Employee Handbook

Section 6 — Community Participation

The City will permit the Human Services department to solicit employees for their voluntary participation and support of the various programs and events for the low income and elderly citizens for West Des Moines.

Employee Volunteer Program

The City will allow regular full-time and part-time employees paid time off to participate in community volunteer efforts after completing their Probationary/Introductory Period.

All regular full-time employees can volunteer up to eight (8) hours per Calendar Year with any approved agency or organization named below. All regular part-time employees can volunteer up to four (4) hours per calendar year with any approved agency or organization named below. Other criteria for this benefit:

• All Non-Exempt (hourly) employees' time off must be taken in at least one (1) hour increments.

• All Exempt (salaried) employees' time must be taken in an eight-hour increment. See Section 5.3, Pay for Additional Time Worked.

• Time will be paid at the employee’s current base salary/hourly rate on the day(s) the time is taken.

• This benefit will not roll over from year-to-year.

• This benefit will not be paid out upon separation of employment.

• Overtime must be approved by the employees supervisor prior to it being taken.

• Employees are ineligible for this benefit if they are on sick leave, assigned to light duty or are receiving Workers' Compensation benefits, are on Performance Improvement Plan or if this policy is discontinued.

• The employee will follow all City policies and rules to ensure professional conduct and uphold the reputation of the City when using this benefit.

Employees must follow the following approval process:

• The employee must provide reasonable notice to their supervisor and take into account work demands, which will take priority over this policy.

• Employees must complete the Volunteer Time Off (VTO) Request Form located on the SharePoint Employee Volunteer Program Website and submit to their supervisor.

o    The Supervisor approves based on staffing needs for their department

o    Employee is notified by supervisor preferably two weeks prior to the volunteer opportunity

Final approval is at the discretion of the employee’s supervisor.

Employees can choose an organization from the approved list below or work with other employees on group volunteer activities sponsored by the Employee Volunteer Committee. If an agency you are interested in is not listed please visit the Volunteer SharePoint site and submit the agency for review.

Approved Organizations:

Furry Friends Refuge

St. Croix Hospice

West Des Moines Human Services

Alzheimer’s Association Greater Iowa Chapter

Meals from the Heartland

Iowa Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease

Amanda the Panda

Habitat for Humanity

Link Associates

ALS Association

Iowa Senior Games

United Way Day of Action

Special Olympics

Tallgrass Theatre Company

Red Cross

Average Everyday Miracles

Des Moines Children's Museum

AHeinz 57 Pet Rescue

LifeServe Blood Center

Madison County Conservation

Mary's Helping Hands

Schools attended by West Des Moines residents

Disaster Recovery/Clean-up

The final selection of the charitable organization(s) and permission to solicit will be up the City Manager’s Office.