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BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF JEFFERSON COUNTY,WASHINGTON
IN THE MATTER OF PREMIUM PAY )
FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES UNDER ) RESOLUTION NO. 66 91
THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN )
WHEREAS, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) disease is caused by a virus that spread easily
from person and may result in serious illness or death, and is classified by the World Health
Organization as a worldwide pandemic; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 has broadly spread throughout Washington State and remains a
significant health risk to the community, especially members of our most vulnerable populations;
and
WHEREAS,on February 29,2020,Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued proclamation
20-05, proclaiming a state of emergency for all counties throughout the state of Washington in
response to new cases of COVID-19, and directing state agencies to use all resources necessary
to prepare for and respond to the outbreak; and
WHEREAS,on March 16,2020,the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners approved
a Declaration of Emergency due to the COVID- 19 Pandemic; and
WHEREAS, On March 23, 2020, Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued Proclamation
20-25, a"Stay Home - Stay Healthy" order closing non-essential workplaces, requiring people to
stay home except to participate in essential activities or to provide essential business services,and
banning all gatherings for social, spiritual, and recreational purposes. This order was extended
multiple times. Under the "Stay Home- Stay Healthy" proclamation all County employees were
deemed"Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers"performing work to protect communities and
ensure continuity of functions critical to public health and safety as well as economic and national
security; and
WHEREAS, because Jefferson County offers essential services to the public, County
offices have remained in operation throughout the pandemic, requiring staff to serve the public
and working in congregate settings with myriad safety mitigations in place but still presenting risk
of viral transmission; and
WHEREAS, viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are
expected to occur over time. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been
documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic. (See
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html.); and
WHEREAS, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic there have been waves of increased
risk of transmission,requiring the ability to implement stricter mitigations and safety protocols as
recommended by public health officials; and
WHEREAS,on January 28,2021,the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)
reported that multiple COVID-19 variants are circulating globally. Scientists are working to learn
Resolution No: 6 6 21
Page 2 of 5
more about these variants to better understand how easily they might be transmitted and the
effectiveness of currently authorized vaccines against them; and
WHEREAS, on March 8, 2021, the CDC stated that preliminary evidence suggests that
the currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines may provide some protection against a variety of
strains.The CDC further stated,however,that the risks of COVID-19 infection in fully vaccinated
people cannot be completely eliminated as long as there is continued community transmission of
the virus; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Department of Health's COVID-19 vaccine timeline
made some County employees in Washington State eligible for vaccination starting on March 17,
2021 and all remaining County employees eligible starting on April 15, 2021; and
WHEREAS, according to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing
infection, serious illness,and death. Most people who get COVID-19 are unvaccinated. However,
since vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, some people who are fully
vaccinated will still get COVID-19. An infection of a fully vaccinated person is referred to as a
"vaccine breakthrough infection." (See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html); and
WHEREAS, after months of improving COVID-19 epidemiological conditions in
Washington State, the emergence of highly contagious COVID-19 variants, including the "delta
variant"that is at least twice as transmissible as the virus that emerged in late 2019, coupled with
the continued significant numbers of unvaccinated people, have caused COVID-19 cases and
hospitalizations to rise sharply among unvaccinated populations (See
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html) and have resulted in
breakthrough infections in some fully vaccinated individuals; and
WHEREAS, the Delta variant is currently the predominant variant in the United States
and Jefferson County (See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-
variant.html?s_cid=11516:delta%20variant%20corona%20vaccine:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:
FY21); and
WHEREAS, fully vaccinated people with Delta variant breakthrough infections can
spread the virus to others. (See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-
variant.html?s cid=11516:delta%20variant%20corona%20vaccine:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:
FY21; and
WHEREAS,while many County employees may now be vaccinated,the risks of COVID-
19 infection in fully vaccinated people cannot be completely eliminated as long as there is
continued community transmission, especially considering the presence of the Delta variant; and
