Village's Revised Employee Handbook Getting a Good Read

The Village of Lake Zurich's employee handbook was last revised in 1987, and the administration has been overhauling the manual to ensure it meets state and federal guidelines.

The Village Board postponed accepting the revised handbook at their October 4, meeting so trustees could review the changes. The handbook was revised by the administration and labor council attorneys.

At the September 20, board meeting, the issue of employee evaluations and how often they would be conducted was brought up.  Currently, the handbook states that village employees will be subject to periodic evaluations by administration.

"The current language doesn't get us to where we want to be," said Rich Sustich, trustee.  "I am not comfortable with the word 'periodic,' we need to be much more exact in that it clearly states we conduct at least annual evaluations."

Bob Vitas, village administrator, said labor council lawyers consulted with him about the issue.  "The labor council advised us that using the actual word annual would mean evaluations must be done precisely at 12 months, and sometimes it is slightly before or after that specific time," he said.

Meanwhile, Jeff Halen, trustee, wanted specific information spelling out the revisions that Vitas said have already been made. 

"I would like to see a redline version, so we can see what changes were made based on issues that were brought up at the last meeting," said Halen. Halen wanted to view adjustments to how vacation time is granted and employee tuition reimbursement is determined.

A redline version shows both the previous wording and current changes by displaying red lines through parts of the wording that were replaced or edited.

Vitas said that information is available to the board. "The working file is available anytime for anyone who would like to review it," said Vitas. "It is about eight inches thick."

Administration will now be coming back to the board with specific clarifications they will be receiving from trustees over the next couple of days, so that all questions about adjustments to the handbook are answered.

Vitas said in the mean time, the village will be adhering to the proposed manual which has been reviewed by administration and labor council lawyers.  "Something has to be on the books so that employees and the village are equally protected," he said.

The board will be voting on whether to approve the revised employee handbook at the 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 18 meeting.