Summary
To: Town Commission
From: Stefan Massol, Director of Support Services
Date: 6/15/2021
______________________________________________________________________
Subject:
Title
COVID-19 Leave Accruals
Summary:
Town Commission and staff will discuss options for leave accrual policies stemming from COVID-19.
End
Body
Background/Problem Discussion: Beginning July 2020 Town Commission approved four weeks of annual leave for full-time employees to be used in cases where they are unable to work. Those situations included where mandatory quarantine and/or illness would make it impossible for employees to effectively perform their duties. That policy is set to replenish COVID Wellness Leave banks for the following fiscal year, however given the wide availability of effective vaccines it is staff’s recommendation that these leave balances be eliminated as of the end of this month. These balances do not have a cash value, therefore no payout of unused leave would be necessary.
Additionally, early on the Town asked employees to avoid crowds and not to travel to states with a high positivity rate. This was a mitigation strategy to help reduce risk of contracting and spreading the virus to coworkers as many of our departments operate with limited staff whose work cannot be performed remotely. In conjunction with this request, the Town temporarily increased the maximum vacation accrual balance from 240 hours to 360 hours for employees. As we look to bring the maximum accrual rate back to the pre-pandemic level. Currently, the Town allows employees to buy-back sick leaves once each year as long as the balance is not brought below 80 hours. A similar approach could be used for Vacation leaves, where employees are required to buy-back so their balance is below 240 hours and cannot go below 80 hours.
Overall, this issue affects 15 employees, six of which are contractual. Of this group, there are currently seven (7) employees who have an excess of 320 hours, and additional eight (8) who have accruals in excess of 240.
Financial Implications: Financial implications are mixed. The elimination of COVID Wellness Leaves will mean that moving forward any COVID-related leaves would be a reduction of sick leave. The cost of allowing a buy-back of vacation would depend on participation, but would ultimately reduce the long-term future liability. Total liability for vacation balances as of September 30, 2020 was about $238,000 for General Fund and $39,000 for Water and Solid Waste Funds. A conversion might be an eligible use of ARPA funding, however we are not certain at this time. Below is a chart of the total exposure should all eligible employees participate, though it is expected some will use their time.
|
Number of Hours |
Total Cost inclusive of Taxes and Deductions |
|
Reduction to 240 hours |
$55,800 |
|
Reduction to 200 hours |
$82,785 |
|
Reduction to 160 hours |
$117,557 |
Recommendation: Eliminate COVID Wellness Leave as of July. Of course a blend of buyback and use of time is likely to be the best option. We could set a longer expiration to allow employees to taper their time down to below their contractual limits. Most of the affected employees are contractual or single function employees so scheduling significant time off often proves difficult. There are many different options available, so staff wanted to have a dialogue with commission as to preference.
Proposed Motion: N/A will likely change based on conversation.