Fiscal Note
The City recently signed memoranda of understanding (MOU's) with two labor unions (AFSCME Local 60 and Laborers Local 236) representing hourly City employees that extend sick leave benefits to the hourly employees represented by those unions. This ordinance amendment would extend similar sick leave benefits to all other hourly City employees not represented by a labor union.
Substantial work was done during 2005 and 2006 to estimate the fiscal impact of hourly employee sick leave proposals being considered by the Common Council at that time (see Legistar file ID#02077). That work was based on actual hourly employee data from 2004. During that year, 770 hourly employees worked a total of 281,000 hours. Of those employees, 355 (46%) were represented by labor unions. The remainder (54%) were non-represented. The estimated cost of the proposal being evaluated at that time was $63,000 per year, assuming 100% utilization.
The threshold for hourly employee sick leave eligibility under the recently signed MOU's and the current ordinance amendment proposal is lower than in the ordinance that was proposed in 2005. Thus, it is likely that the annual cost will be higher. During 2008, 897 individual hourly employees worked a total of 403,000 regular hours. Of these employees, 633 (70%) were represented by the labor unions with which MOU's are already in place. The remainder (30%) were non-represented. Assuming the City's 2009 hourly staffing pattern is similar to that which occurred in 2008, the additional sick time made available under this benefit will have an estimated cost of $150,000 this year, assuming 100% utilization. Unlike the earlier proposals, the current benefit contains an automatic payout provision equal to 50% of any unused sick leave balance at the end of the year, or at the time of seasonal layoff of each employee. The minimum cost of the benefit program is, therefore, estimated to be $75,000 assuming no accumulated sick leave is us...
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