DISTRICT 2 PUBLIC HEALTH
ORIENTATION MANUAL
07/2008
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W E L C O M E!
We would like
to take this opportunity to welcome each of you to District 2 Public Health.
District 2 Public Health consists of 13 county health departments, Children
With Special Needs and the District Health Office.
A map of the Public Health Districts in the State of
The Division of
Public Health is the agency entrusted with ultimate responsibility for the
health of communities across the entire State.
Public Health has the responsibility for protecting the health and safety of
Our mission is to promote and protect the health of people in
Whatever your new role may be, please know that it is vital to our team’s
overall success and to protecting and promoting the health of the
We are excited to have you on board and we look forward to your
contributions to District 2 Public Health.
Beginning January of 2007 each new employee will be assigned a Welcome
If you have any questions about information in this orientation packet,
please contact the Human Resources Department.
HUMAN RESOURCES STAFF:
Charlene Gazaway
Personnel Officer
770-535-5747
pcgazaway@gdph.state.ga.us
Janice Austin
Personnel Tech. 2
770-535-5877
jsaustin@gdph.state.ga.us
Linda Peck
Program Assistant
770-535-5869
lapeck@gdph.state.ga.us
FAX #
770-535-5899
DISTRICT HEALTH DIRECTOR:
DAVID N. WESTFALL, M.D., CPE
Oversees and manages the operation of District 2 Public Health
DISTRICT HEALTH PROGRAM MANAGER
EDITH J. PARSONS, PH.D., M.ED
Assists Health Director with providing overall direction for District 2
Public Health
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND
ADMINISTRATION
GREGORY
Responsible for the overall operation of budgets, accounting,
personnel and payroll
DISTRICT PH NURSING & CLINICAL
COORDINATOR
ANGIE HANES
Responsible for the overall operation of the nursing program for
District 2 Public Health
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IMPORTANT WEB SITES:
http://dhr.georgia.gov/portal/site/DHR-OHRMD
DHR CREDIT UNION
EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM
DISTRICT 2 PUBLIC HEALTH
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH
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District 2 Public Health is an equal opportunity employer, and does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, disability,
age or religious or political opinions or affiliations. All forms of
harassment prohibited by law, including sexual
harassment, will not be tolerated.
As a District 2 Public Health employee,
your employment status will either be classified or unclassified.
Classified Employees
Employees who were hired in classified positions before July 1, 1996 will
continue in the classified service unless they accept unclassified
positions. Employees in the classified service are subject to the Rules of
the State Personnel Board and may appeal some employment actions to the
State Personnel Board.
Unclassified Employees
Employees who were hired on or after July 1, 1996 will be in the
unclassified service.
Employees hired into the unclassified service prior to that date remain
unclassified.
Lunch Period
Check with you supervisor for information regarding lunch period at your
work location.
Employees working at offices that alternate lunch periods should take lunch
between the hours of ll:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Lunch cannot be skipped in order to leave early at the end of the
day.
All employees in positions which require a license (including a driver’s
license), certificate or registration must maintain the appropriate valid
documents. Failure to maintain such documents without justifiable cause will
result in separation from employment.
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Selective Service Registration
The Military Selective Service Act requires all selected male applicants
between the ages of 18 and 26 to present proof of having registered with the
Selective Service System or to present proof of being exempt from
registration. If proof is not provided by specified deadlines, the offer of
employment will be withdrawn from applicants or employees will be separated.
Employment Eligibility Verification
As mandated by the Immigration Reform and Control Act, District 2 Public
Health is required to verify the identity and employment eligibility of new
employees. In order to establish employment eligibility, all new employees
must complete an I-9 form. It is a violation of Federal law to knowingly
hire or recruit an alien unauthorized to work in the
For more information, please contact the Human Resources Office or refer to
DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #503, Verifying Identity and Employment
Eligibility.
Medical and Physical Examination Program
All selected applicants must be certified for medical and physical fitness
for their positions. Some job categories require applicants to obtain a
medical and physical examination after receiving a job offer. This ensures
that employees are physically capable of carrying out the duties of the job.
The program also protects the State from potential liability under Workers’
Compensation laws for conditions arising after employment that are caused in
whole or part by pre-existing physical conditions. The offer of employment
is contingent upon satisfactory completion of the certification.
Criminal History Record Information
District 2 Public Health will make all reasonable efforts to provide a safe
environment for clients, patients, customers and staff. Based on this
objective, a review of criminal history record information will be completed
on all applicants selected for employment within DHR.
Information Disclosure
All applicants/employees are to provide factually accurate information on
EVERY Application for Employment, State Security Questionnaire/Loyalty Oath
Form and on all other documents.
