Travel policies and procedures shall be in accordance with state law and procedures.
Public employees have a special obligation to carry out their duties for the benefit of the people of the state and to avoid taking actions that cause them to violate the public’s trust. State law at 2-2-101 through 2-2-304 MCA includes several specific prohibitions and provides for significant penalties including fines and imprisonment for violators. Employees may also be subject to discipline for violation of public trust. Examples of prohibitions include but are not limited to: 1) using work time, facilities, equipment supplies, personnel or funds for private business purposes including any campaign activity persuading or affecting a political decision; 2) engaging in any activity, including lobbying on behalf of an organization of which the employee is a member while performing job duties 3) receiving two salaries as a public employee for work during overlapping hours; 4) accepting a substantial gift or economic benefit, or reward for an official action; 5) disclosing or using confidential information acquired in the course of official duties in order to further the employee’s personal economic interests; 6) assisting any person for a fee or other compensation in obtaining any service, claim, license, or other economic benefit from the employer; 7) performing any official act directly and substantially affecting a business or other undertaking in which the employee has a substantial interest or is engaged as a consultant, representative or agent; 8) soliciting or accepting employment or engaging in meetings or negotiations to consider employment with a person who the employee regulates in their official duties without first giving notice to their supervisor, or 9) engaging in a substantial transaction for private business purposes with a person the employee inspects or supervises.
All employees covered by this agreement shall be provided staff parking in existing parking areas provided, however, that each employee shall register any vehicle parked on campus in accordance with applicable regulations. The employer may charge a registration fee per vehicle and may assess fines for violations of motor vehicle and parking regulations, or order the removal of vehicles and withhold the amount of any unpaid fringes from wages. (20-25-312, M.C.A.)
Employees shall have the right to inspect or copy material in their official personnel file.
All employees are encouraged to pursue self-improvement or self-enrichment courses of study. Employees may take any number of courses for which the employee is academically qualified, however each unit may impose limits on the number of courses eligible for a fee waiver.
When a course which an employee desires to take is only offered during the employee's regular work schedule, the course may only be taken with the advance written approval of the supervisor. This approval may not be arbitrarily or capriciously withheld, but may be withheld if attendance would interfere with the employee's job performance or with the effective operation of the work unit. The time off may be taken as either vacation leave, leave without pay, or with the prior written consent of the supervisor, may be made up within the same working day.
Any employee who has successfully completed the probationary period and who is regularly scheduled for at least three-quarter time (.75 FTE) during the entire period of enrollment, may be entitled to a waiver of all fees except registration and building fees in accordance with current campus policy. Application for this fee waiver must be made in advance in accordance with campus procedures. If an employee's FTE level is involuntarily reduced below .75 FTE or if an employee is laid off after the first day of enrollment, the waiver shall continue for that semester.
When a supervisor requires an employee to take a course to update his or her knowledge in a field directly related to the employee's assigned duties, all costs associated with the course shall be paid by the department, and the employee shall not be required to "make up" the time spent attending class. Each situation of this nature shall require the advance written approval of the supervisor.
Except for items personalized by size or custom of usage the employer shall provide tools required for the performance within the scope of employment.
The employer shall furnish uniforms as determined by the employer for employees covered by this contract.
No employee shall solicit or accept any gift or consideration in return for a promise to hire, hiring, or continuing the employment of another (2-2-201, M.C.A.) or for any decision or action in the regular course of employment, and no employee shall have any interest in any contract made by them in their capacity as employee. (2-2-202, M.C.A.)
The employer shall not discontinue staff participation in governance and shall continue to grant nonacademic membership on committees when in the best interest of the institution or when the function of the committee is affected with nonacademic staff interests. Staff participation in governance shall not be regarded as an incursion into the area of exclusivity of representation which is the right of the bargaining agent except as to those matters specifically negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement. Nothing in this section requires either the establishment or the continuation of committees or the concurrence with any recommendations thereof.
No services, property, or facilities of the employer may be used by employees for other than official purposes incident to and in the course of their regular employment.
The employer shall furnish a place of employment which is safe for employees therein and shall furnish and use and require the use of such safety devices and safeguards, including epoxy safeguards, and shall adopt and use such practices or methods as are adequate to render the place of employment safe and shall do everything reasonably necessary to protect the life and safety of employees. (50-71-201, M.C.A.) No person shall remove, damage, or refuse to use any safety device or safeguard, or interfere in any way with the use thereof or of any practice or method adopted for protection of employees. (50-71-203, M.C.A.) Employees shall notify the supervisor of any safety hazards incident to their employment. (50-71-322, M.C.A.)
Any employee shall be allowed to use the Health Service, if available at the unit, for emergency treatment. The Health Service will be allowed reasonable charges for such service which shall be billed to the employee.
Prescription safety glasses will be furnished by the employer. The employer retains the authority to establish reasonable rules and procedures regarding frequency of issue, replacement of damaged glasses, limits on reimbursement costs and coordination with the employer's vision plan.
When there are four (4) or more regular full-time painter positions (12 months) in a work unit, there will be a working painter foreman. If a foreman position has been established under this provision and there is a reduction in the number of full-time painter positions because of a layoff, the foreman's position shall not be discontinued. However, when the foreman resigns or retires, the employer shall not be under any obligation to hire a foreman.
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