Primary Department: Human Resources and Talent
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Andrea Coughlin Rowley; Chief People Officer
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Discussion Item
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of the Fit For Duty 2nd Opinion Policy by Human Resources and Talent.
end
Background and Discussion:
Commissioners Court must adopt a procedure for second medical opinions and tie breaking medical opinions associated with fitness-for-duty examinations of certain employees of Harris County’s law enforcement agencies. The procedure recommended mimics that required when additional medical examinations are conducted pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
In 2023, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (“TCOLE), the licensing agency for law enforcement underwent a sunset review resulting in legislation aimed at improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and standards of professionalism of law enforcement in Texas.
Among those changes was adoption of Texas Occupations Code §1701.167 which required TCOLE to adopt model policies for medical and psychological exams of license holders. Until the adoption of this law, TCOLE only required medical and psychological fitness for duty evaluations at the time of initial licensing. Now, TCOLE’s model policy sets out a uniform procedure for medical and psychological examinations when a license holder may be unable to safely perform their duties due to an underlying physical or psychological impairment or condition.
In accordance with the law, each law enforcement agency in Texas was required to adopt TCOLE’s Model Policy on the Medical and Psychological Exam of Licensee or a substantively similar policy by September 1, 2024 and to submit a copy to TCOLE.
The model policy requires that the initial examination be conducted by the employee’s personal or chosen physician.
The model policy further requires that second opinions (whether at the request of the licensee, a Civil Service Commission, or the law enforcement agency’s chief administrator) shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure adopted by the governing body of each law enforcement agency, here the Commissioner’s Court. In the event of a conflict between the first exam and the second exam, the final determination shall also be determined in accordance with applicable policies.
Expected Impact:
Second and third opinions are infrequently needed, but when required they can be administratively challenging to arrange and to pay for without an established procedure.
Second and third opinions are infrequently needed, but when required they can be administratively challenging to arrange and to pay for without an established procedure. Establishing this process will provide clarity on the appropriate referral channels, expected qualifications of evaluators, and estimated costs. While the current average cost for a psychological fitness for duty evaluation is approximately $2,500, the actual amount will vary depending on the type of evaluation required (e.g., psychological FFD, threat assessment). Because there is no existing partnership with a vendor to deliver these services, each request will still require individualized coordination with Aetna Resources for Living to identify an appropriate licensed psychologist or psychiatrist and obtain a specific cost estimate at the time of referral. Over time, implementing this procedure will streamline referrals, reduce delays, and improve consistency in handling these cases, even though the precise range of costs may remain variable.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court may consider alternative procedures, so long as a mechanism is determined to provide for these additional medical examinations when needed.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: N/A
Prior Court Action (if any): N/A
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
|
|
|
Location: N/A
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 10/30/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Erika Owens, Sr. Director, Employee Relations/HR Compliance, Human Resources
Attachments (if applicable): 2025-10-30 RCA FFDE Opinions Procedure Attachment