County approves four hours paid time off for employees who donate blood

Midland County commissioners on July 1 approved a policy granting employees four hours of paid time off, with no carryover, for donating blood at the county‑organized drive.

The motion, made during a Vitalant presentation about local shortages, specified that the paid time off would apply one time per year in connection with the county blood drive. The court majority approved the measure by voice vote after discussing alternatives ranging from a half day (4 hours) to a full day (8 hours) and operational limits for different county departments.

Vitalant representatives described local needs and how workplace drives increase donations. "Usually, our mobile units are really fast," Rebecca Burrow of Vitalant said, explaining a typical donor visit takes about 20–25 minutes for whole blood and up to 35–40 minutes for dual red‑cell donations, with walk‑ins accepted though scheduled appointments are preferred.

County staff and elected officials examined legal and administrative questions, including whether the time off should be added to vacation banks, handled as comp time or a separate paid‑time‑off bucket, and whether the time should carry over from year to year. County leadership agreed to 4 hours with no carryover for one annual county drive; departments retain discretion to manage coverage and department heads may require requests be moved to alternate days if operations are affected.

The court also discussed verification procedures: Vitalant provides a donor printout with donation details that employees can submit to HR or treasury to validate the time off. Commissioners encouraged outreach to boost donor turnout at the end‑of‑July county drive.

Outcome: motion approved on a voice vote; implementation details (carryover, whether the PTO is placed in a separate bucket or labeled as paid time off) will be worked out by HR and department leadership.