and tracking purposes. If used intermittently, the weeks must be requested in advance and pre-approved by the employee's .

(e) General Rights and Responsibilities

(1) An eligible employee shall initially notify his/her supervisor of the need for Parental Leave and include the estimated timing of such leave at least 60 calendar days in advance of the need for Parental Leave , when possible . If the need for Parental Leave is not foreseeable , an eligible employee must give notice of the need to his/her supervisor as soon as practical.

A. The proper leave request form shall be signed by the Department D irector and filed with the Department.

B . Documentation from the physician with an estimated due date or court documents providing the date of adoption or placement of foster child must be provided .

(2) Insurance benefits will continue to be provided during the paid Parental Leave period at the same rate as offered to other active , full-time employees . Paid leave benefits will continue to accrue .

(3) Once the six (6) weeks of leave has been exhausted , employees may request cont inued leave under other leave policies as app licable .

(4) An employee who takes paid Parental Leave that does not qualify for FMLA leave will be afforded the same level of protection for the period of time that the employee is on paid Parental Leave as if the employee were on FMLA­ qualifying leave. 3qqq Ord i nance No . <(:l!T1f8870)

(5) Upon termination or of employment , the employee shall not be eligible for payment of any unused Parental Leave .

(6) Disciplinary action , up to and including termination , may be taken against an employee who uses Parental Leave for purposes other than those described in this Policy.

Section 3: It is hereby declared to be the intention of the Board of Aldermen that the sections, paragraphs , sentences, clauses, phrases and words of this ordinance are severable , and if any section , paragraph, sentence , clause, phrase or word(s) of his ordinance shall be declared unconstitutiona l or otherwise invalid , such unconstitutional ity or inval id ity shall not affect any of the remaining sections, paragraphs , sentences , clauses , phrases and words of this ordinance since the same would have been enacted by the Board of Aldermen without incorporation in the ordinance of any such unconstitutional or i nvalid portion of this ordinance.

Section 4: This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Board of Aldermen and approval by the Mayor .

READ TWO TIMES AND PASSE ;JEY THE BOA~ OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WENTZVILLE, MISSOURI THIS DAY OF ,. QUQ;f- , 2019. ~fl~~ Mayor, Nickolas Guccione

Ci Cle ryn Bowman

AP & ED BY THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF WENTZVILLE , MISSOURI THlsc2 '] DAY OF ~s ' tst .2019. ZLJJ#? Aee ~ / Mayor, Nickolas Guccione

' Approved as to Form : I' 'l d~~

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