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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Read Before Packet - 11/15/2022 - Memorandum From Teresa Roche Re: Item # 20 - Resolution 2022-113 Employee Responses To The Famli SurveyCity of Fort Collins Resources Human Resources Department 215 N. Mason, 2' Floor Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6535 Date: November 15, 2022 To: Mayor and City Councilmembers 7R From: Teresa Roche, Human Resources Thru: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager RE: Item 20 Resolution 2022-113 Employee Responses to the FAMLI Survey Attached are the employee comments to the online survey question, "What comments do you want to share about the City's recommendation to opt out of the FAMLI/Proposition 118 state run paid family and medical leave insurance program?" The survey window closed last night and this report is computer generated and no changes have been made. Report for FAMLI Prop 118 - EmpLoyee Comments to Council Response Counts Completion Rate: 100% Complete 1111111.1011 66 Totals: 66 1. What comments do you want to share about the City's recommendation to opt out of the FAMLI/Proposition 118 state - run paid family and medical Leave insurance program? ResponselD Response 1 2 Testing 1 agree city should opt out 4 Please OPT-OUT....the city already provides better benefits and it's just another cost for employees and the city if we don't opt -out. 5 6 I am very happy with the current benefits the city provides to me as an employee. I do not wish to pay more money for benefits that 1 might not ever use. I want the city to opt out of this program. The City already has excellent benefits in this area at no cost to employees. While I appreciate the intent of this program to assist employees at small businesses, or those who may not qualify for full benefits, it seems clear that the City should opt out at this time and simply continue its current leave program. This will save the City - and therefore taxpayers - money, and well as City employees, who are already struggling with the inflationary pressures of our current economy. ResponselD Response 7 8 Am torn on this issue. While I don't like the idea of the City as an organization opting out of anything that is generally applicable to the general public, I agree with the Logic of the recommendation. All of the benefits that FAMLI intends to provide are already available to City employees. The extra cost to employees and the City would not provide additional benefit. It also seems that the program is structured to provide an individual benefit for an individual contribution, therefore, the City does no societal harm by opting out. With the option for individual employees to opt in if they choose truly makes this a win -win decision. There is no true benefit to opting in and no harm in opting out. I do not believe the City provides benefits equal to what FAMLI is set to provide. Short term disability and 120 hours of parental Leave is not equivalent to the 12 weeks of paid benefits. Parental Leave also does not cover medical issues or issues of domestic violence that are listed in the FAMLI proposition. 9 I agree with the recommendation to opt out. 10 This new bureaucracy has not been funded or tested yet ant risks being overturned quickly dependant on general election results. Please! OPT OUT!!! Thank you 11 I trust all of those at the City that have made the recommendation to opt out of FAMLI. The reasons are clear. Please follow the City administrators advice, City Council, and vote to opt out of FAMLI Prop 118. Thank you! 12 Please opt out. 16 Opt out please 17 FAMLI provides additional benefits for hourly employees. The City's current program does not. Taking better care of hourly employees would encourage retention. This would create a pool of already trained talent for transfers and promotions. 18 Please opt out 21 Opt out 22 I do not think this is fair to add a new payroll tax on people especially with the state of the economy at this moment. People need to be able to take home more of their hard money rather than be forced a new tax upon them 23 Opting out of FAMLI will help the City to attract and retain good employees by saving them money and offering benefits that are more attractive. I urge Council to opt out. ResponselD Response 24 1 agree to opt -out of the FAML1/Proposition. I feel that the City's insurance program is more than enough for its employees. 25 Please opt us out of FAMLI! Thank you for your service. 