CMS hourly workers to receive emergency leave pay during coronovirus closure
Hourly employees in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will be offered an additional 80 hours of emergency leave pay during the coronavirus-induced school closures, under a policy approved by the school board Tuesday.
The district’s local leave policy, combined with the 168 hours of leave pay approved by the state board of education Friday, will allow CMS employees who cannot keep working remotely to be paid for the duration of the state-wide school closures that will last through at least May 15.
The closures, part of an executive order from Governor Roy Cooper, closed K-12 schools in the state in an attempt to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
CMS’ local leave policy applies only to hourly employees, including long-term substitute teachers. In addition to employees who cannot work remotely, it can also be used by staff members who are quarantined due to COVID-19, who must care for a family member who is quarantined, or who is experiencing difficulty with obtaining child care as a result of coronavirus-related school closures.
““To our employees, we know that this has been a time of fear and uncertainty for all of us in CMS,” Board chair Elyse Dashew said. “We value you, we value your work, we value the service you provide to the children of CMS. Yourself, your safety, you health and your well-being matters.”
On Friday, CMS asked the county for permission to use existing funds to offer up to 80 hours of emergency leave pay for employees who could not work remotely. Both the city of Charlotte and the county have implemented similar leave policies for their hourly employees.
In a letter to county commissioners and County Manager Dena Diorio, CMS said that it had asked the state for authority to grant emergency leave, but that a solution from the legislature could take weeks to finalize and that the district’s employees needed relief now.
“Many of these employees are economically fragile, living paycheck to paycheck,” the letter said. “So we are asking you for the flexibility to allow us to use funds already allocated to us to provide 80 hours of emergency leave to these valuable members of the CMS family.”
The state board of education approved granting 168 hours of leave pay to employees who could not work remotely between April 1 to April 30 during its Friday meeting. But the state-mandated closures go through at least May 15, leaving those workers without pay for two weeks unless the state policy is extended.
The 80 hours of extra leave approved by CMS on Tuesday is intended to bridge that difference, ensuring employees are paid for the entire length of the closure. Both the state and local leave hours can be used retroactively, for employees who used personal leave days in March for coronavirus-related absences from work.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 3:29 PM.