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County legal counsel advises HR policy align with statute; commissioners approve temporary HR rehire
Summary
Legal counsel recommended Klamath County update HR jury‑duty language to reflect state statute requiring jurors to waive jury fees when on employer time; commissioners approved a temporary, part‑time rehire of a former HR coordinator, Jessica Hubbell, at up to 19 hours per week for a minimum of 12 weeks.
Klamath County commissioners on Jan. 15 directed staff to align the county’s jury‑duty pay policy with state law and approved a temporary part‑time HR rehire to cover staffing shortfalls.
County counsel explained that Oregon law (ORS 10.061) requires a juror to waive juror fees when the employer pays the employee for jury service; counsel recommended clarifying county policy to reflect that statutory waiver and to note that mileage reimbursement claims to the courts are unaffected by the statute. HR staff said the current wording created administrative difficulty when employees received separate checks from the court and county payroll and that aligning policy with the statute should reduce finance department workload.
On a separate HR motion, commissioners voted to rehire Jessica Hubbell as a temporary, part‑time HR assistant. The motion approved rehiring Hubbell at classification 22‑6 for up to 19 hours per week for a minimum term of 12 weeks; commissioners and HR staff discussed making the arrangement flexible and matching hours to need while the county completes a permanent hire. Commissioners also asked other departments to provide temporary bandwidth where feasible to support HR operations until a permanent director is in place.
Why it matters: HR staff said the department is short‑staffed after the director departed and that the temporary hire would prevent service gaps and reduce the likelihood that items fall through the cracks.
Vote: The temporary hire motion was made and seconded and passed by recorded voice vote. Commissioners recorded “aye” and the chair also stated support; staff will proceed to onboard the temporary hire and report back to the board.
