Benton County adopts personnel policy changes on reimbursements, cannabis, odor and AI use

The Benton County Board voted to adopt a set of personnel policy revisions covering employee reimbursement timelines, cannabis possession/use on county property, supervisor authority to address strong odors, and guidance for employee use of artificial intelligence.

Staff told the board the primary changes are: (1) all forms of employee reimbursement must be submitted within 90 days to standardize processing and avoid accounting confusion; (2) possession and use of cannabis or cannabis products is prohibited on county property, in county vehicles and while on paid time — a change supported by legal guidance from the Association of Minnesota Counties HR helpline; (3) supervisors may address pronounced odors (including cannabis odor) with employees and may require corrective action; and (4) employee use of AI tools is permitted with conditions: no entry of private data into external AI tools, department-head approval of certain uses, and employee responsibility for verifying the accuracy of AI-generated content.

Board members asked about grievance and discipline processes and were told that typical progressive-discipline and grievance channels remain in place; staff said grievances over discipline typically proceed through arbitration rather than to the full board. A motion to adopt the policy revisions was moved and seconded and approved by the board (vote recorded as "Aye; carried").