City clarifies policy on leave without pay

Sito Negron and Mary Manning

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2003 | 9:46 a.m.

In the wake of controversy over how Assemblyman Wendell Williams billed for time as a city employee, Las Vegas City Manager Douglas Selby sent out a memo on Friday explaining the policy to all department heads.

"When we put someone on leave without pay, they are not to do any work or use any equipment during that leave-without-pay status," Selby told the Sun Tuesday.

Williams is employed as an administrative officer for Las Vegas Neighborhood Services Department. He has faced several controversies in recent months in addition to the dispute over hours he billed the city. They include the hiring of a female friend of his at the Community College of Southern Nevada; personal calls made on his city cell phone; and an arrest warrant being issued for failure to appear in traffic court and driving with a suspended license.

Williams was unavailable for comment during a call to the city's Neighborhood Services Department. The woman who answered the phone said he would not return to the office Tuesday.

Williams is currently nearing the end of a two-week suspension without pay for charging $1,844 for personal cell phone calls made on his city-issued phone between June 2002 and August this year. Williams is paying $70 every two weeks to clear that debt.

Williams has also been accused of using his influence to get a job for Topazia "Briget" Jones, who called herself Williams' "special assistant," at the Community College of Southern Nevada. Williams says the college recruited Jones.

Earlier this month a warrant was issued for Williams' arrest for failing to appear in a Reno court on an aggressive driving charge. The warrant led to information that Williams had driven for 19 months with a suspended license. Williams settled the dispute for $600.

Williams also missed a $100 monthly payment on a $15,000 fine he owes for failing to properly report campaign contributions and expenses. He caught up on his payments a month later.

In the city policy sent to all department heads, Selby states:

"Beginning immediately leave without pay status should not be mixed with paid working status. In other words, an employee on an extended leave without pay status shall not be requested to perform, nor should they independently perform, any work for which they expect to receive compensation from the city."

Selby said Williams had no history of disciplinary problems, so he received what some might consider a light punishment.

"If the discipline was too light, that's my failing, and I accept the criticism," Selby said.

Selby said he doubted that Williams forged time cards. A supervisor can turn in an employee's time card during an absence, he said.

The position Williams holds is a straight salary for hours worked and overtime is not paid, Selby said.

Salaried employees are usually not paid by the hour, Selby said. An employee would fill out a time card to reflect vacation, leave without pay or sick leave.

Administrators could consider termination for an employee, even a classified worker, on a case-by-case basis, Selby said.

With an appointed employee, generally the department head has that hiring authority, the city manager said.

In Williams' case he was employed at the city before a change in the administration, Selby said.