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Woodbury County OKs mobile‑device exemptions, adopts timekeeping policy
Summary
The board approved exceptions to a new mobile device management policy for select hourly staff and adopted a timekeeping and compensation policy clarifying how after‑hours work must be approved and recorded.
The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors on a unanimous vote approved exceptions to a new mobile device management policy and adopted a countywide timekeeping and compensation policy intended to clarify when employees may work beyond scheduled hours and how that time is recorded. Human Resources Director Melissa Thomas told the board the exemptions allow hourly employees in the Sheriff's Office, Conservation and Secondary Roads to access county email on personal mobile phones; the exceptions were requested by those departments and listed in backup materials.
Melissa Thomas said supervisors should approve any required after‑hours work and that disciplinary steps could follow if unrecorded work is later discovered. County Auditor Michelle Scaff asked whether after‑hours email access would require paying employees for a minimum block of time; Thomas said employees should be paid only for the actual time worked and suggested staff use a ‘‘working out of office’’ timecard code or create a specific code to record such time.
The new timekeeping policy—presented as a clarification of expectations—states employees must not work beyond scheduled hours without prior supervisor approval, and that supervisors are responsible for ensuring overtime is recorded. Ryan Erickson, board administration, confirmed staff reviewed the policy and recommended the board adopt it to give clear direction to departments. The board approved both the exemptions and the timekeeping policy by voice vote, recorded as 5–0.
The measures are administrative: they set internal rules on tracking and compensation but do not create new pay rates or program funding. The board did not direct additional changes to collective‑bargaining terms; any such changes would be handled through separate labor negotiations or agreements.
Next steps: departments named in the exemptions are expected to implement the approved practices and supervisors were advised to coordinate with county IT (WCICC) and payroll staff to ensure after‑hours access and hours worked are trackable and properly coded for pay.
