The Hastings City Council Monday approved adding holiday hours worked during a week when calculating overtime for hourly non-union staff. Now, if an employee works 10-12 hours on an election and Veteran’s Day comes in the same week, the employee does not get overtime pay for the overtime hours worked.
City Manager Jeff Mansfield said the situation comes up often during Christmas/Eve and New Years/Eve.
“Our staff may need to work well beyond 8 hours during days in those weeks to get payroll done or on getting other necessary task completed, and yet they are only paid at their regular rate for such time,” he said.
The city’s personnel policy is currently undergoing a comprehensive review with recommendations for revisions.
Also the council proclaimed Oct.13 as “Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day," recognizing the unique challenges for an estimated 154,000 women in the United States with the disease.
Mayor David Tossava read the proclamation with Sarah Hockin, mission director of Susan G. Coman and Intern Rachael Burnosky standing with him. While early detection and routine diagnosis have made tremendous progress in the last 30 years, the story for advanced disease is quite different, the proclamation said.
The devastating stage of breast cancer occurs when it spreads to the bones, lungs, liver and brains. Metastatic breast caner patients face emotional and physical demands of continuing treatment indefinitely with the goal of extending the best quality of life possible, Tossava read.
No cure exists for metastatic breast cancer and the disease cuts short the lives of too many people in Michigan, leaving a lasting effect on families, he continued. On National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, the proclamation asks the citizens to become more informed and aware of the disease.
Also, the council waived the penalty for failure to file a property transfer affidavit. The city has never charged the penalty and state law requires units of government to waive the requirement.
“By adopting the resolution we will meet the new state requirement,” Mansfield said.
And, they approved the appointment of Jeffrey S. Kniaz to the Hastings Public Library Board to a partial term expiring Dec. 31.
