By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
The Morgan County Commission voted three to one on Sept. 9 to reaffirm a one-time bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) for the employment of a male caseworker to work with the Morgan County Community Corrections and Court Services Department.
Among his other duties, the caseworker will be tasked to observe male detainees as they produce a urine specimen for mandatory drug testing.
The move was made after the governing body rescinded a previous approval of a case manager’s job description and agreed to a revised job description for the same position. District 4 Commissioner Stacy George voted against all three proposals.
He opposed the move because he said it was in violation of the county’s hiring policy as well as federal law, which prohibits discrimination, based on gender.
The gender-specific hiring of one caseworker had previously been requested by Community Corrections Director Kim Thurston and approved by the Corrections Commission.
“All other reasonable alternatives must be considered. Based on what I have learned from Ms. Thurston, I believe we can support the one-time employment of a male for this position.”
The commission also rescinded three previous actions pertaining to District 4 as follows: A donation of $25,000 to the Morgan County Board of Education, June 22; advertise for bids to purchase playground equipment for Huskey Park, July 22; the purchase of a used tractor, June 12; and the purchase of a speed reduction device, June 22.
Other items were acted on as follows:
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