Chair Geiger called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. and welcomed new members Ross Munns
and Kari Landsem.
Minutes
It was moved Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Ted Smith, to approve the minutes of
December 4, 2009 meeting. The motion carried.
Proposed Salary Ranges for July 2010 - June 2011 Amy Klein presented the Board with the proposed pay ranges for July 2010 through June 2011.
The changes reflect a 5% increase in all pay grades and steps based on the provision in House
Bill 1015, which provides a 5% increase in employee salaries.
It was moved by Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Kari Landsem, to approve the proposed
salary ranges and forward it to the Supreme Court for consideration. The motion carried.
Request for New Classification of Assistant Trial Court Administrator Position It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to table the item until the
August meeting.
Justice Kapsner requested a copy of the Trial Court Administrator job description be included in
the meeting materials to allow the members to compare the two.
The motion carried.
Proposed Changes to the Director of Juvenile Court Minimum Qualifications Amy Klein said the trial court administrators have requested proposed changes to the Director of
Juvenile Court Services classification. The changes provide additional flexibility in hiring
qualified applicants without compromising the integrity of the current pay grade.
It was moved by Ted Smith, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to approve the proposed
changes to the Director of Juvenile Court Services job description and forward it to the
Supreme Court for consideration. The motion carried.
Policy Overview Ms. Klein presented the Board with a color coded outline of its progress in the review of the new
handbook. She also presented a copy of what the Administrative Policy Manual would look like
when viewed on the intranet. No action was taken.
Policy Review Disclaimer The Disclaimer policy is new to the handbook. Ms. Klein recalled on previous reviews of the
Disclaimer policy, the Board was uncertain about the accuracy of the paragraph that states the
policies and procedures of the handbook are not conditions of employment and do not create a
contract. In November 2009, Ms. Klein emailed the Board members an article on a court case
regarding employee handbook disclaimers protecting against claims for breach of contract.
Kirsten Franzen from the Attorney General's Office also reviewed the policy and did not
recommend any changes.
It was moved by Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to adopt the Disclaimer
policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Chair Geiger said the Disclaimer itself is often part of a handbook; however, he expressed
concern with a policy that will be discussed later on that describes all of our benefits, which is
used in some cases as an argument that there is a contract between the employee and employee.
It was moved by Ted Smith to strike the words "In accordance with" in line 1, of section B,
and insert the words "Subject to".
Mr. Smith said the words "in accordance" gives us the right to do something and the words
"subject to" puts a limitation on us on what we can change. Ms. Klein suggested we do not want
any limitations on our policies as a lot of policies in the handbook are the court's own policies
and are not guided by anything. She said we can always be more generous.
The motion died for a lack of a second.
The motion carried to adopt the Disclaimer policy as part of the handbook that will be
forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Acknowledgment Receipt Amy Klein commented the Acknowledgment Receipt is new to the handbook. When an
employee is given a handbook, the employee signs the acknowledgment and the acknowledgment
is maintained in the employee's personnel file. It offers protection against lawsuits because there
is no question on whether it was received or that it is a contract. Ms. Franzen from the Attorney
General's Office reviewed the acknowledgment and did not recommend any changes.
It was moved by Ross Munns, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Acknowledgment
Receipt as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Jerrold Arneson asked what would happen if an employee refused to sign the acknowledgment.
Ms. Klein responded it would be noted on the acknowledgment that the employee saw the
handbook and refused to sign.
Justice Kapsner expressed concern with the phrase "I agree to be bound". It was moved by
Justice Kapsner, seconded by Ted Smith, to strike the word "bound" in line 3 and insert
the word "guided". Ms. Landsem said she is in favor of the motion as the latter part of the
paragraph states it is intended to be a guide. The motion carried.
Ted Smith asked for clarification on the phrase "and provided to me in other ways". Ms. Klein
responded not all rules and regulations are contained in the Administrative Policy Manual. She
said there are other rules such as those contained in the Clerk of Court manual or those issued in
memos or oral directives.
Mr. Smith suggested in the phrase "and provided to me in other ways", the word "and" should be
changed to the word "or". Kari Landsem stated the word "and" acknowledges that it comes in
the handbook, orally, and in other ways.
