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Warrick County to rewrite inconsistent ‘bonus days’ PTO policy after long debate
Summary
Commissioners agreed to rewrite and better enforce a county handbook incentive that grants additional PTO hours to employees who meet attendance criteria, citing years of inconsistent administration since PTO replaced separate sick/vacation time.
Warrick County commissioners agreed on Jan. 12 to reword and more strictly enforce the county’s long-running “bonus days” incentive after staff and elected officials described inconsistent application since the county moved to combined PTO.
Commissioner (speaker 1) told the board that the program is poorly tracked and unevenly awarded across departments, and HR staff read the handbook language that currently governs the incentive: “Eligible employees that comply with this PTO policy for the entire calendar year shall be granted an additional 24 hours of PTO to be available to use the following calendar year,” subject to reductions for unscheduled PTO. Barbie Shelton, chief deputy auditor, said the change from separate sick and vacation balances to a single PTO bucket is the source of much confusion.
Commissioners agreed to a two-step approach: legal and HR will reword the policy to replace references to “sick days” with “unscheduled PTO,” develop clearer guidance for department-head verification, and host an informational meeting for department heads before any awards are posted in payroll software. The board also instructed staff to avoid assigning bonus hours in the payroll system until the revised policy and verification steps are in place.
What happens next: HR will draft revised handbook language and present recommended updates to commissioners for adoption. The board emphasized department-head verification of prior-year PTO compliance before any bonus hours are paid.
