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Kernersville board delays a vote on FMLA bonding-change after fire department staffing concerns
Summary
Town staff proposed ending intermittent FMLA bonding leave and requiring bonding leave to be taken consecutively to reduce overtime and staffing disruptions in the fire department; the board requested more legal guidance and options (block leave, department discretion) and postponed action until the next meeting cycle.
Town staff asked the Board of Aldermen to consider changing local personnel policy to require FMLA bonding leave for a new child to be taken consecutively rather than intermittently, citing staffing and overtime impacts in public-safety operations.
Angie Whitley, the town HR representative, told the board that the change is discretionary at the employer level and was proposed to create consistency across departments. She said federal FMLA rules allow the employer to designate whether bonding leave is intermittent or consecutive and that the requested change would not reduce the total amount of leave—only how it is taken.
Fire Department leadership described repeated instances of intermittent bonding leave that coincided with trouble maintaining minimum staffing for apparatus, forcing overtime hires and at times risking taking an engine out of service. The fire chief (addressed in the meeting by role) explained the department has seen several employees take intermittent bonding leave over the past 12 months and said the request for consecutive blocks was intended to reduce short-notice gaps in coverage.
Board members pressed for more detail and legal clarity: several members suggested alternatives such as allowing consecutive leave for the birth parent while permitting block scheduling (for example, week-long blocks) for other parents, or allowing department-head discretion in planned cases. Staff agreed to return with options that comply with federal law and to bring additional legal and implementation detail to a later meeting; the item was not voted on and was scheduled for further consideration in late May.
