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Parker council workshop examines personnel policy changes on fitness-for-duty, medical privacy and social media
Summary
Council members and staff reviewed a proposed personnel policy manual covering fitness-for-duty exams, who may require medical information, confidentiality of medical records, workers' compensation and social-media rules, and discussed streamlining policies vs. procedures.
City of Parker council members and staff spent the Jan. 21 workshop reviewing proposed changes to the personnel policy manual, focusing on fitness-for-duty medical examinations, confidentiality of medical records, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations and a new social-media policy.
Council discussion centered on who within the city should have authority to require medical examinations and collect medical documentation. Several council members and staff argued that human resources (HR) should be the primary repository for medical information and should ordinarily be the office that requests fitness-for-duty certifications, with the city administrator acting as a backup if HR is unavailable. Legal counsel advised that medical information should be kept in a separate HR file and released on a need-to-know basis, conveying restrictions to supervisors but not diagnoses.
On infectious or potentially life-threatening illnesses, one council member said: “My concern is I don't want someone to be able to infect the rest of the staff.” City legal counsel summarized confidentiality practice: “All medical information should be kept in a separate file in HR, not in an employee's personnel file,” and explained that supervisors receive only restrictions needed to accommodate work duties.
Council members discussed modified or light-duty assignments, return-to-work certifications and how workers' compensation interacts with city leave policies. Staff said temporary income benefits under workers' compensation (referred to in the meeting as "Tibbs") are typically around 70% of pay; employees sometimes use accrued leave to make up the difference if salary continuation is offered.
On ADA and reasonable accommodations, staff described the "interactive process" required when an employee requests an accommodation and noted the city must provide reasonable, effective accommodations that do not impose undue hardship.
The workshop also reviewed a draft social-media policy. Staff flagged a recent change in Texas law that requires governmental entities to prohibit use of TikTok on government-owned devices and noted the policy should allow additions to the banned list if the governor adds other apps. Council members raised practical questions about enforcement, who is authorized to post on the city website and whether the policy should apply to employees' off-duty personal social-media accounts. Staff said posting rights on the city's web properties are typically limited and that city staff can assign role-based access to specific pages.
Council members suggested streamlining the document by keeping high-level policies in a policy manual and putting operational details into a separate procedures document that can be updated more easily.
