Lawrence public-safety committee tables ordinance to clarify bereavement and leave-accrual language

The City of Lawrence Common Council Public Safety Committee on Monday reviewed Proposal No. 3-2025, an ordinance to amend Title 1, Article 2, Chapter 5 of the City of Lawrence code to clarify bereavement leave and how certain public-safety employees accrue and carry leave time. After questions about inconsistent hour counts and shift definitions for firefighters, police and EMTs, the committee voted to table the ordinance until a mid-month meeting on Aug. 20 at 5:30 p.m.

The ordinance language prompted several speakers representing city public-safety unions to press for clarifications. “This is not an addition to our collective bargaining agreement,” said the Fire Department representative, reading from the draft and stressing that the ordinance seeks to align the city code with terms already under negotiation. The representative also said the bereavement language is intended to be “more inclusive” and would allow leave for individuals whose “close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.”

Why it matters: The changes would affect how bereavement leave is measured for different employee groups and alter the caps and carrying rules for accrued vacation, holiday and sick time for recent hires. Committee members and union speakers flagged numerical inconsistencies in the draft — most notably the line that reads “3 days of paid bereavement leave not to exceed 24 hours,” which conflicts with shift-based allowances for firefighters and police. Committee members asked staff to correct the wording and coordinate with corporation counsel before the ordinance returns to committee.

Committee discussion and specifics: Committee members and union representatives ran through several specifics in the draft ordinance and the associated collective-bargaining issues. Speakers asked that the city clarify which employee categories the flat-hour limits apply to and to identify the length of a “shift” where the draft uses shift-based bereavement time.

Key points raised by union representatives included: a request to broaden bereavement definitions to include nontraditional family relationships such as aunts, uncles or significant others who raised the employee; concern about how newer hires accrue leave month-to-month rather than receiving a front-loaded allotment; and proposals to raise permissible carryover banks to reduce the city’s unfunded liability while allowing employees more usable time.

Numeric and policy clarifications discussed in the meeting: - The draft currently reads that some employees are eligible for “3 days of paid bereavement leave not to exceed 24 hours,” a phrasing committee members said must be corrected because three days typically equal 72 hours and the draft also uses shift-based language for sworn personnel. - The draft states sworn full-time police officers may be eligible for up to 51 hours of bereavement (described in the draft as six shifts); sworn full-time firefighters may be eligible for up to three shifts of bereavement; full-time EMTs/paramedics were noted as eligible for one full shift not to exceed 24 hours. - Union speakers proposed higher caps for accrual banks to reduce unfunded liabilities: suggested figures mentioned included 600 hours for sick time and 250 hours for holiday carryover, compared with current carryover caps referenced in discussion of about 96 hours for police and approximately 120 hours for fire personnel. - The committee heard that current payout on retirement remains capped at 200 sick hours under existing city practice; raising the bank to 600 hours would increase the amount employees could carry while employed but would not, as described by a speaker, automatically increase the retirement payout beyond the existing 200-hour payout cap. - A trade-in mechanism discussed was described during the meeting as a 2-for-1 trade-in of up to 170 hours per year from sick to vacation time, with the caveat that traded hours must be used in the year of trade.

Fiscal and operational context: Union representatives said the accrual and carryover changes aim to reduce turnover-related training costs by making leave accruals and carryovers more attractive to newer hires, and to reduce the city’s long-term unfunded leave liability created when employees accumulate very large banks of leave. One speaker described a proposed “PEP” fund as a tool to help draw down unfunded liabilities, though details and implementation steps were not specified in the meeting record.

Committee actions and next steps: Committee members agreed the ordinance needs rewording and directed staff to work with corporation counsel and the union negotiators to correct the inconsistent hour and shift language. Councilor Robinson, Councilor Freeman and Councilor Carlos voted to table the ordinance; the motion to table passed 3-0. The committee scheduled to take up the amended language at a mid-month meeting on Aug. 20 at 5:30 p.m., if the revised ordinance is submitted in time.

The meeting record showed no final policy amendment or adoption; the ordinance remains tabled pending corrected language and a subsequent committee review.