Personal Information:
It is important that the personnel records of PVC be accurate at all times. All employees are requested to promptly notify the manager of any change in name, home address, telephone number, marital status, number of dependents, or any other pertinent information that may change.

Employment Status:

A. Probationary Period

• This is the first 90 calendar days of employment for a new staff member, during which time they are ineligible for any benefits. The employee shall be given an evaluation at the end of this probationary period in which their performance will be reviewed and their employment status determined. Benefits for the employee may then go into effect after this point.
• If it is apparent that performance is not satisfactory and that training or counseling has not resulted in sufficient progress during this period, an employee may be terminated at any time during the probationary period without advance notice.

B. Permanent Full-Time
An employee who has no termination date and who is regularly scheduled to work at least 34 hours per week.
C. Permanent Part-Time
An employee who has no termination date and who is scheduled to work less than 34 hours per week.
D. Temporary Full-Time
An employee who is hired or promoted for a certain length of time and who is regularly
scheduled to work at least 34 hours per week.
E. Temporary Part-Time
An employee who is hired or promoted for a certain length of time and who is scheduled to work less than 34 hours per week.

Sexual Harassment:
PVC will not, under any circumstances, condone or tolerate conduct that may constitute sexual
harassment on the part of any of its employees. It is our policy that all employees have the right to work in an environment free from any type of illegal discrimination, including sexual harassment. Any employee found to have engaged in such conduct will be subject to immediate discipline, up to and including termination.

Sexual harassment is defined as:

• Making submission to unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors a term or condition of employment
• Basing an employment decision on submission or rejection by an employee of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature 
• Creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment or atmosphere either by: Verbal actions, including calling employees by terms of endearment; using vulgar, kidding, or demeaning language
• Physical conduct which interferes with an employee’s work performance

We, at PVC, do encourage healthy friendships among our employees; however, employees, especially management and supervisory employees, must be sensitive to acts of conduct that may be considered offensive by fellow employees and must refrain from engaging in such conduct.

It is also expressly prohibited for an employee to retaliate against employees who bring sexual harassment charges or assist in investigating charges. Retaliation is a violation of this policy and may result in discipline, up to and including termination. No employee will be discriminated against, or discharged, because of bringing or assisting in the investigation of a complaint of sexual harassment.

Employees are encouraged to report any instance of sexual harassment to the manager, whether they witness the act(s) or are victims themselves. PVC shall investigate such incidences, involving both employees and clients, and will work to resolve the issue appropriately.

Grievances & Discrimination:
Our clinic maintains a grievance procedure and discrimination complaint system through which an employee may report any situation they feel is discriminatory. As with other work-related issues, any problem should first be brought to the attention of the manager.

Non-Solicitation Policy:
It is the policy of this clinic to prohibit solicitation of any kind. This includes internal solicitation amongst employees, as well as outside solicitors. This policy has been established to help protect the professional working environment and to avoid uncomfortable situations that may arise. In addition, employees are forbidden to contact clients or vendors for any personal reasons or to solicit them in any way. This includes taking phone numbers from internal records to be used at home for the purposes of contacting clients or vendors.

Open Door Policy:
The policies and procedures stated in this manual have been made to help each employee better understand their duties and responsibilities and the benefits of employment at our clinic. We sincerely appreciate our staff and their commitment to this clinic, our clients, and our patients’ welfare. In an effort to maintain our high quality of patient care and optimum work environment, your input and involvement are necessary and requested. The doors of management positions are always open for employees to discuss concerns or problems.

Work Objectives & Performance Evaluations:

• Within one week of employment, job change, or promotion, every employee will be given the job description objectives which detail the requirements and expectations of the position for which the employee was hired. We will measure your work performance against these objectives, updating and rewriting specific objectives as needed with each evaluation. You will be asked to sign a statement indicating agreement with, and understanding of, the objectives.
• Performance evaluations are normally conducted annually on the anniversary of the employee’s hire date. All performance evaluations are based on merit, achievement, job description fulfillment, and overall performance. Wage increases will be based upon this review, as well as past performance improvement, dependability, attitude, cooperation, disciplinary actions, and adherence to all employment policies. Your manager will review and discuss your salary during your performance evaluations.

Payroll:
PVC employees are paid bi-weekly. The pay period begins every other Sunday. Direct deposit of an employee’s paycheck is available.

Work Schedule:
Each employee will be assigned a work schedule. Any changes to an employee’s schedule must be approved by the manager.

Employees are expected to report to work in a timely manner for the start of their shift and must stay until the end of their shift. Hourly employees must clock in and clock out during each shift, recording any unpaid breaks (i.e. lunch, medical appointments, etc.), and are expected to accurately keep track of their hours. Employees must notify the manager if there is a mistake with the time clock.

