2023-2026 Rank & File CBA Agreement (PDF)

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF GREENACRES AND The Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County, Local 2928, IAFF, Inc. October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2026 1 Table of Contents ARTICLE 1 PREAMBLE.............................................................................................

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF GREENACRES AND The Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County, Local 2928, IAFF, Inc. October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2026 1 Table of Contents ARTICLE 1 PREAMBLE...........................................................................................................................................3 ARTICLE 2 RECOGNITION ....................................................................................................................................4 ARTICLE 3 NON-DISCRIMINATION .................................................................................................................... 5 ARTICLE 4 DUES DEDUCTION .............................................................................................................................6 ARTICLE 5 MANAGEMENT RIGHTS ...................................................................................................................8 ARTICLE 6 FIREFIGHTERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS ................................................................................................. 9 ARTICLE 7 UNION REPRESENTATION.............................................................................................................10 ARTICLE 8 UNION BUSINESS.............................................................................................................................. 11 ARTICLE 9 SENIORITY .........................................................................................................................................13 ARTICLE 10 DRUG FREE WORKPLACE .......................................................................................................... 15 ARTICLE 11 LEAVE POLICY ................................................................................................................................ 16 ARTICLE 12 INSURANCE .....................................................................................................................................19 ARTICLE 13 UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT.....................................................................................................20 ARTICLE 14 WORKWEEK ...................................................................................................................................22 ARTICLE 15 SHIFT EXCHANGE .........................................................................................................................23 ARTICLE 16 SALARY PLAN .................................................................................................................................25 ARTICLE 17 SAVINGS CLAUSE ...........................................................................................................................28 ARTICLE 18 GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURE ..................................................................... 29 ARTICLE 19 WORK STOPPAGES ........................................................................................................................ 32 ARTICLE 20 PENSION ...........................................................................................................................................33 ARTICLE 21 TEMPORARY DISABILITY LEAVE ............................................................................................. 36 ARTICLE 22 RESIDENCY ......................................................................................................................................38 ARTICLE 23 EDUCATION .....................................................................................................................................39 ARTICLE 24 STAFFING AND OVERTIME .........................................................................................................41 ARTICLE 25 EXERCISE EQUIPMENT ...............................................................................................................42 ARTICLE 26 DONATION OF TIME...................................................................................................................... 43 ARTICLE 27 HEALTH AND SAFETY .................................................................................................................. 44 ARTICLE 28 LABOR RELATIONS COMMITTEE ............................................................................................ 46 ARTICLE 29 SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT ...................................................................................................... 47 ARTICLE 30 PROMOTIONS ................................................................................................................................ 48 ARTICLE 31 DURATION OF AGREEMENT AND SIGNATURES ................................................................... 58 2 ARTICLE 1 PREAMBLE This Agreement is entered, into by and between the City of Greenacres, Florida hereinafter referred to as the "City" and the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928, IAFF, Inc., hereinafter referred to as the "Union". It is the purpose of this Agreement to establish an orderly and peaceful procedure in the settlement of differences which might arise and to provide for joint collective bargaining in the determination of wages, hours and other conditions of employment between the City and the bargaining unit represented by the Union, hereinafter referred to as "members" or "employees". 3 ARTICLE 2 RECOGNITION Section 1 The City hereby recognizes the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928 IAFF, Inc., as the exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining with respect to wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment for all employees in the bargaining unit. Section 2 The bargaining unit for which this recognition is accorded is as defined in Certificate Number 1835 granted by the Public Employees Relations Commission on March 24, 2014, comprised of all regular and probationary Firefighter/EMT, Firefighter/Paramedics, Driver Operators, Lieutenant, Fire Rescue Captains, Assistant Fire Marshal, and Fire Marshal. The Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, Fire Rescue Division Chief, Administrative Assistant, Receptionist, and all other employees of the City of Greenacres are excluded from the bargaining unit. Section 3 The parties agree that from time-to-time changes are required to the list of classifications/positions/titles that are “included” and “excluded” from this bargaining unit as noted in PERC Certification Number 1835.The parties agree that they collaborate and jointly file, if possible, for clarification of the unit certification with the Public Employees’ Relations Commission to correct the unit certification based any future changes. Section 4 The City shall send notices and communications with respect to changes to bargaining unit members’ wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment to: Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928 IAFF, Inc. 2328 S. Congress Avenue Suite 2C West Palm Beach, FL 33406 4 ARTICLE 3 NON-DISCRIMINATION Section 1 There shall be no discrimination against any employee covered by this Agreement solely because of Union activities protected by F.S. 447, or because of membership, non-membership or office held in the Union. Section 2 The parties recognize that the City has established an internal procedure to investigate and resolve alleged cases of discrimination, which is an addition to existing and adequate procedures established by the State of Florida and the Federal Government. Accordingly, it is agreed that allegations of employment discrimination as described above cannot be processed through the contractual grievance/arbitration procedure. 