Personnel committee delays decision on holiday-pay language to define ‘approved’ leave

The Personnel Committee postponed action on a proposed amendment clarifying holiday pay for employees on unpaid leave, voting to send the language back to staff for definitions of “paid,” “unpaid,” “approved” and “unapproved” leave.

Committee members discussed examples of staffing schedules — particularly law enforcement shifts — that have left employees ineligible for holiday pay under the current wording. A department head described a recent case in which an employee had a family emergency, was approved by a supervisor to take leave and worked part of her shift, but then did not receive holiday pay because the time off was unpaid. Committee members said that ambiguity in the existing language had produced inconsistent results across departments.

Members debated replacing the phrase “nonpaid leave of absence” with a clearer distinction between approved and unapproved leave and asked county legal staff to help draft definitions. The committee chair said the committee would prepare explicit definitions so the amendment could be applied consistently across departments.

The committee moved and approved a motion to direct staff to draft the four definitions (paid leave, unpaid leave, approved leave, unapproved leave) and to return the revised amendment at the next Personnel Committee meeting.

The committee did not adopt substantive policy changes at the meeting; rather, it asked staff and legal counsel to prepare proposed definitions and to incorporate them across the personnel policy where needed.