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Council remands proposed remote-work policy after compliance concerns and questions about grandfathering
Summary
Council sent a proposed change to the county remote-work/telecommuting policy back to the Finance Administration and Economic Development Committee after staff warned of compliance costs for out-of-state remote workers and members debated whether to grandfather a small number of current employees.
Beaufort County Council debated a proposed amendment to the county personnel handbook on Nov. 10 that would generally prohibit out-of-state full-time remote work and limit county-administration employees to two remote days per week. HR Director (Miss Meads) told council that, based on address records, three county employees appeared to reside out of state and that bringing employees into compliance would require additional resources—labor-law counsel, state unemployment and workers’ compensation registrations—and could vary widely in cost and legal exposure.
Multiple council members expressed concern about inadvertently punishing employees who were performing well. Councilman David Cunningham proposed grandfathering employees employed as of Nov. 10, 2025; that motion was seconded. After extended discussion—including questions about jurisdictional exposure, the difficulty of estimating costs without legal review, and whether elected officials’ staff should be treated differently—council voted to remand the policy change back to the Finance Administration and Economic Development Committee for further study and to seek more detailed legal and fiscal analysis.
Next steps: the finance committee will examine compliance requirements, options for grandfathering or phased approaches, and potential budget impacts before the council takes further action.
