Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Secondary Department: Human Resources and Talent
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Andrea Coughlin Rowley, Chief People Officer
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
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 discussion on the Harris County Temporary Workforce Policy draft.
end
Background and Discussion:
On June 4, 2024, Commissioners Court directed the Office of County Administration (OCA) to develop a set of policies that address when the County should use temporary workers, part-time workers, and contracted workers, and ensure that staffing agencies cannot limit temporary workers’ ability to accept permanent employment at Harris County. On November 13, 2025, Commissioners Court directed OCA, Purchasing, and Human Resources and Talent (HRT) to come back in February 2026 with a recommendation on a policy to limit the time a position can be filled with temporary staffing and ways to monitor it.
The Harris County Temporary Workforce Policy draft (attached) was developed by OCA, HRT, Purchasing, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the County Attorney’s Office (CAO). The policy draft includes the following:
• Definitions:
o Temporary Employees are direct hires of Harris County and issued a Harris County employee ID. Temporary Employees are governed by the Harris County Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual.
o Contingent Temps are individuals engaged through an approved third-party vendor to fulfill short-term needs. These individuals are employed and managed exclusively by the vendor and are not employees of Harris County. This does not include those hired by an outside firm to provide outsourcing services to Harris County.
• Limits: Temporary Employees and Contingent Temps may be used for up to 12 consecutive months with minimal exceptions.
• Monitoring: Compliance will be tracked quarterly via vendor and PeopleSoft reporting.
• Remediation Process: If a temporary resource exceeds 12 months, the noncompliant department must develop a mitigation plan and meet with HRT and OMB (and Purchasing if a contingent temp) for review and approval.
As of February 11, 2026, there are approximately 38 Temporary Employees across eight departments that may need to be converted to regular employees based on the policy draft. Similar data regarding Contingent temps is forthcoming; this information is being gathered manually as the County does not currently have a centralized database or system for Contingent Temps. In FY25, 46 County departments spent an estimated total of $54.4M with 15 temporary staffing vendors. Though only a portion of the current Contingent Temps will need to transition to regular employees due to the 12-month limitation proposed in the policy draft, the FY25 spend data provides insight on the potential operational and financial impact. OCA also met with the County departments that most utilize temporary staffing vendors (Elections, Universal Services, Public Health, District Courts, Flood Control, Tax Office, and Harris County Toll Road Authority) to solicit feedback regarding the policy draft.
The project team will return to Commissioners Court with the final policy and the full cost estimate once the analysis of the Contingent Temps usage detail is complete. The target effective date for the policy is October 1, 2026.
Expected Impact:
The conversion from Temporary to regular employees where needed across County departments is estimated to cost $210,000 in general funds annually. The cost associated with the transition from Contingent Temps to regular employees has not yet been determined.
Alternative Options:
N/A
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: L: Foster more living-wage jobs that ensure worker safety, benefits, and stability across all educational levels.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): L1: Design a set of policies for Harris County to set dynamic living wage rates and ensure essential worker protections and high-quality benefits for all Harris County contracts, employees, and economic agreements.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: N/A
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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6/4/2024 |
398 |
Direct the Office of County Administration to design a set of policies for Harris County to ensure essential worker protections and set minimum wage rates for all Harris County contracts and employees, including grant-funded and temporary employees. |
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11/13/2025 |
175 |
Direct Office of County Administrator, Purchasing, and Human Resources and Talent to come back in February 2026 with a recommendation on a policy to limit the time a position can be filled with temporary staffing and ways to monitor it. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 2/26/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 10/1/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Erika Owens, Director of Human Resources, Human Resources & Talent; Kera Backer, Project Manager, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): Harris County Temporary Workforce Policy Draft