- City Employees have several different avenues for reporting concerns. A list of these methods can be found below
- WHISTLEBLOWER
We added the following section to Article 22 of the Personnel Manual in January 2024:
Section 6. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION
The City is committed to ethical standards of conduct. Employees may raise concerns of
suspected fraud, waste, and abuse, with reassurance they will be protected from reprisals for reporting, in good faith, possible misuse of City funds or resources. Any concerns may be submitted orally or in writing to their department head, the Human Resources Director, the Assistant City Manager, the Deputy City Manager, or the City Manager.
The Kansas Municipal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act was effective July 1, 2025. The attached act is posted with employment posters. (We provided the act when it went into effect via email along with posting.)
Kansas Municipal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act
- While not specifically labeled “Whistleblower”, protections are also communicated in Article 25 of the Personnel Manual:
Section 7. REPORTING OF FRAUD, THEFT, OR MISUSE OF CITY ASSETS
It is the duty of each employee who knows of any fraud, theft or misuse of City assets,
including cash, supplies, equipment, services, etc., to report the same to the appropriate City officials. The report may be made orally or in writing. The “appropriate City officials” may include any one of the following:
1. The employee’s immediate supervisor
2. The employee’s department head
3. Director of Finance
4. Deputy City Manager
5. Human Resources Director
6. City Manager
No person filing a report under this policy shall be subject to retribution or retaliation of
any kind for doing so.
In addition to the whistleblower-related areas, retaliation protection is defined in Article 5, “Sexual and Other Workplace Harassment Policy”.
Section 5. RETALIATION PROTECTION
The City will not tolerate adverse treatment of employees who have reported
harassment or provided information related to such complaints. The City will
undertake whatever measures are necessary to ensure that retaliation does not
occur. Employment decisions affecting an employee who has filed a complaint shall
not be based on retaliatory motives.
Retaliation protection is also referenced in the policy that outlines employees being entitled to accurate pay, Article 21 “Hours of Work and Overtime”.
Section 9. PAYMENT FOR HOURS WORKED
Employees shall be paid for hours worked. Employees who believe that they have been
subject to improper wage or salary deductions or have not been fully paid for any payroll period should notify their supervisor or the Human Resources Department immediately upon discovering such discrepancy to get the problem resolved. Employees will not be subject to any form of retaliation for raising such an issue or for notifying his or her department or Human Resources of the potential issue. If it is determined that a wage or salary deduction was incorrectly made or that the employee did not receive full compensation for any payroll period, including incorrect pay rate(s) or missing skill-based/competency pay, the employee will be reimbursed for any improper deduction or paid any previously unpaid wages as soon as practical no later than the next payroll
period following the determination. The City may limit the timeframe for reimbursement to two (2) years.
- PERFORMANCE EVALUATION APPEALS
With employee performance evaluations, if an employee feels that evaluation is not representative of his/her performance, an appeal process is available. It is outlined in the Personnel Manual, Article 8.
Section 5. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION APPEAL PROCESS
If an employee believes that the rating(s) received on an evaluation do not accurately
reflect performance or feels that he or she was unjustly denied a merit increase for failure to demonstrate the Organizational Values, a written appeal may be submitted to the Human Resources Department. The appeal must be submitted within fifteen (15) calendar days after receiving the written performance review. The employee signature acknowledging the evaluation has been reviewed with the employee is considered the receipt date. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Human Resources Director will schedule a meeting with the employee, relevant supervisory staff, and the City Manager to review the information within ten (10) working days. The City Manager’s decision is final.
From a process standpoint, following the appeal meeting, the City Manager (or Deputy City Manager) will provide a written document that either confirms the evaluation or communicates changes to the evaluation. If changes are communicated, the department then sends a revised document, implementing the changes, and the revised document replaced the original performance evaluation that was appealed.
- GRIEVANCE/RESOLUTION REQUEST
The following excerpt outlines our approach to grievances/resolution requests. *Please note that we had issues with the electronic form and it is in the queue to be built in the new system. Meanwhile, employees can email, call, or provide hard copies of anything they wish to submit.
Article 20 – Personnel Manual
"Resolution Request and Mediation Processes"
If an employee has a complaint or concern about an application of a policy, rule,
regulation or treatment that he or she feels unfairly impacted or will unfairly impact him or her, the employee may file a resolution request. Resolution requests do not include performance evaluation appeals. The resolution request must follow the chain of command and be submitted in writing using the electronic Resolution Request Form. For assistance with the form, go to the City of Salina intranet or contact your supervisor or the Human Resources Department.
In order for the resolution request to be accepted, the following criteria must be met.
- The employee must provide a description of how he or she was impacted.
- The event/occurrence must have occurred not more than thirty (30) days prior to the submittal.
- The employee must suggest a solution(s). The resolution request is submitted to the Human Resources Department and the immediate supervisor. In the event the above criteria are not met, the Human Resources Director or a designee may close the resolution request and notify the employee and immediate supervisor of the action. If the resolution request meets the criteria, the immediate supervisor must respond to the request within seven (7) calendar days. The employee must decide if he or she accepts the response within seven (7) calendar days. If the employee does not accept the supervisor’s response, it must be forwarded to the next intermediate step in the chain of command with the timeline for each supervisor response of seven (7) calendar days. Within the limits of his or her authority, the supervisor shall attempt to resolve the request rather than defer to the next level of supervision.
If any employee is unable to resolve the request through the chain of command within the department, then the employee shall have the option to present the request to the City Manager or his or her designee. The City Manager may or may not meet with the employee to discuss the request. If the City Manager chooses to have a meeting with the employee, the employee, with advance approval, may invite another individual to attend the meeting. If the individual is a city employee, he or she will be considered on paid status if the meeting is during the normal work
schedule. The City Manager’s decision will be provided to the employee in writing. The decision by the City Manager is final. In no case shall an employee or a group of employees take a request to the City Commission or to any individual City Commissioner. If the request is in the area of equal employment opportunity an employee should first utilize the request procedure provided through the chain of command. Also, the employee may file a complaint with the Kansas Human Rights Commission. As an alternative to or in conjunction with the Resolution Request, a Mediation Request may be completed. Mediation may be requested by an employee, a supervisor, or Human Resources. It will be conducted by a neutral third party and will be subject to established guidelines.