Administrative Regulation 7.25

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:   AR: 7.25 DATE APPROVED: September 8, 2020
SUBJECT: County Employees as Volunteer Poll Workers Program  ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: Human Resources

PURPOSE AND SCOPE:

  1. Citrus County, Florida in partnership with the Supervisor of Elections acknowledges that the electoral process is fundamental to our system of government and is served by providing voters with election polls that are fully staffed with qualified and trained citizens. However, it is increasingly more difficult to adequately staff polls due to the dwindling pool of available volunteers. The County finds that a vital public interest is served by encouraging County employees to volunteer as Poll Workers to help protect and maintain the integrity of the elections process and for that purpose hereby adopts the “County Employees as Volunteer Poll Workers Program.”
  2. Employees must be registered voters in Citrus County to assist the Supervisor of Elections. Employees taking civic leave to work with the Supervisor of Elections, will be paid by the County for a normal workday. Employees will also be paid a stipend from the Supervisor of Elections that covers training classes and the hours worked on Election Day. The amount of the stipend depends on the position worked. Employees must be able to work a full 14 hours on Election Day (no shifts) starting at 6:00AM.
DEFINITION

  1. For the purpose of this policy, the definition of “employee” includes regular staff members (i.e., full-time, or part-time). 
  2. For the purpose of this policy, the definition of “employee” shall not include staff members whose employment status is Casual Labor.
ELIGIBILITY AND CIVIC LEAVE REQUEST

Any regular County employee, as defined above, may apply for civic leave from County employment to serve as a volunteer Poll Worker. Such leave is subject to:

  1. Employee must be in good standing with the County and not be subject to any ongoing disciplinary action that includes suspension, or administrative leave due to disciplinary action with or without pay.
  2. Employee must submit a request in writing to his/her direct supervisor and department director (or designee) for an absence from County employment for the employee’s entire regularly scheduled work hours on Election Day to serve as a volunteer Poll Worker in Citrus County.
  3. Upon approval by supervisor and department director (or designee), interested employees must apply directly to the Supervisor of Employees may contact the Poll Worker Department at (352) 564-7114 or complete a paper application located on the intranet at: http://intranet/hr/human-resources.html
    Under “Human Resources Form” select “Election Worker Application for County Employees”. Upon completion of the application and signed by department director (or designee), the application must be sent to Human Resources for final approval in consultation with the County Administrator. Upon final approval by Human Resources, the application will be sent via inter- office mail to Kari Tedrick at the Supervisor of Elections.
  4. Employee will be selected as being qualified by the Supervisor of Elections.
  5. Selected employees will receive confirmation from the Supervisor of Elections with additional details, including required training information.
  6. Employees must successfully complete all required Poll Worker Employees required to attend training during their regularly scheduled work hours must submit a request in writing to his/her supervisor and obtain approval by the department director (or designee) to attend such training.
  7. Timekeeper will then add training hours to employee’s timesheet as TCP Code “321 ADMIN- LEAVE NO OT-B”. These hours shall be counted in the accumulation of retirement and leave earnings.
  8. Selected employee will be expected to fully execute his/her responsibilities as a volunteer Poll Worker including but not limited to:
    1. Reporting to his/her assigned polling place at the designated time,
    2. Performing all the duties assigned by the Supervisor of Elections or his/her designee and as required by applicable state and federal elections laws,
    3. Remaining on duty until the poll is properly closed and secured and/or until released by Supervisor of Elections or his/her designee.
    4. Additional information and requirements can be found online at: https://www.votecitrus.com/Poll-Workers/Poll-Worker-Information.
  9. Time away from regular assigned duties shall not conflict with operational or scheduling requirements of the Employee’s department.
  10. Departments with employees on approved civic leave as volunteer Poll Workers may utilize flexible scheduling for employees that assist with elections.
  11. There may be more than one (1) Election Day designated each year. Employees will be required to apply to the Volunteer Poll Worker Program for each designated Election Day.
  12. At the discretion of the County Administrator, certain job titles may be excluded from paid civic leave if it is deemed their absence will be a disruption to normal business operations.
COMPENSATION:

  1. Employees selected to serve as a volunteer Poll Worker shall be treated by the County for pay purposes as if they were engaged in normal work duties with his/her assigned department, and employees shall be compensated for a normal workday by the County.
  2. Employee must submit proof of time worked for the Supervisor of Elections to their timekeeper to receive their normal regular daily wage from the County. Timekeeper will then add the employee’s normal workday hours to the employee’s timesheet as TCP Code “321 ADMIN- LEAVE NO OT-B”. These hours shall be counted in the accumulation of retirement and leave earnings.
  3. In addition, employee will be paid a stipend as determined by the Supervisor of Elections based upon the required training, position and assigned responsibilities on Election Day. Supervisor of Elections will notify Payroll of hours worked by the County employee as a volunteer Poll Worker.
  4. The stipend shall not be counted in any computation of the total wages or compensation paid to the employee for his/her regular employment with the County for purposes of accumulation of retirement and leave earnings.
  5. Employees who volunteer for this paid civic leave, are ineligible for overtime compensation because the work is voluntary, occasional and sporadic and in a different capacity from the regularly assigned job duties of their job classifications pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
  6. At the discretion of the County Administrator, paid civic leave may be granted to employees for additional training and work or suspended at any time with or without notice.

FOOTNOTES & REFERENCES TO RELATED AR’s: