General FAQ

General

Who do I send my employment verification form to?

• Archdiocese Catholic Center & Cemeteries & Mortuaries – Contact the Human Resources Department 213-637-7494.
• Parishes & Schools – Contact the person in charge.

How do I file a grievance/complaint?

• After pursuing the Informal Conflict Resolution Process, all staff may pursue the following Formal Complaint Investigation Process to resolve their grievances:
• Step One
  • The staff member should submit the complaint in writing, if possible, to the person in charge; or if the complaint is against the person in charge, to the Human Resources Department​​; or if the complaint involves staff members working at a school, to the assistant regional superintendent assigned to the school.
  • If the complaint relates to sexual harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, the complaining staff member may submit the complaint to a person in charge or a designated person in charge for the process who is of the same sex as the staff member. In that case, the person to whom the complaint has been submitted will inform the person in charge, the Human Resources Department, the vicar for clergy for clergy matters, or the assistant regional superintendent for school matters, as the case may be, that a complaint has been made.
  • The complaint should:
    • State the facts as succinctly and as objectively as possible (who, what, when, where, how)
    • Identify witnesses
    • Describe any actions the complaining staff member has taken to remedy the situation and what the response has been to the Informal Conflict Resolution Process​
    • Include any documents (e.g., memos, electronic communications, pictures, cartoons, or photographs) that relate to the complaint
    • Explain why the complaining staff member believes the situation needs to be addressed by the person in charge
    • Describe the remedy sought
• Step Two
  • The person who receives the complaint will investigate as promptly and as thoroughly as the allegations in the complaint warrant. The process will be completed within 20 business days, although the time may be extended by the investigator if necessary. The complaining staff member will be informed if additional time is needed.
  • The investigator will:
    • Interview the complaining staff member, witnesses, and/or any others identified in the complaint as involved in the situation
    • Review any documents or other evidence submitted
    • When necessary, conduct follow-up interviews with the complaining staff member, the other person(s) involved, or the witnesses
    • When necessary, ask for additional documentation or other evidence
    • Maintain appropriate respect for each person’s right to privacy and the right to be deemed “innocent until proven guilty”
    • Keep a written objective summary of the facts, interviews, and copies of all documents and other evidence submitted by all persons
• Step Three
  • When the investigation is concluded, the person in charge of the investigation will recommend action(s) to be taken. In the case of complaints involving such issues as harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, appropriate discipline will be imposed, including termination. Accusations that are proven false constitute calumny or detraction (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2477​) and may also result in discipline, including termination. The complaining staff member will be informed in writing within 10 business days after the process is completed of the outcome of the investigation and whether action is going to be taken or discipline imposed, but the individual will not be told the precise nature of the action or discipline.
• Step Four
  • If the complaining staff member is not satisfied with the outcome of the process, he or she may seek review of the complaint from the senior director of human resources​ for the archdiocese, or with respect to school issues, the regional supe​rintendent  as appropriate. The request for review should be submitted in writing within five days of receipt of the written outcome of the investigation. The request for review should contain the following:
    • The original complaint and all supporting documentation submitted
    • A brief statement of the reasons for seeking review, including the written report of the outcome of the investigation
    • The remedy sought
  • The senior director of human resources for the archdiocese, or the regional superintendent, as applicable, will review all available materials. At the sole discretion of such person, the complaining staff member and other persons involved, including the witnesses and investigator, may be interviewed, and asked for additional information. Within 30 days of receiving the request for review the director or regional superintendent will issue a decision in writing that is final and binding on all parties, unless additional time is required. The complaining staff member will be informed of the need for additional time.
  • If the complaint concerns, is about, or is from clergy or religious, then the vicar for clergy​​ and the vicar for women religious, as applicable, will also be consulted and the relevant canon law and policies will also apply. https://handbook.la-archdiocese.org/chapter-5/section-5-2/topic-5-2-7

How do I request a copy of my personnel file?

