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Court amends rehire policy, adopts Pregnant Workers policy and continues PTO discussion
Summary
Commissioners removed a three-month rehire waiting period from county policy, adopted a Pregnant Workers Fairness Act policy, and continued debate on a proposed consolidated PTO policy pending employee outreach.
Dimmit County Commissioners Court voted to amend county rehire language that had imposed a three-month waiting period and adopted a new policy to comply with the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Separately, the court continued discussion of a proposed paid time off (PTO) policy that would combine vacation and sick leave and change how comp time must be used.
Rehire policy: County HR and legal staff presented guidance learned at a risk-management conference showing that a blanket three-month waiting period could conflict with the autonomy of elected officials and certain legal limits. County staff recommended removing or amending the county policy language; commissioners approved the proposed change and instructed staff to update the handbook language accordingly. County legal staff warned that imposing a rehire restriction could expose both the county and individual elected officials to employment litigation.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act policy: The court approved a policy aligning county practice with the 2024 Pregnant Workers Fairness Act; the policy adopts federal guidance to ensure reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees and prevents discrimination.
PTO policy: The court discussed a proposal to combine vacation and sick leave into a single PTO bank and to require employees to use compensatory time (comp time) before PTO in some circumstances. HR staff said several counties use the approach to reduce payroll liabilities and simplify administration. Commissioners and HR agreed to solicit employee feedback: staff will present the proposal to departments, collect feedback and return a summary to the court before any final adoption. Commissioners expressed concern about employees who rely on overtime pay and emphasized the need to involve impacted staff in the decision.
Follow-up: staff were directed to revise the county policy language on rehiring, circulate the Pregnant Workers policy for implementation, and run department-level briefings and a feedback poll on the PTO proposal before the court votes again.
