HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - February 3, 2021 C-13AGENDA ITEM
CITY OF LODI
t A
COUNCI L COMMUNICA.TION
AGENDA TITLE: Adopt Resolution Approving Additional Paid COVID Leave for Employees who are
Experiencing Multiple Quarantine Events or Extended Absence from Work due to
COVID-19 Related Illness
MEETING DATE: February 3, 2021
C-13
SUBMITTED BY: Human Resources Manager
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt resolution approving additional paid COVID leave for
employees who are experiencing multiple quarantine events or
extended absence from work due to COVID-19 related illness.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law H.R.
6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA),
effective April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. Contained within
FFCRA is the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the
Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.
The EPSLA required employers to provide two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave to employees
who are unable to work, or telework, based on qualifying events. The EPSLA expanded the Family and
Medical Leave Act to provide for paid leave for qualifying events. At that time, the City precluded many
classifications from the FFCRA and the EPSLA because of their designation as an emergency responder.
On April 15, 2020, Council approved Resolution 2020-76, that provided two weeks of paid leave for
employees to use, similar to what was required under the FFCRA, for qualifying absences related to
COVID-19. The FFCRA and the EPSLA expired on December 31, 2020; however, the pandemic
continues into 2021.
Many City employees have experienced multiple quarantine periods and several employees have
experienced lengthy absences from work, subsequently exhausting the COVID-19 paid leave provided
by the City. Employees have used their personal leave accruals to keep them in a paid status, or entered
into an unpaid leave status, while complying with the prescribed quarantine periods after exposure to
COVID-19 or when experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. We thank the employees for complying with
these requirements and minimizing the spread of this disease.
The City is comprised of numerous classifications that are directly essential to protecting the health and
safety of the Lodi community, to preserving the quality of life within the community and to supporting the
work of those who engage in delivering these services. As a smaller agency with limited staff, a COVID-
19 workplace exposure could easily put delivery of service at risk. As such, it is critical that the City
maintain policies that encourage employees to take every precaution possible to avoid bringing COVID-
19 into the workplace. For example, if a COVID-19 positive firefighter were to be on shift during a house
fire, it is possible that more than 1/3 of the City's employed firefighting staff plus additional fire
administrative staff could be exposed to COVID-19 and need to quarantine. This would devastate
operations and put the remaining firefighters and possibly Lodi residents at greater risk. This is just one
APPROVED:
Step en Schwabaue , Manager
of numerous examples were one exposure could jeopardize critical operations within the City.
The City Manager wishes to extend additional paid leave to employees who have exhausted the bank of
COVID leave that was previously extended to them. The leave would be provided on a case-by-case
basis, and would be provided following an additional confirmed quarantine period or medical leave related
to COVID-19. Human Resources and Risk Management staff will coordinate with individual employees
and provide only those hours needed to cover their COVID-19 related absence. Human Resources will
monitor the additional leave hours provided to employees and ensure that any misuse will be addressed
within progressive discipline practices. It is anticipated that additional leave will not exceed eighty (80)
hours for impacted employees; however, on occasion it may exceed that amount.
Employees have complied with the quarantine periods and are following safety practices implemented
by the City, reporting COVID-19 exposures and symptoms through the Company Nurse reporting
program rolled out City-wide. As COVID-19 continues into 2021, the City wants to ensure employees
continue to follow these safety practices and will not have to make the difficult financial decision to stay
at home and quarantine, or return to work and expose other staff when they have exhausted their paid
leave. Providing this additional paid leave will alleviate the employee from coming to work when they are
sick and will provide them necessary paid leave.
FISCAL IMPACT: The costs associated with this leave extension are unknown at
this time. The City will be extending additional paid leave which will allow
employees to keep their other accrued leave balances whole without penalty.
The primary impact is in lost labor hours due to this additional time off.
However, there will likely be offsetting benefits of reduced time off due to
employees having the confidence to remain out when needed without
penalty to them. This keeps other employees from getting exposed and
possibly infected by COVID-19. Given the minimal application of this benefit
extension, staff finds it is overall in the best interest fiscally to the City to
avoid additional COVID-19 exposure and subsequent absences.
FUNDING AVAILABLE: To the extent there are costs within this new benefit, those costs will be
absorbed in appropriations in each departmental budget for FY 2020/21.
Adele Post
Adele Post, Human Resources Manager
Andrew Keys
Andrew Keys, Deputy City Manager/Internal Services Director
Signature:
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Signature:
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Email:
apost@lodi.gov
Email:
akeys@todi.gov
RESOLUTION NO. 2021-31
A RESOLUTION OF THE LODI CITY COUNCIL RATIFYING THE
CITY MANAGER'S DECISION TO GRANT ADDITIONAL COVID-19
SPECIFIC LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES WHO ARE EXPERIENCING
MULTIPLE MANDATED QUARANTINE PERIODS OR EXTENDED
ABSENCES DUE TO COVID-19 RELATED ILLNESS
WHEREAS, on April 15, 2020, Council ratified the City Manager's decision to grant a
two-week COVID-19 specific leave bank to all employees (Resolution No. 2020-76), similar to
what was required under the Families First Corona Virus Response Act (HR 6201), that
provided emergency paid sick leave benefits for eligible employees and expanded the Family
Medical Leave Act; and
WHEREAS, the law expired on December 31, 2020; however, the Coronavirus
Pandemic continues in 2021 and more employees are being impacted by the virus; and
WHEREAS, many City employees have experienced multiple quarantine periods or
have extended illnesses that have exhausted the two-week leave provided to them in April
2020; and
WHEREAS, in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, it is essential for
employees to continue to follow guidance from the Center for Disease Control, California
Department of Public Health and San Joaquin County Department of Public Health Services
and quarantine when they have been exposed to COVID-19 or if they are symptomatic; and
WHEREAS, providing additional paid leave for COVID-19 related absences will ensure
employees continue to follow mandated safety practices and will not suffer financial
consequences for doing so; and
WHEREAS, it is anticipated that additional leave will not exceed eighty (80) hours for
impacted employees; however, on occasion it may exceed that amount; and
WHEREAS, to date there have been six (6) employees who have received additional
paid leave because they have been required to quarantine beyond the original eighty (80) hour
leave bank and there are approximately ten (10) employees who exhausted their COVID-19
bank and used their personal leave accruals to stay in a paid status; and
WHEREAS, no additional hours will be granted to employees who are not required to
quarantine due to COVID-19 beyond the previously granted COVID-19 specific leave bank; and
WHEREAS, the City Manager has granted additional paid leave to employees who have
exhausted their COVID-19 leave and are required to be off work for additional quarantine
periods or for COVID-19 illness, up to eighty (80) hours or an amount that covers the
employee's absence due to confirmed COVID-19 exposure or illness.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Lodi City Council does hereby ratify
the City Manager's decision to grant additional paid leave to employees who have exhausted
their COVID-19 leave and are required to be off work for additional quarantine periods or for
COVID-19 illness and to exchange personal leave used with additional COVID-19 leave for the
ten employees that used their personal leave after exhausting their COVID-19 leave.
Dated: February 3, 2021
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I hereby certify that Resolution No. 2021-31 was passed and adopted by the Lodi City
Council in a regular meeting held February 3, 2021 by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — Chandler, Hothi, Khan, Kuehne, and
Mayor Nakanishi
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS — None
J NNIF CUSMIR
City Clerk
2021-31