Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Employee Handbook topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Corey urges handbook subsection for 24/7 office; commission agrees to refine proposal
Summary
Corey, representing the commission's office, told the Wilson County commission the standard county employee handbook does not fit his 24/7 operation and asked to develop a subsection addressing overtime, holiday pay and discipline; commissioners asked for draft language and a resolution to supersede older rules.
Wilson County — The commission spent an extended portion of the meeting on whether the county employee handbook adequately covers a 24/7 office and how to handle overtime, holiday pay and discipline for the commission’s office.
Speaker 1 introduced the item and said 'Corey's here' to explain. Corey told the commission the existing county handbook is written for a conventional 7½–8 hour, five-day workweek and does not address the needs of a 24/7 operation such as the judicial/commissioner’s office. He said he has been meeting with finance and held off asking for action tonight because he wants to return with more-developed language after additional coordination with finance and health and welfare.
Corey proposed either a subsection of the county handbook specific to his office or an addendum that would 'piggyback' on the county handbook while addressing unique matters such as holiday staffing, overtime pay and discipline procedures. He said some tasks require staff to be available when the rest of county government is closed and that the office currently has 9 full-time and 3 part-time employees (12 total). Corey said he believed 16 full-time staff would be sufficient to cover operations. He also reported that one full-time employee had told him they expect to resign at the end of the month and that he was actively recruiting.
Commission members discussed guidance they had received from CTAS indicating offices should not have wholly separate handbooks but may have a dedicated section in the county handbook. Speaker 3 disputed that approach, saying a 'one-size-fits-all' book does not work for all county offices. Several commissioners agreed the practical approach would be to add a clear subsection or addendum for the commission’s office and to adopt any final language by resolution that explicitly supersedes older rules or resolutions.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; commissioners asked Corey to work with finance and return with draft language and a recommended resolution. The commission also discussed documenting resignations properly (a written resignation letter) and moving forward with recruitment if the departure is finalized.
