STURGIS, S.D. – Rather than moving it into the new year, Meade County Commissioners last week approved the new P.T.O., or paid time off, leave policy.
The policy allows employees to accrue 15 days a year after zero to three years of service, 20 days a year with four to 10 years of service, and 25 days a year with 10 or more years of service. The maximum accrual will be 240 hours.
The new policy becomes effective Jan. 20, 2025.
The new policy was adamantly opposed by some employees, who feared losing built up hours of sick leave under the old policy.
However, commissioners say the new paid time off policy will give employees the power to accrue more time off and will not restrict whether that time should be limited to when an employee is ill or just taking time off.
After making some tweeks to the policy following the sick leave discussion with employees, commissioners decided to allow employees who have been with the county for six years or more, and have accrued sick leave, three options.
Those options include getting a minimum wage payout for up to 240 hours of sick leave, splitting their sick leave to receive a payout of half of it, and the other half to be used over the course of four years, with 60 hours reduced every year. The third option for employees is to carry over their sick leave, up to 240 hours, to be used over the course of four years, losing 60 hours of unused time each year.
For employees who have been with the county for less than six years, the policy allows them to carry over a maximum of 160 hours for the course of four years, losing 40 hours of unused sick leave each year.
The commission approved two motions in relation to the new policy. The first to approve the PTO policy and the second to set the terms for employees carrying over their sick leave time both passed unanimously.
