§ 3.04.080. Salary plan and administration.

A.

Salary schedule explanation.

1.

The base rate of pay for job classes, unless otherwise specified in this chapter, shall consist of a minimum and maximum hourly, monthly, and annual pay rate or a flat rate. Pay rates may be expressed as biweekly rates in the case of salaried employees.

2.

For the compensation for job classes having salary grades, the class and salary listing contains the hourly, monthly and annual rates of compensation. Each salary plan and grade in the salary schedule includes the number of steps, which are shown to the right of the grade number.

3.

The county as an employer shall not pay any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex, regardless of race, gender or ethnicity, for substantially similar work on jobs where the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where the payment is made pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings, by quantity of quality of production, or a differential based on any bona fide factor other than gender, race, and ethnicity.

B.

New employees. Refer to the applicable Memorandum of Understanding or Resolution of the Board of Supervisors for the rules governing the placement of new employees on the salary grade, including any advanced step, and/or any "difficulty to recruit" salary adjustments. Refer to Section 3.04.100 herein for the rules applicable to temporary employees.

C.

Change in salary allocation. The salary of an incumbent of a position in a class which shall be reallocated to a different salary plan and grade shall be at the same percentage or number of steps from the minimum pay rate on the new grade as on the previous grade. The anniversary date shall not change. All changes in salary allocation shall coincide with the first working day of a pay period.

D.

Special salary adjustments.

1.

The human resources director may expressly set a different salary and anniversary date for the incumbent of any position, than that called for under other provisions of this chapter, MOU, or board resolution. Unless otherwise specified, such action shall automatically fix a new anniversary date on the first day of a pay period which is one year in a paid status after the resulting change of salary.

2.

When a higher pay rate has been established to temporarily compensate an employee for additional responsibilities beyond those normally performed in the position, the human resources director may, at the agency/department head's request, adjust such pay rate to compensate for step increases and cost of living adjustments which the employee would have earned at the normal pay rate, maintaining the differential intended by the original special adjustment. When the additional responsibilities are concluded, the human resources director may return the employee's pay to the normal rate, as though the temporary increase had not occurred.

3.

The county executive officer may order changes to the base rate of pay of employees paid on the EXE salary plan to meet budgetary restraints faced by the county. Any adjustments shall be accomplished through an across-the-board percentage adjustment, to each employee's base rate of pay.

E.

Re-employment.

1.

Re-employment after military service shall conform to the requirements of the Military and Veterans Code and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, but in other respects shall be in accordance with this chapter.

2.

Re-employment of retired persons. An employee who is retired under the California Public Employees Retirement Law and who is receiving retirement benefits shall not be employed or re-employed in any position for compensation without the prior written approval of the human resources director. The human resources director may allow the employment or re-employment following disability retirement, or following service retirement for up to one hundred twenty (120) working days or nine hundred sixty (960) hours in any calendar year, without loss of retirement benefits, as specified in the California Public Employees Retirement Law. The law generally permits employment following disability retirement or only during an emergency to prevent stoppage of public business, or because the restored employee has skills needed in performing specialized work of limited duration.

Consistent with the requirements of the California Public Employees Retirement Law for discontinuance of retirement benefits, the retiree may be employed or re-employed.

When a retiree under the California Public Employees Retirement Law is employed or re-employed, his/her retirement status must be specified in the documentation of appointment to a permanent or temporary position.

(Ord. No. 440.1761, § 8, 9-15-2015; Ord. No. 440.1762, § 8, 1-5-2016; Ord. No. 440.1763, § 1, 7-31-2018)