Rule 4901-90-04 | County of employment.
(A) Definitions. As used herein, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "County of employment" means the office address at which an employee has his or her primary work assignment, or if an employee's primary work assignment involves regularly scheduled travel, the place from which an employee can most effectively carry out his or her duties or an area where there exists an identified operational need. For the purpose of this rule, "headquarter county" is interchangeable with "county of employment."
(2) "Office staff" means employees who report to the commission's Columbus office on an average of more than two days per week. The county of employment for office staff shall be Franklin county.
(3) "Field staff" means employees who report to the commission's Columbus office on an average of two days per week or less. Time spent in Columbus for initial, special, or intermittent training shall not be considered when calculating this average.
(4) "County of residence" means the county in which an employee lives.
(5) "Operational area of need" means the state, county or municipal facility, report-in location, inspection location or city, whichever is appropriate, as designated by the proper supervisory authority. Any supervisory changes in the "operational area of need" for filled or vacant positions, must be approved by personnel before changes are implemented.
(6) "Newly appointed" means any newly hired person to the commission, and newly voluntarily promoted commission employee, any voluntarily demoted commission employee and/or any current employee who applied for and accepted a voluntary lateral transfer to a position other than their current position.
(B) A county of employment is designated for each commission position. This designation appears on the position description and on the position control roster.
(C) Employees of the commission or applicants of the commission for commission positions defined as office staff positions set forth in paragraph (A)(2) of this rule, need not reside in the designated "county of employment"; however, the commission does not reimburse an employee for travel expenses incurred while commuting from his or her home to the designated "county of employment," nor does the commission reimburse an employee for travel expenses incurred within his or her "county of residence." Travel expense reports will be reviewed periodically to ensure compliance with this policy.
(D) Individuals who voluntarily apply for proposed positions within the commission who are subsequently offered and accept positions are not considered transferees, regardless of whether or not they are employees of the commission at the time of application. Therefore, the commission is not liable for any relocation expenses that may result from an employee's decision to accept a position that has residency requirements and/or to move to, or closer to, the designated "county of employment" or "operational area of need," unless otherwise specified. "Newly appointed" individuals who are selected for field positions that have residency requirements must move into the designated required residency area by no later than thirty calendar days after the completion of their probationary period. Failing to do so will be cause for removal. This thirty calendar day moving requirement may be extended by the appropriate department director for up to thirty additional calendar days if requested in writing prior to the end of the first deadline and there are legitimate and reasonable reasons to justify the extension. All other requests for extensions must be approved by the chief of personnel and must be requested in writing prior to the expiration of the second deadline. During the probationary period and the grace periods stated above, successful candidates for field positions will not be compensated in any way for travel outside the radius established by the residency requirements for all field staff as stated in paragraph (F) of this rule. Exceptions to this requirement may be made on a case by case basis if approved by the chair of the commission.
(E) Successful applicants who are selected for positions within the commission, including commission employees who applied for a different position, shall be informed of this policy by being provided a copy of this document prior to processing the personnel action for appointment, promotion or transfer.
(F) Residency requirements for all "field staff":
All "newly appointed" staff, and/or current field staff who are changing their residence for personal reasons after the effective date of this policy, who are assigned to the transportation department's field operations whose regularly scheduled work duties, "operational area of need", is at some place different from the commission's Columbus office, shall be required to reside within a thirty mile radius of their "operational area of need." All other "newly appointed" staff, and/or current field staff who are changing their residence for personal reasons after the effective date of this policy, who are assigned to all other commission field operations whose regularly scheduled work duties, "operational area of need," is at some place different from the commission's Columbus office, shall be required to reside within a fifty mile radius of their "operational area of need." "Field staff" will be notified of their "operational area of need" upon implementation of this policy and when a vacant field position is posted.
Note: Failure to maintain compliance with the above mandatory residency requirement may subject the employee to disciplinary action, up to, and including, removal.
(G) Nothing in this policy shall impede management's right to assign or reassign employees to any designated "operational area of need" or "county of employment" as permitted by Ohio administrative rules.
(H) All commission staff are required to notify their supervisor and the personnel division prior to changing their residence.
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: –
Five Year Review Date:
Prior Effective Dates: 7/1/1986