CONSENT AGENDA- Cassandra Tabor, Human Resources Director
Title
PROPOSED LEAVE POLICY EXTENSION FOR 2021 IN RELATION TO COVID-19
Background
In 2020, the federal CARES Act required employers to provide 80 hours of COVID Leave to each staff member as well as implement the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act. The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act provided up to ten weeks of additional leave coverage for families who had childcare and education needs as a result of closed daycares and schools due to COVID. The CARES Act expires on December 31, 2020 and the federal and state governing bodies have not provided for COVID leave in 2021.
To date, the City of Blaine has had 145 instances of employees being impacted by COVID and requiring testing, isolation, and/or quarantine. We have closely monitored and executed our leave policy through the HR department, allowing us to aid employees in interpreting test and quarantine directives as they have changed from month to month and successfully returned all employees without an internal spread of COVID or excess and unnecessary use of leave. We have implemented the State’s critical infrastructure options in effort to best maintain services to the public in our Public Safety and Public Works departments.
Attached is a proposed leave policy extension for 2021 in relation to COVID-19, staff’s recommendation is based on the MDH and CDC guidelines for quarantine and isolation. The attached policy and COVID Preparedness Plan reflect granting each employee 80 hours of COVID leave to be used in 2021, the 2020 COVID leave was not a bank of hours and will not be carried forward if unused by an employee. The attached does not include extended provisions for the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act as this is a federal program that has yet to be continued, we will work with staffing schedules to best accommodate employees impacted by closed school and daycares.
The following considerations were also taken into account:
• Efforts to limit the spread of the virus
• If employees have the security of work at home options when possible or have paid leave, they are much more likely to stay home if ill, exhibiting symptoms, or have been exposed to the virus
• Ability to continue providing essential services by maximizing the number of healthy employees able to report to work or work from home
• A simplified leave bank approach limits the amount of staff time spent on administering and managing various leave banks and policies during a time of local emergency
• During a very stressful time for employees at home and at work, this approach demonstrates that the employer places high value on the health and wellbeing of our employees and their families
Recommendation
By motion, approve the 2021 employee leave policy in relation to COVID-19.