Bourbon County reviews draft employee handbook; keeps current leave policies for now

Bourbon County commissioners spent a work session reviewing a draft employee handbook, discussing disciplinary procedures, firearms rules, benefits language and holiday and vacation policies and directing staff to incorporate edits while keeping current leave provisions for existing employees.

The handbook review covered dozens of discrete items ranging from standards of conduct and an added bullying policy to the wording of insurance-cost sharing and detailed vacation accrual schedules. Commissioners and staff agreed to fold a personal improvement plan and corrective action plan into the disciplinary steps, asked county legal to confirm the local effect of firearms signage and directed the benefits committee to finalize insurance-cost settings.

Why it matters: The changes would shape pay, leave and workplace rules for county employees and could affect the county budget if new accruals or buyouts are implemented. Commissioners repeatedly warned against making immediate, retroactive changes to benefits that would require additional budgeted payouts.

Discussion and directions - Discipline and performance: Commissioners voted to incorporate a Personal Improvement Plan (PIP) and a corrective-action plan into the written-discipline sequence. The process now discussed is: oral reminder (considered coaching), written warning, PIP/corrective action, suspension and termination if performance does not improve. One participant summarized the intended flow: “Oral warning is not discipline. That’s very much coaching,” and that if improvement does not occur, the next steps are written warning, PIP and then suspension or termination.

- Benefits and insurance language: The draft included a line saying the county would pay 75% of employee-only coverage. Commissioners agreed to remove that fixed phrasing and instead have the handbook say employees will receive a summary plan description and that costs and employer contributions can change year to year; a benefits committee will make final recommendations. The committee will determine how much of premiums the county pays; the handbook will reflect that costs “can change from time to time.”

- Holidays and vacation: Commissioners debated adding holidays such as Good Friday and Juneteenth and counted between 12 and 14 total days in various drafts. After discussion about budgetary impacts, the body directed staff to keep the existing holiday schedule for current employees and to refer any additions to the benefits committee and the commission budget process. Commissioners rejected a set of proposed “blackout days” for vacation (including a wide range of social events) and retained the current accrual and carryover rules for vacation and sick leave as the baseline while allowing a future committee review.

- Firearms and signage: Board members asked county legal to clarify state law on concealed carry and on the legal effect of signs prohibiting weapons on county property. A speaker noted an understanding that Kansas law limits an employer’s ability to prohibit concealed carry and requested “an address beside that so we can give it to Bob” for legal clarification. The commission directed staff to get a legal opinion before finalizing the handbook wording on unauthorized possession of firearms or weapons.

- Field hours, schedules and pay-cycle items: The draft allows department heads to set work hours but requires employees to fulfill scheduled shifts. Commissioners asked for clearer language about notice and recall for employees working remotely or with variable hours. The commission also noted pay-period timing is set by statute and that pay-cycle details should align with state requirements.

Public comment and operational concerns - Emergency medical services employees and other staff raised operational concerns about vacation scheduling and overtime. An EMS employee told the commission: “It cost EMS money. It cost us money because we take... we lose our overtime,” describing how taking vacation can reduce overtime pay or require costly shift coverage. Commissioners acknowledged those tradeoffs and noted any change that increases payouts would need corresponding budget adjustments.

- Several participants asked that existing handbook provisions that remain appropriate be carried forward into the new draft rather than removed; staff (referred to in the session as Dr. Cohen) was directed to pull relevant policies from the old manual into the new one.

Next steps and implementation Commissioners asked staff to produce a redline (Google Docs-style) comparing the old and new versions, to circulate the revised draft with tracked edits, and to have legal check statute and OSHA/FMLA references. The benefits committee will refine insurance-contribution language and recommend changes for the commission’s budget review. The commission emphasized phasing in any changes that would create additional liabilities for current employees rather than applying retroactively.

The work session did not include any formal votes to adopt the new handbook. Staff were given specific tasks to return a revised draft and legal clarifications for a future meeting.