Rutherfordton Personnel Policy

It is the policy of the Town of Rutherfordton to provide all Town employees with personnel policies and procedures for an efficient work environment. Personnel policies are established under the authority of Chapter 160A, Article 7, of the General Statutes of North Carolina. This policy will establish a uniform and efficient human resources management system for the fair treatment of applicants and employees in all aspects of employee administration.

These policies have been written with the realization that the strength of the town government depends directly on the individual contributions made by every employee. In return, the town expects that each employee shall attempt to achieve high levels of productivity and efficiency in carrying out the employee’s job in the spirit of job satisfaction, service to the town, and assuring accountability in the services provided to the public

The intent in updating these personnel policies was to:

• Promote and increase efficiency, responsiveness to the public, and economy in Town service;
• Provide an opportunity for qualified persons to enter and progress in municipal service based on merit and ability;
• Maintain recruitment, advancement, and longevity practices enhancing the attractiveness of a town career and encouraging all employees to give their best efforts to the town and the public;
• Maintain consistent, up-to-date position classification and compensation plans based on the relative duties and responsibilities of jobs in town service; and
• Promote morale among town employees by fostering good working relationships and providing uniform human resource policies.

This new policy represents over a year of work to review, edit, add, and formulate a new personnel policy for the Town. Our current policy was adopted in 1997 and was in serious need of updating. Major aspects of the update include:

• Tuition, Training & Certifications
• Workplace Violence
• Substance Abuse
• Light Duty
• Vacation Leave Accruals
• Codes of Ethics
• Whistleblower protections
• Pay Plan
• Appearance
• EAP
• Conduct
• Employee Files
• Social Media
• Tobacco Use