County Employees to Lose Special Privileges

Written By: The ECJ Staff  |  Posted: Saturday, December 17th, 2011

             With the end of most collective bargaining rights for government employees through the passage of the controversial Act 10 last spring, and the coming expiration of various collective bargaining agreements at the end of this year, the Eau Claire County Board of Supervisors have taken up changes for the county's employee policy manual. The changes both refl ect various required changes that the State of Wisconsin placed on the county, but also new policies that the county is able to place now that union workers no longer can negotiate other than for base pay.

            On a November 16th meeting, the County Board members were presented with the changes. The changes include the ability to lay off employees regardless of seniority, changes in grievance procedures and performance evaluations, additional employee holidays, an increase in accrual of sick leave hours, a reduction of unpaid leave time allowance to 6 months, increased flexibility in meal and break times, changes in overtime pay only allowing overtime rates for those hours over 40 per week (right now an employee can claim overtime pay for hours worked on a day they also used paid time off hours), requirements that employees submit receipts in order to get meal reimbursement, increases in uniform allowances, additional drug testing, and an increase in the ability of supervisors to verify whether an absent employee was sick or injured.

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