ME: Do you have more than 50 employees?
Manger: OoO we have way more than 50 employees.
ME: Do you have a trip reduction program?
Manager: Not yet.
END OF TRANSMISSION
Trip Reduction Program
Maricopa County Trip Reduction Program Ordinance
The Trip Reduction Program is a County ordinance that requires employers with 50.
When the Task Force determines that a major employer or school has violated any of the requirements of this ordinance or any order of the Task Force it shall recommend to the Board appropriate enforcement action. The Board may request the County Attorney to take appropriate legal action.
C) CIVIL PENALTIES
A major employer or school who violates any provision or requirement of this ordinance or any order of the Task Force shall be subject to increasing civil penalties not to exceed one hundred dollars for the first violation, two hundred dollars for the second violation, and three hundred dollars for each additional violation. Violations that continue for more than one day shall constitute a separate violation for each day.
1) Violations of any of the following requirements may subject a major employer or school to increased civil penalties:
a) Failure to collect or supply information requested by the Task Force.
b) Failure to disseminate information on alternative modes and other trip reduction measures as specified in this ordinance.
c) Failure to designate a transportation coordinator.
d) Failure to submit an approvable trip reduction plan.
e) Failure to implement an approved trip reduction plan within the time scheduled or failure to perform a revision of a plan as required by the Task Force.
2) Failure by a major employer or school to meet trip reduction goals as prescribed in Section 7 does not constitute a violation if the major employer or school is attempting in good faith to meet the goals.
Should I send a kind letter to human resoures? this will be my new empolyer.
yes, but since it's a new employer just make a gentle inquiry first.
CommuterRun
You're the new guy? Guess what you're going to be doing, in addition to your regular work, of course.
What Are The Requirements Of The Program?
*Designate a transportation coordinator (that's you)
*Conduct an annual employee and/or student transportation survey
*Prepare and submit a trip reduction plan. Plan Formats are available online.
*Develop and implement an annual plan
*Provide documentation required to show that the plan is being implemented
*Distribute information on alternative modes of transportation to all new employees
:D
cerewa
tread carefully because if they get irritated at you, they can refuse to hire you. You might (no guarantee) be able to get them in trouble if you can prove they didn't hire you because you wanted them to comply with the law, but it would be easy for them to argue that they just didn't get along with you.
gcl8a
You're the new guy? Guess what you're going to be doing, in addition to your regular work, of course.
What Are The Requirements Of The Program?
*Designate a transportation coordinator (that's you)
*Conduct an annual employee and/or student transportation survey
*Prepare and submit a trip reduction plan. Plan Formats are available online.
*Develop and implement an annual plan
*Provide documentation required to show that the plan is being implemented
*Distribute information on alternative modes of transportation to all new employees
:D
Agreed. If you're worried about this token, feel-good program, volunteer to be the coordinator.
dejinshathe
+1 run the program yourself - you know you want to ... ; )
maddyfish
Silly ordinance.
wheel
Silly ordinance. How so I would like to know?
I personally think this program should be run through the entire United States. Why not promote alternative transportation.
+1 run the program yourself - you know you want to ... ; ) I do.
Only one downside. It is through a temp company and I am sure they won't give me the honor.
Or two if I work on this project I wouldn't get enough time in for the job I want.
Dear Human Resources,
I was recently employed by your company and through orientation found out there was no trip reduction program in place, yet you had over fifty employees per Maricopa Ordinance. If this is not true I would like to join the trip reduction program. I would also like to provide any assistance needed in this great program.
I am enclosing a link incase you haven't seen the Maricopa County Trip Reduction Ordinance
Dude, don't rock the boat at a new job. Wait till you've established yourself as a useful employee, then bring it up.
bike2math
Ohh this takes me back to my days working in Arizona. We would get a yearly (or maybe twice yearly) survey from whatever poor sap had the misfortune to be hired last. Approximately 99 percent of the people working there deleted the email (like anyone with sense does to any email to the entire organization list). sigh. It always struck me as one of the most useless laws. And sure enough every year the traffic just got worse and worse, and people complained and complained...
The worst part is that Arizona has near perfect biking weather 365.25 days a year.
TimJ
Wait, you're a temp?
Answer: say nothing. Why? Because you're not an employee of the company yet.
Another reason to say nothing: it is a silly ordinance. Because not enough people participate in our participative democracy (hi apathy!), ordinances like those are often the best any municipality can do, and they're pretty much worthless. I would bet you couldn't swing a dead libertarian over your head without hitting an employer in Maricopa county who wasn't complying with the ordinance.
