Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Franklin County votes to continue FFCRA-era paid leave for qualifying employees until March, defers first-responder restoration request
Summary
After debate the commission voted 12-3 to continue the county's prior FFCRA paid-leave practice (with first responders added) through the March meeting; a separate motion to restore 80 hours for some first responders was tabled for lack of a second.
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 19 debated whether to revert to the county's pre-FFCRA employee leave policy or continue the leave practices the county had been using while the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was in effect.
A motion by Commissioner David Eldridge to return to the county's original pre-FFCRA plan failed by roll call vote 2-13. Commissioner Greg King then moved to continue the FFCRA leave practice (as the county had implemented it before FFCRA expired Dec. 31, 2020) and to extend coverage to include first responders, dispatch and Emergency Management employees until the March county commission meeting, when the matter will be re-evaluated. That motion passed by roll call vote 12-3.
King also moved to restore 80 hours of leave to first responders, dispatch, EMA or sheriff department employees who were not included in FFCRA and had COVID-related quarantines in 2020; that motion received no second and was tabled until the March meeting.
At the Finance Committee earlier (Jan. 5), Finance Director Andrea Smith briefed the committee on federal changes and the county's practice; the committee asked the HIRW Committee to research other counties' approaches and report back in March. The commission's action preserves the county's existing COVID-leave practice in the short term and directs further study before a final change.
