06.06.05 - Mentoring
1 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY MANUAL CHAPTER: 06 Human Resources Policies Policy No. 06.06.05 SECTION: 06 Leave Page 1 of 7 SUBJECT: 05 Boynton Beach’s Mentoring
Program PURPOSE AND SCOPE: The purpose of this policy is to set forth procedures for employee participation in the City’s Mentoring Program. This program is in keeping with the Governor’s
Mentoring Initiative and is a partnership of the City, the Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security. AUTHORITY: Authority
for the provisions of this policy is contained in Chapter 06, Section 06, Policy No. 6.6.4, Authorized Leave, City of Boynton Beach Administrative Policy Manual. POLICY STATEMENT: The
City of Boynton Beach supports the Governor’s Mentoring Initiative, which: • Is built on the foundation that education is the most important opportunity we offer children, and • Provides
for community service that meets the needs of children in the community. DEFINITIONS: a. Activities – Community-based services and programs that serve children. Following are examples:
Mentoring, tutoring, guest speaking or other related services for a school district at the direction of a volunteer coordinator for an established school mentoring program. Coaching
for local school or community youth recreational programs; programs designed to build and strengthen the character and competence of youth such as Big Brother/Big Sister; or programs
designed to protect children such as Guardian Ad Litem. b. Authorized Leave – An authorized leave of absence with pay that is not charged against an employee’s accrued leave credits.
Authorized leave counts as hours of pay, but does not count as hours of work for overtime purposes.
2 c. Cumulative Use – The combined use of up to four hours of authorized leave to be used at one time when participating in a specific volunteer activity or special event during a calendar
month. d. Employee – A full-time worker of the City of Boynton Beach. e. Flextime – A variable work schedule of eight hours other than an employee’s regular work schedule. f. Mentoring
Program – A City-sponsored program which provides services to schools and community-based organizations. g. Rest Break – A period of short duration not to exceed 15 minutes which may
be granted to an employee during the first and second half of the work shift. Rest breaks are considered as hours of work. h. Supervisory Discretion – An option of the supervisor to
approve or deny a request for authorized leave for participation in the Mentoring Program. i. Time Sheet – Individual attendance and leave reports, or leave and time distribution reports.
REGISTRATION: An employee interested in participating in the Mentoring Program must complete the following steps in the registration process before participation begins: (a) Inform his
or her immediate supervisor of an interest to participate. Supervisory approval must be obtained. (b) Contact the City’s Mentoring Program Coordinator. The coordinator will provide an
information packet that will include the following: Form MP-1, Registration and Training Certification Form MP-2, Volunteer Certification for Authorized Leave Instructions for completion
of necessary forms (c) The employee will complete Part I of Form MP-1 (See Attachment 1) and ensure that the supervisor and organization representative complete Parts II and III. (d)
Each Educational Institution/Community Service Organization may require a criminal background check on the potential participant. If it was not a term and condition of employment with
the City of Boynton Beach, this background check will not impact an employee’s employment.
3 TRAINING/ORIENTATION: a. Certification (1) The Educational Institution/Community Service Organization is required to provide training or orientation to each employee, outlining volunteer
responsibilities. (2) If the Educational Institution/Community Service Organization has not established a training program, a representative of the organization should meet with the
employee and explain the volunteer duties and requirements. (3) Upon completion, the organization’s coordinator must complete Part III of City Form MP-1, certifying the completion of
the training or orientation process. b. Use of Leave (1) Time spent in required training or orientation shall be considered authorized leave and will be coded as MP (Mentoring Program)
on the employee’s individual time record sheet. The employee’s department payroll clerk will be responsible for tracking the MP hours for each volunteer within their department. Should
the required time exceed one hour, the employee shall be allowed to accumulate up to four hours of of mentoring program leave for this purpose. If an accumulated amount of mentoring
program leave was used, the employee shall be required to wait a specific number of weeks before volunteer activities can begin. See Section 8.a.(4). (2) City Form MP-2, Volunteer Certification
for Authorized Leave (See Attachment 2) must be completed for time spent in training and orientation. This document is also used for volunteer activities as outlined in Section 8.b.(2).
The employee is responsible for coordinating the completion of City Form MP-2 with the organization’s coordinator, and must submit the completed form at the end of the leave period to
his or her supervisor. REGISTRATION DOCUMENTATION: Upon completion of registration and training/orientation, the employee must submit the original City Form MP-1 to the City’s Mentoring
Coordinator. The information shall be used for tracking and statistical purposes.
