Jennings County to replace Kronos with LAU time-and-attendance system; commissioners vote to proceed

Jennings County commissioners on a motion voted unanimously to proceed with replacing the county’s Kronos time-and-attendance system with the LAU time‑and‑attendance module, the county auditor told the board.

The auditor said the change was requested to address compliance issues flagged by the Department of Labor and to integrate timekeeping with the county’s existing LAU financial and payroll software. “Our current time and attendance system is outdated, no longer meets the operational compliance needs for our county,” the auditor said. The project was submitted as a capital request for 2025 and “it was approved,” the auditor added.

Commissioners were told funding for the replacement is already in place. The auditor said the new system will be configured with department heads that have unique scheduling needs — specifically citing the sheriff’s office, 911, EMS and the county highway department — and that multiple training sessions and a test environment will be provided before going live. “Once we get the system in place, we’ll be able to have that compliance,” the auditor said in reference to previously reported failures to meet payroll and timekeeping requirements.

Department heads and other county staff pressed for hands-on sessions before full rollout. “It would be really useful to me if we could have a working session and ask questions about how they allow operate as compared to Kronos,” said Mary (department head), who asked for direct demonstrations for her office. Marie (county official) raised concerns about vendor lock-in and cloud compatibility, saying she wanted assurance the county would not be left with a product that isolates the county from other vendors.

Payroll staff described the practical steps they take when clocks fail or employees miss punches, and said the change will not remove the need for managers and employees to perform their parts correctly. “If I see that somebody’s got 70 hours, but their time attendant shows that they only worked 50, I’m going to say something,” a payroll staff member said, explaining the verification step used today.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to proceed with implementation; the motion was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote. The board directed the auditor’s office and human resources to coordinate department-specific configuration, to arrange multiple training sessions, and to prioritize fixes that address Department of Labor requirements.

The county will phase the deployment to account for departments with special shift patterns and will retain both HR and payroll responsibilities in their current organizational domains while integrating data between LAU’s modules. The auditor said the implementation budget set aside for the project is approximately $40,000 and that the vendor will provide training and a test environment prior to going live.

County officials said the change is intended to reduce the risk of future payroll errors and potential liabilities that previously required manual corrections and significant staff time.