The motion carried to adopt the Acknowledgment Receipt as amended and include it as
part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Employment Status Amy Klein said the Employment Status policy is a new policy that explains the different types of
employees. The judicial referee was added as a third category of regular employees. Ms.
Franzen from the Attorney General's Office reviewed the policy and she recommended dropping
the word "good" from "good cause". Most of the time the distinction is used as "for cause".
It was moved by Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Ross Munns, to adopt the Employment
Status policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to amend paragraphs 2a and
2c to change the word "termination" to "dismissal". The motion carried.
It was the consensus of the Board to make an editorial correction to item B1. The word "State"
in line 3 should not be capitalized.
The motion carried to adopt the Employment Status policy as amended and to include it as
part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Part-Time Employees Amy Klein is requesting the Part-Time Employees policy replace the current Fringe Benefits-Part-Time Employees policy (105). The proposed policy adds a provision on a part-time
employee's work schedule.
It was moved by Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Ross Munns, to adopt the Part-Time
Employees policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Kari Landsem stated section A1b is somewhat misleading. She said it gives the impression that
all may be prorated.
Ms. Klein responded the PERS benefits are explained in section A1a, which consists of health
insurance coverage, retirement, EAP, life, flex, dental and vision. The fringe benefits or court
benefits such as sick, annual, and holiday leave are prorated. They are basically non-PERS
benefits.
After general discussion, it was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Rod Olson, to strike
the word "fringe" in line 2, of section 1b, and insert the word "non-PERS". The motion
carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Part-Time Employees policy as amended and to include it
as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Corrective Action Amy Klein recalled the Board started discussion on the proposed Corrective Action policy at its
November meeting, but due to time constraints, the Board was unable to review the entire policy.
She said the proposed policy has been reviewed by several appointing authorities and no major
changes were requested. The policy applies to all regular employees as opposed to just classified
and referees.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Corrective Action
policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Chair Geiger said the terms "action," "conduct," and "behavior" are used throughout the policy
and suggested one term be used. Justice Kapsner agreed and suggested "action" should be what
the Court System does, and "conduct" should be what the employee did for which we are taking
that action.
It was moved by Chair Geiger, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to change the word "actions"
to the word "conduct" in sections A, line 1, and B1, line 1; and change the word "behavior"
to the word "conduct" in sections B1a(1), line 2, B1a(1)(a), line 1, B1b(2), line 2, and
B1b(2)(a), line 1. The motion carried.
Justice Kapsner reviewed Administrative Rule 13, section 4, which states: The presiding judge,
on behalf of all of the district court judges of the judicial district, shall execute in writing the
appointment of all judicial referees, to serve at the pleasure of the district court judges of the
judicial district. She said she is concerned with the phrase "to serve at the pleasure", which
appears to be in conflict with the present policy.
Chair Geiger questioned if the language could be redrafted in a way that it acknowledges the
standards imposed by the administrative rule and then provides that if the presiding judge
chooses, after consulting with the other district judges, to use corrective action, this is the
procedure they would follow.
Justice Kapsner responded it may be a possibility because that would be one of the ways that
district judges could express their pleasure. However, we cannot impose this as an obligation on
the judges collectively. They could decide as a group that they are not going to have a referee
any more, or they could also say the referee has some abilities that can be saved and would like to
go through this process. However, that would be something that they would choose to do.
Ms. Holewa recalled Judge Hagerty's concern was not for the other judges to have input, but it
was more to protect the referee so that they couldn't be dismissed because of an opinion.
Justice Kapsner said Judge Hagerty's concern is an important one. There would be referees from
whom their talents are important enough you should go thru this process because you wouldn't
want to lose them. On the other hand, there are situations where you would not go through this
process.
Ms. Klein suggested adding additional language indicating they are still at will. She said
language could be added stating that it is not intended to change non-classified or judicial referee
employees at will employment status.
Justice Kapsner said she has some proposed language but would like to review it with Judge
Hagerty. It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to table the
proposed changes to the August meeting so Judge Hagerty can have some input into the
proposed language. The motion carried. Justice Kapsner will visit with Judge Hagerty
regarding proposed language.
