McLennan County adopts timekeeping and leave changes after heated discussion; one commissioner opposes

McLennan County Commissioner’s Court voted June 2 to approve multiple updates to the McLennan County Employee Policy Guide intended to align benefits and reporting with a new time and attendance system. The changes remove a requirement to record a detailed overtime reason, broaden eligibility for night‑shift differential, standardize bereavement leave hours across employee types, and increase the military/disaster leave bank.

Anna, representing human resources, told the court the timekeeping changes were prompted by a new system that records actual hours worked and that an existing requirement to annotate overtime reasons produced non‑reportable data. On shift differential, HR proposed applying the night‑shift differential to any work performed between 6:45 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., rather than restricting the benefit only to staff assigned to an ongoing night shift; the change, she said, is intended to make pay fairer for employees who pick up night work.

The bereavement policy rewrite drew the most debate. HR recommended standardizing bereavement so every employee receives the same bank of hours rather than a fixed number of days that varies by schedule type; commissioners discussed the practical result that employees who work 12‑hour shifts (for example, jailers) would receive more paid hours for a five‑day bereavement period than an 8‑hour‑per‑day employee under the old rule. Anna said the county’s five‑year average shows about 30 employees per year exhaust the maximum bereavement benefit, and staff argued the change simplifies administration and reporting.

Commissioner Smith objected on fairness grounds, saying the change effectively grants more paid hours to some workers than others. ‘‘I just don’t agree with it,’’ he said during the discussion. Other commissioners said the change reduces administrative complexity and can make night work staffing more equitable when paired with the new timekeeping platform.

The package also revised military/disaster leave to increase the hourly bank available to employees with qualifying service. After full discussion, the court approved the policy amendments; Commissioner Smith registered the sole dissent. Staff said they will implement the policy changes in the new timekeeping system and produce reports to monitor usage and fiscal impact.

The court did not quantify a fiscal cost during the meeting and staff noted further monitoring would be required to estimate long‑term budgetary effects.