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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: June 26, 2007 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~' I'1 <br />SUBJECT: Proposed Revision to Personnel Ordinance -Article VI, Section 1.0 Worker's <br />Compensation Leave <br />DEPARTMENT: Personnel/Purchasing PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Comparative Analysis <br />Proposed Ordinance Amendment <br />Article IV, Section 1.0 <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Rod Visser, Acting Personnel Director, <br />919-245-2552 <br />Annette Moore, Policy and Compliance <br />Officer, 919-245-2317 <br />Pam Jones, Purchasing & Central <br />Services Director, 919-245-2652 <br />PURPOSE: To consider a proposed revision to of the Orange County Personnel Ordinance, <br />Article IV, Section 1.0 Worker's Compensation Leave. <br />BACKGROUND: During the past decade, Orange County has experienced a pattern of <br />substantial increases in the County's annual premiums for worker's compensation insurance. <br />Consistent with the advice from the County's insurance provider, the Manager's Recommended <br />2007-08 Budget includes an appropriation of approximately $1 million to address the County's <br />workers' compensation premiums. <br />The County's insurer has urged County staff to examine its current policies and practices related <br />to administration of its workers' compensation program to ascertain if there are reasonable <br />measures the County could undertake to reduce the costs incurred by the County in a typical <br />year. For example, the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act (NCGS 97-1, Et. Seq.) <br />requires employers to provide employees who miss more than seven days of work under a <br />validated workers' compensation claim with weekly compensation equal to sixty-six and two- <br />thirds percent (66 2/3 %) of their average weekly wages. Orange County's practice has been to <br />pay injured employees 100 percent of their salary: (See attach comparative analysis of the <br />compensation requirements under the Workers' Compensation Act as compared to <br />compensation now being paid by Orange County and the additional cost to the County of that <br />practice.) These provisions and this potential change was recently discussed at one of the <br />Board's budget work sessions. <br />While the existing Article IV, Section 1.0 of the Personnel Ordinance does not provide for <br />Orange County's current practice of paying 100% of an injured employee weekly wages, it does <br />allow for practices to evolve over time that are not consistent with the North Carolina Workers' <br />Compensation Act or the will of the Board. The proposed revisions would allow the County <br />Manager the administrative flexibility to carry out the will of the Board through the development <br />