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Resolution amending Resolution 957 of 2024, which further amended the non-union Employee Tuition Reimbursement Program, to remove the recently added special consideration for program approval for employees of the Office of the Controller, and to reflect the current practice of paying Program costs through the Tuition Reimbursement line.
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WHEREAS, the final language in Resolution 957 of 2024 added special consideration allowing the Controller’s approval of a non-union employee’s tuition reimbursement program to be “final and dispositive”; and
WHEREAS, the Controller was not a party to the formation of this resolution; and
WHEREAS, the Controller of the City of Pittsburgh would like employees in the Office of the City Controller to move through the standard tuition reimbursement approval process as set by the Department of Human Resource and Civil Service;
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh as follows:
Section 1. Resolution Number 957 of 2024, entitled “Resolution amending and supplementing Resolution Number 598 of 2004, effective December 10, 2004, entitled, "Resolution AMENDING RESOLUTION No. 145 Of 2001, Eff. March 28, 2001, WHICH AMENDED RESOLUTION NO. 69 OF 2001, Eff. February 28, 2001, WHICH AMENDED RESOLUTION No. 844 OF 1989, Eff. October 27, 1989, WHICH AMENDED RESOLUTION No. 564 OF 1989, Eff. July 17, 1989, Authorizing Implementation Of an Employee Tuition Reimbursement Program, To Reduce Such Reimbursement To Fifty Percent (50%) Of Tuition Costs, Pursuant To Act 47 Plan Initiative WF15:", by extending the prior approval requirement for eligible employees and providing for a retroactive effective date,” is hereby amended as follows:
Section 1. All full-time regular non-union eligible employees of the City of Pittsburgh with at least one year of service are eligible to participate in the Employee Tuition Reimbursement Program.
(a) Eligible employees may be reimbursed fifty percent (50%) of tuition and lab fees for courses that are job-related or degree related and will improve the employee’s job-related knowledge and skills. Eligible employees may be reimbursed fifty percent (50%) of the tuition and lab fees for each and every course needed to obtain any college or post graduate degree, provided that the degree being sought by the eligible employee is job related and will improve or enhance their qualifications, skills or technological capabilities for their job. Books and educational materials are not reimbursable.
(b) The courses must be taken at an accredited College/University. Tuition for correspondence courses and non-credit courses are not reimbursable.
(c) Costs for the Tuition Reimbursement Program will be chargeable to each Department’s Tuition Reimbursement Education and Training account.
(d) The Director of the Department of Human Resources and Civil Service is hereby authorized to formulate additional regulations and forms that he/she deems necessary to implement the Tuition Reimbursement Program.
PRE-APPROVAL
a) An employee must request and receive pre-approval for benefits prior to the first day of classes, or as the Human Resources and Civil Service Department procedures/rules specify. In the event of extenuating circumstances, exceptions will be reviewed on an individual basis.
b) The request for pre-approval must be submitted to the department director, the Mayor, the Controller, the City Clerk, or Member of Council, as the case may be, and must contain the following information:
1) the name of the accredited institution;
2) the title and brief description of each course;
3) the number of college credits for each course;
4) the total tuition cost for each course;
5) laboratory fees, if any, for each course; and
6) the starting and ending dates for each course.
c) Evidence of potential cost such as invoices, receipts or notices must be attached to the employee’s request.
DEPARTMENT ACTION
a) Upon receipt of the request, the department director will review the request to see if:
1) the degree program is job-related;
2) the courses are job-related;
b) Following their review, the department director shall recommend approval or disapproval of the request for reimbursement and send it to the Human Resources and Civil Department for final review and approval. In the case of employees of City Council, the Controller, or the Office of the City Clerk, the approval or disapproval of the Member of Council, Controller, or the City Clerk, as the case may be, shall be final and dispositive of the request for reimbursement notwithstanding the regulations governing Pre-Approval (with the exception of subsection (c)), Department Action, and Final Approval.
FINAL APPROVAL
In the event the Human Resource and Civil Director’s decision is an approval, the decision shall be final. In the event the Human Resource and Civil Department’s decision is a denial, the eligible employee may appeal to a 3-member appeals board, consisting of an officer of a Labor Union that represents City employees and who is designated by the City Controller, the Solicitor or their designee, and a City employee who is not an elected official and who is designated by the President of City Council. If at least two members of the appeals board wish to reverse the decision, the final decision shall be approval. The appeals board shall make its decision promptly and communicate it promptly to the employee and the Director of the Department of Human Resource and Civil Service in writing.
REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURE
Upon completion of the course, the employee must submit to the department director evidence of having satisfactorily completed the course. Satisfactory completion is a “C” or higher for undergraduate level courses and a “B” or higher for graduate level courses.
Upon receipt of proof that the employee has successfully completed the course(s) for which all required approvals have been granted, the department director shall prepare a departmental invoice to reimburse the employee for fifty percent (50%) of the costs incurred, and the City Controller is hereby authorized and directed to issue warrants to reimburse the employees and charge the same to the appropriate Tuition Reimbursement Education and Training Account in each department.
Section 2. Retroactive application. The changes set forth in this Resolution shall be retroactive to January 1, 2019.