5.2 ERMUSR 01-12-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: ERMU Commission Theresa Slominski General Manager MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: January 12, 2021 5.2 SUBJECT: COVID-19 Emergency Leaves ACTION REQUESTED: Approve the extension of emergency leaves of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act through March 31, 2021. BACKGROUND: Federal legislation passed into law provides mandated sick and family leave options for employees with COVID-19 related needs. This legislation is called the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (FFCRA) and was effective April 1, 2020 through December 31,2020. The Department of Labor formally announced that the emergency paid sick leave and paid family leave requirements of the FFCRA expired after December 31, 2020. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020, allows businesses that offer such benefits to continue doing so through March 31, 2021. However, the new law does not require these benefits to be offered. (Some businesses qualify for payroll tax credits to offset these costs, which was also extended. There was a prohibition to governmental entities claiming these payroll tax credits, and that prohibition still applies.) DISCUSSION: Elk River Municipal Utilities has been operating in safe mode for much of the pandemic, with staff operating remotely where able as coordinated by their supervisors, and staggered starts and lunches for those who are not able to work remotely. Our offices and facilities are still closed to the public, except by appointment. This allows our employees to have meaningful work, provide for their families, and still be safe. We have had some staff who have needed to utilize the emergency sick leave when quarantining, or the emergency family leave when needing to be with their children who are remote learning at home. If we were to extend the emergency leaves through March 31, 2021, we would not be adding available days for employees, only allowing them to utilize days not already used. For example, if they have already used 10 days of the emergency sick leave in 2020, they would not have any days available in 2021. If they used 4 days of emergency sick leave in 2020, they would have 6 days left to use in 2021. The same utilization applies for the emergency family leave. ______________________________________________________________________________ Page 1 of 2 94