Effective last week, a new federal law regarding licensing for commercial driver licenses (CDL) could hinder the hiring of county heavy equipment operators.
The operators on Highway Superintendent Cody Green’s crew are required by law to have a CDL before driving heavy equipment such as snow plows and graders.
The new law mandates that those who seek a CDL now take classes prior to testing – classes that could cost them as much as $4,000-$5,000!
Those who already have a CDL are exempt but anybody new that Green hires will be required to take those classes.
The question that Green posed to the County Commission last Tuesday was what he should do when applicants have no CDL. Would the county pay all or part of that training?
Would the new operator be required to work in Perkins County a given number of years if the county were to help pay for training costs? It was food for thought.
Currently, Green has a full crew. His latest hire, Otis Funk, began his new employment in Perkins County on January 18. He took his CDL test prior to the new law taking effect. Funk comes from Haakon County. His wage was set at $18.49/hour.
Another employee-related item on last Tuesday’s agenda in the county board room in Bison was the COVID-19 policy that commissioners enacted by resolution at the beginning of the pandemic two years ago.
That policy, which gave employees 80 hours of leave time when they or a family member were exposed to or tested positive for COVID, was rescinded last week.
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