• Archdiocese Catholic Center & Cemeteries & Mortuaries – Complete and forward the form to a Human Resources Representative.
• Parishes & Schools – Complete and forward form to person in charge. https://handbook.la-archdiocese.org/Pages/search1.aspx?k=personnel%20file#:~:text=http%3A//handbook.la%2Darchdiocese.org/Handbook%C2%A0Resources/personnel_file_and_payroll_record_request.pdf

Who do I contact to get the parish/religious compensation guidelines?

• The pastor administrator or parish life director must make the request from Human Resources directly 213-637-7494.
• For religious compensation guidelines, please contact the Office Religious Education 213-637-7469.

How do I obtain a copy of my job description?

• Archdiocese Catholic Center & Cemeteries & Mortuaries – Contact your designated Human Resources Generalist.
• Parishes & Schools – Contact person in charge.
• If you are a person in charge and need a Job Description, please contact the Human Resources Department 213-637-7494.

Exempt

Federal and state laws define an “exempt” employee as a worker who is paid a fixed salary, which is not based on the number of hours worked, and who holds a managerial, administrative, or professional position. (For example, a parish business manager, a principal, a director of religious education). Exempt employees are not entitled to receive overtime pay if they work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. Their exempt status is based on their duties and responsibilities and their compensation in accordance with federal and state laws.

An exempt employee is paid a fixed salary for any week in which the employee performs work, regardless of the number of hours or days worked, unless the employee misses a whole day of work during a workweek for personal reasons not associated with sickness or accident and performs no work for the entire day. The nature of the job will sometimes require more than 40 hours of work a week. All exempt employees, except for teachers, must meet all of the following requirements:

• Earn a fixed weekly/monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage that is not adjustable depending on hours worked (for certain benefit calculation purposes an exempt employee’s hours are considered the equivalent of a full-time 40-hour week)
• ​Customarily and regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment on the job
• Be “primarily engaged” in performing the exempt duties of the job (i.e., devote more than half of the work time to those duties)

Non- exempt

Non-exempt employees include clerical, secretarial, maintenance, janitorial, and other workers. Non-exempt work is typically work that is standardized or involves routine mental, manual, or physical processes. In addition, non-teaching employees whose job duties could classify them as exempt, but whose monthly pay is less than twice the California monthly minimum wage, are also classified as non-exempt. Non-exempt employees must be paid at least the state or local minimum wage​​ and are entitled to overtime pay, when applicable.

https://handbook.la-archdiocese.org/chapter-5/section-5-6/topic-5-6-1

How many breaks am I entitled to?

Non-exempt employees who work more than five hours in a day are required by law to be provided with an uninterrupted minimum meal break of 30 minutes before the start of the fifth hour of work (that is, no later than 4 hours and 59 minutes after the employee “clocks in” for the day). If they work more than 10 hours in a day they must​ be provided a second meal break of 30 minutes before the end of their tenth hour of work. An employee can waive the second meal period only if all of the following conditions are met:

• The total hours worked in that workday are not more than 12
• The person in charge and the employee mutually consent in writing
• The first meal break of the workday was not waived.

Employees should not be permitted or asked to work during the meal break. The meal break does not have to paid, but the time taken off for the meal break must be recorded accurately, to the minute, on the employee’s time card​.

Non-exempt employees who work up to six hours in a day may agree to waive their meal break. This agreement must be mutual, voluntary, and can be withdrawn by the employee at any time. “Best practice” is to document the meal break waiver in writing, signed by the employee.  See the Meal Break Waiver Request: Employee Shift 6 Hours or Less.

California law requires rest breaks for non-exempt employees whose total daily work time is three-and-a-​half hours or more. The mandatory rest period should be in the middle of the work period and must be at the rate of at least 10 consecutive minutes for every four hours (or major fraction of four hours) worked. Generally, any time worked over two hours is considered a major fraction. The rest break is paid, but does not have to be recorded on the employee’s timecard.

Meal Waiver

https://handbook.la-archdiocese.org/Handbook%20Resources/meal_break_waiver_request.pdf