But if you do want to say something then you wait until you're an employee for a while and offer to do it yourself. More than likely if you just complained and pointed out to your employer that they had to do this, they'd just see you as a whiner, troublemaker and/or difficult.
I-Like-To-Bike
Wait, you're a temp? ...More than likely if you just complained and pointed out to your employer that they had to do this, they'd just see you as a whiner, troublemaker and/or difficult.
And they'd probably be right, eh?
HardyWeinberg
Answer: say nothing. Why? Because you're not an employee of the company yet.
I would ask around more, *subtly*. If you're a temp curious about the company you're contracted to, then you don't have standing, you're not their employee, and maybe there really aren't 50 employees of any one company there even if there are that many bodies onsite. If it's the temp agency that you're questioning the policy of, it would be worth finding out if the law specifies gross employees period, or employees per job site, or some other permutation. I mean, some companies have 100s of thousands of employees contracted to other places across every state and several countries.
TimJ
I would ask around more, *subtly*. If you're a temp curious about the company you're contracted to, then you don't have standing, you're not their employee, and maybe there really aren't 50 employees of any one company there even if there are that many bodies onsite. If it's the temp agency that you're questioning the policy of, it would be worth finding out if the law specifies gross employees period, or employees per job site, or some other permutation. I mean, some companies have 100s of thousands of employees contracted to other places across every state and several countries.
The ordinance states 50 or more employees going to the same place at least 3 days a week or soemthing like that.
wheel
Well the company I am working for is a temp agency so I would send it to them. Not the company I am working for.
I am going to talk to Maricopa first and see how silly it really is.
It states 50 or more, It then uses an and/or condition. The agency is really huge.
Ziemas
Well the company I am working for is a temp agency so I would send it to them. Not the company I am working for.
I am going to talk to Maricopa first and see how silly it really is.
It states 50 or more, It then uses an and/or condition. The agency is really huge.
Are you a contractor or an employee of the temp agency? Full time or part time? And just how would you implement this as the employees of the temp agency are going to many different locations?
luxroadie
If you really feel this is important, spend time outside of work and get involved in municipal and civic organizations.
If you came to me as your employer about this, with what I perceive is an approach that is more "you've gotta do this or else" I'd question why we hired you and make sure we corrected that mistake.
Sorry - probably a great person but companies do things for a living, governments just try to get in their way
TimJ
Sorry - probably a great person but companies do things for a living, governments just try to get in their way
See, this is why that ordinance is silly. People think that's what "government" does. They pass laws and ordinances that force you to behave in a particular way or make particular choices. That's not actually the case. When liberal democracy works law creates a context and that's about it. The reality of every day life gets tweaked through subtle changes to infrastructure, taxation and regulation and people adjust.
It's precisely because of apathy and attitudes like "governments just try to get in their way" that crap ordinances like this get passed. No one has any concept of how government can effect things positively, no one is willing to think long term, no one is willing to work now to prepare for the future (unless it's for themself). So rather then having the political ability to effect change at the fundamental, foundational level, the best they can do is pass ordinances that essentially rely upon informants for any chance of compliance.
I'll bet Mendecino county thinks they're being quite progressive and thinking out of the box, but the fact is our nation's political will and dynamism is long dead. There's been a concerted, overt political effort since the 80's to just kill the political innovation in this country and it's worked. Half the people here probably nod their head when they read "governments just try to get in their way". This ordinance reinforces that view- justifiably. It's a brilliantly viscious circle the movement conservatives have created- blame government, raid the treasury and purposely ruin government, create the idea that you aren't government, only the other guys are, repeat, repeat, repeat... this country is so civicly stupid we're willing to go along with almost anything as long as it's sold as 'government getting out of the way', like massive tax cuts for the wealthy while we wage a war on credit from the Chinese. And well-meaning people, well-meaning municipalities, they've lost the thread too, they forgot what government does too, plus they know people are complete idiots who can't see past their own nose.
What do you say? Nothing. People will only resent it and you.
BIG-E
TimJ, if you hate this country so much, why don't you just move?
kjmillig
TimJ,
????
Should you maybe move that to the Politics & Religion forum? How about a simple, "I wouldn't say anything."
Roody
TimJ, if you hate this country so much, why don't you just move?
I don't think he hates the country. I think he loves it a lot and has a lot of idealistic views about it. So it pisses him off that people have this notion that our country can't solve problems any more. He thinks that our leaders have steered us in the direction of believing that America can't solve problems, and they probably did this for their own special reasons, like money and power.