COVID SICK LEAVE & PROFIT-SHARING UPDATE
Dear Members:
Thanks to research by a Guild member, the Company has become aware of a City of Philadelphia ordinance on COVID that potentially impacts all of you. The policy, effective March 9, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2023, requires employers with 25 or more employees to provide up to 40 hours of ADDITIONAL paid sick time to employees unable to work because of COVID-19.
The precise language of that ordinance is below.
The Company has already restored sick time to employees eligible for this relief who had been docked sick time from their allotted bank.
Please be aware the city’s action did not take effect until March 9 of this year. There is no indication that this special relief is retroactive to the start of COVID in early 2020.
If you were docked sick days for COVID since March 9, 2022, and do not see it restored in your bank, let your supervisor know. If it remains unaddressed, please let us know.
The Company has added a code to Kronos so it can track the days referred to in the city policy as COVID sick time and ensure they will not count toward your Company paid sick time.
In another update, those Guild members who have been employed at The Inquirer since Jan. 1, 2021 and worked at least 13 weeks at The Inquirer in 2021 will receive their profit-sharing allotment by Friday.
If you do not receive it, let us know. As we have stated in earlier bulletins, the full pre-tax amount is $4,668.35, but will be prorated for part-time employees and those who worked at least 13 weeks but not a full 52 weeks in 2021.
We continue to meet with the Company and review their calculations because it is our belief that possibly more money is owed to Guild members. We will keep you updated on that.
Again, here’s that full city COVID sick leave policy below. And thank you to the Guild member who brought it to our attention.
As always, reply to this bulletin with any questions.
In solidarity,
Diane Mastrull, president
Bill Ross, executive director
COVID-19
Leave
Starting March 9, 2022 until December 31, 2023, employers with 25 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of additional paid sick leave to eligible employees when they are unable to work for certain COVID-19 reasons, including:
- Care for self or family member showing symptoms of COVID-19.
- Care for self or family member exposed to COVID-19 in order to self isolate.
- Childcare or school closure.
- In order to receive a COVID-19 test, vaccine or recover from injury, disability or illness related to vaccination.
- This paid sick leave must be provided outside of and prior to using the eligible employee’s existing accrued paid time off banks including for full time employees, part time employees, and union employees. COVID-19 leave must be provided to employees immediately with no waiting period. An employer is permitted only to request that an employee submit a self-certified statement asserting that leave was used for COVID-19 Leave purposes.