Applicants/employees are required
to disclose criminal history information on Applications for
Employment and State Security Questionnaire/Loyalty Oath Forms each time
these documents are completed.
Falsification or misrepresentation of criminal history is prohibited
and may result in
an offer of employment being withdrawn or separation.
Material falsification or misrepresentation of any information shall
result in an offer of employment being withdrawn or separation.
NOTE: “Material” refers to
information that directly influences and/or impacts the hiring decision
based on records, credentials and/or qualifications.
Orientation
All employees of District 2 Public Health are to receive appropriate
employee
orientation. Employee orientation is intended to introduce new employees to
the
organization; share general information, policies and procedures to enable a
smooth integration into the workforce; and to communicate standards and
expectations of employment to new employees.
Promotion
It is the policy of District 2 Public Health to provide promotional
opportunities for current employees. A promotion is the advancement of an
employee from a job on a lower pay grade to a job on a higher pay grade,
which generally results in an increase in pay. Employees must meet the
minimum and any special qualifications established for the position in order
to be eligible for a promotion.
For additional information, please contact the Human Resources Office, or
refer to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1101, Promotions.
Employees are encouraged to visit our website @
www.phdistrict2.org for a current
listing of job opportunities.
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District Policy #164 – Eligibility for Vacant Positions:
District policy states that current employees who are interested in
applying for vacant positions should have been employed with District 2
Public Health for at least 3 months.
Employees who have not been employed for at least 3
months, but who are interested in applying for a vacant position, may submit
a written request for an exception to this policy.
The request should explain why they are interested in the vacant
position, and should be addressed to the Human Resources Office for
consideration. The request will
be discussed with the supervisor of the vacant position, who will assist
with the decision to approve or deny the request.
This policy will not apply to part-time employees who are interested in
applying for full-time positions.
Part-time employees may apply for vacant positions regardless of the
time worked with District 2 Public Health.
Transfer
A transfer is the movement between positions within the same job, or
movement from a position in one job to a position in a different job on the
same pay grade. Employees must meet the minimum qualifications for the job
and any special qualifications for the position.
For additional information, please contact the Human Resources Office, or
refer to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1103, Transfer of Employees.
Employment of Relatives
District 2 Public Health prohibits or limits the employment or change in
employment status of relatives when necessary or appropriate. Authorized
officials have the responsibility to make appropriate decisions when
relatives of current employees are being considered for employment, or when
current employees may be working with relatives in violation of the DHR
Policy #1204, Employment of Relatives.
Relatives will not be employed or placed in positions or situations in which
a superior subordinate relationship will exist between the relatives in
circumstances including, but not limited to, the following:
· when the relatives work for
the same DHR organizational unit at the same
location, or
· when there are fewer than two levels of management separating the
relatives.
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Relatives will not be employed or placed in circumstances in which fiscal
checks and balances are a part of the assigned duties and responsibilities
of the positions involved.
Relatives will not be employed in a working relationship in which the nature
of the responsibilities may contribute to personal or financial gain, fraud,
collusion, other abuses of the positions or conflict of interest. Relatives
should not be placed in direct co-worker relationship within the same
organizational unit.
For further information on employment of relatives, including the definition
of “relatives”, please contact the Human Resources Office or refer to DHR
Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1204, Employment Status of Relatives.
Compensation
District 2 Public Health offers its employees a wide range of tangible and
intangible employee benefits that form a part of a total compensation
package. In addition to monetary compensation, there are many other types of
indirect compensation and non-monetary benefits.
Examples include, but are not limited to, health insurance,
retirement benefits, leave, holidays and the potential for flexible
scheduling when job demands allow.
Visit our website @
www.phdistrict2.org to calculate total compensation.
Pay Periods
STATE PAID EMPLOYEES: Salary
payments are made on a semi-monthly pay period basis. The first pay period
is from the first through the fifteenth of the month, and the second pay
period is from the sixteenth through the last day of the month. Paydays are
generally the last day of the pay period unless the last day of the pay
period falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case payday is the last
workday of the pay period.
COUNTY PAID EMPLOYEES: Salary
payments are made on the last working day of each month.
Paydays are generally the last day of the pay period unless the last
day of the pay period falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case payday is
the last workday of the pay period.
Checks are distributed at 8:00 a.m. on payday as long as employee has enough
leave to cover the remaining portion of the day.
Employees that do not have enough leave will receive their paycheck after
2:00 provided they remain on duty the remainder of the day.
Direct Deposit transfers are made 2 business days before payday.
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Checks mailed to the health departments will be mailed 2 business days
before payday by UPS.
Checks mailed to home addresses will be mailed by regular mail the day
before payday.
Checks and/or check stubs for employees who are paid by Hall County Health
Department but are headquartered in another county will be mailed to the
headquarters county.
