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Forest Park council approves three paid mental health days for city employees
Summary
Council adopted a mental health awareness policy providing three paid mental-health days separate from sick leave, with safeguards including prior approval, limited use and implementation rules; details on shift-based accrual for police and fire were discussed and implementation guidance will come from HR.
The Forest Park City Council on June 1 approved a mental health awareness policy that adds three paid mental-health days for city employees, separate from existing sick leave, council members and staff said.
Council member Gun introduced the resolution, saying the policy "recognizes that mental health is essential to employees' performance and service delivery," and described safeguards that staff and HR vetted: advanced approval requirements, restrictions on use adjacent to holidays, limits to single-day standalone use, and "use it or lose it" provisions to prevent accrual or payout.
Council members pressed for implementation details, asking how the days would apply across shift schedules and different departments. Staff explained the difference in benefit allocation reflects varying shift lengths: a regular employee's three days equals 24 hours; police and fire allocations were expressed in total hours covering multiple shifts (police ~37 hours, fire ~72 hours) to reflect their schedules. Staff said HR and finance had reviewed the financial and operational implications.
The council had discussed tabling the item earlier in the work session to confirm administrative details. During the regular session a motion to approve the policy was made and seconded and a voice vote followed; the transcript contains the motion and approval action but does not record a detailed roll-call tally in the public record. The policy language presented to council explicitly frames the benefit as limited (three days, not accruable) and subject to administrative rules to prevent excessive costs.
What happens next: Staff will provide implementation guidance and any department-specific rules for shift-based positions; HR is responsible for drafting the detailed administrative procedures referenced in the policy.
