Commissioners pass extended Covid-19 leave until June 30, 2022.
WADESBORO — The Anson County Board of Commissioners approved an extension to the current COVID-19 sick leave policy for county employees at their October meeting, and denied a motion to provide incentives to encourage staff to get the vaccine.
Leave will be extended to June 30, 2022 following the vote. Any unused leave time by that point can be added to the employees’ regular sick leave account. Human Resources Director Katie Ingram provided a memo about the previous leave policy. Under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, employees were granted 80 hours of paid sick leave from April 1 – December 31, 2020. Then it was granted again from April 1 – September 30, 2021 (the latter leave policy granted time off after getting the doses of the vaccine as well).
This new leave policy has one caveat to be considered by the commissioners: whether only those who have been fully vaccinated can be eligible for the time off. The commissioners plan to discuss the caveat at a later date. They decided to “take action but define the terms [fully vaccinated] after,” according to County Attorney Scott Forbes.
Commissioner Lawrence Gatewood also proposed a vaccine incentive that would use the ARP funds to encourage people to get vaccinated. The interim Treasury guidelines state that the incentives are expected to increase the number of people getting vaccinated or motivate them to get vaccinated sooner, and the costs are proportional to the expected public health benefit. The total cost would be $500 each, possibly broken up into $250 installments, totaling $161,000 for all employees.
However, the commissioners did not pass the motion for the vaccination incentive.
“I oppose. We’re going to pay people to get a shot? I think they ought to go get a shot for their own welfare,” said Vice Chair Dr. Jim Sims. “If I have had a vaccination, and you don’t have one, then you can’t give [COVID-19] to me. So it’s really the unvaccinated people who need to protect themselves. It’s not protecting the people that are vaccinated because you can’t give it to me … well, except for rare exceptions.”
For more information on these updates, reach the commissioners at 704-994-3201 or Suite 205 in the Government Center at 101 S. Greene Street.
