DeKalb County officials weigh handbook changes after Indiana law closes clerk offices on election days and guarantees paid poll-worker leave

DeKalb County commissioners on July 7 discussed how to update local personnel rules after two new Indiana laws that took effect July 1 require circuit court clerk offices to close for non-election business on election days and give county employees job-protected paid leave if they serve as precinct election officers.

The change will require edits to the county’s employee handbook and local schedules of paid holidays, county human-resources staff said. "They are actually mandated now by Indiana code that they will be closed to all other business except for election business," Dottie, human-resources staff, told the commissioners.

Why it matters: The new requirement affects operations in multiple county offices — the clerk’s office, courts, probation and the public defender — and could create coverage gaps on election days if county work sites are closed. The law also says employees who request leave to serve as poll workers may be paid both…