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Dunn County committee narrows sick-leave donation program after legal review
Summary
After staff warned the county's leave-donation practice may conflict with FLSA and IRS rules and must be limited to catastrophic events, the Committee on Administration voted unanimously to forward revised sick-leave policy language to the county board and directed staff to explore alternatives such as short-term disability or income-continuation options.
Dunn County's Committee on Administration voted unanimously to forward proposed revisions to the county's sick-leave and leave-donation policy after staff told the committee that the existing donation practice raised Fair Labor Standards Act and IRS compliance concerns.
Jenna of Human Resources told supervisors the existing donation method—where donated hours are converted based on the donor's higher hourly rate—creates tax and wage-compliance complications. "The way that has been done is not compliant with the law," she told the committee, and she added that federal guidance limits leave-donation programs to catastrophic events.
Committee members discussed possible alternatives including employee-driven direct donations, a blind pooled-donation model, or making short-term disability options available. Staff noted the county already offers income-continuation insurance that, after a waiting period, "provides employees with 75% of their regular pay," but that there can be a gap between the waiting period and when such benefits begin. Supervisors and staff also raised concerns about privacy, discrimination risk, and administrative burden if donations were handled on a case-by-case basis.
Supervisor Bashan moved and Supervisor Bogle seconded the committee motion to approve the proposed sick-leave policy revisions. The committee voted unanimously to forward the policy to the county board for final approval. Staff said they will continue to explore options such as employee-paid short-term disability or other benefit changes to address the gap for parental or caregiver leaves.