5 ARTICLE 4 DUES DEDUCTION Section 1 Upon receipt of a lawfully executed written authorization form from a bargaining unit member, the City agrees to deduct the current regular association dues deduction and one additional deduction as elected by the bargaining unit member biweekly and remit such deduction to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Union within fifteen (15) working days from the date of deduction. Each Fiscal Year, The Union shall notify the City, in writing, the amount to be deducted from each employee and shall notify the City, in writing, thirty (30) days prior to any change. Deductions may be percentage based. The employer is expressly prohibited from any involvement in the collection of fines, penalties or special assessments and shall not honor any request of this nature. Section 2 Any employee may, at any time, revoke his/her dues deduction and shall submit such revocation form to the City’s finance director with a copy to the Union. Section 3 The Union may change the amount of dues (including a program or benefit) one time per Fiscal Year, per employee. The City may deduct $100.00 from dues, per employee, for any changes thereafter. Section 4 The Union agrees to provide necessary Dues Deduction Authorization forms and Notice to Stop Dues Deduction forms for its members. These forms shall read as follows: AUTHORIZATION CARD FOR DEDUCTION OF UNION DUES I hereby authorize the City of Greenacres to deduct from my wages each pay period an amount equal to the current regular biweekly dues of the Union and the cost of any additional programs or benefits elected by me and to transmit this amount to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County, Local 2928 IAFF, Inc. Date: Name: Address: Signature: INSTRUCTION TO STOP DEDUCTION OF UNION DUES I hereby instruct the City of Greenacres to stop deducting from my wages each pay period the current regular biweekly Union dues of the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach 6 County, Local 2928 IAFF, Inc. A copy of this revocation has been forwarded to the SecretaryTreasurer of the Union. Date: Name: Address: Signature: Section 5 The Union shall hold the City harmless against any and all claims, demands, and liabilities of any kind whatsoever arising from any action taken or not taken by the City, its members, officials, agents, or representatives in complying with this Section or in reliance upon any notice, letter, or written authorization supplied to the City pursuant hereto. 7 ARTICLE 5 MANAGEMENT RIGHTS The Union agrees that the City has and will continue to retain, whether exercised or not, the right to operate and manage its affairs in all respects, provided that the exercise of such right does not have the practical effect of violating specific terms of the Agreement. The rights of the City shall include but not be limited to the following: 1. To determine the organization of City Government. 2. To determine the purpose of each of its constituent departments. 3. To exercise control and discretion over the organization and efficiency of the operations of the City. 4. To maintain the sufficiency of the operations of the City and to set standards for service to be offered to the public. 5. To manage and direct the employees of the City, including the right to assign work and overtime, and to establish, modify, or change rules and regulations applicable to employees covered by this Agreement. 6. To hire, examine, classify (subject to language in this agreement), promote, train, transfer, assign, and schedule employees in positions with the City. 7. To suspend, demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action and impose sanctions for cause. 8. To increase, reduce, change, modify or alter the composition of the work force, including the right to relieve employees from duty because of lack of work, lack of funds, or any other reason not prohibited by Law. 9. To determine and establish internal security practices, including the right to search all areas of City property (e.g., lockers, computers) and personal effects based upon reasonable suspicion. 10. To determine the location, method, means, and personnel by which operations are to be conducted, including the right to determine whether goods or services are to be made or purchased and the right to contract and subcontract existing and future work. 11. To determine the number of employees to be employed by the City. 12. To establish, change, or modify the number, types, and the grades of positions or employees assigned to an organization, department or division thereof, or project. 13. To establish, change or modify duties, tasks and responsibilities or requirements of positions within the City. 14. To establish and revise or discontinue policies, rules, practices, programs, or procedures in Council Policies, Administrative Policies, and/or the Greenacres City Manual of Personnel Policies. In the event that civil emergency conditions exist, the provisions of this Agreement may be suspended in accordance with the Public Employees Relations Act, as long as pay, benefits and just cause discipline shall remain in effect throughout. 8 ARTICLE 6 FIREFIGHTERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS The City agrees to comply with the provisions of the Firefighters' Bill of Rights, Sections 112.82 and 112.83, Florida Statutes. Members shall have only those rights and remedies provided by the statute and court decisions interpreting it. The City agrees to comply with the provisions of the Firefighters Cancer Benefit, Sections 112.1816, Florida Statutes. 9 ARTICLE 7 UNION REPRESENTATION Neither party, in negotiations, shall have any control over the selection of the negotiating or bargaining representatives of the other party. If any employee member of the bargaining committee is on duty during negotiation sessions, he/she may attend and participate in said sessions with no loss in pay if approved in advance by the Fire Chief or his/her designee. Said approval may be granted only if the shift would still be adequately staffed and would not cause any overtime in the Department. Such approval shall be within the sole discretion of the Fire Chief or his/her designee. A Union representative may attend two (2) union meetings per month for up to four (4) hours, and any other emergency meeting scheduled during contract negotiations, without loss of pay, and if approved in advance by the Fire Chief or his/her designee. Said approval may be granted only if the shift would still be adequately staffed and would not cause any overtime in the Department. Such approval shall be within the sole discretion of the Fire Chief or his/her designee and shall not unreasonably be denied. The City Manager and Fire Chief shall be notified in writing when there is a change to the appointed Union Representative(s). 