Less than a month after it was approved, Greene County commissioners plan to vote today on whether to suspend the county’s new anti-bullying policy over concerns it could open the county up to lawsuits.

Meanwhile, the county prosecutor’s office will overhaul the policy to make it more definitive and present it to the commissioners during the meeting

“The more we define, the stronger the policy is,” said Elizabeth Ellis, the county prosecutor’s office civil division chief.

The anti-bullying policy, developed by the Greene County Personnel Department Director Ken Johnson, lists several acts considered to be a form of bullying including verbal and written offensive jokes, yelling or using profanity and excessive public criticism or humiliation.

The policy received backlash during a work session last week from two new commissioners who said it made the county vulnerable to lawsuits.

“We’re opening ourselves up to litigation something terrible here,” said Tom Koogler, a county commissioner.

The former county commission unanimously approved the anti-bullying and harassment policy on Dec. 18.

The county prosecutor’s office provides legal counsel for the commissioners, however, the policy was not submitted to the prosecutor’s office for review before it was approved.

Ellis reviewed the policy before the work session and characterized it as a “good start” that needed to be “tweaked.”

In a previous interview, Johnson said the policy was long overdue and was meant to be part of a set of tools that would be used to prevent workplace violence and educate employees about bullying and harassment.

Commissioner Bob Glaser said he did not want to include anything in the employee handbook that would allow workers to sue the county.

“When I looked at the policy, I was concerned that it was so broad,” Glaser said. “This thing here is really wide open.”