Union County institutes emergency leave policies in response to coronavirus

The Union County Quorum Court held their regular meeting yesterday, voting unanimously to approve an emergency ordinance instituting new leave policies throughout the period of the public health emergency declared by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Any employees placed in quarantine by their doctor or an elected official will be paid for the duration of the quarantine up to 14 days. The paid time off will not affect the employees’ banked paid leave time. Employees must provide a note from their doctor if the doctor is the one that imposes the quarantine on them.

According to the ordinance, elected officials may order an employee to quarantine themselves based on COVID-19 risk factors as determined by the United States Centers for Disease Control, “fact-specific information related to travel locations or high-risk transmission settings” or personal contact with someone who has a presumed positive case of the virus.

Employees that are diagnosed with COVID-19 will be paid for up to 14 days from the date of their diagnosis as stated by a physician, or until they are medically released to return to work. They will be paid through the duration of their illness and it will not be taken from their banked leave time.

Those employees that do not qualify for any of the above but who have a school-aged child whose school has closed or has been placed under a mandatory quarantine may take time off to stay with their child without facing disciplinary action due to their attendance.

Those that do choose to stay home with their children must use their banked leave time for this purpose, including sick leave, vacation leave, comp time and personal time off. Once that time has been exhausted, those employees may accrue a deficit paid time off balance to “the extent necessary,” the ordinance says.

If an employee chooses to take time off for reasons other than those above, they will be subject to regular leave time rules as outlined in the county’s personnel manual. The ordinance went into effect immediately due to an emergency clause.

County Coroner Stormey Primm noted that with Wednesday’s passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, time off guidelines from the federal government will supersede the county’s ordinance.

The Families First Act, according to the National Law Review, has provisions for all employers with fewer than 500 employees but more than 50 employees; Union County has 144, according to an insurance document provided at the meeting.

Per the Families First Act, fulltime employees may take leave for the following reasons: if they are subject to a quarantine order from federal, state or local officials; if they have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine; if they are experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus and are waiting on diagnosis; if they are caring for an individual under quarantine; or if they are caring for a child due to school closures.

Pay will be at an employee’s usual rate if they take leave due to a diagnosis or quarantine order; for other qualifying reasons, employees will receive two-thirds their usual pay rate, with a cap of $511 per day. The rules apply for 30 days following passage.

“It’s changing day to day,” District 6 Justice of the Peace Cecil Polk said.

“[Hospital officials said yesterday], they have no cases of it at the hospital,” Loftin added. “They are doing some testing; they are able to test now, but there are no positive cases that we know of.”

District 5 JP Carolyn Jones, District 8 JP Will Crowder and District 9 JP Benny Vestal were not in attendance at yesterday’s meeting.