WHEREAS,providing COVID-19 premium pay to eligible County workers for frontline
work that they continue to perform, for the citizens of Jefferson County during the COVID-19
emergency will promote job retention, compensate for the risks of working on the frontlines of a
global pandemic,improve financial ability to access resources for protecting themselves and their
families from catching or spreading the virus or coping with illness caused by the virus, and
support the access to government services for the greater community; and
Resolution No: 6 6 21
Page 3 of 5
WHEREAS, since March 2020, most County employees have been required to be on the
front lines ensuring citizen access to government services since the beginning of the pandemic
despite facing the danger of workplace exposure to COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, throughout the entirety of the COVID-19 emergency, citizens of Jefferson
County have been relying upon the work of County employees who face the risk of exposure to
COVID-19 to maintain government services; and
WHEREAS, most County employees do not work from home and come to work to
perform their jobs ,which can involve substantial interaction with customers and co-workers that
could potentially spread the virus. They are wearing masks, trying as much as possible to social
distance,performing safety protocols,and learning new skills to decrease transmission of the virus
to protect themselves and the public; and
WHEREAS,eligible County employees working during the COVID-19 emergency merit
premium pay because they are required to continue to perform duties involving additional risk of
exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Most County employees have been working under such
conditions since the beginning of the pandemic and the additional strain of continuing to perform
under these conditions is apparent; and
WHEREAS,on March 10,2021,the United States Congress passed the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA"), providing direct relief to units of local government through the
United States Department of Treasury; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Treasury has issued guidance for the allowable uses of
the direct relief funds, and one permissible use of ARPA funds is to provide premium pay to
eligible local government workers facing increased risk due to COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners acknowledges the value of
employees whose continued employment during this Coronavirus pandemic resulted in
continuous, excellent service to the community and performance of the added responsibilities
undertaken and the Board therefore desires to incentivize their retention as employees; and
WHEREAS, ensuring that eligible County employees are compensated for the risks of
working during the COVID-19 emergency incentivizes the retention of these vital workers, and
compensates them for the additional health and financial risks they expose themselves and their
families to by performing their essential duties. These incentives are particularly directed at
employees who have proven their value, courage and altruism by exposing themselves and their
families to financial and health risks during the pandemic; and
WHEREAS,the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners chooses to use funding under
the ARPA to provide premium pay to its essential employees for work they continue to perform
due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS,the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners will provide premium pay to
all eligible employees in Jefferson County, except Elected Officials and employees who do not
meet ARPA eligibility.
Resolution No: 6 6 21
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NOW THEREFORE BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED,
1. The following County employees are eligible for premium pay under the ARPA
funding:
a. Employed Jefferson Countyin a regular full, part-time or clerk hireposition,
by g
except County Commissioners.
b. Employed in theposition and assigned regular duties on November 8 2021.
g g
c. During employment is required by a supervisor or manager to perform job duties
on-site (as opposed to remote telework) that places the person in a position of
potential exposure to COVID-19. As used in this Resolution, a position of
potential exposure to COVID-19 means performing job duties in an on-site work
location where the employee must interact in person with members of the public
minutesintwenty-four 24 hour
for a cumulative total of at least fifteen (15) a ( )
period, or with co-workers that in the same day interacted with members of the
public for a cumulative total of at least fifteen (15) minutes in a twenty-four (24)
hour period.
2. Eligibility shall be conclusively determined by the Human Resources Director, in
consultation with an employee's supervising Department Head or Elected Official.
3. An eligible employee shall receive premium pay of $1000 for work completed
from the date of this resolution through the pay period ending December 31st, 2021. Any
employee working less than 40 hours per week will receive a proportionate amount based on
percentage of Full Time Equivalency (FTE).
SIGNATURES FOLLOW ON NEXT PAGE)
Resolution No: 6 6 21
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APPROVED this 0 day of NLX'Mbr,, 2021.
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
(,,
Kate De , air
reg Brotherton, Member
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Heidi Eisenhour, Member
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Carolyallaway,
Clerk of the Board