Employee must notify the Human Resources Office in writing if they wish to
check to be mailed to a different location.
IT IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR EMPLOYEES TO LEAVE THEIR WORK SITES DURING WORK TIME
TO HANDLE PERSONAL BANKING.
A copy of the Pay Schedule can be found on the Georgia Merit System website
@ www.gms.state.ga.us.
Payroll Deductions
There are a number of payroll deductions, which are applicable to most
employees, such as Federal and State income taxes, Social Security and
Medicare taxes, and retirement. Voluntary deductions such as health
insurance, other insurance options, credit unions and charitable
contributions, may also be authorized.
STATE PAID EMPLOYEES: Direct
Deposit/Debit Master Card DHR encourages employees to use direct payroll
deposit, if it is available. If not, employees are required to sign up for
the DHR Debit Master Card, which electronically transfers net pay onto a
debit card.
COUNTY PAID EMPLOYEES: Direct
Deposit is available.
For additional information, please contact the Human Resources Office.
Holidays
To be eligible for the holiday, employees must be in pay status for the full
workday either before or after the holiday.
For more information, please refer to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy
#1004. To view current list of
holidays please visit the following web site @
www.spa.ga.gov
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Click employees, then benefits, list of holidays on the right.
Annual and Sick Leave
Annual and Sick leave may be taken in ½ hour increments.
Eligible employees accrue annual and sick leave on a semi-monthly basis at
the end of each pay period. Accrued leave will be available for use by
employees at the beginning of the pay period after it is earned. Full-time
employees must be in pay status for at least 40 hours during a pay period to
accrue leave. This minimum period is pro-rated for part-time employees by
the percentage of time worked.
Eligible full-time employees earn annual leave depending on the length of
continuous service at the following rates:
5 hours per pay period
0-60 months
6 hours per pay period
60 ½ - 120 months
7 hours per pay period
120 ½ months and greater
Accrual at the appropriate higher rate begins on the first day of the pay
period after the employee completes the required months of continuous
service. Eligible part-time
employees accrue annual leave at these rates prorated by the percentage of
time worked.
Employees may accumulate up to 360 hours of annual leave. Any annual leave
over 360 hours is placed in a forfeited status, but may be restored in cases
of illness or disability. In some cases, forfeited annual leave may be
counted toward retirement.
Employees may use annual leave for vacations or any other time needed to
attend to personal business. Employees must request to use accrued annual
leave and receive prior approval from their supervisor, unless an emergency
situation exists.
Eligible full-time employees accrue five (5) hours of sick leave at the end
of each pay period. The amount
of sick leave earned is also prorated for eligible part-time employees by
the percentage of time worked.
Sick leave may be accumulated up to a total of 720 hours. Any sick leave
over 720 hours is placed in a forfeited status, but may be restored in case
of illness or disability. In some cases, forfeited sick leave and unused
sick leave may be counted toward retirement.
· absence needed because of
exposure to contagious disease when attendance on duty would endanger the
health of others;
· absence for dental or medical
care; and
· absence due to dental or
medical care, illness, accident or death in the immediate family, which
requires the employee’s presence.
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“Immediate family” means the employee’s spouse, child, parent, brother and
sister.
Immediate family also includes any other person who resides in the
employee’s household and is recognized by law as a dependent
of the employee.
For further information on annual and sick leave, please refer to DHR Human
Resource/Personnel Policy #1006, Annual, Sick and Personal Leave.
Personal Leave
Employees eligible for leave benefits who have accumulated more than 120
hours of sick leave as of November 30 of any year may convert up to 24 hours
of the accumulation in excess of the 120 hours to personal leave. This
conversion must be made no later than December 31 of that year for use in
the following year.
For detailed information on personal leave, please refer to DHR Human
Resource/Personnel Policy #1006, Annual, Sick and Personal Leave.
Reporting to Work
Employees who are unable to report to work must contact their supervisor by
8:10 a.m.
Leave Cards & Leave Report
A sample leave card is enclosed.
You may obtain more leave cards from each work location.
Leave cards must be submitted to your supervisor in advance for
annual, personal and scheduled sick leave appointments.
Other leave cards for sick days and emergencies must be turned in the
day you return to work. Leave
can be taken in ½ hour increments.
You may request an electronic leave record to use in recording the leave
taken and leave earned each month, by e-mailing Linda Peck @:
lapeck@gdph.state.ga.us.
Leave balances are printed on the payroll check stub each month.
The balance on the check stub will be the ending balance for the
PREVIOUS month.
Therefore, new employees check stub will not show a leave balance until the
2nd month of employment.
Please compare your leave records with the check stub balance EACH
MONTH. If there is a
problem, please call Linda Peck @ 770-535-5869.
