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HUMAN RESOURCES & DATA PRACTICES <br />HR -1. Personnel Mandates and <br />Limits on Local Control <br />Issue: Many state laws increase the cost of <br />providing city services to residents by <br />requiring city governments to provide <br />certain levels of compensation or benefits to <br />public employees, by specifying certain <br />working conditions, or by limiting city <br />governments' ability to effectively manage <br />their personnel resources. For instance, <br />existing state laws limit governments' <br />ability to effectively address incompetence <br />or misconduct of city employees by <br />specifying certain procedures or standards of <br />conduct that cities must follow. Several laws <br />are potentially contradictory and force local <br />governments to choose which one to follow. <br />Response: Any new legislation and <br />changes to existing legislation should meet <br />the following goals: <br />a) Recognize the need for local decision- <br />making authority by local elected <br />officials with regard to the terms and <br />conditions of employment for local <br />government employees (e.g., allow <br />local elected officials to determine <br />employee compensation, employee <br />recognition, and to make employee <br />benefit decisions. <br />b) Provide funding that pays the full <br />costs of any mandated employment- <br />related expenditures. <br />c) Avoid and eliminate expensive and <br />time-consuming duplicative legal <br />protections and processes for public <br />employees. <br />d) Eliminate contradictory existing laws <br />regarding public employment. <br />e) Eliminate mandates for local <br />government employers that are not <br />imposed upon the state as an <br />employer. <br />f) Use the collective bargaining process <br />established by state law, rather than <br />legal mandates, to determine benefits <br />for employees covered by collective <br />bargaining agreements. <br />HR -2. Earned Sick and Safe Time <br />Issue: In recent years, there have been <br />legislative proposals to require employers to <br />provide "earned sick and safe time" <br />affording employees one hour of sick and <br />safe time for every 30 hours worked. Cities <br />recognize their employees for their <br />dedication to public service and currently <br />provide a wide variety of excellent benefits <br />to their employees and prioritize the health <br />and well-being of staff. Benefits include <br />paid time off for most staff who are required <br />to be enrolled in the Public Employee <br />Retirement Association (PERA) (Minn. Stat. <br />§ 353.01, subd. 2a, 2b). In developing leave <br />and benefit policies, cities must be mindful <br />of the cost to citizens for programs, much of <br />which are driven by staff compensation and <br />benefits. <br />Response: To avoid significant cost <br />increases and to provide clarity, the <br />Legislature should use the same eligibility <br />requirements for public employees <br />outlined in state statute for PERA <br />participation if a mandatory sick and sick <br />and safe time program is enacted by the <br />Legislature. <br />HR -3. Pay Equity Compliance <br />Issue: In 1984, the Legislature passed the <br />Local Government Pay Equity Act to <br />eliminate sex -based wage disparities in <br />public employment. The Act requires each <br />local government to submit reports of its pay <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2016 City Policies Page 74 <br />