The union that represents Lancaster County Corrections employees is suing county officials over a change in the way family leave is calculated.
Two lawsuits filed in Lancaster County District Court in January allege county officials did not provide notice of the change as required by state law – violating both state law and the County Civil Service Act – and not giving union representatives a reasonable opportunity to oppose the changes.
The change involves the calculation of the allowed annual 12 weeks of family leave. Since 2009, the lawsuit contends, the county used a method of calculating family leave that allowed employees to bank or “stack†family leave.
Now, the county uses a calculation that doesn’t allow for that practice – a change the lawsuit alleges was not highlighted in a notice of changes to the policy sent to the union from a deputy county attorney in November, nor in the Personnel Policy Board meeting agenda the following month.
The highlighted changes referred to an employee’s title, which was to be changed from human leave resources coordinator to human resources leave manager, but not the proposed change in leave calculation.
Listen now and subscribe: | | | |
The Personnel Policy Board approved the changes on Dec. 1 and the minutes don’t reflect any discussion of the calculation change, the lawsuit says. On Dec. 6, the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners met to discuss the changes, and although the agenda mentions the family leave policy, it doesn’t highlight the proposed calculation changes. The County Board approved the changes, which take effect in February.
The lawsuit alleges the change in calculation violates the County Civil Service Act because Barb McIntyre, as the county personnel officer, did not use an advisory group of classified employees to prepare and submit the proposed changes to the Personnel Policy Board, didn’t give the union a reasonable opportunity to object, nor did she tell the personnel board of the proposed change.
One of the lawsuits also alleges county officials violated the open meetings act by not adequately describing the proposed changes in agendas for the Personnel Policy Board or the Lancaster County Board.
The lawsuits ask the court to void the changes approved by the County Board, and the Personnel Policy Board’s recommendation of the change.
Those named as defendants in both lawsuits include Lancaster County, the Personnel Policy Board, the Board of Commissioners, County Corrections Director Brad Johnson, McIntyre and Lancaster County Leave Manager Shannon Anderson.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 32 is named as a plaintiff in both lawsuits and union President Daniel Goodman is named in one of the two suits.
In August, the union sued the county and county Personnel Policy Board over the use of split shifts involving one corrections officer. The suit is pending.