10 ARTICLE 8 UNION BUSINESS Section 1 The Union agrees that there shall be no solicitation of City employees for membership in the Union, signing up of members, collection of initiation fees, dues or assessments, meetings, distribution of Union or affiliated Union literature or any other solicitation activity of the Union during the working hours of City employees; provided, however, that this Section shall not be construed to prohibit communication of official Union business to members prior to the beginning of the work shift and after the regularly scheduled work shift and during the employee’s meal period. The Fire Chief will designate the following bulletin board location in the Fire Rescue Department for the use of the Union bargaining unit herein covered: a) Kitchen – Station #94 b) Hallway into bays – Station #95 c) Location to be determined - Station #96 The Union may post meeting notices and special information notices on the bulletin boards for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days. Such notices may include: notices of Union meetings, notices of Union elections, notices of Union appointments to office, notices of Union recreational and social affairs and Union newsletters. All notices shall be submitted to the Fire Chief or his/her designee for review prior to posting. Permission to post notice shall not be unreasonably withheld. All costs incidental to preparing and posting of Union material will be borne by the Union. Section 2 A Union Representative shall be allotted a reasonable amount of time with a minimum of 30 minutes to meet with all new employees during the first week of employment, for the purpose of explaining the Union’s role as the Florida certified collective bargaining representative, and to answer any questions regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Section 3 Any time an investigation is completed, upon request, the Union shall be provided the entire investigative file, together with any proposed discipline, regardless of any bargaining unit member’s right to such records. The documents shall be provided to the Union at no cost. Section 4 There shall be created a pool of time known as Union Time Pool (UTP). Each employee who is covered by this agreement shall contribute four (4) hours of vacation time during the first full pay period of October each year. An employee who is not a member of the Union and who does not 11 wish to participate in the funding of the UTP may opt out of this program by providing written notice to both the City and the Union by September 15 of each year. The Union Time Pool (UTP) may be used for Union business upon approval by the by the Union president or his/her designee. Authorization by the Union President or designee for an employee to use the Union Time Pool must be submitted and approved in writing before such assignment is effective. The Union Time Pool shall be charged in one (1) hour increments. There will be no cost to the City for any time off related to the use of the Union Time Pool. If time off for use of the Union Time Pool requires a replacement employee who receives overtime pay, the Union Time Pool shall be charged one and one-half hours for every hour worked by the replacement employee. A minimum of one (1) hour UTP shall be taken by an approved employee. A maximum of three (3) members may be approved at any one time unless staffing requirements prohibit such request. Use of the Union Time Pool shall be subject to approval of the Fire Chief and or his/her designee. Approval shall not be withheld unreasonably. Under normal circumstances, the Union President or designee shall provide the Fire Chief or designee at least seventy-two (72) hoursnotice before the requested use of the Union Time Pool. 12 ARTICLE 9 SENIORITY Section 1 Seniority shall be defined as the total length of continuous service in the Fire Rescue Department and shall be computed from the time of appointment. Seniority shall continue to accrue during worker’s compensation leave, holidays, vacation, funeral leave, compensatory leave, military leave, UTP Leave, and sick leave approved by the City. Leaves of absence without pay, either approved or otherwise, shall not count towards the accrual of seniority. Seniority for purposes of shift and station selection shall be defined as continuous service in a job code. The Labor Relations committee shall create a bid policy no later than October 1, 2024, unless otherwise agreed by the Union President and Fire Chief, for approval by the Fire Chief. Once completed, the policy may be amended by mutual agreement between the Fire Chief or designee and Union President. Seniority for purposes of vacation and Kelly days shall be defined as continuous service in the Fire Rescue Department. Section 2 Employees shall lose their seniority as a result of the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Termination Retirement excluding DROP Resignation Is absent for three (3) consecutive working days without notification to and approval by the City. An employee may be reinstated to his/her position if the position is still vacant, by a showing of good cause to the Fire Chief, subject to the review of the City Manager, of why notification was not possible within three (3) days. 5. Failure to report to the City Manager’s Office intention of returning to work within ten (10) days of receipt of recall as verified by Certified Mail, Return Receipt. 6. Failure to report to work at the termination of a leave of absence without pay. 7. Failure to report from Military Leave within the time limits prescribed by law. Section 3 The City agrees that seniority shall govern the following matters: 1. In the event of a layoff for any reason, employees shall be laid off in the inverse order of their seniority. Such lay-offs will be accomplished within the established rank structure. 2. Any employee of rank shall be permitted to drop a grade in rank to preclude layoff consistent with his or her seniority. 3. Employees shall be called back from lay-off according to their seniority. Such call backs will be accomplished within the established rank structure in Section 3-1 of this article. 4. Such actions will incorporate a certified letter to the employee who will specify a ten (10) day time limit for reply as to whether or not he/she wishes to be considered for his/her 13 old position. In any event, no position will be held open longer than ten (10) days after the receipt of the certified letter advising that his/her old position is being held for them. Section 4 The City shall have the right to determine the means of effectuating necessitated layoffs. The City may impose general across-the-board layoffs, potentially affecting all members of the Bargaining Unit equally, regardless of classification. The City may impose layoffs which may impact specific classifications only, or other layoff formats that the City chooses in order to operate and manage its affairs in all respects. Section 5 Laid off employees who are qualified for an existing opening in the Fire Rescue Department of the same or lesser rank than their former position which they previously held and remain qualified for (including retaining required certifications) will be recalled for up to one (1) year from the time they are laid off. Laid off employees shall be recalled in reverse order in which they were laid off. In the event of a recall, the City shall notify the employee at their last known address of record with the City by certified mail, return receipt, of such recall and give the employee ten (10) days to reply. It is the responsibility of the employee to keep his/her current address on file with the City. No position shall be held open for an employee for more than ten (10) days after he/she has received the Notice of Recall. 