Dear Rainbow Rider Employees:
Below, I have a list of all the recent policy changes the board has approved. I will get these updated versions in all of your binders in June, but in the meantime, since these are all in effect, we need a signed acknowledge from every employee. What is written below is how the policy is now stated. If the language changed is within a paragraph, it will be underlined.
Personnel Policy
Your Attendance at Work
a. Fill-In Replacement Pay
Any driver called in to cover a scheduled route for any reason (a driver called in sick, a last minute promotional event, lack of route coverage), will be paid time-and-a-half for coming in on short notice to cover that route. Driver will be paid only for the hours worked that day. This incentive applies to both full and part-time drivers. This incentive can only be used if the driver is called by dispatch at 3pm or later the day prior to the shift that needs coverage.
c. Health/Dental Insurance
Permanent, full-time status employees, working 30 hours or more per week, may participate in the health and/or dental insurance plans subject to all terms and conditions of the agreement between Rainbow Rider and the insurance carrier. Rainbow Rider offers several different health and/or dental insurance options. Coverage, premiums and deductions may vary with each plan.
Rainbow Rider offers:
- If you sign up for Single coverage, Rainbow Rider will contribute up to $625/month
- If you sign up for Employee+One coverage, Rainbow Rider will contribute up to $650/month
- If you sign up for Family coverage, Rainbow Rider will contribute up to $850/month
If you waive health coverage and opt to do supplemental plans only, Rainbow Rider will contribute up to $600/month.
Leave Arrangements
a. Paid Time Off (PTO)
During the first 5 years of service, full-time employees will be credited with 16 days (128 hours) of leave annually, hours accrued by pay period as shown below. Employees will begin accruing Paid Time Off (PTO) immediately upon hire but time off will not be eligible for use until completion of the probationary period. Part-time employees will accrue PTO at a rate proportional to the hours they work in a pay period vs. hours that a full-time employee would work in a pay period in that position.
PTO Accrual for Full-Time Employees
Years 1 – 5 (16 days/128 hours) 4.92 Hours per Pay Period
Years 6 – 10 (19 days/152 hours) 5.85 Hours per Pay Period
Years 11 – 15 (22 days/176 hours) 6.77 Hours per Pay Period
Years 16 – (25 days/200 hours) 7.69 Hours per Pay Period
Safety
Procedure in the event of an accident
If it is found that an incident wasn’t properly reported, an investigation into the situation will begin and if found that the employee didn’t follow policy, disciplinary procedures will begin:
- Written warning (placed in employee personnel file)
- Final warning (place in employee personnel file)
- Termination
Leaving Rainbow Rider
Notice Periods
As provided in these policies, Rainbow Rider employees wishing to separate from Rainbow Rider “in good standing” must provide written notice to their immediate supervisor at least two (2) weeks prior to the effective date of resignation.
Rainbow Rider reserves the right to assign employees who provide notice of their intent to resign to other suitable duties during the notice period.
Employees who separate from Rainbow Rider are required to immediately return any Rainbow Rider property, including:
- Apparel (vest(s), jacket(s), shirt(s), hat(s), clothing, etc.
- Files (related to another employee or work information), digital files
- ID Badge
- Keys (all copies) to garage and/or office
Any of these items that are not in their current possession, will still need to be either turned in personally at an agreed upon date, place and time with the Supervisor or mailed by the separating employee to the Lowry office.
Disciplinary and Appeal Procedures
Administrative Leave
Employees may be placed on administrative leave during the pendency of an investigation into allegations against them. Placement on such leave is not disciplinary and does not constitute a “suspension” for purposes of this policy. The administrative leave for investigation will be an unpaid leave, unless the investigation shows there was no wrong-doing on the employee’s part who is being investigated. As such, this employee will be allowed to return to work and will be paid those days they were on administrative leave. Should the investigation prove there was wrong-doing on the employee’s part and termination follows, the administrative leave will remain being unpaid.
a. Disciplinary Procedure
Rainbow Rider reserves the right to take any disciplinary action at any time. Discipline may be in one or more of the following forms, depending on the nature and severity of the conduct and the employee’s prior discipline history. Nothing in this policy shall be construed as requiring Rainbow Rider to impose discipline in any particular order. Nothing in this policy is intended to, or can be construed as, altering the at-will status of Rainbow Rider employees or creating any type of” just cause” standard for discipline or termination.
