SWEETWATER COUNTY– During the Sweetwater County Commissioner’s meeting on Tuesday, they discussed compensation for county employees who have been working on the Sweetwater County COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center.
Throughout the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, several county employees have been putting in extra work to serve on the EOC. While nonexempt employees are paid by the hour and can therefore make overtime, exempt employees are salaried and cannot be paid overtime.
Gary McLean, Sweetwater County HR Director, presented three options for compensation for exempt employees. The three options include a lump sum bonus, change exempt employees to nonexempt status so they are paid hourly, or provide additional time off once the pandemic is over.
Commissioner Wally Johnson said it is part of an exempt employee’s job to put in however many hours are required to do the job with a set salary. However, he said if the county does decide to compensate the employees for their extra time or work, it must ensure it doesn’t miss any employees who have filled a role on the EOC.
Johnson said he believes that it is premature to consider compensation at this time, as they do not yet know how long this pandemic will last.
Commissioner Jeff Smith echoed Johnson by saying they don’t want to thank the employees for their work when there may be much more work to be done.
McLean said he agreed that the topic should be revisited at a later date. He recommended giving the employees additional time off once the pandemic is concluded as compensation.
However, Commissioner Roy Lloyd said he does not see time off as actual value, as he himself would probably not take additional time off if he was given it at his job.
McLean added that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may be paying reimbursement for personnel costs, however, they do not know if reimbursements will be 100 percent or 75 percent of costs, according to McLean. Therefore, he said it was too early to decide and that the commissioners should wait to make a decision.
Commissioner Lloyd asked how many employees have worked on the EOC and how many hours have been put in, to which McLean said he did not have the precise answers. McLean said approximately 15 county employees, ranging from law enforcement to finance, have filled a role on the EOC.
Commissioner Smith would like to revisit the topic of compensation when the FEMA reimbursement is coming or at least when they know how much FEMA will be reimbursing.
