Calendar

The Law at Work

Our attorney for the Employment Law Hotline has been hard at work answering your inquiries and would like to share some of the recent topics of discussion in the hopes that you too can benefit from our guidance.

Q. Our Council has long made it clear the City must be a drug-free workplace, top to bottom. As the Administrator, I arrange for random drug tests by an outside vendor. One of our best police officers just failed her random test (for marijuana), and refused a retest. I don’t really want to fire her, but it seems like she’s being insubordinate when she refuses to take the test again, and our policy says a failed test is grounds for termination. What do you suggest?

A.  I’m very glad you asked. In Alaska, cities can test police and fire (and probably other municipal employees) before hiring or promotion, or when they have reasonable suspicion that the employee is impaired, such as when the employee is in an accident. Our Supreme Court ruled years ago that random drug tests of police and fire employees violate their right to privacy. I recommend that you stop all random testing. Tell the officer the City is not doing random tests any more, and drop it. You will need to let your Council know why the policy has changed. They should take comfort in the fact that you will still manage the employees and discipline for misconduct, whether it’s related to drug use or some other cause. If you need backup or more information for the Council, contact me at the AMLJIA Employment Law Hotline and I will be happy to help.

Q.  We sent an employee out of town to pick up a skiff and trailer and bring it back to the City. He had to travel overnight, meet the trailer and skiff at the ferry terminal, wait for the ferry, load the trailer, ride the ferry home, and offload it. He’s put in for all kinds of overtime for this trip. Do we have to pay him for riding the ferry? How about for the time spent waiting in the ferry line and offloading?

A.  The time spent waiting for the ferry on one end and offloading on the other is paid as regular work time, so it is overtime if his work week exceeds 40 hours (or less, depending on your personnel policies or code). Riding the ferry is compensated as any work travel in a conveyance on an overnight trip – it’s paid if it happens during the employee’s regular working hours, say, 8:00 to 4:30; the same is likely true for his travel to meet  the ferry.

The Employment Law Hotline, available to member managers, supervisors, and personnel directors, offers a FREE 30-minute consultation with an AMLJIA law firm in the area of employment liability.  Call 877-4AMLJIA (877-426-5542) before you make employment-related decisions and protect your entity from employment liability.

Introducing

AMLJIA would like to introduce our newest staff member and Finance Manager, Mark Glaspey.  Mark brings more than thirty years of financial and general management experience to our team.  This former construction company owner moved to Ketchikan from Washington following Mount St. Helen’s eruption in 1980.  Mark first worked in accounting in heavy construction and later for an air taxi operation.  He has served as general manager of what some believed was the largest floatplane operation in the U.S., the CFO of an air cargo operation, and the controller/CFO of a native-owned civil construction company.

Mark enjoys utilizing his financial expertise to provide accurate and timely financial information to our department managers and the Board of Trustees.

“All organizations, whether they are profit or non-profit, exist to provide a unique product or service to their customers or members,” Mark explained, “whether it is providing transportation of goods and services to remote villages or providing risk management services in a cost-effective way to members who may not normally have access to those services.”

We are pleased to have Mark Glaspey join our staff.  Please join us in welcoming him!