Polk County staff outline personnel-rule changes tied to Oregon paid-leave law

Polk County human-resources staff on Tuesday described proposed revisions to county personnel rules intended to align county policy with recent changes in Oregon law governing protected leave, and told the Board of Commissioners the board will consider ratification on next week’s consent calendar.

The revisions mainly reflect updates to Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) and the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), Human Resources staff member Mr. Hawkins said, and include new language about who qualifies as a family member for bereavement and how much leave may be taken.

"When the law says you need to change something, it kinda has to be done," Mr. Hawkins said, explaining the changes were circulated to department heads, unions and supervisors and that the board must hold a public meeting before ratifying the revised rules.

The ordinance-level detail that drew the most questions from commissioners was the OFLA definition of "family member." Mr. Hawkins read the statutory description into the record: "Family member is described under OFLA as a spouse or domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or an individual related by blood or affinity who has a close association with the employee considered equivalent to a family relationship." He said the county is adopting the state's definition so the county does not have to alter its rules again when the law changes.

A commissioner who did not identify themselves in the public transcript pressed for clarity before ratification, saying, "I'd at least like to know what it is I'm saying yes to," and urging the board to be definitive about who qualifies for bereavement in light of broader challenges nationwide.

Mr. Hawkins said one change limits bereavement-style leave to "up to four weeks per death" and that the period is measured over a rolling 12-month period rather than a calendar year. He added that OFLA provides job protection but does not itself require paid bereavement: "OFLA gives them job protection, not paid leave. They would still be using [their] banks," including sick leave, vacation or paid leave banks (PLDs). He also noted that collective-bargaining agreements still provide paid bereavement time in some cases; the county's union contract remains unchanged and continues to provide three days of paid bereavement.

The staff presentation included an operational note that employees will receive the updated rules and be asked to sign an acknowledgement; Commissioner Gordon McGahn has requested that elected officials be asked to sign the same acknowledgement, Mr. Hawkins said. No formal vote or direction to require elected officials to sign was recorded at Tuesday's meeting.

The board clerk indicated the updated personnel rules are scheduled to appear on next Wednesday's consent calendar for ratification. Mr. Hawkins said the county published the draft to solicited internal feedback and had received "very little feedback."