More sick leave

Council expands donated sick leave policy for city employees

Newcastle city employees will have greater flexibility to use donated sick leave to care for family members following a policy change approved by the Newcastle City Council during its Oct. 19 meeting.

The amendment expands the city’s donated sick leave policy to include employees caring for a spouse, dependent child or elderly parent living with them who has a serious health condition. Previously, donated sick leave could be used only for an employee’s own illness.

City Public Works Supervisor Greg Stumpff brought the proposed change before the council, explaining that the existing policy was too restrictive for employees dealing with serious family health issues.

“Currently, the only way you can use donated sick leave as an employee is for your own illness,” Stumpff said.

He explained that the proposed amendment would allow employees to care for qualifying family members while continuing to receive a paycheck through donated leave.

Councilman John Butts moved to adopt the policy changes as presented, and Councilman Chris Kenney seconded the motion.

Mayor Tyrel Owens expressed support for the proposal.

“I think this would be super positive for the members of our city staff to be able to utilize donated time, if they run out, to care for their loved ones,” Owens said.

During the discussion, a potential conflict in the proposed policy language was identified. Although the amendment expanded eligibility to include certain family members, an existing sentence restricting the use of donated leave for family care remained in the revised document. 

“That sentence should probably be stricken,” City Attorney Dublin Hughes said. 

Council members agreed the sentence should be removed to avoid contradicting the proposed change.

Butts amended his motion to strike the conflicting language, and the amendment was seconded.

With the correction included, the council approved the revised policy.