A leave report is sent to the supervisors each month.
Leave Of Absence Without Pay
District 2 supervisors are authorized by Dr. Westfall to approve leave of
absence without pay (LWOP) when
deemed appropriate. Leave of
absence without pay is generally approved only for medical reasons when
employees are reasonably expected to be able to return to work. Leave of
absence without pay should be approved only for short periods of time,
unless there are extraordinary circumstances that support an extended period
of time.
All requests for leave of absence must be submitted in writing to the
immediate supervisor.
For more information, please contact your Human Resources Office or refer to
DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1007, Leave of Absence Without
Pay.
Family and Medical Leave
Federal law provides job-protected family and medical leave without pay from
work for certain family and medical reasons.
District 2 employees may use available annual, sick and/or personal
leave, if appropriate, while on family and medical leave in order to remain
in pay status. While on family and medical leave, eligible employees who
have health insurance through the State Health Benefit Plan are entitled to
maintain this health insurance coverage.
To be eligible for family and medical leave, employees must have been
employed with State government for a minimum of 12 months, and have been
present at work for a minimum of 1,250 hours during the 12 months
immediately before the beginning of family and medical leave. Up to 12 work
weeks of family and medical leave is available each calendar year. Employees
may choose to use accrued leave to continue to receive a pay check during a
period of family and medical leave, take leave without pay or use a
combination of both to cover the absence from work with supervisory
approval. Any period of family and medical leave not covered by accrued
leave will be without pay.
For detailed information, please contact your supervisor, the Human
Resources Office or refer to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1005,
Family and
Medical Leave.
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Leave Donation
STATE PAID EMPLOYEES ONLY:
Eligible DHR employees (recipients) may under certain circumstances request
leave donations from other DHR employees (donors). Donors may donate accrued
annual, sick or personal leave directly to recipients. All donated leave is
credited to recipients’ sick leave balances. Leave donations can only be
used for sick leave related reasons as described in DHR Human
Resource/Personnel Policy #1006.
Recipients may be eligible to receive donated leave after using all accrued
and forfeited leave, all available compensatory time and after being on
authorized leave without pay for at least 80 consecutive hours.
COUNTY PAID EMPLOYEES: District
2 is in the process of developing a Leave Donation policy for county paid
employees.
Please contact your supervisor, the Human Resources Office, or refer
to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1010, Leave Donation, for additional
information and restrictions.
Court Leave
Court leave may be used by employees on all days summoned for jury duty,
subpoenaed or otherwise ordered to attend a judicial proceeding. Employees
are required to provide a copy of the summons, subpoena or other judicial
order as soon as possible. Court leave is with pay and includes the time
actually required by the judicial proceeding and any reasonable time needed
to prepare for or recuperate from the ordered duty. Employees are expected
to report for work whenever the judicial proceeding schedule permits.
Court leave is not available to employees when they are litigants,
defendants or other principal parties or have any other personal or familial
interest in the proceedings.
Employees may, however, request to use accrued leave to cover these absences
from work.
For further information, please contact the Human Resources Office or refer
to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1008, Court Leave.
Military leave is a leave of absence from work while engaged in the
performance of ordered military duty and while going to and returning from
such duty. Military leave may also be used by members of the U.S. Armed
Forces, any reserve force or reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces or
any force of the organized militia to attend service schools, for active
duty, active duty for training, inactive duty training and examination
purposes.
For further information please contact the Human Resources Office or refer
to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1009, Military Leave, for specific
information.
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Blood Donation
Employees may be granted time off during work hours (with pay) to donate
blood, blood platelets, or granulocytes.
For specific information, please refer to DHR Human Resource/ Personnel
Policy #1013, Miscellaneous Time/Leave.
For further information, please refer to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy
#1013, Miscellaneous Time/Leave.
Other Types of Leave
For other types of leave please contact the Human Resources Office or refer
to DHR Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1013, Miscellaneous Leave/Time.
Retirement
The Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) administers retirement benefits for
State of
Generally, employees who are scheduled to work at least 35 hours per week on
positions with duties that are expected to continue for at least nine months
are required to be members of the ERS. Employee and employer contributions
are paid into the retirement fund for the welfare of members and their
beneficiaries. All benefits are paid from the fund.
1.50% is deducted from employees check
–
1.25% for retirement and .25% for Group Term Life Insurance.
–
Group Term Life Insurance = 18 times monthly salary
Employees become vested in the Employees’ Retirement System for service
retirement after ten years of creditable service.
For further information, visit the Employees’ Retirement System website @
www.ersga.org or call the Employees’
Retirement System @ 404-352-6400, the Human Resources Office or refer to DHR
Human Resource/Personnel Policy #1902, Retirement.