County approves changes to employee handbook

Jasper County Commissioners Court met in special session Nov. 22 to approve changes in the employee handbook to update it to current standards.

One change replaced "maternity leave" with family medical leave in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act, which

requires employers to allow 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child, for caring for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or medical leave for an employee who is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

Other minor changes included wording to reflect

the changing nature of employee benefits; instead of naming the specific health insurance carrier, the handbook will use generic terms like "the county's active insurance."

Precinct 3 Commissioner Willie Stark said, "This way the handbook won't have to be rewritten every time we change insurance."