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Independence City Council approves employee handbook changes to clarify HIPAA and leave rules
Summary
The Independence City Council unanimously approved a resolution Feb. 23, 2026, authorizing changes to the employee handbook that clarify HIPAA handling, renumber voluntary payroll deductions, add a social media policy section and clarify that employees may choose the order they use available leave types.
The Independence City Council voted 7-0 on Feb. 23 to approve a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign amendments to the employee handbook focused mainly on HIPAA procedures and clarifications to the city’s leave policies.
City Manager (S4) told the council the changes are intended to clarify "the HIPAA policy for how personnel are gonna handle that internally" and to remove any implication that employees must use different leave types in a specific sequence. "There's no required order," S4 said. "If they have leave available, they can use it in whatever order they deem fit."
The packet accompanying the resolution also renumbered voluntary payroll deductions and added a social media policy (section 5.4), and clarified types and order of leaves available under family medical leave provisions. The council discussed the edits and then approved the resolution by roll-call vote recorded as 7-0.
The resolution takes effect upon the mayor’s signature; staff confirmed the handbook will remain a working document and may be updated in future as policies and practices evolve.
What’s next: the mayor will sign the resolution as authorized and staff will distribute the revised handbook to employees and update internal procedures for handling HIPAA‑related matters.