26 We don't need to be paying for something we don't need. 27 1 appreciate much of the benefit package provided already from the City of Fort Collins. The package helps to off set the salary actually paid in the pay structure. An additional tax across the board at this time would add additional burdens to our staff and their families. Those who feel they need the additional insurance can pursue the state option individually. Please choose to Opt -Out of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance on behalf of all city employees and allow those who feet it is necessary to apply individually through the state Labor board. Thank you, 28 Opt Out. 29 Thank you for providing such great benefits. I don't need more taken out of my paycheck. Please opt out of this :) thank you! 30 The payroll tax is a significant financial loss for us without any real benefit as the city provides better coverage. Please opt out, it's better for the employees of the City of Fort Collins and better for the city as a whole. 31 I hope we are able to opt out of this program given the plethora of comparable benefits already offered to City employees. In times of raging inflation, avoiding an extra tax burden is of greater importance. 32 I think that the City should have to do what all other employers in the state have to do and not have an option to opt out. Looking at the comparison, FAMLI provides 12 weeks PAID Leave. The City provides 120 hours sick time and parental leave is only 3 weeks paid. They are not comparable. Even though the City tries to boast about its benefits when it comes down to it FAMLI provides protection. Thanks 33 I support opting out of FAMLI/Proposition 118 with the understanding that the City of Fort Collins provides better benefits than what could be achieved by the 118 program. ResponselD Response 34 It is unfortunate that -,-ithe City believes it provides better benefits to new and renewed parents than what the state provides. What the city should be is a leader in changing the tide of parental leave by providing its current benefits in addition to the benefits from the state. We strive as a city to be compassionate to the employee and think of the future. The future is Longer term, and absolutely paid, parental leave. What is currently provided is mostly unpaid job security, with 3 weeks parental leave and realistically only 4-6 weeks of paid short term disability. This leads to employees having to sacrifice their sick hours that could be better used for when they return to work and have sick children to take care of. If the employee exhausts those hours during parental leave they are left with coming up with their own hours to care for their children. Coming back to work is a tender spot, as a parent leaves their young child behind for the first time, and in the case where they ar 35 I propose we opt out, given an employee stilt can opt in at their own choice rather than requiring all to when the City offers other choices/benefits at no cost to us now. 36 based on the email. received from HR concerning FAMLI, and the sick leave, STD and LTD, bereavement, and parental leaves provided by the city, 1 would agree the best course is for the City to opt out of FAMLI/Proposition 118. Thank you for the opportunity to share and comment. 37 I don't want to pay for double insurance. 38 We are currently only offered 3 weeks... this is a shamefully small amount of time for an organization that claims to be "world class". My previous private sector job offered 2 months of paid parental leave. Why wouldn't we take advantage of this additional benefit? Let's put it up to a vote of the employees. 39 As seniors, we have medicare and supplemental insurace we pay for already. We don't need to be taxed more. Please opt out. 40 Please opt out. The amount taxed on payroll is already significant without adding to it for purposes of a program that we're already addressing. Thanks. 42 I ask City Council to opt out of FAMLI. Taxes in the City of Fort Collins and the county are so high that it is making in impossible to Live and work in this community..45% extra taxes would make it so my family would need to chose between rent and food. 43 PLEASE OPT OUT. WE DO NOT NEED AN INCREASED IN TAXES AS COST OF LIVING HAS SKYROCKETED LATELY AND A LOT OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, LIVE PAYHECK TO PAYCHECK. AN INCREASED IN TAXES WILL HAVE A GREATER IMPACT NEGATIVELY THAN POSTIVELY. PLEASE CONSIDER STAYING OPT OUT. THANK YOU FOR BEING ON OUR SIDE. ResponselD Response 44 The City of Fort Collins already provides paid sick leave, parental Leave, and disability coverage for employees, and our existing coverage is better than what employees would receive under the State FAMLI program. I support opting out of the FAMLI program for COFC employees. 45 I agree with HR's recommendation to opt -out. Thanks! 46 My request would be to opt out of state -run paid family and medical leave insurance program. I don't want to pay .45% tax increase for something I would never use. 47 Dont think its needed if we have to pay for it 49 I feel the benefits provided by The City of FTC to their employees is sufficient enough to cover what this Prop does without increasing our payroll taxes even more. 51 Having just gone through the City's open enrollment process and reviewing the FAMLI act, l am in support of the City opting out. We are very fortunate to have great benefits and this would just add costs to the organization and employees without offering a large benefit. 