Council tables opting out of emergency sick leave act

At the end of an hour-long discussion during a zoom teleconference on April 13, the Belleville City Council voted unanimously to table a proposal to opt out of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act for police officers and fire fighters.
The special meeting was called by interim city manager Tracey Schultz Kobylarz who said city attorney Steve Hitchcock told her if the city doesn’t opt out of the paid leave entitlements under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, it will be considered as opting in.
She said the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act poses a severe threat to the health of the public by creating critically low staffing levels for the police department and fire department.
Kobylarz said most of the municipalities in Wayne County have opted out and the only one not out is City of Dearborn.
Mayor Kerreen Conley said Northville or Northville Township are not out and neither is Dearborn Heights.
Councilman Ken Voigt said Van Buren Township Fire Chief Dave McInally didn’t know anything about it.
Mayor Conley asked about Sumpter Township and Councilman Voigt said he talked to Public Safety Director Eric Luke and he didn’t know anything about it. Neither does Huron Township, Voigt added.
Under the Act, which is in effect through Dec. 31, there are six reasons employees are eligible for paid leave up to two weeks, including caring for an individual who is quarantined or seeking a medical diagnosis for COVID-19 and caring for his or her child whose school or place of care is closed or child-care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19.
If an officer or fire fighter gets COVID-19, that is covered under workman’s compensation, Mayor Conley said.
Councilwoman Kelly Bates asked who would cover the city if it is short and Mayor Conley said Belleville had mutual-aid agreements, but under the pandemic the number of calls tend to decrease.
Voigt reported Director Luke said Sumpter’s calls have gone down precipitiously, but give it a couple of weeks and the domestic disputes will go up with people forced to be living at home together for so long.
“We have not seen a reduction in calls,” said Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Marcotte, who works at the Northville Township Fire Department. “Our calls have gone up, for some reason.”
Kobylarz said she talked to Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara and he said the call level has decreased by at least 26% in Van Buren Township and the City of Belleville. Van Buren Township’s emergency dispatch also serves Belleville.
Kobylarz said the city doesn’t have a backup plan and would have to depend on mutual aid.
Belleville Police Chief Dave Robinson said the first week on the job he put together a plan. He said if his department of seven officers is down four, they would go to 12-hour shifts.
“If we get down to two officers, I’ve talked to Sumpter Township and Van Buren Township and the State Police and they would supplement us,” he said.
He said, actually, Monday was the first day all seven Belleville officers were on duty. He said previously one was off on sick leave and one was quarantined after traveling overseas.
Councilwoman Bates said the Family and Medical Leave Act has been expanded to include COVID-19.
At this point, Councilman Tom Fielder made the motion to approve opting out and Mayor Pro Tem Marcotte supported. Fielder said this was so the motion could be discussed.
Marcotte said he was not in favor of voting on this. He said it would discourage employees from taking care of a family member.
“We don’t have a lot of people and a contingency plan is better,” he said, adding opting out is asking a staff member to come to work if a family member is infected and then infect the rest of the staff.
“It’s important the staff knows we support them,” Marcotte said.
“The optics aren’t the greatest,” Voigt said. “It makes us look like we don’t support them.”
He said this wouldn’t affect a paid-on-call fire department much.
Voigt said if the city opts out, employees couldn’t get the 80 hours of pay through the Act, but could still get the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) pay on their own.
“It depends on what bucket it’s coming from,” Conley said.
“Is action required at this moment?” Fielder asked.
“According to Mr. Hitchcock, if we don’t act, we’re in,” Kobylarz said.
Voigt asked if they could wait and Kobylarz said, “If we wait until some person needs action … It’s better to act on it before waiting until somebody needs it.”
Marcotte said that the council has talked a lot about retention of officers and the council is at a point of not having offered hazard pay and this current issue is a net negative for retention.
Chief Robinson said his department has all protocols and plans in place and being in the same room as a COVID-19 positive doesn’t mean you can just go into quarantine. He said if you start having symptoms, you contact the hospital and follow their directions that this person needs to be quarantined.
“They could take off and I can’t afford to have two officers off for the next two weeks,” Chief Robinson said.
Fire Chief Brian Loranger asked if there wasn’t a rule that officers can’t take off for the Strawberry Festival and he was told it’s in their bargaining agreement.
“Can’t we do that?” he asked.
“No,” said Chief Robinson. He said he had one officer on sick leave and one in quarantine from a trip and he finally has those two back. He said it was difficult to have double coverage from 8 to 4 and it was hard on the officers.
“I’d like more information on this,” Voigt said. “I’d be in favor of tabling… I don’t have a problem with opting out as long as we have a way of helping officers with COVId-19.”
Marcotte said there are gray areas and he would rather not vote that evening and wait to see if they can work out something.
Chief Loranger said the fire department has a lost-wage rider on its insurance and “a couple of times it has gone unpaid and I would like to see that [coverage] continue.”
Kobylarz said the city has Provident Insurance with Burnam Flower and she just was able to get a copy of it.
Chief Robinson said sick duty is under worker’s comp even though the officer could have got infected on the job or in the grocery store on the way home.
“They need to know they’re taken care of if anything happens,” Mayor Conley said.
Kobylarz pointed to No. 5 on the Employee Rights list that said employees are entitled to two weeks off with pay in case the child-care center is closed and every one with a child would be affected because child-care centers are closed.
Mayor Conley said it affects all children under 18 and she thinks some should be able to take care of themselves at that age.
“We have several employees with children under the age of 18,” Kobylarz said.
Chief Loranger said there is only one on his department that has children under the age of 18.
“I have no problem opting out as long as we have some kind of plan to cover these folks,” Voigt said.
“If they are told by a doctor to quarantine, they’re covered,” Chief Robinson said.
Marcotte said the employee would have to choose whether to take care of the family or to get paid and everyone has bills to pay. If they come to work, they expose everyone, he said, noting some are asymptomatic while carrying the virus.
Chief Loranger said he was playing the devil’s advocate in pointing out fire fighters never get workman’s comp. Councilwoman Kelly Bates said the governor’s executive order says now it must cover that.
“It’s different when you’re in the line of duty,” said Mayor Conley. “You’re made whole.”
Marcotte said if the employees are made whole then the leave for family members could have a written agreement. He said he wouldn’t want all seven police officers leaving. Marcotte noted the executive order covers part-time fire fighters.
Chief Robinson said he has talked to all members of the police department and, “All members of the police department understand it. It’s crystal clear on how anybody would be taken care of.”
Mayor Conley said she wants to make sure they don’t have to worry about that and there should be something in writing to tell that to the groups.
Voigt asked how long it takes to get workman’s compensation and Mayor Conley said it usually isn’t long and the employee doesn’t go without being paid.
“That’s my experience as well,” Kobylarz said, adding, “What I’m hearing is that opting out is acceptable and you prefer we meet with the union to negotiate No. 4 and 5” on the Employee Rights list.
Voigt noted that the Department of Public Works employees also are essential personnel and should be included.
Councilman Fielder said there should be a document or letter that covers these issues and it be shared with all departments.
It could be a letter of agreement, Mayor Conley said. Or, a memorandum of understanding, Fielder said.
Kobylarz said it could say the city is paying for their workman’s compensation. She said the Employee Rights information was sent to all employees and is posted in the building.
Fielder said the city has to make sure it has adequate staff and to do everything it can to make the employees whole.
The previous motion to approve was amended to “table” the issue and that was seconded, and passed. The decision on opting out was put off until the April 20 virtual meeting when a memorandum of understanding would be available.