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Griggs County Commission approves employee manual changes, directs follow-ups on pay and benefits
Summary
The Griggs County Commission approved a package of updates to the county employee manual — including adding federal holidays, a directive to develop a longevity scale, and follow-up work on insurance eligibility and background-check policy. The commission approved the changes by voice vote and assigned staff follow-ups.
The Griggs County Commission on Dec. 30 approved adjustments to the county employee manual that add federal holidays and direct staff to develop and return with details for pay and benefit impacts.
The commission voted to adopt the changes after a multi-part discussion of holidays, pay status for added days, a longevity pay scale and the county’s background-check policy. The manual updates as presented included adding Juneteenth, Columbus Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving and the full day of Christmas Eve to the holiday schedule, and language recognizing any holidays adopted by the federal or state government. The commission approved the proposal by voice vote; the motion carried.
Why it matters: the manual governs paid leave and eligibility; several commissioners and staff highlighted budget and legal constraints — and asked staff to confirm whether newly listed holidays would be paid and how existing budget lines and vacation accruals would be affected. Commissioners also asked that the manual be reviewed annually so future changes are captured before budget season.
What the commission asked staff to do: staff was directed to (1) confirm which added holidays would be paid days under state and county rules, (2) investigate whether the county can align insurance eligibility with state guidelines (discussing changing the threshold from 24 to 30 hours per week), (3) develop a longevity pay scale to be attached as an appendix to the manual for consideration during the next budget cycle, and (4) post the updated manual on the county website once final.
Background checks and motor vehicle records: the commission also discussed preemployment and periodic background checks. Staff presented a proposal to use AccuSource, a vendor that would return criminal-history results going back seven years (the county’s prior vendor had used a 10-year lookback). Commissioners discussed two vendor packages: one that included motor vehicle records (MVRs) and one without. The commission directed staff to proceed with the package that includes motor vehicle records for employees who drive county vehicles, to use a seven-year criminal-history lookback through AccuSource for preemployment checks, and to implement routine (annual) motor-vehicle record checks for employees who operate county equipment. Commissioners agreed any expense for background checks would be drawn from the general fund unless a department paid directly.
Implementation and next steps: the commission asked that the longevity scale be finalized and returned to the commission before the 2025 budget is adopted. The approved manual updates take effect for the coming year and will be reviewed annually in December. Staff will follow up with the county’s insurance administrator to determine whether insurance eligibility can be raised to 30 hours per week and will proceed with AccuSource for background checks as directed.
Ending: county staff said they will post the revised employee manual on the county’s website after final edits, and the commission scheduled an annual review for December 2025.
