(2/11) The Taneytown City Council approved at their February meeting an amendment to the employee handbook which addresses employee crises-related leave time policies – generated as a result of the various issues relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
City Manager James Wieprecht noted at the council’s February workshop… the need for the handbook amendment, "With the current state-of-emergency related to the pandemic, we have had primarily - issues that are not really addressed in the handbook or the personnel manual.
Wieprecht said that responding to the pandemic resulted in changes to workhours, use of administrative leave as the result of having employees stay home during what would have been workdays, "and things that really were not anticipated prior to the pandemic," including the ability of employees to take leave, coverage-scheduling, and creating different shifts for people to maintain social distancing in the offices.
The amendment to the handbook puts in place, as a policy … some of the things that the town staff found it had to do to respond to the pandemic, he said, adding that the amendment would also be applicable to any emergency such as a weather-related emergency.
The development of the policies was the result of concerns expressed by Councilwoman Diane Foster, who over the course of several meetings had questioned the manner in which unused benefit time had been allowed to accrue during the pandemic when essential employees could not use earned days-off.
Councilwoman Foster previously stated that there had never been a provision in the existing employee handbook that provided any guidance regarding employee time-management during emergency situations and offered to help Wieprecht if he needed it - in the effort to produce an amendment to the employees’ handbook.
The conversation concerning the need for crises-related benefit policies stemmed from the city having to reimburse the police and city manager towards the end of 2020 for accrued leave-time that they were unable to use during the course of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while being employed as essential employees.
The council also discussed at the February workshop - the need to concisely state in the town charter or code that the mayor has the authority to declare a state-of-emergency, and that the council would have the authority regarding any proposed extension of such a declaration.
The handbook amendment was passed unanimously by the board.