It was moved by Ted Smith, seconded by Kari Landsem, to go back and review section A2c
of the Employment Status policy. The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to delete the language in
section A2c and insert the following: "Judicial referees serve at the pleasure of the district
court judges of the judicial district." The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Ted Smith, to adopt the Employment Status
policy as amended and include it as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the
Supreme Court for consideration.
Conflict Resolution Ms. Klein said the Conflict Resolution policy includes the current Grievance policy (108) along
with other methods of resolving conflict. Methods described included human resource
consultation, direct communication, mediation, grievance, and dismissal or reduction in force
appeals. She requested the Board remove Human Resource Management Services from section
D because they no longer provide mediation services.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Conflict Resolution
policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
In response to a question from Justice Kapsner on the cost of using a mediator, Ms. Klein
responded that through our current EAP provider, it is $80 per hour. Another option would be to
use the UND Conflict Resolution Center, however, the cost would be higher because travel
would be included in the expenses. Ross Munns added that it is his understanding that mediation
is not currently part of original EAP contract and that is why it is provided at an extra cost;
however, it may be something we could consider adding in the future.
In response to a question from Chair Geiger as to how many appeals are received in a year, Rod
Olson responded that in Unit 2, he receives one or two per year. Ross Munns said in Unit 3, they
currently have one and that is the first one in the past two years.
Ms. Landsem inquired if there is a limitation on the time frame of the mediation. Ms. Klein
responded the proposed policy states that the mediator shall determine the date of conclusion and
notify the parties.
By consensus the Board agreed to strike the phrase "and Human Resource Management
Services" from line 2, under item D1.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to delete the word "strict" in
line 1, of section E5a. The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Conflict Resolution policy as amended and include it as
part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Reduction in Force Amy Klein said the proposed Reduction in Force policy combines all of the current policies that
relate to reduction in force (Policy 219, Appendix I of 219 and Policy 121).
It was moved by Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Ted Smith, to adopt the Reduction in Force
policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Ms. Klein questioned whether it was necessary to include section B2 in the policy. The section
relates to the reduction of support staff if a judgeship is eliminated. Chair Geiger responded
NDCC § 27-05-02.1 requires the evaluation process and suggested the section remain in the
policy.
It was moved by Chair Geiger, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to strike the phrase "as a
result of court unification" in section B2, line 1. The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Reduction in Force policy as amended and include it as
part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Employment References Amy Klein said the Employment References policy is a new policy. She said the policy allows
all reference checks to be handled by the Human Resource Director.
After general discussion, there was no motion to adopt the proposed policy.
PERS Benefits Amy Klein said the proposed PERS Benefits policy is a new policy. The policy summarizes the
PERS benefits employees may receive, and said it is common to include benefits in employee
handbooks. A 2010 benefits summary is also on the intranet summarizing benefits including
PERS benefits for current and new employees. That summary is used in recruitment and is
reviewed and updated annually or as needed. Ms Klein said she exchanged a few emails with
Chair Geiger prior to the meeting in an attempt to draft proposed language that would address the
concern that employees may view the policy as a contract. Ms. Klein is suggesting something
similar to the following language be added to the policy: "In the event of discrepancies between
the handbook and insurance documents, the insurance documents supersede the handbook."
It was moved by Ted Smith, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to adopt the PERS Benefits
policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Rod Olson said because the handbook will be online, maybe it would be easier to just include a
link to the PERS website. Ms Klein said the majority of the employees find the PERS website
confusing and hard to follow.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to add the words "at
employee expense" after the word "available" in section A5a, line 1. The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to change the words
"premium is" to "premiums are" in the fourth line of section A5a. The motion carried.
It was the consensus of the Board to strike the word "for" in the second line of section A3a.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to delete the second
sentence in section A6a. The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to insert a new sentence
after the sentence "Benefits are subject to change" in section A, as follows: "In the event of
a discrepancy between the handbook and plan documents, the plan documents control."
The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the PERS Benefits policy as amended and include it as part of
the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Annual Leave Ms. Klein said under the current policies, Annual Leave is included as part of the Leave Policy
(102). She has redrafted Annual Leave as a separate policy.
