County HR proposes updated personnel manual and requests certification for substantial equivalency with state HR rules

Burke County Human Resources staff presented a draft, modernized personnel policy manual and asked the Board of Commissioners to authorize two actions: (1) approve the personnel policy subject to county attorney review with a proposed effective date of July 1, and (2) adopt a resolution to pursue substantial equivalency with the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources for classification and compensation.

HR staff (Mark) said the manual is the product of a year-and-a-half review that incorporated employee listening groups, an HR subcommittee, department-head review, and legal review. "The last comprehensive review of the policy manual was, I think, in 2009," Mark said, and staff told the board the updated manual aligns job classifications and pay bands with NC OSHR practices to ease recruitment and pay-comparison with peer counties.

Staff noted the board previously approved portions of the substantial equivalency work (recruitment and selection) and that the county received substantial equivalency in that area in August 2024. The current request covers the remaining two components: classification and the compensation plan. HR staff said they expect the county's submission to the state to be considered on the NC OSHR October agenda and that, if approved, the county will proceed with training and manual distribution.

The personnel manual incorporates updates to comply with recent federal and state employment laws, including FMLA, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, ADA provisions, lactation accommodation, youth employment rules relevant to parks and recreation, bereavement, tuition assistance, social media, and adverse weather policies.

Staff asked the board to approve the draft subject to final county-attorney edits and to adopt a resolution certifying substantial equivalency for classification and compensation; no final action was taken at the pre-agenda meeting.