Personnel committee begins overhaul of employee handbook, debating probation length, comp time and political activity

The St. Louis City Personnel and Administration Committee met June 11 to begin a series of updates to the municipal employee handbook, focusing on probationary periods, comp time eligibility, political-activity rules and time-off reporting. Director Andracia led the review and asked committee members to form a small working group with the city counselor's office and clerks to finalize a formal proposal.

Director Andracia told the committee she "has been working with Christine Hadzik in the city counselor's office" and wants the committee's feedback before bringing forward an ordinance or formal handbook draft. She said new staffing in the clerk's office will help produce a cleaner working copy for committee review.

Probationary period: Director Andracia flagged Section 5.3, which currently outlines a 12-month probation with multiple check-ins, calling the provision cumbersome and noting she did not believe the review schedule had been implemented in practice. Several members suggested a 90-day probation as more typical for municipal employers. A member recommended that routine appraisals be the responsibility of a new employee's direct supervisor rather than the personnel committee.

Comp time and FLSA: Committee members spent substantial time on Section 6.4, which covers comp time. Director Andracia said executive secretaries have been classified as non-exempt and are eligible for comp time, while exempt employees — who are salaried and not overtime-eligible — should not receive comp time. She said she had conferred with the city counselor's office on the issue. Alderman Con summarized the committee's position on workplace policy: "Even in an at-will employment situation, you still need to follow the policies that are outlined," and noted that probationary periods and progressive discipline are tools to document performance concerns and provide resources or an orderly exit when needed.

Members described practical staffing concerns: some clerks and associate clerks routinely attend late meetings and work extended hours. Committee members asked whether flex scheduling or managerial discretion could address those hours for exempt staff, and Director Andracia said she will return with additional guidance from the city counselor's office on which positions qualify for comp time and how to operationalize flex time.

Political activity and outside employment: Director Andracia presented draft language intended to broaden employees' ability to run for public office, based on research from peer cities, while prohibiting campaign activity on city time or use of city resources. She proposed including a clear process for leave requests (who must approve such leaves — the direct supervisor, the clerk, or the personnel committee) and for documenting outside employment and political activity. Committee members asked that the handbook explicitly cover outside employment in general, not only political campaigns.

PTO reporting and 24-hour work requirements: The director reported that some positions are documented as required to work at least 24 hours per week but that, in practice, employees are not consistently recording hours or taking PTO. Members warned that unrecorded time-off could result in unexpected PTO payouts and requested a monthly report from the clerk's office showing time-off usage so supervisors and the committee can monitor compliance.

Next steps and working group: Director Andracia asked to convene a small working group — proposing participation from the city counselor's office and the clerks — to produce a refined handbook and said she hoped to complete the work by September. Members volunteered to participate. The committee did not take any votes or adopt policy at the meeting.

No formal actions were taken. The committee excused absences for alderwomen from the 10th and 13th wards, moved to adjourn and recognized that no votes occurred because a quorum was not present; the meeting ended by unanimous consent.

The committee expects the director to return with a cleaned-up draft, counsel guidance on FLSA and comp time, and proposed language for probation, political activity and PTO reporting in a subsequent meeting.