Waynesboro council adopts changes to employee policy manual, including sick-leave and pre-employment screening updates

The Waynesboro City Council approved amendments to its employee policy manual during the Feb. 20 meeting, adopting changes staff said are intended to clarify procedures and align policies with current administrative practice and accounting standards.

City staff described several related changes: a process to adjust employment "cool dates" for employees whose prior Virginia Retirement System (VRS) service was not captured during a 2022 policy change; clarifications to the sick leave bank to ensure it is available only for employees (not for family members) and to set annual enrollment with a 12-month waiting period for new hires; and a shift in the measurement date for leave-balance carryover from Dec. 31 to June 30 to align with the fiscal year and Governmental Accounting Standards Board guidance.

Staff also described updates to the drug-and-alcohol policy to align pre-employment screening with federal and state classifications for marijuana. Staff emphasized the change affects pre-employment testing only and does not alter the city's status as a zero-tolerance workplace for employees on the job. "It will not affect current employees," staff said, adding managers retain reasonable-suspicion protocols and dismissal authorities where applicable.

Council voted 5-0 to adopt the manual amendments after staff answered clarifying questions about who the sick leave bank covers and how the VRS date adjustments would be implemented (staff estimated roughly two dozen employees were affected by the prior omission). No motions to amend the policies were recorded.