52 53 54 I support opting out. I think the City of Fort Collins should Opt Out of this. I know we have greater benefits, and I am grateful for them. I support the City's recommendation to opt out of FAMLI. 55 Please opt out/Declin all participation in FAMLI. We have great benefits program at the City already and it is not necessary that we pay into this program. Thanks! 56 It is very important that families have paid family leave to care for family members for any health reason. The current sick leave allowance of 120 hours per year must cover doctors appointments including procedures, sick kid days, and any Leave to care for a family member requiring additional care. The current allocation of 120 hours is not enough for families with a combination of existing conditions, normal rates of seasonal illness, and coverage for doctors appointments/and or procedures. Many procedures or appointments require a trip to Denver at Children's hospital and can easily use up an entire day of sick leave. If you support opt -out, please balance that with increased sick leave allowance each year. 58 I agree that the City should opt out of the state -run FAMLI program. 59 I would like the City to opt out of the FAMLI/Proposition 118 program. Thank you. ResponselD Response 60 We already have sick time an short term an long term leave so I CHOOSE TO OPPT OUT 61 The City does NOT provide 6 weeks of STD pay at100%, it only provides 4 weeks. The first two weeks are employee's own sick leave, then 4 weeks of 100% STD, then, if you haven't recovered, you get 75% of your pay (which you can supplement with more of your sick leave) until you are `recovered'. Please look at your own resources, both the tracking form and the two examples that show it's only 4 weeks. 62 As a city employee 1 would prefer to have the City opt IN to the FAMLI. If they do not opt In I would have to go and enroll myself. It seems like a good use of these extra tax dollars and another way to help support the City employees. This is a benefit I would Like to participate in but the burden of paying about $468 per year as an individual at my pay Level seems high where as if the city would participate I would only be paying $234 per year for a benefit that would estimate paying out $770 per week. These numbers were generated by using their calculator on the Sate site. This seems like a big oversite for the city to not participate and take advantage of such a good benefit that could really help growing families or families struggling with a medical emergency. It seems like the city is just looking at the future costs more than the actual future benefits this may add to its employees. They could go as fat as paying the full 0.9 % and cover the full costs and add this a a hug 63 Opting out seems like an inappropriate decision that is not in keeping with our social equity and employee retention goals. We need to be willing to normalize this as an important way to support our work force and cover the cost rather than pointing to lesser options as substitutes. 64 Please opt out of this option. The benefits we already have, 1 believe, outweigh the new bureaucratic mandates that are being forced upon us as an organization. 65 I do not think the City should opt out of the FAMLI program. Paid leave is critical and should extend beyond the current City options for parental leave (which is only 3 weeks compared to FAMLI's 121). People with caregiving responsibilities for spouses or other family members currently can not access any form of paid leave outside of sick time, and even the City's disability programs only apply to the employee's own disability. In my opinion, it is a mistake to opt out of this program - particularly if we want to lead by example and be an employer for ALL people that values and acknowledges that caregiving extends beyond an employee and their children. ResponselD Response 66 I appreciate the City finding the most cost effective solutions and all of the resources already provided. However, 1 am concerned about opting out because of the limited options for employees who need to serve as caregivers outside of parental leave cases. In situations when you are caring for a family member, your only option beside 120 hours of sick Leave is to be unpaid or to run out your vacation hours and ask other employees to help contribute. This is at a time when you just need to be present with a loved one and not have to make the decision of whether you can afford to go on unpaid leave or continue to work. And at time when preserving your extended leave for grieving is at its highest priority. I wish there was a better solution and it pains me we aren't able to participate in this. Is providing a larger sick time bank a more cost effective option? Regardless of the decision, I appreciate the City's willingness to hear from its employees and to City Council for 11