Orleans Select Board reviews package of employee-policy updates, flags marijuana and enforcement language for legal review

The Orleans Select Board on Wednesday reviewed a packet of revised and newly recommended personnel policies and asked staff to clarify enforcement language and how off‑duty marijuana use will be handled. Denise, who presented the packet and said she had designated herself the town EEO officer for the purposes of the draft, outlined updates to existing policies and a set of 11 recommended new policies.

Board members pressed for clearer disciplinary language in the drug‑free workplace draft after Mary Wright said the current phrasing — that violations “shall result in the following personnel actions” — read as if termination would automatically follow any violation. Wright asked the town to replace mandatory phrasing with wording that indicates “one or more of the following personnel actions may result” and confirmed the severity of any action should be decided by a supervisor with approval from the town manager; Denise agreed to consult the labor attorney and revise the language.

Denise summarized other key changes: the appointment-of-new-police-officers policy was updated to reflect a one‑year probationary period for new officers; the EEO policy was revised to list updated protected classes; a controlled‑substance and alcohol policy was adapted from a DOT model; and certain legacy policies (for example, an employee‑reward program and a departmental backup plan) were proposed for archival.

On marijuana specifically, board members raised questions about off‑duty and medical marijuana. Denise said she has asked labor counsel to clarify whether off‑duty marijuana use is permissible under the proposed policy and how enforcement would work, noting different legal implications compared with alcohol.

The packet also contains recommended federal‑ and state‑aligned policies — the Americans with Disabilities Act and reasonable accommodations; religious accommodations; pregnancy‑related accommodations; a nursing mothers policy guaranteeing break time and private space; personal records access timelines (five days to provide records, 10 days notice for negative file entries); jury‑duty pay for the first three days; parental leave (up to eight weeks); workplace‑violence prevention; and a social‑media policy. Denise said website accessibility components required for compliance are already included in the site design and that further accessibility policy work could be considered.

Next steps: Denise will consult the town’s labor attorney on disciplinary phrasing and off‑duty marijuana, and staff will update drafting issues and formatting (including header, dates and whether each policy is formally a Select Board policy). Board members indicated the revised packet will return for a final review at a future work session and be placed on a regular meeting agenda for a vote.