Supervisors consider adding step‑family members to funeral leave policy; to seek counsel wording and return next week

Winnebago County supervisors discussed whether to add step‑family members to the county’s funeral leave policy and directed staff to consult county counsel on precise wording before returning the proposal for approval.

Under the existing policy, a full‑time regular employee may be excused up to five days with pay for the death of a spouse, child, mother or father, and three days for other relations (the current text lists mother‑in‑law, brother, sister, brother‑in‑law and similar relations). Board members said practice has been to grant leave for step‑relations in some cases but that the policy language does not explicitly list “step.”

Supervisors suggested adding stepmother, stepfather, step‑sibling and stepchildren to the policy and debated whether to extend the change to other step relations such as step grandparents or step cousins. One supervisor said it would be simpler to “just say step family,” while others cautioned against listing distant relations such as step cousins or step nephews.

The board agreed to have staff consult with County Attorney Mike Galloway for recommended wording and bring a redrafted policy back at the next meeting; no formal policy change was made Oct. 7.