HomeMy Public PortalAbout808.17 - Human Resources - Personnel Management - Educational Reimbursement Benefit
Human Resources Department Section 808.17
Policies and Procedures Manual Page 1
808.17: Educational Reimbursement Benefit
Objective:
To provide financial assistance for educational expenses to eligible City of
Orlando employees. This policy and procedure applies to City employees
assigned to permanent, part-time, and benefit-eligible contract positions
except where superseded by collective bargaining unit agreements.
Authority:
This procedure was amended by City Council June 26, 2023, Item A-3.
Direction:
Human Resources Director, as an appointed official, serves at the pleasure
of the Mayor, and receives direction through the Chief Administrative
Officer (CAO) or designee.
Functions:
1. General
Financial assistance may be available to permanent full-time,
permanent part-time, and benefit-eligible contract City employees
who have completed their initial probationary period and seek to
improve their knowledge by participating in educational courses while
employed by the City.
Employees receiving payment for educational expense from any
other source other than a loan shall not be eligible for the benefits
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Policies and Procedures Manual Page 2
provided herein. The Human Resources Department shall administer
the educational program for all eligible City employees.
Reimbursement for educational expenses may be considered for
courses taken at an educational institution which is accredited by the
U.S. Department of Education, Database of Postsecondary
Institutions and Programs (e.g., community college, university,
graduate, or trade/vocational school), and where course credit is
given upon completion.
Funding priority will be given to Job Improvement Courses (defined
below), and Human Resources reserves the right to make the final
decision on what may be approved and funded under the Educational
Reimbursement benefit.
Courses that meet the above criteria may include:
a. Job Improvement Courses
Courses directly related to the employee’s current assignment
that will improve the skill, knowledge, and ability of the
employee in performing their duties and increase, through more
advanced techniques, the potential for promotion. For example,
an electrician working on signal devices pursues a course in
electronics. Such a course will provide advanced knowledge
and training in the performance of their current assignment and
result in more benefits to the employee and the City.
b. Career Courses
Courses that will increase the employee’s knowledge, skills,
and ability in a career path that is relevant to City of Orlando
government, though different from the employee’s current
assignment. An example would be a maintenance worker
enrolling in computer programming courses. While these
courses may not pertain to the employee’s current duties or to a
departmental career progression, they do provide an education
that can be applied to City government operations.
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Policies and Procedures Manual Page 3
c. Courses that will not be considered for the educational
reimbursement benefit include and are not limited to:
i. Degrees not relevant to City of Orlando government
positions
ii. General training courses or preparatory or refresher
courses
iii. Seminars, workshops, certifications, or re-certifications
iv. Courses for which Continued Education Units/Credits
(CEUs) are awarded
v. Licenses, memberships
vi. Exams (except as provided in section C, 5)
vii. Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)
viii. General Education Development (GED)
ix. Doctor of Philosophy degree (PHD)
2. Application Procedure
a. The Educational Reimbursement Administrator (designated by
the Human Resources Department) will determine whether the
course(s) qualify for the Educational Reimbursement benefit.
Employees desiring to participate in the City’s Educational
Reimbursement benefit shall complete the appropriate
application (Form 808.17.1) and attach such application, in PDF
format, to a Spend Authorization in Workday. The Spend
Authorization with the attached application will route to Human
Resources as well as the employee’s management for review,
approval, and processing.
b. Submitting a Spend Authorization online for review and
potential approval constitutes an electronic signature that the
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employee has read and understood and agrees with this policy
and the Terms of Agreement as expressed on the respective
Educational Reimbursement application.
c. The application for program participation shall provide an
agreement by the employee, stipulating that should the
employee terminate employment with the City within two (2)
years of course completion date, voluntarily or involuntarily
(except as provided in section E), the City shall be reimbursed
for funds paid to the employee for educational expenses as
stated on the appropriate application (see Form 808.17.12).
d. Request for educational reimbursements must be submitted
with a Spend Authorization in Workday on or before the course
start date. The Spend Authorization must include all required
documentation. Spend Authorizations with missing or
incomplete information may be denied. Spend Authorizations
submitted after the course start date will be denied.
e. Upon receipt and review of the Spend Authorization and
attached application, Human Resources will review within five
(5) working days and will make a determination within that time.
3. Reimbursement for Course Work
a. Payments for courses will be processed within the limits of the
available. Human Resources Educational Reimbursement
budget allocation for the corresponding Fiscal Year (October 1
to September 30).
b. Financial assistance may be provided to cover the cost of
course tuition, books and related taxes of the purchase, and
certain required school fees such as health fee, athletic fee,
scholarship fee, service fee, technology fee, library fee, or
facility fee.
c. Expenses including but not limited to late-payment fees,
equipment purchases/rentals, supplies, parking/transportation,
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shipping, and other miscellaneous costs are not covered by this
program.
d. Reimbursement shall be limited to $1,800 to employees in
permanent and benefit-eligible contract full-time positions and
$900 to employees in permanent and benefit-eligible contract
part-time positions for course work completed during each
Fiscal Year. Employees covered by a collective bargaining
agreement should refer to these agreements.
