Administrative Regulation 7.14-5

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:   AR: 7.14-5 DATE APPROVED: June 12, 2018
SUBJECT: Policy on County Uniforms ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: Human Resources

POLICY:

The Board of County Commissioners intends to furnish regular full-time and part-time County employees within designated Departments/Divisions, with uniforms to facilitate employee identification in field operations and provide a benefit to those employees whose normal job functions result in abnormal wear to their clothing.

PROCEDURE:

The Department of Management and Budget shall be responsible for facilitating this policy by preparing Uniform Bid Specifications and Terms and General Conditions Agreement annually or supervise multi-year contracts in accordance with County bid regulations.

County Departments/Divisions authorized to provide uniforms for their employees shall be responsible for obtaining, as needed, uniforms from the uniform vendor who is awarded the County bid(s). These uniforms will be obtained according to one of the following acquisition methods:

Purchase: The County owns the uniform and the employee is responsible for uniform laundering.

Full Service Lease: The vendor owns the uniform and leases it to the County. The uniform is picked-up by the uniform vendor, professionally laundered and returned to the Department/Division weekly. Unneeded uniforms are returned to the vendor when no longer worn by the employee. Worn and damaged uniforms are to be replaced by the uniform vendor.

Note: Protective gear and special equipment items are not considered uniforms and are the responsibility of the Department/Division to procure in a cost efficient manner. Safety boots and/or shoes are managed by Risk Management and items are purchased in accordance with the safety shoe program.
 
The following County Departments are authorized to furnish employees with uniforms:
  • Public Works
    • Fleet – automotive shop personnel
    • Road Maintenance – maintenance personnel, equipment operators and Traffic Control field personnel
    • Engineering – Party chief and Survey technician II 
    • Facilities Management – custodial and trade workers
    • Aquatics – aquatic plant field personnel
    • Solid Waste – landfill maintenance personnel & recycling technician
  • Water Resources
    • Utilities – technicians, operators and operations supervisor
    • Utility & Billing – Meter reader
  • Community Services
    • Transit – bus drivers
    • Parks – recreation personnel and ground maintenance field employees
    • Animal Services – kennel workers, shelter technicians and office staff
  • Growth Management 
    • Building – construction inspectors and licensing officers
    • Compliance – code compliance officers
  • Fire Rescue
    • All combat personnel 
Departments/Divisions requesting authorization to furnish employees with uniforms, add personnel to existing authorization, or to be included under the Full-Service Lease provision must forward said requests to the Department of Management and Budget.

COUNTY UNIFORMS
  1. The official uniform will be the same for all uniformed employees in a Department or Division. The official county uniform may include shirt, pants, belt, hat/cap and jacket as selected by the Department or Division Director and approved by County Administration. Each Department or Division Director will determine the style, color and components of the official uniform.
  2. The County will purchase and lease uniforms from the vendor(s) awarded the county bid and issue uniforms to eligible employees as allocated in the approved fiscal year budget.
  3. The County Administrator must approve any deviations from the official county uniform. The Department Director will submit a written request describing the nature of the deviation and the reason the deviation is warranted.
  4. Employees will wear the approved uniforms throughout the work shift unless otherwise approved by the Department or Division Director. Employees are not authorized to wear uniforms outside regular work hours unless approved by the Department Director; however, uniforms can be worn during normal travel to and from the employee’s place of work or lunch.
  5. County uniforms are to be worn in a neat and proper manner to reflect employee pride and professionalism.
  6. All uniform shirts regardless of style are to be buttoned to the second button from the neck of the shirt and must be tucked inside the uniform trouser/pants. This includes tee shirts. This requirement is for safety as well as to enhance employees’ appearance to the general public.
  7. An employee who fails to wear the prescribed uniform or reports for work in a soiled uniform will be sent home without pay to change uniforms.
  8. All uniform trousers/pants are to maintain a comfortable fit and appearance and must be worn with a black uniform belt.
  9. Pins, badges or other insignia related to the employee’s job as issued to the employee by the County may be worn on the County uniform. Pins, badges or other insignia not issued by the County, must have written approval from the County Administration prior to being worn on the county uniform. Fire Rescue personnel shall refer to the Uniform SOP for uniform specifications.
  10. In case of damage to the uniform during the performance of the employee’s normal work functions, the garment is to be turned in and a replacement item from spare uniforms, if available, will be issued to the employee. The employee will report uniform damage to the immediate supervisor by the end of the workday.
  11. Uniforms must be returned to the County upon termination of employment. Failure of an employee to return uniform(s) may result in legal action against the employee.
  12. Employees who follow a collective bargaining agreement shall refer to their contract for more uniform specifications. 

FOOTNOTES & REFERENCES TO RELATED AR’s: Supersedes AR 7.14 dated February 11, 1992; AR 7.14-1 dated August 4, 1998, AR 7.14-2, dated September 1, 1998; AR 7.14-3 dated October 10, 2010; AR 7.14-4 dated September 9, 2014