- Documented verbal warning
- Written warning (placed in employee’s personnel file)
- Final warning (placed in employee’s personnel file)
- Termination
Operations Manual
CELL PHONES
In the state of Minnesota, it is illegal to use a hand-held device when operating your commercial vehicle.
- It is unacceptable to use your bluetooth device when passengers are on the bus, passengers are boarding the bus, and when you are assisting them off of the bus or in any other situation where your attention needs to given to your passenger(s).
- You may only accept incoming calls, on your Bluetooth device, should they be necessary or important. These conversations should be brief and if expected to last more than 2 minutes, should not be answered. Otherwise, wait until you have a break to call them back.
Reported violations of this offense will be handled as followed:
(unless reported by law enforcement, which would result in immediate termination)
- First offense will result in a written warning (placed in file).
- Second offense will result in termination of employment.
Fare and Fare Collection
Veterans who need a ride to the VA Medical Facility, can ride for free so long as they present their VA card to the driver. Veterans who need a ride to ANY medical facility and/or pharmacy, can ride for free so long as their VA card says “service connected” on it.
NO-SHOW POLICY
A no-show means any of the following situations:
- Passengers who decide not to ride after the bus has arrived for the scheduled pick-up.
- Passengers who fail to board the bus within three (3) minutes of the scheduled pick-up time.
Once a child is a no-show within three (3) consecutive trips (providing rides were scheduled), they will be suspended for one week. Once an adult is a no-show within three (3) consecutive trips (providing rides were scheduled), they may be suspended up to one month.
Once a ride has been marked a no-show in the morning, dispatch will cancel their afternoon pick-up (unless the rider calls in stating they still need the afternoon pick-up)
SOLICITORS
Solicitation is not permitted on Rainbow Rider property, including the bus whether or not the proper fare is paid.
At no time is anyone allowed on the bus (besides the driver or other Rainbow Rider employees) if they are not on the manifest. It will be considered trespassing on our property should anyone who hasn’t pre-scheduled a ride and paid their fare, but still tries to get onto our bus. Drivers who allow this, will be in violation of this policy and will be reprimanded. This no trespassing policy also ensures the safety of the drivers in the case someone tries to board their bus with no scheduled ride, then the driver reserves the right to not allow them on the bus.
Suspension of Transit and Administrative Services (weather-closing)
Rainbow Rider will have up to twenty (20) hours per year to use towards the closing of operations due to inclement weather. This can be broken down to hourly, if needed, in the cases where Rainbow Rider opens late or closes early. These “weather-closing days” will guarantee that any employees who are working on the day that Rainbow Rider is closed due to inclement weather that they will get paid their regular hourly rate for the amount of their shift that particular day. For example, if inclement weather doesn’t happen until mid-day and Rainbow Rider closes down at 2:00p.m., each driver will get paid their hourly rate that day until the time they were scheduled to work that day, even though their shift ended at 2:00pm. If they were scheduled to work until 5:00pm that day, they would get paid three hours of out of the 20 hours of “weather-closing days”. These 20 hours do not carry over to the next year, but instead start over at the beginning of every fiscal year. On-call drivers may not utilize this benefit. The use of these 20 hours will be automatic and directed by the office until the hours are used completely. If Rainbow Rider closes operations for inclement weather, no employee is authorized to come in for work.
Side note: Rainbow Rider isn’t using the 3-day suspension are part of the disciplinary procedures process in all cases for both the Personnel and Operations manuals. Instead, the order of discipline/correction that may lead to termination of employment will include a final warning in place of the 3-day suspension.