HomeMy Public PortalAbout048-2021-MEMO
DAVID M. SNOW
Mayor CITY OF RICHMOND ANDREW J. SICKMANN
DEPARTMENT OF LAW City Attorney
50 NORTH FIFTH STREET RICHMOND, INDIANA 47374 KIMBERLY A. VESSELS
PHONE (765) 983-7220 FAX (765) 983-7365 Assistant City Attorney
September 29, 2021
To: Richmond Common Council
From: Andrew J. Sickmann, City Attorney
Re: An Ordinance Amending the Salary Ordinances to Allow for Emergency Paid Sick Leave
Dear Council Members:
As many of you will recall, Council passed Ordinance 18-2020 which allows for “take home pay” under
certain circumstances. Ordinance 18-2020 amended the 2020 salary ordinances, which was a requirement
due to the fact that pay was being remitted to employees that weren’t actually working when required to
remain home for particular reasons associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thereafter, the federal
government passed the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act, which required covered employers to provide
eighty (80) hours of emergency paid sick leave to employees that were required to quarantine for a variety
of reasons. The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act mandate expired on December 31, 2020; however,
employers remained capable of providing such leave in exchange for tax credits through September 30,
2021. The City of Richmond continued to adhere to these provisions through September 30, 2021.
Now that the federal legislature has removed the provisions of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, the City
must determine whether it intends to continue to provide certain paid leave provisions relative to the COVID-
19 pandemic to its employees. If the City intends to provide such benefits, it will now need to amend the
2021 salary ordinances. Mayor Snow, HR Director Imani Murphy, and I have discussed the continuation of
an emergency paid sick leave policy, which resulted in the creation of Ordinance 48-2021. This emergency
paid sick leave policy is significantly more narrow in its scope than the prior requirements implemented by
the federal government. As you will see, the proposed Ordinance would allow for eighty (80) hours of
emergency paid sick leave for any vaccinated employee that is diagnosed with COVID-19. “Vaccinated
employees” for purposes of this Ordinance will include any employee that has received at least the first dose
of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and is scheduled to and intends on receiving the second dose, or the single
dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The only exceptions would be for employees that are advised by
a physician not to receive the vaccine due to an underlying health condition, or employees that are granted
a religious exemption.
Ordinance 48-2021 would be applicable through December 31, 2021.
Best Regards,
Andrew J. Sickmann