14 ARTICLE 10 DRUG FREE WORKPLACE Section 1 Drug tests may be administered by the City pursuant to the drug-free workplace program; Section 440.102, Florida Statutes; and the City of Greenacres Drug- Free Workplace Policy which may be amended by mutual agreement by the Union President and the City Manager or their designees. Section 2 All positions in the bargaining unit are agreed to be safety sensitive positions, including but not limited to regular and probationary Firefighter/Paramedics, Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians, Fire Rescue Captains, Driver Operators, Lieutenants, Assistant Fire Marshals, and Fire Marshals, employed by the City shall be subject to random screening for the presence of alcohol or drugs. Section 3 The City will contract with an independent company to conduct one (1) random alcohol/drug screening tests each month. One (1) primary names and one (1) alternate will be randomly selected by the testing company. All employees shall be tested while on duty. Upon notification, the employee shall immediately report to the drug testing facility, accompanied by Fire Rescue Administration or their designee. No employee shall be randomly tested more than three (3) times in the City’s fiscal year. Section 4 All individuals are prohibited from smoking, using tobacco products, and/or using simulated smoking devices. Employees who violate this policy may be subject to disciplinary action. For purposes of this Article, “tobacco products” include, but are not limited to cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, “dip”, and pipe smoking. A “simulated smoking device” includes, but is not limited to, electronic cigarettes, electronic pipes, or other devices intended to resemble or having the appearance of a cigarette, cigar, pipe, or other tobacco product. 15 ARTICLE 11 LEAVE POLICY Section 1 Leaves shall be in accordance with the procedures and policies of the City of Greenacres Manual of Personnel Policies, except as modified below. Section 2 An employee is eligible for vacation leave with pay the first payroll period beginning on or after the employee completes six (6) months of continuous service at which time the employee shall be credited with their first year of accruals. Paid vacation for bargaining unit employees shall accrue following their 1 year anniversary in accordance with the following schedule on a bi-weekly basis: 6 months-5 years 6-10 year 11-15 years 16 or more years 24/48 Hour Employees 4 shifts 6 shifts 8 shifts 10 shifts Other Employees 80 hours 120 hours 160 hours 200 hours In the first week of October, the Department will advise employees of the available vacation time based on scheduling and staffing concerns. First round selection of vacation must be made between October 16th and October 31st. Selection will be made by seniority in rounds. Round one vacation must be in increments of at least one (1) week (40 hrs. or 48 hrs.). If an employee wants to select more than one (1) week of vacation during round one, additional weeks must be taken consecutively with the first week. After all employees have made their round one selection, Round 2 selection of vacation will take place November1st thru November 15th. After Round 1 and Round 2, employees may select any remaining vacation time on a first come, first served basis. First and second round vacation selections may only be cancelled up to twenty-one (21) days in advance of the requested leave. Section 3 All requests for vacation shall be made at least three (3) days in advance from the start of the requested day. The Fire Chief or his/her designee may at his/her discretion approve vacation time inside of the three (3) day time period if no coverage is needed. Vacations may be canceled in the event of an emergency as determined by the City. 16 Section 4 In the event that a shift is at minimum staffing levels, leave requests will be limited to one supervisory position per shift and two (2) non-supervisory positions per shift utilizing vacation time in accordance with this Agreement. Section 5 In the last pay period of August each year, vacation time in excess of two hundred sixteen (216) hours up to two hundred forty (240) hours (this creates a twenty-four (24) hour buyback possibility) shall be paid out at the employee’s current rate of pay. The payment of leave upon separation and the financial hardship vacation buy-back of vacation leave, or any other payment for vacation leave, shall be governed by the City’s policy in the employee handbook as enacted and amended from time to time, except as modified herein. In the event of any such payment, this shall be a separate payment and will have all applicable deductions taken out through the City’s normal payroll process. Section 6 All employees shall be covered by the sick leave policy maintained in the City’s Manual of Personnel Policies, except as modified by this Agreement. Fire Rescue employees assigned to work 24 hour shifts shall accrue sick leave at the rate of onethird shift each month, for a total of four (4) shifts per year. Employees utilizing sick time must notify the department via the department approved staffing program. In the paycheck for the last pay period of each fiscal year bargaining unit employees who have accrued more than 960 hours of sick leave shall be cashed out for all hours above 960 at their regular rate per hour. Employees may use up to 24 hours annually of accrued sick leave as personal leave. Personal leave shall be taken in increments of 2 hours and limited to one person per shift. Personal time must be approved by the Fire Chief or designee and shall not cause overtime. This 24-hour converted time shall be treated as sick leave for overtime purposes. Employees may opt to receive compensation for one-half of the total number of hours accumulated above 480. This compensation shall be paid at one-half the employee’s regular rate per hour, such that for each half-hour of pay, one full hour sick leave will be deducted from the employee’s accumulated sick time. Employees shall be covered by the following sick leave policy: Years of Service 0 to 5 5 to 10 10+ Normal Retirement* % of Sick Leave Payout 0% 25% 50% 100% 17 *When an employee is eligible for and applies for a retirement benefit under FRS or the City Plans Section 7 Employees working a 40 hour, 5/8 schedule who take sick leave on a holiday, the regularly scheduled day before or the regularly scheduled day after a holiday shall not receive holiday pay. Employees working any other schedule who take sick leave on a holiday, the calendar day before or the calendar day after a holiday shall not receive holiday pay. Employees who work on a holiday shall receive holiday pay notwithstanding any sick leave taken. Bargaining unit employees shall receive eight (8) hours of holiday pay for each City approved holiday, currently 13 per year, whether or not the employee works on the holiday. Section 8 Shift employees covered by this agreement will receive their holiday pay at straight time in one lump sum in September of each year in a separate payment with all applicable deductions. The holiday pay benefit for those shift employees who work less than a full fiscal year shall be paid on a pro-rata basis for only those City approved holidays the shift employee has actually earned the holiday pay benefit under Article 11, Section 7 above. Payments shall be paid to shift employees who separate before the end of the fiscal year at the time of the employee’s separation. Section 9 The City reserves the right to require documentation supporting a request for bereavement leave. 