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Background Checks Pinpoint City Workers with DUIs
One city in Illinois is taking its background check (Click here) policy very seriously.
Alton Mayor Tom Hoechst is in the midst of having the local police department run background checks on employees who drive city vehicles. The goal is to find any worker who has been convicted of a DUI and subsequently lost their driver's license.
Anyone found with a suspended or revoked license will be asked to sign an agreement to go on an unpaid leave of absence. So far, two employees without licenses have been identified because of the background checks, and both were found to have more than one DUI. The employees included an engineer with the fire department and a Parks and Recreation Department maintenance worker.
Hoechst said both of those employees received DUIs before he was elected mayor in April. Previously, such employees would remain on the job but be given duties that did not involve driving.
"We've run two departments so far," Hoechst told The Telegraph. "This has got to come to a stop. "We are offering a one-year suspension with no pay, no benefits, no accumulated seniority, absolutely nothing. Under my watch, no deals are being cut. I am hitting these things head-on. Everyone in the city knows the policy. There is a policy in place, they know what the consequences are. Everybody is treated the same."
The agreement the city is asking workers to sign says an employee's leave of absence will end either when that person obtains their driver's license privileges from Illinois or one year after the agreement is signed. Anyone who doesn't get their driver's license back by the end of the yearlong agreement will be fired. Anyone who signs the agreement also gives up the right to file a grievance, appeal or protest termination.
While on leave, workers are able to apply for payment for accrued vacation time, unused sick days or other paid leave. However, while on leave, an employee cannot receive other benefits, such as seniority, vacation days, sick days, pension credit or insurance coverage.
Alton Mayor Tom Hoechst is in the midst of having the local police department run background checks on employees who drive city vehicles. The goal is to find any worker who has been convicted of a DUI and subsequently lost their driver's license.
Anyone found with a suspended or revoked license will be asked to sign an agreement to go on an unpaid leave of absence. So far, two employees without licenses have been identified because of the background checks, and both were found to have more than one DUI. The employees included an engineer with the fire department and a Parks and Recreation Department maintenance worker.
Hoechst said both of those employees received DUIs before he was elected mayor in April. Previously, such employees would remain on the job but be given duties that did not involve driving.
"We've run two departments so far," Hoechst told The Telegraph. "This has got to come to a stop. "We are offering a one-year suspension with no pay, no benefits, no accumulated seniority, absolutely nothing. Under my watch, no deals are being cut. I am hitting these things head-on. Everyone in the city knows the policy. There is a policy in place, they know what the consequences are. Everybody is treated the same."
The agreement the city is asking workers to sign says an employee's leave of absence will end either when that person obtains their driver's license privileges from Illinois or one year after the agreement is signed. Anyone who doesn't get their driver's license back by the end of the yearlong agreement will be fired. Anyone who signs the agreement also gives up the right to file a grievance, appeal or protest termination.
While on leave, workers are able to apply for payment for accrued vacation time, unused sick days or other paid leave. However, while on leave, an employee cannot receive other benefits, such as seniority, vacation days, sick days, pension credit or insurance coverage.
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