It was moved by Kari Landsem, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Annual Leave
policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
It was moved by Kari Landsem, seconded by Ted Smith, to incorporate language to cover
someone transferring within the state or from a county clerk of court position to a state
funded clerk of court position. The first line in section B 1 shall read as follows: "Annual
leave accumulated while employed by the state or by a county clerk of court office". The
motion carried.
It was moved by Ted Smith, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to amend the first line in section
B1a to read: "For those clerks of county clerk of court offices who have not participated";
and the last line of section B1a to read: "according to years of county clerk of court service
as follows:". The motion carried.
It was moved by Chair Geiger, seconded by Kari Landsem, to insert the following language
as section C1 and then renumber the remaining sections accordingly: "Leave accrual rates
are determined by the number of years of service with a North Dakota agency of state
government, county court and clerk of court's offices, subject to section G." The motion
carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Ross Munns, to insert the words "or county
court" before the word "employment" in the first line of section G1. The motion carried.
It was moved by Ross Munns, seconded by Kari Landsem, to strike the phrase "or another
State agency" after the words "Court System" in section G1. The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Ted Smith, to modify line 1, of section F1 to
read as follows: "An employee will be paid for unused annual leave up to the maximum
carryover hours when the employee terminates", and modify line 5 of section F1 to read as
follows: "employee for current unused hours up to the maximum carryover hours the
receiving agency did not accept".
Amy Klein said that would mean an employee will be paid for unused leave up to the maximum
carryover hours, which, depending upon what time of year it is, the employee may have over 240
hours of unused leave that must be paid.
Mr. Smith suggested deleting the second sentence because we have no control over what another
agency pays.
With the consent of the second, Justice Kapsner withdrew her motion.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Rod Olson, in section F1, to strike the word
"any" from the last line, and insert the word "current" before the word "unused" in both
the first and the last lines. The motion carried.
It was moved by Chair Geiger, seconded by Ted Smith, to strike the third sentence in
section D2, and insert the following sentence: "The employee will be responsible to
reimburse the Court System all remaining amounts owed to it." The motion carried.
It was the consensus of the Board to make an editorial change to the last section, Policy
Violations. The paragraph letter is changed from an F to an H.
The motion carried to adopt the Annual Leave policy as amended and include it as part of
the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Sick Leave Ms. Klein said under the current policies, Sick Leave is included as part of the Leave Policy
(102) and the Retirement Benefits policy (116). She has redrafted Sick Leave as a separate
policy. The changes in this policy are similar to those in the Leave policy.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Sick Leave
policy as part of the handbook package that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
It was moved by Chair Geiger, seconded by Ross Munns, to insert the following language
as section C1 and then renumber the remaining sections accordingly: "Leave accrual rates
are determined by the number of years of service with a North Dakota agency of state
government, county court and clerk of court's offices, subject to section H." The motion
carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Ted Smith, to modify section B1, line 1, to
read, "Sick leave accumulated while employed by the state or by a county clerk of court
office", and to modify line 1, of section B1a to read as follows: "For those clerks of county
clerk of court offices who have not participated in a". It was also moved to modify the last
line of section B1a, as follows: "according to years of county clerk of court service as
follows:". The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to modify line 1, of section
H1 to read as follows, "If an employee leaves state or county court employment and returns
to the Court System", and to eliminate the phrase "or another State agency" in line 2,
section H2. The motion carried.
It was moved by Ted Smith, seconded by Kari Landsem, to modify line 1, of section H2 to
read as follows: "If an employee leaves state or county court employment and is hired by
the Court System" , and to eliminate the phrase "or another State agency" in line 2, section
H2. The motion carried.