40 hr. Employees will receive twenty-four (24) hours of leave with pay to attend to family matters, arrange and attend funeral services, and other matters relating to the death of an immediate family member. In circumstances in which the funeral is scheduled to take place more than 250 miles from the City, the employee may request up to sixteen (16) additional hours of leave, which can be granted in the Fire Chief’s sole discretion, with pay which shall not be charged against any other type of leave. The Fire Chief may request appropriate documentation for the need for funeral leave. Employees who need additional time off, regardless of where the funeral takes place, may apply for such leave with the use of vacation leave. 48 hr. Employees will receive twenty-four (24) hours of leave with pay to attend to family matters, arrange and attend funeral services, and other matters relating to the death of an immediate family member. In circumstances in which the funeral is scheduled to take place more than 250 miles from the City, the employee may request up to twenty-four (24) additional hours of leave, which can be granted in the Fire Chief’s sole discretion, with pay which shall not be charged against any other type of leave. The Fire Chief may request appropriate documentation for the need for funeral leave. Employees who need additional time off, regardless of where the funeral takes place, may apply for such leave with the use of vacation leave. 18 ARTICLE 12 INSURANCE The City shall provide all bargaining unit members with the same insurance plans (health, dental, life insurance – this brief list is illustrative only and in no way limits or binds the City in providing any type of insurance, but merely states that types of insurance the City currently offers in a nonexhaustive fashion) and provide the same premium payment rates as non-bargaining unit City employees. The City’s insurance plans shall be uniform across all employees. The City may alter coverage provided in this article only after providing the union with notice 10 days prior to the effective date of the change. 19 ARTICLE 13 UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT Section 1 The City shall furnish uniforms to all bargaining unit members who are required to wear uniforms in the performance of their duties. Section 2 Any uniform or related equipment initially supplied by the City, which is damaged or destroyed while an employee is acting in the performance of his/her official duties, shall be replaced by the City at no cost to the employee, provided the same is not the result of his/her negligence. Such claim of loss must be supported with reasonable proof and shall be subject to the approval of the Fire Chief or his/her designated representative. Section 3 Fire Certified Personnel Uniforms Effective October 1 of each year, non-probationary fire certified personnel in the bargaining unit shall receive a uniform credit in the amount of five hundred ($500.00) dollars to be used for the purchase of approved items from the City’s selected vendor which may include, but is not limited to, approved uniforms, approved work-related equipment, approved class A uniform, and approved bunker gear bags. The City shall provide needed firefighting gear to firefighters and uniforms to newly hired probationary employees as listed herein. Effective October 1 of each year following completion of probation, the employee will be provided a five hundred ($500.00) dollar uniform credit to be used for the purchase of approved items. In the event a unit member loses brass, badges, or any other official identifier, the unit member must immediately report the missing items to the department. The ability to utilize the $500.00 uniform credit for such items will be made on a case-by-case basis in the discretion of the department. The uniform credit account will close, and all orders must be placed by, August 1 of each year. In the first year of the current contract the city agrees to pay the cost of 1 full class A uniform including pants for all non-probationary employees. The name and rank of the supervisory EMS personnel shall be applied to newly issued uniforms, and the name and rank of Firefighter shall be applied to all other uniforms. New employee uniform list: EMT pants – 2 Class B dress pant - 1 Polo shirts – 1 PT shorts - 1 T-shirt - 5 CQB belt – 1 Windbreaker – 1 20 Baseball style hat - 1 Job shirt - 1 Utility jumpsuit - 1 Badge – 1 Nameplate – 1 Class A shirt LS blue - 1 Class A necktie – 1 Class A belt -1 Class A dress pant – 1 (upon completion of probation) Class A jacket – 1 (upon completion of probation) Class A hat – 1 (upon completion of probation) 21 ARTICLE 14 WORKWEEK Section 1 Except in the event of an emergency, the City reserves the right to change regular shift (A, B, or C) assignments upon seven (7) days’ notice. The Department may not change individual shift assignments solely to avoid payment of overtime. Fire Rescue employees assigned to work 24 hour shifts shall work an average of 48 hours per week over a 21 day work period that includes a 24 hour shift off (Kelly day) every seventh (7th) shift. The Department will advise employees of the available Kelly days based on scheduling and staffing concerns. Employees will rank each day of the week by order of their preference (1 to 7), and Kelly days will be determined on the basis of seniority. There will be a maximum of one (1) Captain off per day per shift. Step-ups will not have the same Kelly day as their immediate station Captain. The Kelly day selection process will begin again October 1 of each year. Kelly days will take effect the first full three (3) week pay cycle in each January. Section 2 Employees shall be paid at an overtime rate for all hours worked outside their regularly scheduled work hours. Section 3 Off-duty employees called out to work shall be paid a minimum of three (3) hours overtime. 22 ARTICLE 15 SHIFT EXCHANGE Section 1 Employees may exchange shifts or parts of shifts with another employee in the same classification (job code) with prior approval of the immediate supervisor of the employee requesting the exchange. Approval for exchanges of time shall not unreasonably be denied. All employees seeking to swap shifts must have 36 hours of sick leave accruals available prior to and during each shift on which a swap is to take place in order to be able to comply with Section 3 below. If any requesting employee falls below 36 hours of accrued sick leave, the remaining requested shift swaps will be placed on hold until the sick leave bank accruals are replenished to 36 hours or will be cancelled. Probationary employees cannot participate in shift swaps. The Fire Chief or designee has the discretion to allow exemptions to this paragraph in extenuating circumstances. Section 2 Shift exchanges must be accomplished within twelve (12) months. Shift exchanges shall not result in the City incurring overtime liability it would not otherwise incur. Section 3 Employees are responsible for making all exchanges, subject only to approvals as described above. An employee who accepts a shift exchange is responsible for working that exchange, and will be subject to disciplinary action for non-attendance. If the employee who