Dunn County adopts policy to allow conversion of call-in pay to comp time and clarifies 60-hour accrual; sick-leave donation paused

The Dunn County Board of Supervisors adopted a revised personnel policy to align written rules with long-standing practice on call-in pay and compensatory time.

Dan (the county manager) briefed the board on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) definitions of overtime, call-in pay and compensatory time, explaining that call-in pay is a premium paid at one-and-a-half times the employee's rate with a two-hour minimum when employees are called in outside scheduled hours. He told the board that some departments had been converting call-in premium pay into comp time and that the committee on administration recommended updating the policy to reflect that practice while clarifying comp-time accrual limits.

Dan said the committee's proposed policy change would allow conversion of call-in pay to compensatory time and would clarify the 60-hour cap as a rolling accrual within a calendar year. "Allowing call-in time to be converted to comp time has some impacts," he said, noting the tradeoffs between direct overtime expenditures and staff productivity when comp time is used as leave.

Board members debated the policy text and an amendment from Supervisor Michelle Bashan to clarify that eligible employees' accrued balance must not exceed 60 hours at any given time (a rolling balance). The amendment was seconded and passed by roll call, and the amended policy was approved. Kelly moved the main motion; Luke seconded.

Separately, the board considered the county's sick-leave donation program. Jenna (speaking online during the meeting) summarized legal and tax issues: defining when a situation qualifies as "catastrophic," tax reporting implications for donors and recipients, and the program's misalignment with the county's interpretation of applicable law. She said 12 employees received donations in 2025 and eight in the prior two years. Because of those legal constraints, staff recommended pausing the current leave-donation approach while pursuing alternatives such as short-term disability or other targeted leave programs.

The board approved the revised comp-time policy (including the 60-hour rolling accrual clarification) and the temporary suspension of the sick-leave donation program, and asked staff and committee members to explore alternative solutions for employees facing catastrophic medical needs.

Next steps: Administration will bring back options for short-term disability or alternate employee support mechanisms and further legal guidance on leave donations.