County Discusses COVID Leave Guidelines

The Johnson County Commissioners, department heads and elected officials discussed guidelines for dealing with COVID-19 related leave for employees.

The question was asked if an employee is suspected of having COVID symptoms and is asked to stay home to protect fellow employees in their departments, is it fair to have them use sick time while out.

Some department heads were against having the employees use sick time, while others felt that is what it should be used for.

If someone has COVID, there is Federal funding to pay their salaries when out through the recently-enacted CARES Act.

One problem discussed was how the county will classify those hours employees are out with suspected COVID symptoms, as there isn’t a payroll code for that at this time.

After a lengthy discussion, Commission Chair Bill Novotny suggested a plan to try to tackle the issue.

The discussion on the matter is expected to continue at the commission’s next meeting.