Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Policy Emergency Leave topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves illness and quarantine leave for emergency personnel to comply with state law
Summary
The town council approved an ordinance adding illness/injury leave for emergency personnel and a quarantine leave policy after staff and legal counsel said state law requires municipalities with police or fire departments to adopt such a policy.
The town council voted to amend chapter 8 of the town's personnel policies by adding section 8.16, illness or injury leave for emergency personnel, and section 8.17, a quarantine leave policy. The measure passed following discussion and a unanimous voice vote.
Town attorney advised the council that the quarantine requirement for COVID-related leave was adopted by state law in 2021 and that municipalities with police or fire departments are required to have a policy. "The quarantine with regard to COVID, was adopted in 2021, and it required all municipalities that had a police or fire department to have this policy," the town attorney said, adding that the council should apply the policy now and that the state law had already been in place since 2021.
Council members discussed whether the new leave should be applied retroactively after several first responders had used sick or vacation leave while absent for COVID; one council member asked whether the town could "go back and credit those employees" and noted there were three employees affected. The town attorney recommended that, because the law was already in effect in 2021, the policy be applied to employees who were on leave during the past year.
Council members also asked about line-of-duty determinations and workers' compensation. One council member asked who determines whether an incident is "in the line of duty." The town attorney said that for first responders the condition is presumptive, citing attorney general opinions, and described a past example in which an officer who was on vacation and not yet on duty was not granted presumptive status. A council member asked whether COVID leave would be covered by workers' compensation; the town attorney said the statutory quarantine leave was intended as a faster alternative to the workers' compensation process.
A councilmember moved that the town "follow the state law," the motion was seconded, and the council approved the ordinance by affirmative voice vote. The council did not specify the ordinance's effective date in the discussion; counsel recommended that the policy be made applicable to employees who used leave during the past year, but the transcript did not include a formal written effective date.