e. College Level Examination Program (CLEP) courses are also
eligible for educational reimbursement. Employees who
satisfactorily pass CLEP exams based on their out-of-class
room experience (e.g., self-study activities, job experience) and
receive full credit for a course as if it had been taken,
completed, and passed, may be reimbursed for the cost of
these exams.
f. Within sixty (60) calendar days after completion of the
course(s), employee must submit an Expense Report in
Workday. The Expense Report must include attachment(s), in
PDF format, showing official completion documentation and
applicable receipts (e.g., grade report/official transcript, book
receipt, and receipt for tuition). Human Resources will
determine what may be considered official and acceptable
documentation for grades/transcripts, tuition, and book receipt.
g. Submission of an Expense Report does not constitute a
guarantee of approval. Additionally, any documents that are
missing, incomplete, or those that need to be revised in any
fashion on the Expense Report need to be re-submitted within
the sixty (60) calendar days from course end date or it may be
denied.
h. Employees attending institutions which defer payment pending
reimbursement must, upon completion of the course, complete
an Expense Report online and attach the proof of registration,
official statement of the school’s deferred payment plan in lieu
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Policies and Procedures Manual Page 6
of tuition/fee receipts, book(s) receipt and grade report /official
transcript within sixty (60) calendar days from course end date.
The Education Reimbursement Administrator will determine
what may be considered official and acceptable documentation
for the deferment and related documentation.
i. Monies for educational reimbursement will be issued to
employees as a direct deposit or a separate check pending final
approval of an Expense Report.
j. If an employee fails to attain a grade of “C” or better, a grade of
“pass” in a pass/fail course, “satisfactory” in a
satisfactory/unsatisfactory course, “complete” in a
complete/incomplete course, or certificate of course completion,
or fails to successfully complete the course, withdraws from a
course, or fails to submit complete, official documentation of
grades and receipts within the specified time (sixty (60)
calendar days from course end date), the City will not
reimburse such educational expenses.
k. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require that, in
certain cases, monies received by employees for
reimbursement of educational expenses be reported as an
adjustment to their gross income and taxed accordingly. The
Human Resources Department will comply with the law or
regulation in effect at the time of the reimbursement payment.
4. Appeal of a Denial of Application for Reimbursement
An application for educational reimbursement can be denied at two
stages of the application process: 1) within the requesting employee’s
department by either the Division Manager or Department Director or
2) by the Educational Reimbursement Administrator.
This section establishes an appeal process for either case.
a. Denial within the employee’s department
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i. If the application is denied by the employee’s Division
Manager, the employee may appeal to the Department
Director within five (5) working days of the denial. The
Department Director has five (5) working days to advise
the employee of the decision. If the Department Director
approves the application, the form shall be forwarded to
Human Resources for review and potential final approval
and processing.
ii. Denial by Department Director
If the application is denied by the employee’s Department
Director, the employee may appeal to the Human
Resources Director (or designee) within five (5) working
days of the denial. The Human Resources Director (or
designee) shall evaluate the employee’s appeal and
within five (5) working days of the receipt of the appeal
advise the employee of a decision or provide status of
appeal request.
The decision of the Human Resources Director (or
designee) shall be final.
b. Denial by Human Resources
If the application is denied by the Educational Reimbursement
Administrator, the employee may appeal to the Human
Resources Director (or their designee) within five (5) working
days. The Human Resources Director (or designee) shall
evaluate the employee’s appeal and within five (5) working
days of receiving the appeal advise the employee of a decision
or provide status of appeal request.
The decision of the Human Resources Director (or designee)
shall be final.
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5. Death, Permanent Disability, Layoff
If the employee, through death, disability, or permanent layoff through
no fault of employee, fails to continue the required tenure of
employment as provided herein, any remaining liability for
reimbursement of educational expenses shall be canceled.
Expiration of an employment contract or the termination of the
contract prior to the expiration date will not be considered a layoff,
and repayment of educational expenses reimbursed will be required.
Forms:
Educational reimbursement benefit application forms:
808.17.12 (for all employees)
Committee Responsibilities:
None.
Reference:
City Council minutes of December 14, 1970, Item 37; amended June 28,
1971, Item 23; amended, July 15, 1974, Item 26; amended December 16,
1974, Item 27; amended June 7, 1976, Item 31; amended May 16, 1977,
Item 6; renumbered from 708.17 and amended January 23, 1984, Item
13A-19; amended May 13, 1985, Item 15A-2; amended July 18, 1988, Item
14A-1; amended October 9, 1989, Item 20A-26; amended April 1, 1991,
Item 3/43; amended June 21, 1993, Item 2-P; amended August 9, 1993,
Item OO; amended December 18, 1995, Item B; amended May 11, 1998,
Item 6-A; amended April 3, 2000, Item 2PPP; amended July 17, 2000,
Item 3-FF; amended April 2, 2001, Item B6; amended September 15, 2003;
re-formatted only April 2004; amended June 26, 2023, Item A-3.
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Effective Date:
This procedure effective June 26, 2023.