South Bloomfield HR committee completes review of employee handbook changes, plans GoHR consultation

The Village of South Bloomfield Human Resources Committee completed its review of proposed employee handbook edits at a July 17 meeting, agreeing to a suite of language and policy changes and to seek guidance from the state’s General Office of Human Resources (GoHR) on legal and best-practice questions, members said.

Committee chair Aaron Thomas, Mayor, called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. and listed members present as Tom Ramsay, Lisa McDorman, Alisha Burke and Joe Allen. The group worked through items under Old Business related to an extensive handbook redraft.

The committee agreed to replace the term "personal time" with "floating holiday" in the inclement weather section and to remove a sentence referencing case-by-case leave decisions. For part-day closures, the handbook wording will be changed so authority rests with the Village Administrator rather than the mayor. The Release of Information section will add the Village Administrator alongside the mayor and the chief of police.

On benefits, members adopted two administrative changes recommended by GoHR: removing percentage figures from the health and dental coverage language and adding a health insurance stipend set at 20 percent (equal to the employee share). The stipend will be calculated based on the type of coverage an employee has elsewhere and adjusted annually to reflect changes in village premium costs.

Timekeeping definitions will be clarified by work area: "Office" for office staff (and police with cruisers kept at the municipal building), "Street Garage" for street staff, and "Water or Sewer Plant" for utility staff. The committee set the employee timecard submission deadline to Sunday at 8:00 p.m.

The committee changed comp time language to refer to "Department Heads" rather than "exempt employees" and clarified overtime calculations so that holiday hours are not considered "worked hours," with overtime beginning only after 40 hours physically worked.

Per GoHR recommendations, the Equipment Use language will be expanded to include motor vehicles and service equipment for the definition of "personal use," and the Appearance and Dress section will be updated consistent with GoHR guidance. The committee also directed that the progressive discipline and Voluntary Disclosure sections be reviewed with GoHR to ensure legality and best practice before finalizing them.

Members asked staff to draft a visitors policy limiting visitors to employees' lunch breaks and break areas. Vacation leave will transition from an annual carryover cap to a maximum accrual: employees may accrue up to two times their annual accrual, and accrual will stop once that cap is reached until time is used.

The committee removed language that would set individual dollar amounts for allowances, require a uniform expense form, and explicitly label vehicle and clothing allowances as taxable fringe benefits.

The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn by Aaron Thomas, seconded by Tom Ramsay; recorded votes were Aaron Thomas — yes; Tom Ramsay — yes; Lisa McDorman — yes. The meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the agreed wording changes and bring updated draft language back after consultation with GoHR on the progressive discipline and Voluntary Disclosure sections.