It was moved by Ted Smith, seconded by Ross Munns, to strike the third sentence in
section E2 and insert the following: "The employee will be responsible to reimburse the
Court System all remaining amounts owed to it." The motion carried.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to insert the following language
as section C3 and then renumber the remaining sections accordingly: "A temporary
employee does not earn sick leave. However, if a temporary employee fills a regular
position, the years of service, for purposes of calculating the sick leave accrual rate, may be
calculated from the employee's first day of temporary employment." The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Sick Leave policy as amended and included it as part of
the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Leave Sharing Amy Klein said under the current policies, Leave Sharing is included as part of the Leave Policy
(102). She has redrafted Leave Sharing as a separate policy.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Leave Sharing
policy as part of the handbook that will forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
It was moved by Chair Geiger, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to strike the word "is" in
section B1b, line 1, and insert the words "must be" and delete the word "has" and insert
the word "have"; and in section B1c, line 1, delete the word "is" and insert the words
"must be". The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to insert the words
"Director of" before the word "finance" in section C6; and the word "finance" shall be
capitalized. The motion carried.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to strike the words "have
or" in line 2, of section B1a. The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Leave Sharing policy as amended and include it as part of
the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Military Leave Ms. Klein said under the current policies, Military Leave is included as part of the Leave Policy
(102). She has redrafted Military Leave as a separate policy. The changes include clarifying that
an employee is entitled to 20 workdays each calendar year of military leave and that the
employee shall contact the Human Resource Director for clarification of the applicable laws,
rather than the state court administrator's office.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Military Leave
policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
It was the consensus of the Board to renumber sections Ca and Cb as C1 and C2 respectively.
The motion carried to adopt the Military Leave policy as amended and include it as part of
the handbook to be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Employee Organization Leave Amy Klein said the proposed Employee Organization Leave policy addresses the use of leave in
the current Leave policy (102) under the Education and Conference Leave section. The name has
been changed from educational leave to employee organization leave to address leave taken as a
delegate or official of an employee organization to attend a conference. If the employee is a
delegate or official of an employee organization, the employee will be allowed up to two working
days per year to attend a state conference or convention.
In response to a question from Chair Geiger as to why the section regarding Court System
employees attending PERS pre-retirement session was eliminated from the new policy, Ms. Klein
responded she views that section as more of a guideline than a policy. She said any provisions
can be sent out by finance or human resources when finance receives the information from
PERS. Retirement is the employee's responsibility and employees should be encouraged to be
educated on their retirement program. She recommends that employees attend a session early in
their career and then again as the employee feels is necessary to stay educated.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to adopt the Employee
Organization Leave policy as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme
Court for consideration. After general discussion, the motion carried.
Lawsuit Against Employees Ms. Klein said in November 2009, the Board finalized to include in the new handbook the
Lawsuit Against Employees policy. This policy is from the current Procedure for Reporting of
Lawsuits Filed Against Judicial Employees policy (111). She said a few style changes were
made to be consistent with the new handbook.
It was moved by Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Kari Landsem, to amend the Lawsuit
Against Employees policy which was previously approved as part of the handbook that will
be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration. The motion carried.
Overtime Policy Amy Klein said in August 2009, the Board finalized to include in the new handbook the
Overtime policy. This policy is from the current Work Hours policy (113) and is also included in
the Leave policy (102) under section F6. The approved policy inadvertently used overtime
compensation instead of compensatory time off. She is proposing the Board consider the new
draft which states an employee will be paid overtime in time and a half compensatory time,
which is how the current Work Hours policy is written.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Rod Olson, to rescind the original proposed
Overtime policy and adopt the newly proposed Overtime policy.
In response to a question from Justice Kapsner as to whether the employee has an option of
receiving compensatory time or overtime compensation, Ms. Klein responded because the Court
System through its policy informs employees that comp time will be used in lieu of overtime
compensation, the Court System may require compensatory time instead of overtime
compensation.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Ross Munns, to strike the words "overtime
pay or" in line 2, of section A2, and to add the phrase "for the excess hours worked" to the
last sentence in line 3. The motion carried.
It was moved by Kari Landsem, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to rephrase the first
sentence of section B5 as follows: "Use of earned compensatory time must be approved by
the supervisor." The motion carried.
It was moved by Chair Geiger, seconded by Justice Kapsner, to insert the word
"employment" after the word "terminates" in line 1, of section B6. The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Overtime policy as amended and to include it as part of
the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Absenteeism and Tardiness Amy Klein recalled at the August 2009 meeting, the Board finalized to include in the new
handbook the Absenteeism and Tardiness policy, which is a new policy. Ms. Klein is requesting
changes be made to section D because an employee may be using annual leave or unpaid leave
due to the exhaustion of the employee's sick leave.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Ross Munns, to amend the Absenteeism and
Tardiness policy which was previously approved as part of the handbook that will be
forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
After brief discussion, it was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Ross Munns, to strike the
following phrase in section D, line 2: "that is longer than one day". The motion carried
with one dissent.
