County employees who are official representatives of the Association shall be given reasonable time off with pay, including reasonable travel time, to formally meet and confer or consult with management representatives on matters within the scope of representation; to be present at hearings where matters within the scope of representation are being considered; to testify or appear as the designated representative of the Association in settlement conferences, hearings, or other proceedings before PERB, in matters relating to an unfair practice charge; or to testify or appear as the designated representative of the Association in matters before the Civil Service Commission. The use of official time for this purpose shall be reasonable and shall not interfere with the performance of County services as determined by the County. Such representatives shall submit written requests for excused absences to Employee Relations at least two (2) working days prior to the scheduled meeting whenever possible. Except by agreement with Employee Relations, the number of employees excused for such purposes shall not exceed three (3) per Association or one per representation unit, whichever is greater, at any one time. If any employee’s request for excused absence is not approved, such disapproval shall be subject to appeal to the Human Resources Director whose decision shall be final. Supervisory employees shall not represent non-supervisory employees in a grievance procedure. All approved release time will be coded appropriately on the employee’s timecard using pay code RTE.
Paid release time is not authorized to be used for political activity, any type of activity that is precluded by law or County policy as a conflict of interest, conducting membership drives, or soliciting membership from other County employees or applicants.
Time spent in meetings with the County on matters listed in Section 3, which occur outside of the employee’s regular work schedule, is not compensable. Employees should not code release time for such time when the employee is not scheduled to work.