East Central Reporter

Once again, there appears to be a misunderstanding regarding the contents of a letter from the Attorney General's office in Shelby County. A statement has been circulating that claims the Attorney General issued an opinion stating, "the county cannot by law impose electronic timekeeping." However, this claim is not supported by the letter itself.

The last paragraph of the letter from the Attorney General begins with, “This is not an official opinion of the Attorney General.” This indicates that no formal opinion was issued and refutes any claims that such an opinion exists regarding electronic timekeeping.

State’s Attorney Ruth Woolery sought guidance from the AG Opinions Bureau on two matters. The response included key language: “For the reasons stated below, a county board may not impose a mandatory electronic timekeeping policy on officers with internal control over the operations of their office if the policy affects the personnel decisions of those officers.”

The discussion centers around whether electronic timekeeping affects "personnel decisions." The letter clarifies that while a county board may implement policies for accounting purposes, these should not interfere with personnel decisions such as work hours and leave time.

Furthermore, it states: “Based upon the foregoing, a timekeeping policy that merely requires elected county officers operating under internal control statutory provisions to cooperate in maintaining adequate records for accounting purposes would not infringe on the elected county officers’ internal control.”

The AG's correspondence suggests that while electronic timekeeping can be implemented for accounting purposes without affecting personnel decisions, it remains unclear how such systems could interfere with personnel management.

Moreover, according to another part of the letter: “Accordingly, whether a county board has an inherent managerial right to implement a mandatory electronic timekeeping system is a fact-intensive inquiry that is best determined by the Illinois Labor Relations Board or other avenues of dispute resolution provided under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act.”

The situation raises questions about why there is resistance to adopting electronic timekeeping in Shelby County when issues like payment for unworked hours have been identified using paper timesheets.

Despite some calls for less reporting on Shelby County issues, efforts will continue until accurate local reporting and representation by officials are ensured.

A copy of this AG letter can be accessed through available links or directly viewed below.