Employees may not clock in earlier than their scheduled start time, and must clock out at the end of their scheduled shift. A request for overtime must be approved by the manager, in which case the employee will receive time and one-half pay for time worked exceeding 40 hours in any given work week. Salaried employees may not receive any overtime pay even if their time worked exceeds 40 hours in any given work week.

Employees working more than 6 consecutive hours each day may receive a I hour unpaid lunch break. While we try to see to it that employees receive their 1 hour break, please be aware that a shortened lunch period may be required as determined by the clinic schedule and patient needs.

Holidays:
PVC recognizes the following holidays:

• Christmas
• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• 4th of July
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving

Christmas Eve – will be a normal day of work, the manager can choose to close early depending on the volume of client calls and scheduled appointments.

Christmas Day – all permanent full-time employees will be paid 9 hours of holiday pay. All permanent part-time employees will be paid 9 hours of holiday pay.

New Year’s Eve – will be a normal day of work, the manager can choose to close early depending on the volume of client calls and scheduled appointments.

New Year’s Day – All permanent full-time employees will be paid 9 hours of holiday pay. All permanent part-time employees will be paid 9 hours of holiday pay.

All other recognized holidays; Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving, permanent full-time employees and permanent part-time employees normally scheduled to work those days will be paid their normal rate of pay for their normal hours worked. Employees not normally scheduled on those days will not get paid.

Employees who are not scheduled for a day off and call out the day before or the day after a holiday will not be given holiday pay.

Employees who are scheduled to work on a holiday will be paid time and one-half for all hours worked on that holiday.

Snow Days:
If PVC closes early due to weather conditions or is not open due to weather conditions, employees will not be paid.

Paid Time Off/Vacations:
Permanent employees are benefited with paid vacation days, the number of which is determined by time served with PVC.

Requests for vacation time must be approved by the manager. Employees must notify the manager of vacation dates 3 weeks in advance. Employees may not take off more than one calendar week consecutively.

If an employee is unable to work due to illness, the employee must notify the manager as soon as possible after the onset of the illness, and certainly by the time the employee was scheduled to report to work. The manager reserves the right to also send home an employee in the event they appear too ill to perform their duties in an optimal fashion. A note from a physician may be required.

Other Benefits:

*Aflac*PeakMed*Sedera and other optional benefits may begin after 90 days of employment.

Leave of Absence:
Requests for a leave of absence will be considered on an individual basis. If an employee is granted a leave of absence, they shall be reinstated upon return to the same position and same rate of pay that was held prior to their leave as long as the leave is recognized under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). If an employee’s leave is not covered under the FMLA, the employee may be granted the leave, but the position and rate of pay cannot be guaranteed upon the employee’s return. To request a leave of absence, please see the manager.

Funeral Leave:
PVC allows 3 days off, with pay, for a death in your immediate family. Immediate family includes spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparents, or
grandchildren.

You may request additional time off, which must be approved by the manager. If accrued PTO is
available, this benefit may be used for the additional days; otherwise, the additional days will be unpaid.

Funeral leave for death of other than immediate family must be approved by the manager. If accrued vacation is available, this benefit may be used for the funeral leave; otherwise, the funeral leave will be unpaid.

Jury Duty:
PVC allows for employees to take time off to serve for jury duty, however this time off may not be automatically paid. If accrued PTO is available, this benefit may be used for days spent on jury duty; otherwise, jury duty days will be unpaid.

Should extraordinary circumstances exist which would make your absence severely detrimental to the operation of our clinic, at the time of your call to jury duty, we reserve the right to contact the court to request that your service be postponed.

Military Service:
PVC grants time off work for employees in the military reserve training program.

After 1 year of employment with PVC, an employee will receive one week’s base regular pay for the two weeks they are away serving reserve duty. An employee may elect to utilize accrued vacation for the second week they are away at training, if desired. If they are employed less than 1 year, leave will be granted without pay for the time away for reserve duty.

All employees in the military reserve training program should provide a copy of their report order to the manager as soon as possible.

Veterinary Care & Clinic Services:
All employees are eligible for discounted veterinary care and clinic services upon completion of their probationary period. These benefits include:

• 20% discount on veterinary services
• “at cost” for pet food

Employee discounts may not be used for friends or relatives who are not in the employee’s immediate family.

a. Employee Balance

• • Employees must pay off their balance within 90 days from the date services are
  rendered.
• An employee’s balance must be completely paid off and cleared upon resignation or termination from PVC.

Safety is every employee’s responsibility at PVC. We provide a clean, healthy, and safe environment in which to work. As an employee, you are expected to take an active part in maintaining this environment. You should observe all posted safety rules, adhere to all safety instructions, and use safety equipment where required. Your workspace should be kept neat, clean, and orderly.

