Meade County HR reports workers’ compensation cleanup, classification study and union timeline

Deborah Bransard, Meade County human resources director, told commissioners on April 9 that Condray and Associates has begun a countywide classification and compensation study for 2025 and that department heads and staff participated in interviews.

Bransard said the county received an additional workers’ compensation invoice for $6,813 after auditors reviewed the 2024 payroll and comp codes. She and County Auditor Dan Egger prepared a complete spreadsheet to reconcile headcount, comp codes and amounts; the department discovered several incorrect worker-compensation codes and double coding for employees hired before 2022 that have since been corrected.

Bransard also reported training attendance (FMLA training on March 18) and said the union submitted a request to extend its deadline for proposal submission; the county agreed and set a new internal track so union proposals will be accepted through July 1. She said negotiation timing and dates will be updated with county HR and the clerk’s office and that June 1 was the original target date for meeting contract timelines.

Why it matters: Correct classification and accurate workers’ compensation coding affect payroll costs, liability and budgeting. Extending union submission deadlines formally changes the bargaining timetable.

Other personnel notes: Bransard said a communications supervisor will voluntarily transition into an assistant supervisor position created by the 2022 classification update; Sheriff Pat West confirmed the move is voluntary and the county will fill the supervisor role if needed once classification grades are finalized.