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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-34 - Res. Adding Title 2 Health Emergency and Major Disaster Leave Sharing Plan RESOLUTION NO. �a'D-�� RESOLUTION ADDING A CHAPTER TO THE MASON COUNTY CODE TITLE 2 ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL ADOPTING THE MASON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY&MA30R DISASTER LEAVE-SHARING PLAN FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WHEREAS,to provide guidance and establish procedures in the event a pandemic illness or public health emergency is expected to occur, or currently is taking place, which may affect the operations of Mason County and%or pose a risk to the health or safety of staff and the community at large the Mason County Public Health Emergency& Major Disaster Leave-Sharing Plan for County Employees is hereby presented for adoption; WHEREAS, Proclamation 20-25 STAY HOME—STAY HEALTHY was adopted by the Washington State Governor on March 23, 2020 proclaiming a State of Emergency for all counties throughout the state of Washington as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States and confirmed person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Washington State; NOW,THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of Mason County to amend Mason County Code Title 2 Administration and Personnel adding the Mason County Public Health Emergency& Major Disaster Leave-Sharing Plan for County Employees (attachment A). ADOPTED this 21't day of April, 2020. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MASON COUNTY,,WASHINGTON ATTE Sharon Tra , Meliss wry, Clerk.6f the Board Fkap(dyIN4therlin, Commissioner APPROVED AS TO FORM: Kevin Shutt , Commissioner Tim Whitehead Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney J:\RESOLUTIONS&ORDINANCES\RESOLUTIONS-ORDINANCES Word Files\2020\Public Health Emergency Major Disaster Leave Sharing Plan.doc Attachment A ,fin ,, Mason County Public Health Emergency & Major Disaster Leave- Sharing Plan for County Employees, Policies and Procedures I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance and establish procedures in the event a pandemic illness, public health emergency or major disaster is expected to occur, or currently is taking place, which may affect the operations of Mason County and/or pose a risk to the health or safety of staff and the community at large. This policy provides procedures for the Public Health Emergency Major Disaster Leave- .Sharing Plan only and shall not be considered for any other medical or family emergency as described in the Mason County Personnel Manual. The provisions within this policy provide additional benefits beyond those which are prescribed by current Mason County Policy, current Collective Bargaining Agreements, Washington State and Federal Law. The provisions within this policy do not create or permit any adverse employment actions beyond those which are prescribed by current Mason County Policy, current Collective Bargaining Agreements, Washington State and Federal Laws. Furthermore, these Policies and Procedures are only in effect until the Declaration of Emergency ends. No actions available in this Policy will survive the end date of the Declaration of Emergency or Disaster. II. SCOPE: This policy applies to all Mason County Departments, Elected Offices and employees. III. DEFINITIONS: A. Major Disaster: a. A major disaster as declared by the President under §401 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.0 §5170, that warrants individual assistance or individual and public assistance from the federal government under the Act, b. A major disaster or emergency as declared by the President pursuant to 5 U.S.0 § 6391, in the case of employees described in the statute B. Pandemic: an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population C. Pandemic & Major Disaster Leave-Sharing Plan: means a plan that meets the requirements of IRS Notice 2006-59, for a pool of donated leave which allows an employee to receive donated leave from another employee(s). Page 1 of 5 D. Leave Donor: A current employee whose voluntary written request to deposit leave in a leave bank under a major disaster leave-sharing plan. E. Leave recipient: A current employee for whom the employer has approved an application to receive leave under a major disaster leave-sharing plan. F. Family member: Any family member as defined by RCW 49.46.210. IV. REFERENCES: A. RCW 7.05 —Local Health Departments B. RCW 7.08 — Combined County-County Health Departments C. RCW 70.26— Pandemic Influenza Preparedness D. RCW 38.52.070 — Emergency Powers E. RCW 49.46.210 — Paid Sick Leave F. RCW 36.16.100 — Offices to be open certain days and hours G. RCW 49.46.210 — Paid Sick Leave "Family Member" defined H. RCW 41.04.665 — Leave-Sharing Program I. WAC 296-128-710 — Shared Leave J. Mason County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan K. Mason County Personnel Policies Specifically Sec 4.5 L. Washington Department of Health:doh.wa.gov M. HR6201- Emergency Family & Medical Leave Expansion Act N. Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) O. IRS Revenue Ruling 90-29 P. IRS Notice 2006-59 V. POLICY: Effective the date of the Declaration of Emergency by the President of the United States on March 13, 2020, it will be the policy of Mason County to take all appropriate measures needed to address a major disaster or a pandemic and protect public health. Protecting the community and County staff is a top priority and this policy establishes guidance on the use of Paid Leave-Sharing for County employees. VI. PROCEDURES: The following procedures are established to minimize disease exposure and maintain County operations in the event that a major disaster or a pandemic becomes a threat to the health or safety of County employees, their families, and the community at large. A. General Tax Rule: donating leave under an employer-sponsored leave- sharing program is treated as an assignment of income that is taxable to the employee who is donating the leave and is subject to income tax and employment tax withholding. B. Leave-Sharing for Medical & Disaster Emergencies Tax Rule: According to the IRS (Rev. Ruling 90-29) a leave-sharing program that allows donated leave to be used only for medical emergencies results in taxation to the leave recipients and not to the leave donors. The donated leave must be used for Page 2 of 5 purposes related to the medical disaster. C. Duration of Leave-Sharing Pool: Donated leave shall only be available for 90 days after the termination of the Declaration of Medical Emergency. D. Donating Leave: For the purpose of this policy only, an employee has the option to donate accrued sick leave and/or other accrued leave to the Donated Leave Pool. a. No employee may transfer annual leave hours to the pool if such transfer would leave the transferring employee with less than eighty (80) hours of credited annual leave. b. No employee may transfer accumulated sick leave to the pool if such transfer leaves the transferring employee with less than one hundred twenty (120) hours of credited sick leave. c. The amount of leave donated cannot exceed the maximum amount of leave that an employee normally accrues during the year. d. Employees may not donate leave to a specific recipient. e. Donated hours will be converted to cash value in the Leave-Sharing Pool. f. Employees donating leave paid for via a Federal Grant cannot donate leave into this program. g. Employees that meet these requirements may donate to the Leave- Sharing Pool via the form attached. E. Receiving Donated Leave: To receive donated leave an employee must satisfy qualifications a. —f. below and qualifying criteria in Sec E, a. —f. below and submit their request in writing (form attached) describing the medical emergency. Approved requests will be forwarded to Human Resources for administration and subsequently to Payroll for processing. a. An employee who needs leave that is related to the Public Health Disaster and is likely to cause the employee to go into a leave without pay status. b. The employee has less than 40 hours of combined sick and annual leave accrued as of the previous month. c. Employees receiving donated leave shall not receive more than eighty (80) hours per approved request from the Leave-Sharing Pool. An employee may submit more than one request, however each subsequent request will be met only if there are donated hours leftover after all other first requests of employees are met. Page 3 of 5 d. Employees receiving donated leave shall continue to accrue annual and sick leave at the same rate as if the employee were in a paid leave status. e. Employees receiving donated leave shall receive leave at his or her normal rate of pay. f. Employees may not cash out Shared Sick Leave in lieu of using Shared Sick Leave or upon termination or retirement, from this Leave-Sharing Pool. F. Qualifying Event: To be eligible to receive donated leave an employee must satisfy one of the following criteria: a. Quarantined or Isolated: When quarantine or isolation of an employee is ordered by State or County .Health Officials due to a pandemic illness. Employees must not return to work until they have been free of illness symptoms (fever, temperature above 98.6°, chills, sore throat, etc.) for at least 72 hours (or any longer applicable incubation period determined by the appropriate health authority) or are deemed no longer infectious by a medical professional. Documents may be required. b. Advised by health care provider to self-quarantine due to illness concerns: Employees who have an illness or are experiencing flu-like symptoms(as then-defined by the applicable health authorities), are prohibited from coming to work and are encouraged to consult their physician. Employees must not return to work until they have been free of illness symptoms (fever, temperature above 98.60, chills, sore throat, etc.) for at least 72 hours (or any longer applicable incubation period determined by the health authority) or are deemed no longer infectious by a medical professional. Documents may be required. c. Experiencing pandemic symptoms and seek medical attention: Employees reporting to work who exhibit symptoms of an illness will be sent home and encouraged to consult their physician. Employees must not return to work until they have been free of illness symptoms (fever, temperature above 98.6°, chills, sore throat, etc.) for at least 72 hours (or any longer applicable incubation period determined by the appropriate health authority) or are deemed no longer infectious by a medical professional. Documents may be required. d. Caring for an individual "immediate family member" subject to quarantine, isolation or self-quarantine: If the illness of an employee's "immediate family member" interferes with reporting to work in a timely manner, the employee is responsible for notifying their supervisor pursuant to the provisions of the Personnel Policies or applicable collective bargaining agreement. Employees must not return to work until their family members have Page 4 of 5 been free of illness symptoms (fever, temperature above 98.6°, chills, sore throat, etc.) for at least 72 hours (or any longer applicable incubation period determined by the appropriate health authority) or are deemed no longer infectious by a medical professional. Documents may be required. e. Child Care: If the school or place of care of an employee's child or dependent is closed due to pandemic, and the employee must provide care for the child or dependent. Documents may be required. f. Major Disaster: If an employee has been adversely affected by a major disaster if the employee or a family member of the employee has experienced severe hardship that requires the employee to be absent from work. G. Distribution of Donated Leave: Shall be distributed via a Leave-Sharing Board to be a size determined and appointed by the Board. of County Commissioners. H. Value of Leave: Donated hours will be valued in the Leave-Sharing Pool at the cash equivalent of the hourly salary of the donating employee. I. Conversion to cash: Donated leave is not eligible for cash out under any circumstance. J. Treatment of Remaining Leave: If more leave is donated than is used, the hours of leave that remain shall be returned to the employee(s) donating the leave on a pro rata basis in proportion to their contribution of value Page 5 of 5