Employee leave changes were approved by the Washington County Board of Supervisors to align with the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act. At their meeting Tuesday, the board unanimously approved the changes for administrative leave.

Supervisor Chairman Jack Seward explained that changes were made in March to allow for full pay for administrative leave and now it is aligning with federal guidelines, “And just so everybody knows, Section 8 says should a situation arise that is inadequately addressed by the aforementioned guidelines, the employee’s department head, as well as the deputy auditor of human resources, the deputy auditor of payroll, and another uninvolved department head or member of the Washington County Board of Supervisors will jointly determine whether to grant the [employee’s request] for paid leave is reasonable and warranted. So, I think we’re okay.” Employees will receive two-third pay and can supplement the other third with sick leave, vacation time, or comp time.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides up to 80 hours of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay when an employee is quarantined due to COVID-19. It also states employees can receive two-thirds the regular rate of pay for up to 80 hours to care for an individual in quarantine, such as a parent taking care of a child. The Act also states that employees can have up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds pay where an employee is unable to work due to needing to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.