4 The employee shall also provide a copy of the Form MP-1 to his or her supervisor. The supervisor will determine a schedule that will not adversely effect the department operations.
When the supervisor approves a mentoring program schedule for the employee, then participation may begin. After reviewing for completeness, the City Coordinator shall provide a signed
copy of the Form MP-1 as follows: • To the Employee • To the Organization • To Human Resources Should it be necessary for the City’s Coordinator to return the Form MP-1 to the employee
for completion, and/or discontinue or delay an employee’s participation, notice must also be provided to the contacts outlined above and the employee’s supervisor, as necessary. AUTHORIZED
LEAVE: Authorized leave used for participation in the City’s Mentoring Program shall count as hours of pay, but not as hours of work for overtime purposes. Mentoring Program hours shall
be differentiated from work hours eligible for overtime, by use of the MP code on the employee’s time record sheet. a. Use of Leave In granting authorized leave for any purpose under
this section, the supervisor shall take into consideration the impact of such leave on the employee’s work unit. (1) Each employee may be granted up to one hour of authorized leave per
week, not to exceed five hours per calendar month including, but not limited to the following school or community voluntary activities: (a) Mentoring, tutoring, guest speaking and participating
in an established mentoring program serving a school district, providing related services at the direction of the program or volunteer coordinator. (b) Participating in community service
program that meet children’s needs. Examples: Guardian Ad Litem, Big Brother/Big Sister. (2) If the actual volunteered time is less than one hour, the employee shall be allowed to use
the remainder of the hour to assist with travel. Any additional
6 (6) At the discretion of the immediate supervisor, the employee may work a flexible schedule to assist with additional time need for travel as outlined in Section 8.3.(3) above. (7)
If an employee does not use authorized leave as authorized in this section, the employee shall not accrue or be paid for such leave. b. Procedures for requesting leave. Upon reasonable
notice, an employee may be allowed to use authorized leave as provided in this section of the policy, unless work-related factors make approval inadvisable. (1) When authorized leave
is requested, appropriate forms must be completed in advance by the employee and signed by the immediate supervisor for approval. (2) Each employee must provide certification of all
volunteer activities from the organization for each bi-weekly leave period by completion of City Form MP-2. The employee must ensure that Parts II and III are properly completed and
certified prior to submission to supervisor. (3) The original MP-2 must be submitted to the employee’s supervisor at the end of each bi-weekly leave period with the official time sheet.
Failure to do so shall result in the absence(s) being charged to annual leave, compensatory leave, and/or leave without pay. MAINTENANCE: In order to provide proper accounting of all
City Mentoring Program activities, the procedures outlined below must be followed: (1) The City’s Mentoring Coordinator shall maintain a file that includes official registrations, training/orientatio
n certifications, and other pertinent information regarding employees’ approved participation. The Mentoring Coordinator shall provide a quarterly report of all the City’s activities
to the City Manager’s Office and the Public Affairs Office. This report shall include the following: • Name of person completing status report with contact information • Number of employees
mentoring/volunteering • Authorized leave hours used
7 • Location(s) where employees are serving/volunteering • Best practices • Stories of note (2) A copy of the employee’s official time sheet and the original MP-2 must be submitted to
the department’s payroll clerk at the end of each bi-weekly leave period. These documents must be submitted even if the authorized leave used is offset due to extra hours of work. (3)
Upon receipt of the proper documentation, the department payroll clerk shall certify the authorized leave used and enter the number of approved hours into the system using the appropriate
leave code by each leave period deadline. A copy of the MP-2 shall be submitted to the Mentoring Coordinator for additional tracking purposes. (4) Should authorized leave be used in
violation of City rules, the department shall make necessary amendment(s) to their Absence Report(s). A copy of the amended report(s) and a written explanation shall be provided to the
employee’s immediate supervisor and department head. The City’s payroll office shall be notified of of any amendment(s) resulting in leave without pay. ABUSE OR MISUSE OF PROGRAM: If,
as the result of an investigation, it is determined that an employee has engaged in activities that are in violation of the Mentoring Program’s intent, he or she shall be subject to
the following: Shall no longer be allowed to participate in the Program. Must repay any compensation received in violation; and Shall be subject to disciplinary action in accordance
with City policy. Effective Date: October 1, 2000 Kurt Bressner Kurt Bressner City Manager