AGENDA DATE: 8/20/2025
TITLE:
Title
Personnel Policy Amendments
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Consider amendments to County personnel policies to comply with federal and state laws, best practices, and reflect organizational philosophies.
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Herrick, Ruege, Shifflett, Rice
PRESENTER (S): N/A
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: Foundational work in establishing a government-focused HR Department includes a full review and revision of all County Personnel Policies, which is underway. During this review, staff identified opportunities to modernize existing Personnel Policies to align with changes in legislation and public sector best practices.
County Code § 2-901 requires that personnel policies and amendments be adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Workforce & Customer Service - Recruit & retain engaged public servants who provide quality government services to advance our mission
DISCUSSION: Staff is proposing updates to the personnel policies listed below, with a summary of the proposed changes for each. Older policies have been renumbered to improve ease of use and accessibility for all staff. The personnel policies utilize a new template to standardize the appearance of the documents.
§P-3 Anti-Discrimination and Harassment (Attachment A)
Previously § P-21 Equal Employment Opportunity, Inclusion, and Prohibition against Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, and Retaliation. This policy has been re-written in a precise manner that uses specific language found in Federal and state law for purposes of compliance. Equal Employment Opportunity language has been removed, and the position on harassment and discrimination has been broadened to include employees, contractors, job applicants, and visitors.
§P-19 Leave Program (Attachment B)
Previously § P-86 Leave Program, the proposed changes include: added sections for Definitions and Roles and Responsibilities; amended compensatory time for classified employees to allow 80hrs of leave accruals per fiscal year, which must be used by June 30th each year; amended provision for floating holiday that now requires it be taken by the end of the fiscal year- no payout mechanism; Implemented provision for paid bereavement leave of 3 days for the passing of immediate family members; implemented provision for paid parental leave of up to 6 weeks paid upon the birth or adoption of a child. Previously, employees had to use annual leave or take time off without pay.
§P-36 Reduction in Force (Attachment C)
Added a section for scope of application; added policy statements that require compliance with Federal and State anti-discrimination laws; added provisions that a severance package may be offered; clarified how employees will be selected for RIF if more than one employee holds the position; removed provisions for automatic recall eligibility for position openings
The following personnel policies are proposed to be archived, as they are no longer relevant, as described below.
§P-87 Professional Leave
This policy allowed employees to be paid wages and have expenses paid by the County for training that is discretionary, unrelated to the job (current or future), and is scheduled and arranged by the employee. This policy is being discontinued and archived as it is not a best practice nor in alignment with the expectation of financial stewardship.
§P-88 Emergency Leave
The provisions in this policy have been included in the revised Leave Program policy, §P-19.
BUDGET IMPACT: These policy changes are expected to have small, offsetting cost impacts. Any net impact will be managed within the currently appropriated budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board adopt the Resolution (Attachment D), to amend personnel policy § P-3, § P-19, & § P-36 and archive policies § P-87 and § P-88.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Proposed § P-3
B - Proposed § P-19
C - Proposed § P-36
D - Resolution