SUPPLEMENTAL PAID SICK LEAVE(SPSL OR RCP) BEGINNING 2/15/23
On February 3, the Department sent out EA-60 dealing with updated leave guidance for Covid-19 related activities. Of particular concern to our members is the paragraph near the bottom of the first page stating that “effective January 1, 2023, employees who are unable to work or telework due to exposure, symptoms, or diagnosis related to covid-19, are no longer eligible to apply for SPSL and may utilize their own benefit time to cover any absences. Employees may also consider filing for workers' compensation by contacting the Department’s Disability Management and Compliance Section”.
Covid-19 is a rebuttable presumptive for our department members, which means that it is a worker’s compensation injury. There is no need to “consider” filing, you should file. Certain parameters must be met for the worker’s comp claim to be accepted. Both labor and management have a vested interest, as we all should, in keeping workers comp costs down. However, all of our members deserve the right to have all of the correct information. This EA, by its wording, appears to be an attempt not to make our members aware of their rights and not to file a worker’s comp claim or have the claim denied because parameters were not met, which would lead to a denial of the claim.
If this is a workplace exposure, a claim can be submitted through the e-filing system found on the Department’s Intranet.
- You test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days after a day that you worked.
- Provide proof of a COVID-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) Test showing a positive result.
- File a workers comp form 381 off of the Department’s intranet.
Another factor in the evaluation of accepting a COVID-19 claim as industrial-related includes, but is not limited to, the incubation period of COVID-19.
Please keep in mind that your test MUST be a PCR test not a rapid home test. If your only positive test is the rapid home test, your claim will be denied. It’s as simple as what is outlined above. Your time will be reimbursed if you follow the steps above and your claim is accepted.
These are our rights as frontline workers and we deserve to have this information from our management for the outstanding job that we do, day in and day out, protecting the communities and the citizens we serve. We should all be concerned that management wasn’t forthcoming with this simple information. Trying to cut costs at the expense of our members is not indicative of leadership that is caring for the workforce.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call any director or any member of the executive staff.
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