is scheduled to work a shift exchange does not report to work or is absent from any work time during that scheduled shift exchange, that employee will be charged the time from his/her leave accruals required to cover his/her absence, which shall be charged to the employee’s accruals at the time and one-half rate if any overtime costs are incurred by the City to obtain coverage for that employee. An employee whose accruals are charged shall also remain subject to disciplinary action for non-attendance. Section 4 Employees must work their end of all exchanges, and compensation in any other form may not be used to repay an exchange. If an employee quits and owes other employees exchanged shifts, the employees affected are not owed any compensation from the City. Section 5 Shift exchanges for educational purposes will not be denied if they otherwise meet the requirements of this Article. Section 6 Kelly Days may be exchanged voluntarily between employees on a temporary or permanent basis as long as it does not create overtime. A Kelly Day may be exchanged for a vacant Kelly Day slot 23 provided that the exchange is made within one twenty-one (21) day work cycle. All Kelly Day exchanges must have prior approval by the Fire Rescue Division Chief or his/her designee. 24 ARTICLE 16 SALARY PLAN Section 1 Promotions - Employees who are promoted to Fire Marshal or who are promoted to Captain from a rank lower than Lieutenant will be placed at the lowest step providing an increase of at least ten percent 10% above their current rate of pay or the highest step. Employees who are promoted to Driver Operator, Lieutenant, Captain (from the rank of Lieutenant), or Assistant Fire Marshal will be placed at the next lowest step providing an increase of at least five percent 5% above their current rate of pay or the highest step. The date the promotion becomes effective, will become the employee’s new anniversary date. Effective March 1, 2025, employees promoted to the positions of Captain, Fire Marshal, Assistant Fire Marshal, Lieutenant or Driver Operator shall move to the lowest step providing at least a 5% increase above their current rate of pay or to the highest step. The City and bargaining unit agree to create a new Probationary Step (also known as Step 0) on the new salary schedule for probationary employees. Upon successful completion of the employee’s probationary period, the employee will be slotted into step 1 of the new salary schedule. Section 2 A) First year; October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024. Attached to this agreement is a new salary schedule for 2023-2024 including a 6% across the board increase. Effective October 1, 2020, each employee will be slotted into the new salary schedule for his/her position based on the employee’s completed years of service as of September 30, 2020. Employees who are still serving their initial probationary period will remain at their current salary level (without re-slotting and without a wage increase) until they each successfully complete their probationary period, and will then be slotted into step 1 on the new salary schedule. B) Second Year: October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 including a 5% across the board increase. The salary schedule for year two of this Agreement is attached hereto and shall be implemented. C) Third Year: October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 including a 5% across the board increase. The salary schedule for year three of this Agreement is attached hereto and shall be implemented. 25 Section 3 Effective on the employee’s anniversary date, the employee shall move to the next level on the salary plan. If an employee reaches the top of the salary plan, said employee shall receive no increase. Section 4 Assignment Pay - Employees assigned to Paramedic Field Training Officers and Driver Engineers shall receive annual assignment pay of $2,000.00, paid monthly; for the duration of that assignment, and shall be included in their regular rates of pay. This pay shall remain in effect until promotions to Lieutenant (for FTO) and Driver Operator are made. Firefighter/EMT's and Driver Operators who become State of Florida Paramedic certified and are signed-off to function as a Paramedic per department standards and who are assigned as a Paramedic shall receive 15% assignment pay on top of their current Firefighter/EMT or Driver Operator salary. Filling a Temporary Vacancy - Employees assigned to fill a temporary vacancy for Captain or Driver Operator for one-half shift or longer shall have their regular rate of pay increased by 5% for said hours worked. Effective October 1, 2025 employees assigned to fill a temporary vacancy for Lieutenant for one-half shift or longer shall have their regular rate of pay increased by 5% for said hours worked. Such employees must be on the eligibility list for the respective position they will be assigned to. In the event that there are no employees on the eligibility list for Captain, the City will immediately start the promotional process for Captain. While a new list is being established, qualified FTOs (until February 2024) or Lieutenants may be utilized for overtime to fill a vacancy in the Captain rank. This will occur only after all other employees that hold the rank of Captain have turned down said overtime. Until February 2024, in order to be a qualified FTO for the purpose of stepping up to the Captain rank, FTOs shall have completed a Strategies & Tactics class put on and paid for by the department. Additionally, in order to continue to be eligible for this step up, FTOs must complete Company Officer 1 within 3 months of completing Strategies and Tactics. Section 5 Employees with fifteen (15) or more years of service shall receive an annual payment of $750.00, with all necessary and applicable deductions during the normal payroll process. This annual payment will be processed during the payroll period after the employee’s anniversary date. Section 6 Nothing in this Agreement will require the payment of wage increases of any kind after the expiration of the Agreement. Section 7 26 The City and Union may agree to exercise a re-opener of Article 16, Section 2, of this Agreement for the limited purpose of re-negotiating the across the board increases provided therein, in the event the City realizes economic losses that render the across the board increases unaffordable. The City and Union shall agree to reopen between May 1, 2024, and 5:00 pm on June 1, 2024, to re-negotiate for the Second Year and between May 1, 2025, and 5:00 pm on June 1, 2025, to renegotiate for the Third Year. These deadlines shall be strictly enforced. Failure to agree to re-open within the time frames established herein shall constitute a waiver of the City’s right to re-open for that fiscal year. 27 ARTICLE 17 SAVINGS CLAUSE If any article or section of this Agreement should be found invalid, unlawful, or not enforceable by reason of any existing or subsequently enacted legislation or by judicial authority, all other Articles and sections of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect for the duration of this Agreement. 