June 12, 2025 Hood County Employee Handbook Workshop

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The Hood County Employee Handbook Workshop convened to review the employee handbook against Texas Association of Counties standards, with HR consultant Haley Bieber presenting 69 recommended comments for revision. Key discussion areas included administrative and leave policies, standardization of terminology and pronouns for Title VII compliance, clarification of drug and alcohol policies to meet federal FMCSA requirements for CDL employees, and technical revisions to FMLA provisions. The consultant flagged enforcement and liability concerns in several areas, including inconsistent application of the cell phone policy and overly restrictive zero tolerance and mandatory termination language in drug and alcohol policies. The court agreed to incorporate recommended changes and established a timeline for revised materials to be resubmitted to the commissioners court.

• Workshop opening and invocationThe Hood County Employee Handbook Workshop opened with invocation and pledges of allegiance.
• TAC consultant introduction and handbook review scopeHaley Bieber, HR consultant with the Northeast region of the Texas Association of Counties, presented a review of the Hood County Employee Handbook with 69 recommended comments.
• Administrative leave policy—approval language and elected official autonomyThe consultant recommended removing "for approval" language regarding administrative leave, citing elected official autonomy and providing AG opinion letters as reference.
• Department naming consistency—HR versus personnel terminologyThe consultant identified inconsistent use of "HR department" versus "personnel department" throughout the handbook and recommended standardized terminology.
• Pronoun standardization and Title VII liability protectionThe consultant recommended standardized gender-neutral pronouns throughout the handbook to protect the county's liability under Title VII, though the court discussed implementation preferences.
• Time clock and punch-in procedures—road and bridge employee clarificationThe consultant asked clarifying questions about time clock procedures for road and bridge employees and how their work time is tracked.
• Bereavement leave pronounsPage seven bereavement leave policy contained gendered pronouns requiring standardization to "employee" terminology.
• Cell phone policy—approval requirement and actual practice discrepancyThe consultant identified that the cell phone policy requiring commissioner's court approval for cell phone issuance is not being followed in practice, creating liability risk if policy is not enforced consistently.
• Pages 9–19 review—no commentsThe consultant indicated pages 9 through 19 of the handbook contained no recommended changes.
• Compensation for terminated employees—time record withholding prohibitionThe consultant explained that Hood County cannot withhold pay for time worked even if an employee fails to submit a time record, per federal law requiring minimum wage payment for all hours worked.
• Drug and alcohol policy for CDL employees—FMCSA clearing house requirementThe consultant noted that Hood County's drug and alcohol policy is missing federal clearing house requirements for CDL drivers that became effective January 5, 2021.
• Drug and alcohol policy—zero tolerance enforceability concernsThe consultant cautioned that a zero tolerance drug and alcohol policy must be enforced consistently and raised concerns about selective enforcement based on employee status or performance.
• Drug and alcohol policy rewrite—TAC sample languageThe consultant indicated the current drug and alcohol policy language is inadequate and will provide completely rewritten sample language from TAC.
• Drug testing types and procedures—three federal categoriesThe consultant explained the three types of drug testing permitted under federal law for county employees: pre-employment, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident.
• Post-accident drug testing implementation and culture changeThe consultant stressed that implementing post-accident drug testing requires procedural change and staff education, drawing on experience implementing it at a former 450-employee county.
• CDL random drug testing—federal requirement and non-CDL employeesThe consultant clarified that CDL holders face federal random drug testing mandates, but non-CDL county employees cannot be randomly drug tested outside of reasonable suspicion or post-accident scenarios.
• Drug testing cost and budget considerationsThe consultant noted that expanded post-accident drug testing would require county budget allocation, recommending consideration during budget planning.
• Drug and alcohol policy—comprehensive revision neededThe consultant indicated extensive revisions are needed to the drug and alcohol policy due to multiple sections forcing mandatory termination regardless of circumstances.
• Colorado marijuana use scenario—legal jurisdiction complicationsA court member raised a hypothetical about CDL employees using marijuana legally in Colorado during vacation and returning to work.
• FMLA policy and intermittent leave languageRecommendations made to revise FMLA intermittent leave provisions to remove restrictive "only" language and add flexibility for full 12-week continuous leave options.
• Military caregiver leave and active duty certificationDiscussion of military leave provisions in FMLA policy regarding active duty status and geographic scope.
• Request for leave certification thresholdRecommendation to remove the three-day threshold for medical certification requests to allow flexibility based on qualifying events.
• Returning from leave fitness for duty requirementsRecommendations to clarify fitness for duty and medical release requirements for employees returning from FMLA leave.
• Typo correction in travel restrictionsCorrection needed on page 39 regarding domestic versus international travel limitations during FMLA leave.
• Zero tolerance harassment policy reviewDiscussion of concerns regarding absolute zero tolerance language and its application to harassment violations.
• IT cybersecurity training requirements for new employeesRevisions needed to clarify cybersecurity training completion timeline and network access retention requirements.
• Lactation and breastfeeding policy time limit removalRecommendation to remove one-year time limit from lactation policy and align with Texas state law instead of federal FLSA.
• Break and work hour legal requirements clarificationInformation provided regarding employer obligations and limitations on meal breaks, rest breaks, and consecutive work hours under federal law.
• Leave of absence policy pronouns and active employment verificationTechnical revisions needed for consistency and addition of service-for-money provision.
• Nepotism policy definition additionsNepotism policy missing several family relationship definitions that should be added.
• Pre-holiday policy enforceability and removal recommendationDiscussion of policy enforceability issues related to elected official authority over non-recognized county holidays.
• Unlawful acts policy title clarityClarification needed on official title for personnel/HR director to ensure consistent policy references.
• Vacation policy pronoun standardization and full-time definitionTechnical revisions for consistent language and review of full-time employment hour threshold.
• Workers compensation policy flexibility and care provider designationRecommendations to remove absolute requirements and increase flexibility in workers compensation procedures.
• Pregnancy Fairness Workers Act policy additionNew federal law requiring adoption of employee accommodation policy for pregnant workers.
• Advanced funding agreement and related county policiesDiscussion regarding relationship between employee handbook policies and advanced funding agreement requirements.
• Implementation plan and revised document deliveryPlan outlined for incorporating recommended changes and timeline for resubmission to commissioners court.
• Policy revision delivery and timingConsultant to provide written recommendations and discussion of track-changes format for board review.
• Policy feedback and court discretion on additionsRecognition that recommendations are advisory and court may choose to add elements beyond consultant sample.
• Employee acknowledgement and legal protection practicesBest practices for policy change notification and employee acknowledgement to prevent legal defenses.
• Policy change notification methods and timingStrategies for communicating policy changes to employees and supervisors, including coordination with open enrollment.
• Website ADA compliance status and state law requirementsQuery regarding website accessibility compliance and related policy documentation.
• Meeting adjournmentMeeting concluded with appreciation for consultant's work.