All employees have a duty to comply with the safety rules of PVC, to assist in maintaining a hazard­ free environment, to report any accidents or injuries, and to report any unsafe equipment, working conditions, processes or procedures, immediately to the manager.

Employees may report safety violations or injuries anonymously to the manager, if they are not the injured or violating party. No employee will be punished or reprimanded for reporting safety violations or hazards. However, any deliberate or ongoing safety violation, or creation of hazard, by an employee will be dealt with through disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Each employee is allowed to keep with them a drink, provided that the container is covered with a lid and the drink is kept away from computers, treatment, surgical, laboratory, and kennel activities.

PVC takes seriously the problem of drug and alcohol abuse, and is committed to providing a substance free work place for its employees. This policy applies to all employees of PVC, without exception, including part-time and temporary employees.

No employee is allowed to consume, possess, sell, or purchase any alcoholic beverage on any property owned by PVC or in any vehicle owned or leased on behalf of PVC. No employee may use,
possess, sell, transfer, or purchase any drug or other controlled substance which may alter an individual’s mental or physical capacity. The exceptions are aspirin or ibuprofen-based products and legal drugs which have been prescribed to that employee, and which are being used in the manner prescribed.

PVC will not tolerate employees who report for duty while impaired by use of alcoholic beverages or drugs.

All employees should report evidence of alcohol or drug abuse to the manager or owner immediately. In cases where the use of alcohol or drugs pose an imminent threat to the safety of persons or property, an employee must report the violation. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action for the non-reporting employee.

As a part of our policy to ensure a substance free workplace, PVC employees may be asked to submit to a medical examination and/or be clinically tested for the presence of alcohol and/or drugs. Within the limits of federal and state laws, we reserve the right, at our discretion, to examine and test for drugs and alcohol. Some such situations may include, but not be limited to, the following:

• All employees who are offered employment with PVC
• Where there are reasonable grounds for believing an employee is under the influence of
  alcohol or drugs
• As part of an investigation of any accident in the workplace in which there are reasonable grounds to suspect alcohol and/or drugs contributed to the accident
• On a random basis, as allowed by statute
• As a follow-up to a rehabilitation program, as allowed by statute
• As necessary for the safety of employees, clients, patients, or the public at large, as allowed by
  statute
• When an employee returns to duty after an absence other than from accrued time off

It is a condition of your continued employment with us that you comply with the Drug Policy. Nothing in the Drug Policy shall be construed to alter or amend the employment relationship between Ponderosa Veterinary Clinic and its employees.

Employees who violate the Drug Policy will be subject to disciplinary action, including termination.

Misconduct:
Misconduct represents blatant activity or conduct that goes against the policies outlined in this handbook. Employees who perform acts of misconduct may be terminated without notice and may be prosecuted if appropriate.

Disciplinary Procedures:
Disciplinary measures may be determined on a case-by-case basis by the manager depending on the infraction. The following actions may be taken as a result of employee misconduct:

• Verbal warning
• Written warning
• Termination

If an infraction is severe enough, an employee may be terminated from PVC without advance
wammg.

Resignation:
An employee who voluntarily ends employment with PVC is required to give a two week notice to the manager and must continue to work their scheduled hours for the remaining two weeks.

The employee’s balance for veterinary care and clinic services must be completely paid off and cleared upon resignation. Accrued PTO may not be compensated upon resignation.

Termination:
Employment with PVC is considered to be “at-will” and may be terminated with or without cause or notice.

The employee’s balance for veterinary care and clinic services must be completely paid off and cleared upon termination. Accrued vacation time and/or sick leave may not be compensated upon termination.

Employee Handbook Acknowledgement Form

This employee handbook has been prepared for your information and understanding of the policies,
philosophies and practices, and benefits of Ponderosa Veterinary Clinic. Upon completion of your review of this handbook, sign the statement below, and return it to the manager.

I, (Your Name Will Be Automatically Populated Here) have received and read a copy of the Ponderosa Veterinary Clinic Employee Handbook, which outlines the goals, policies, benefits and expectations of Ponderosa Veterinary Clinic, as well as my responsibilities as an employee.

I have familiarized myself with the contents of this handbook. By my signature below, I acknowledge, understand, accept, and agree to comply with the information contained in the Employee Handbook provided to me by Ponderosa Veterinary Clinic. I understand this handbook is not intended to cover every situation that may arise during my employment, but is simply a general guide to the goals, policies, practices, benefits, and expectations of Ponderosa Veterinary Clinic.

I understand that the Ponderosa Veterinary Clinic Employee Handbook is not a contract of employment and should not be deemed as such.