Labor
Commissioner Rescinds 6/12 Work Policy
Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry has scrapped a department regulation
that many business owners have complained about for years — that you
can’t say in your personnel manual that someone will be fired for
excessive absences, usually stated as so many days in six months and a
year. The so-called
“6/12” policy was enforced by the state Labor Department under
workers’ comp law and the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act
(REDA).
Started under Berry’s predecessor, Democrat Harry Payne, the policy
specifically states that a 6/12 policy violates REDA if it counts time
an employee is absent on a workers’ comp claim; i.e., the workers’
comp absences may not be counted as time toward the 6/12 limit. Thus,
an employer couldn’t fill a job left vacant by a employee out of
work on an open-ended workers comp claim. The policy also required
that the employer return the employee to a comparable position
(including job functions, advancement opportunities, etc.) when the
employee eventually returned to work.
In a recent letter to NCCBI President Phil Kirk, Berry, the first
Republican elected to a Council of State office other than the
governor and lieutenant governor, said she had reviewed and was
repealing the 6/12 policy because she concluded it went beyond the
intention of state law. “Therefore, I have advised the
Department’s Employment Discrimination Bureau . . . that it has been
repealed, effective immediately. I hope you will join me in letting
your members know about this policy change.”
Kirk applauded the move. “Commissioner Berry is to be commended for
the common-sense approach to running the Department of Labor. This
action again proves the value of having a commissioner of labor who
has owned and operated a small business and who has had to meet a
payroll.”
This is the second major business-friendly action taken by Berry since
taking office in January. Earlier, she dropped a lawsuit initiated by
Payne that challenged a Rules Review Commission finding that the Labor
Department under Payne had improperly pursued establishment of
ergonomics regulations.
Berry spent 90 minutes talking to the NCCBI Small Business Advisory
Board and answering questions at a meeting in Wilmington last month,
explaining that she is imposing a new attitude on the way the
Department of Labor goes about its business. Berry said she’s
interested in forming partnerships with business and industry rather
than continue adversarial relationships.
“The Department of Labor should be of assistance to you and your
employees,” Berry said. “We need to protect workers, but we also
need to help you be as profitable as possible, especially in these
tough economic times.”
She saluted NCCBI for its leadership role in fighting the state and
federal ergonomics rules. “I kept my campaign promise by abolishing
these unnecessary rules,” Berry said. She challenged the business
community to continue to voluntarily reduce workplace injuries.
Pickett Wadsworth, vice chair, presided at the meeting. Board member
Bob Rippy of Jungle Rapids, where the meeting was held, hosted the
event and luncheon. Kirk led the afternoon’s discussion of
legislative and regulatory issues and future directions for the board.
Kirk and Rosemary Wyche, vice president of development and the NCCBI
staff person to the Small Business Advisory Board, hosted a reception
for early arrivals the evening before the meeting. Corning Inc. and
NCCBI hosted a dinner following the reception.
Superintendents’ Bill Passes:
NCCBI achieved one of its major goals for this legislative session
when the House gave final approval to legislation that gives local
school boards the flexibility to hire as superintendents individuals
who are otherwise well qualified but who don’t have classroom
experience, hold a principal’s
certificate or a college degree in education. Current state law
says a person must have a degree in education and possess other
credentials, requirements that disqualify many talented people from
the business and financial worlds from working in the schools.
Neither the community colleges nor the state university system have
similar degree requisites. If higher education had the same
requirements as the public schools, Bill Friday could not have led the
UNC System.
The proposal, S. 378 Degree Not
Required/Local Superintendent, drew extensive debate and stiff
opposition from the N.C. Association of Education.
The issue was a top priority for the NCCBI Education Committee and
received bipartisan legislative support. Sen. Howard Lee (D-Orange)
inroduced the bill. “This is a major victory for local school
districts who will be able to hire the best person who can most
effectively lead their school systems,” said NCCBI President Phil
Kirk. “Our children
deserve leadership that is derived from managerial experience. A
person does not have to have an education degree to gain that
administrative background.”
Kirk and John Dornan, executive director of the Public School Forum,
co-signed a letter to House members that pointed to the state’s
community college system and university system, which have the
authority to hire leaders outside the education arena.
“Of our three systems of education . . . only K-12 is a ‘closed
shop’ in that certification is required for school
superintendents,” the letter stated. “Unlike our community college
system or UNC system, local school boards cannot consider any
candidate based solely on their leadership skills, their managerial
abilities of their record of producing high quality results.” —
Steve Tuttle
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