The motion carried to adopt the Absenteeism and Tardiness policy as amended and to
include it as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Electronic Communication Devices Ms. Klein said the Board finalized to include the Electronic Communication Devices policy in
the handbook at its August 2009 meeting. The policy is from the current Computer Usage policy
(213). The proposed changes are made to include the recommendations of the Director of
Technology.
It was moved by Jerrold Arneson, seconded by Kari Landsem, to amend the Electronic
Communication Devices which was previously approved as part of the handbook that will
be forwarded to the Supreme Court for consideration.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to insert the following sentence
at the end of section D3: "Violations will be reported to the employee's supervisor." The
motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Electronic Communication Devices policy as amended and
to include it as part of the handbook that will be forwarded to the Supreme Court for
consideration.
Cover Page, Mission Statement, and Vision Statement Amy Klein presented the handbook cover along with the Mission Statement and Vision
Statement. She said the Mission and Vision Statements have been reviewed by the Board but no
action was taken.
Justice Kapsner said the Judicial Planning Commission has adopted new Mission and Vision
Statements. It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Kari Landsem, to table until the
August meeting so she can submit for consideration the work of the Judicial Planning
Committee. The motion carried.
Definitions Ms. Klein recalled at the last meeting, the Board suggested a Definitions page be included in the
handbook. She is in the process of putting the page together.
Chair Geiger requested the Board members send any proposed changes to Ms. Klein. The
definitions page will be reviewed again at the next meeting.
Classification and Compensation Plan for Classified Employees At the August 2009 meeting, Amy Klein said the Board discussed and finalized the
Compensation Structure for Classified Employees policy, which is from the current
Classification and Paygrade Review Procedure policy (107). Since the August meeting, the
current Pay and Classification Plan (101) has been included in the proposed policy. The title has
also been changed to Classification and Compensation Plan for Classified Employees. The
content of the policy has not changed. Instead of including it in the actual handbook, Ms. Klein
is requesting it be included in the classification and compensation section of the Administrative
Policy Manual.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Kari Landsem, to adopt the Classification and
Compensation Plan for Classified Employees to be included as part of the Administrative
Policy Manual. The motion carried.
Salary Administration for Classified Employees Ms. Klein explained the Salary Administration for Classified Employees policy is from the
current Employee Compensation Policy (103) and Implementation Guidelines of Step System.
The Board discussed the proposed policy at the August 2009 meeting but no action was taken.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Jerrold Arneson, to adopt the Salary
Administration for Classified Employees policy to be included as part of the Administrative
Policy Manual.
It was moved by Rod Olson, seconded by Kari Landsem, to strike the word "finance" in
line 2, of section D1a and insert the words "Director of Finance". The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Salary Administration for Classified Employees as
amended and include it as part of the Administrative Policy Manual.
Compensation of Judicial Referees Ms. Klein explained the Compensation of Judicial Referee is a new policy to be considered for
inclusion in the Administrative Policy Manual.
It was moved by Ross Munns, seconded by Rod Olson, to adopt the Compensation of
Judicial Referee policy to be included as part of the Administrative Policy Manual.
It was moved by Justice Kapsner, seconded by Rod Olson, to strike the words "up to" in
line 2, of section B1, and strike the word "up" in line 1, of section C1a. The motion carried.
The motion carried to adopt the Compensation of Judicial Referee policy as amended and
include it as part of the Administrative Policy Manual.
Compensation of District Court Bailiffs Amy Klein is requesting the Compensation of District Court Bailiffs policy be considered as a
replacement for the current policy 114. No content changes have been proposed.
It was moved by Ted Smith, seconded by Ross Munns, to adopt the Compensation and
District Court Bailiffs policy to be included in the Administrative Policy Manual. The
motion carried.
The next meeting is August 20, 2010. The meeting adjourned.