Present: Cindy Jungers, Melissa DuChene, Eric Hesse, Bonnie Wold, Troy Sherwood, Molly Kennedy, Tim Lokensgard, Amanda Mathiowetz, Chuck Hottinger, Matt Stenger, Tim Headlee
1. Sick time taken with a vacation day in the middle and having that count as 2 occurrences
a. Some clarification needed. Some confusion with contract interpretation. AFSCME interpreted this situation as 1 occurrence because you are off duty the entire time. If 2 sick days, for example, are attached to your days off then yes it would be 1 occurrence. Because vacation is a paid status by the employer it acts as if you are showing up for work thus making a situation like Day 1 – sick, day 2 – vacation, day 3 – sick two sick occurrences.
b. If something like this does occur, the employee should switch their vacation to sick leave to make this one sick occurrence.
2. Conversations regarding calling in sick when being denied a vacation day
a. Supervisors have been receiving follow up tickets to talk to an employee if they call in sick on a day they were denied vacation. AFSCME stated that on 2nd watch, for example, it is very difficult to get vacation so there are many employees who ask off for every day May – September with the hopes of getting a few random days. AFSCME asked that when looking at the sick call to take that into consideration. It could very well be a coincidence. AFSCME stated that they fully understand if the vacation was requested two weeks prior but in many cases the request is a year out.
b. Management stated that it has been practice to have a conversation with the employee on what it might look like or how it may be perceived as abuse. This awareness conversation is done in place of an investigation.
3. Searching AFSCME employees on the way out of the facility and who is conducting them
a. Recently there was a search conducted on the way out of the facility at the end of the early shift. This brought on a lot of conversation. Management stated that the time is random.
b. AFSCME asked that since employees are staying after their shift, does it count as their inverse. Management stated that it is very similar to someone staying after their shift to complete paperwork so it would not be an inverse. Matt Stenger stated that both situations (paperwork & being searched) require the employee to stay after their scheduled shift so it is classified as an inverse. Management stated that they will try to get people out as quickly as possible. May possibly announce that employees can go through the sally port earlier.
c. Another concern is AFSCME searching AFSCME. Molly Kennedy mentioned that in Moose Lake the supervisors conduct staff searches. Matt Stenger asked why we are doing this different if it is supposed to be one facility, two sites. Bonnie Wold stated that, “We do many things different than Moose Lake.” Management said that we are not only searching AFSCME, it is all disciplines and that for the most part A-Team handles themselves very professionally. Molly Kennedy said that since supervisors are paid to supervise, it would seem more appropriate for them to conduct the search. Chuck Hottinger asked if it is required to have a supervisor present. Management stated that it is not policy. Management also stated that it is policy for all employees to report anything seen that goes against policy in the form of an incident report to maintain safety and security of the facility. Management said that they will look into this more with Moose Lake.
4. Update on new scheduling program
a. Tim Lokensgard said that they are on track. There is a secondary meeting scheduled with the vendor next week. The Forensic scheduler will be looking at the program next week. The initial meetings went well and the data is good. Hopefully there will be a pilot project at one facility first then move on to the second facility. Hope to be live by the end of the year.
5. Discuss a meet and confer for meals on outings
a. Molly Kennedy spoke to Liz Barbo about this before the meeting. If there are any issues with the impress cards please do an incident report. Liz stated that she was not aware of many of the issues. Below is what will be tabled to see how it goes.
• We will revise the Impressed Card policy to include direction to staff to complete level 1 report if they have any problems using the card when it’s assigned or if their experience on an outing indicates the use of the card should be reconsidered in the future.
• We will add more explanation to the programing outside the perimeter training to explain why we do (and when we don’t) send the card as well as some suggestions on how to maximize their use.
• I will work with Staff Development to explore an annual refresher training on escorting outings as it’s likely there have been changes in practice and philosophy that maybe impacting staffs’ frustrations due to lack of understanding when and why we use it on some, but not all outings.
• Finally, we will be having a meeting with the UD’s, Michelle, myself, and rehab supervisors to make sure everyone is clear on the process of approval. At least two of the examples you brought were errors in which the card should have been approved. I’m hoping this will minimize that from happening.
b. The last bullet will be done within the next few weeks, but the others will take some time due to the internal processes that have to occur.
6. Sick use parameters being extended
a. MMB has a new sick leave policy that you can view at http://mn.gov/mmb/images/1337-sick-leave.pdf The policy talks specifically about what should be counted as part of the 6 uses in a calendar year. A brief summary of the change is that now calling in for a family member will not be an occurrence.
b. DCT executives are going through the process right now of reviewing the policy. This was effective in April but Human Resources did not find out about the change until sometime after. The announcement by MMB was delayed. HR said that right now they are waiting for the DCT execs to go through the approval process.
7. Follow up – 1st watch leads need to stay on units and not allowed non-OT hospital coverage
a. Molly Kennedy said that she received word that SCL’s on 1st watch began acting as a rover beginning July 8th. They are now being required to visit other units, do a round. Was there discussion about this? Management stated that they did talk with the 1st watch OD’s about this change. This is because of the number of staff on overnights is so limited. Leads are needed to help run a shift. There will be times when they can cover the hospital but the priority of the work load is needed at the facility.
b. AFSCME mentioned that sometimes the lead in Control Center, for example, would like to get out of Control Center so it would be nice if they have been in there all week so allow at least one night. Management stated that they can look at this and let the OD’s know that there are times the lead can cover if they want.
8. Zone 10 repairs
a. By the Zone 10 garage door there is a large divot in the concrete creating problems with pulling carts or pallets into the perimeter. Molly Kennedy stated that she has put in 3 work orders for this and has talked to maintenance. Management stated that in a situation like this, it would be nice to see an incident report. They were not aware of this problem.
9. Non Subject investigation
a. AFSCME asked that if a non-subject is going to be investigated that they be offered a union steward.
10. Interviews
a. MSOP recently hired 6 employees that will be starting in July’s orientation. There were 7 but one went to MSH. MSOP did receive approval for 8. This will be filling 1 dead bid on overnights and 7 on 3rd watch. This is just the beginning of hiring.
b. AFSCME stated that they thought 25 new hires total had been mentioned 3 months ago at Meet & Confer. Management said that there are not 25 dead bids. Maybe the highest was 10. Cindy Jungers will send Molly Kennedy a report of the vacancies.
11. Supplemental Draft
a. There are some differences between the employer and AFSCME on the supplemental draft. AFSCME asked for a meeting to discuss the two versions.