28 ARTICLE 18 GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURE Section 1 A grievance shall be defined as a dispute over the interpretation or application of the specific provisions of this Agreement. Section 2 Should the City wish to press a grievance, such grievance must be presented to the Union for a response. The Union shall have ten (10) calendar days in which to submit a written response. The City may appeal the Union's response to arbitration pursuant to Section 4 of the procedure below. Section 3 In a mutual effort to provide harmonious relations between the parties to this agreement, it is agreed to and understood by both parties that there shall be a procedure in this department for the resolution of grievances or misunderstandings between the parties arising from the application or interpretation of this agreement as follows: Step 1. The aggrieved employee or a union representative may present a written grievance to his/her Battalion Chief within ten (10) calendar days of the occurrence or knowledge of the matter-giving rise to the grievance. The Battalion Chief shall attempt to adjust the matter within his/her authority and respond to the party presenting the grievance within ten (10) calendar days. Step 2. If the grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved in Step 1, the Union representative and/or the aggrieved employee may appeal the grievance to the Fire Chief, within ten (10) calendar days after the time the response from the previous step is due. The Fire Chief shall respond, in writing, within ten (10) calendar days to the employee and Union. Step 3. If the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved in Step 2, the aggrieved employee or the Union may appeal the grievance to the City Manager, in writing, within ten (10) calendar days of the date the response was due in Step 2. The City Manager shall respond in writing within ten (10) calendar days to the employee and the Union. Note: The time limits set forth may be waived only by mutual agreement, in writing, between the parties. If the Union fails to advance a grievance within these time limits, the grievance will be treated as withdrawn with prejudice. If the City fails to respond to the grievance within these time limits, the grievance will be treated as denied, effective on the date the response was due. For grievances relating to more than one (1) bargaining unit member, the Union may file a grievance on behalf of all affected Union members at the Step at which there is authority to resolve the grievance. 29 Section 4 Arbitration Referral 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. If the grievance is not resolved at Step 3 of the Grievance Procedure, the Union may, within (10) calendar days of the date of the response was due in Step 3, submit a request for arbitration to the City Manager. In general, grievances, either the Union or the City may request to take the issue or grievance to arbitration. For grievances filed by an employee or by the Union, the Union shall have the exclusive right to refer a grievance to arbitration except where the Union elects not to represent an employee due non-membership in the Union, in which case the employee may proceed in accordance with Chapter 447, Fla. Stat. If the parties fail to mutually agree upon an arbitrator within ten (10) calendar days after the date of receipt of the arbitration request, a list of seven (7) qualified neutrals from the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service (FMCS) shall be requested by either party, with a copy of the request sent to the other party. Within ten (10) calendar days after the receipt of the list, each party may reject one panel. The party rejecting the panel will pay for the next panel. Once a panel is approved, the parties shall meet and alternately cross out the names on the list, and the remaining name shall be the arbitrator. The party bringing the grievance shall cross out the first name. Failure of the parties to select an arbitrator within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the panel from FMCS will be considered a withdrawal of the grievance with prejudice. The hearing on the grievance shall be informal and the strict rules of evidence shall not apply. The arbitrator shall not have the power to add to, subtract from, modify or alter the terms of this collective bargaining agreement in arriving at a decision of the issue or issues presented, and shall confine his/her decision solely to the interpretation or application of the agreement. The arbitrator shall not have the authority to determine any issues not submitted. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the aggrieved employee, the union and employer, except as provided by law. The arbitrator's fee and expenses shall be borne equally by the parties bringing the grievance. Attendance at any arbitration procedure and compensation of participants shall be the responsibility of each side. The arbitrator shall be requested to tender his/her decision as quickly as possible, but in any event, no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the close of the hearing. In the case of a grievance involving any continuing or other money claim against the employer, no award shall be made by the arbitrator, which shall allow any monetary payment, damages or accruals for more than five (5) working days prior to the date when such grievance shall have been first submitted in writing. Upon receipt of the arbitrator's award, corrective action, if any will be implemented as soon as possible. 30 11. 12. If either party to this agreement requests a copy of transcripts of the arbitration hearings, both parties will share equally the cost of such transcripts. If the party requesting arbitration does not advance the prosecution of the case by, at a minimum, scheduling a date for the hearing, within 60 calendar days of the selection of the arbitrator or 120 calendar days of the grievance being advanced to arbitration, whichever shall last occur, the grievance shall be deemed withdrawn. Section 5 Non-Probationary employees may appeal disciplinary suspensions of greater than two days, disciplinary demotions or discharges to arbitration under this Article. Notwithstanding the above, non-probationary employees may appeal to arbitration a second suspension of two days or less received within one year. Non-probationary employees may appeal lesser disciplinary penalties through Step 3 of the grievance procedure, and the City Manager's response shall be final. Newly hired probationary employees shall not have the right to appeal discharge. 31 ARTICLE 19 WORK STOPPAGES Section 1 There will be no strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns, boycotts, job actions, or refusal to perform assigned work by the employees covered under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the above, there shall be no picketing whatsoever in uniform by the employees covered by this Agreement. Section 2 Recognizing that Florida law prohibits the activities enumerated in Section 1 above, the parties agree that any member who participates in or promotes any of the aforesaid activities may be discharged or otherwise disciplined by the City. Section 3 It is recognized by the parties that the activities enumerated in Sections 1 and 2 above are contrary to the ideals of the professionalism and to the Fire Rescue Department's community responsibility. Accordingly, it is understood and agreed that in the event of any violation of this Article the City shall be entitled to seek and obtain legal and/or equitable relief available in any forum. 32 ARTICLE 20 PENSION Section 1. All eligible unit employees shall continue to participate in existing City pension plans. Section 2. Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP). The pension benefits and employee contributions currently provided for bargaining unit members through the City of Greenacres Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement Plan will be maintained for the duration of this Agreement, except as provided below. The pension changes provided below will take effect on October 1, 2020, or upon implementation of the changes if later (the “effective date”), except as otherwise specified. Deferred Retirement Option Plan A. A deferred retirement option plan ("DROP") shall be established for firefighters on the effective date. The DROP shall be part of the pension plan, and shall contain the following eligibility and participation provisions. 1. A member who attains normal retirement eligibility (age 55 with at least six years of credited service or 25 years of credited service regardless of age) shall be eligible to participate in the DROP. A member may defer participation in the DROP until age 59 or 33 years of service, whichever occurs first. 2. A member must make a written election to participate in the DROP on a form provided by the City. A member's election to participate in the DROP shall be irrevocable. 3. An eligible member may participate in the DROP for a maximum of 5 years. 4. A member who elects to participate in the DROP shall be required to terminate City employment no later than the end of the maximum DROP period. A member who elects to participate in the DROP may terminate DROP participation and City employment sooner than the end of the maximum DROP period, with at least 30 days’ advance written notice to the City. B. DROP plan features. 1. An eligible member who elects to participate in the DROP will be considered to have retired for purposes of the pension plan. The member's monthly retirement benefit, determined in accordance with the plan based on years of credited service and average final compensation at the time the member enters the DROP, will be paid into the member’s DROP account every month during the DROP period. Member DROP accounts are notional accounts, used only for the purpose of calculating DROP benefits, and are not separate accounts within the pension plan. The monies allocated to member DROP accounts shall be invested by the pension board in the same manner as other plan assets, and members shall have no control over the investment of DROP accounts. 33 2. No member contributions shall be required after a member enters the DROP, and the member will not accrue any additional credited service or any additional benefits under the pension plan after entering the DROP. 3. A member who elects to participate in the DROP shall not be eligible for disability or preretirement death benefits under the pension plan after DROP participation begins. 4. During a member's participation in the DROP, the member's monthly retirement benefit will be paid into the DROP account. The member's DROP account will earn interest at the rate of 3% per annum, compounded monthly. The DROP account shall not earn interest after the member’s DROP participation ends. 5. Within thirty (30) days following a DROP participant's termination of city employment or death, the member, or in the event of the member's death the member's designated beneficiary, may submit a written election on a form approved by the pension board, to receive the member's entire DROP account balance, which shall be distributed to the member (or in the event of the member's death to the member's designated beneficiary or estate in accordance with paragraph 6 below) in a cash lump sum, unless the member elects to have all or any portion of an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan specified by the member in a direct rollover. Any such direct rollover would be accomplished in accordance with IRS regulations and the pension plan. In the event a member or designated beneficiary does not submit a written election to receive a distribution of the member's DROP account balance within thirty (30) days following the member's termination of city employment or death, the DROP account shall be maintained but shall not earn interest. 6. If a DROP participant dies before his or her DROP account is distributed, the participant's designated beneficiary shall have the same rights as the participant with respect to the distribution of the DROP account. The member may change the designated beneficiary no more than two times during the member’s participation in the DROP. Such change must be on a form prescribed by the City, signed by the member, and filed with the board. If the member has not designated a beneficiary, the DROP account balance shall be paid to the member's estate. 7. Participation in the DROP is not a guarantee of continued employment. DROP participants are subject to the same employment policies and standards as employees who are not in the DROP. 8. A member who participates in the DROP shall be eligible to receive payment for unused sick leave as follows: a. Upon separation from employment – up to 960 hours at 100% of the employees’ hourly rate; and b. During DROP – an employee may receive payment for accrued sick leave in excess of 960 hours at 50% of the employees’ hourly rate. 9. The DROP account distribution, along with other benefits paid by the pension plan, is subject to limitation under Section 415(b) of the internal Revenue Code. 34 10. The pension board may adopt any rules for administering the DROP that are necessary to maintain compliance with the Internal Revenue Code. COLA. The 3% annual cost of living adjustment on pension benefits shall be paid beginning 1 year after separation from the City of Greenacres. Chapter 175 Premium Tax Revenues. Mutual Agreement: The City and Union mutually agree that the first $160,796 in annual Ch. 175 premium tax revenues will continue to be used to reduce the city’s pension contributions, and any annual Ch. 175 premium tax revenues received in excess of $160,796 shall be used to fund the Share Plan; provided, if the City’s pension contribution should exceed 25% of payroll in any plan year based on the most recent actuarial valuation for the plan, up to 50% of the excess premium tax revenues above $160,796 shall be used to reduce the City’s pension contribution, as needed to reduce the City’s contribution to 25% of payroll. Section 3. 457 Matching Plan: Effective October 1, 2025, the City shall match bargaining unit employee contribution to the City approved Chapter 457 Deferred Compensation Plan at a rate of 50 cents ($0.50) for every one dollar ($1.00) contributed to such plan up to a maximum of one hundred twenty dollars ($120) per month ($1,440 annually) to be contributed by the City on behalf of each bargaining unit employee. 35 ARTICLE 21 TEMPORARY DISABILITY LEAVE Section 1 Certified employees shall be permitted up to eighteen (18) months to return to full duty after: a serious injury in the line of duty caused by traffic at a scene or sustained during fire combat, treatment of a person, vehicle extrication, while engaged in fire rescue activities, or any illness on or off duty. The City Manager or designee may approve these benefits for off duty physical injury at their sole discretion. If available, the City may provide the employee with light duty assignments that comply with any medical limitation the employee may have during the time the employee cannot perform his or her full duty assignments under this Article. The City has the right to assign such light duty across any City department and shall not be confined to only assign bargaining unit members to light duty within the fire department. While on such restricted duty, the member’s rate of pay shall not be adjusted