Durham County gave COVID-19 ‘hazard pay’ to almost every employee. Who will pay for it?

Durham County is spending millions on hazard pay for almost every county employee working during the pandemic.

Paramedics, jail staff, and social workers can receive it. So, too, can clerks, accountants, attorneys, computer programmers, and librarians.

It has cost the county more than $3.1 million. Now, county commissioners worry the county may not receive the federal reimbursement it is banking on to cover it.

On March 14, County Manager Wendell Davis approved hazard pay for essential employees who provide emergency services or support services related to COVID-19. The designation increased these employees’ pay by 10% on days when they were required to be onsite or in the field and couldn’t work remotely, according to the policy as of April 29.

The county’s finance staff expects the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse 75% of the county’s costs — more than $2.2 million — through the agency’s public assistance program, with the state reimbursing the rest, according to a presentation last week.

“Because of the fact that Durham County government employees are essential employees during emergency situations, all employees are, in fact, considered an arm of our emergency operations center,” Davis said.

But a majority of the five commissioners, members of the county’s elected body who are responsible for approving the budget, question whether FEMA sees it that way.

“I am concerned that we have a very expansive definition of essential (workers),” Commissioner Ellen Reckhow said at a meeting last week.

Commissioner James Hill, the board’s vice chairman, shared Reckhow’s concerns.

“There are some things that are a no-brainer, “ Hill said. “Deputies, EMTs, paramedics and health care workers, I understand that. But those who have no contact with the public? That, I don’t understand, and I hope FEMA understands it.”

Manager’s authority

Commissioners also struggled during last week’s meeting to understand FEMA’s rules and what staff told them about the hazard pay policy, which Davis implemented without the commissioners’ approval.

In an interview with The News & Observer, Davis said he didn’t need to bring it to the board for approval, nor did he need to present a financial report at a public meeting or receive an assessment from the budget department.

“I’ve got an administrative policy that grants me the authority to do so,” he said, alluding to Durham County’s “Inclement Weather, Emergency Situations and Hazardous Conditions” policy.

The policy he refers to authorizes a county manager to give a 10% differential to “non-exempt, essential employees” for hours worked “during any period designated as Administrative Leave due to inclement weather.”

An additional policy provision sent to the N&O by the county’s human resources department states employees can also receive a “special increase” due to “identified factors.”

“Ultimately, there is no definitive answer as to how FEMA will respond to Durham County Government’s application for reimbursement,” wrote human resources director Kathy Everett-Perry in an email to the N&O.

Everett-Perry reiterated Davis’ statement that all county employees are currently considered “an arm” of the Emergency Operations Center, including those in human resources, finance, and general services departments.

Davis said he could not give a timeline on when he would apply to FEMA, but hopes to file an application every three months.

Who’s getting hazard pay?

Nearly every county employee was paid hazard pay at some point since March 14, according to a breakdown by the finance department. Department managers approved which employees received it per day. The finance department’s data did not include a breakdown of how often workers received it.

Durham County has 1,905 active employees as of Oct. 15, according to Dawn Dudley, a public information officer.

More than 1,900 workers have received hazard pay in the current fiscal year as of Sept. 30, including:

▪ 464 in social services

▪ 430 employees for the Sheriff’s Office, which includes the county jail

▪ 319 in public health

▪ 192 in emergency operations services

▪ 157 library employees, although the main library is closed for renovations and smaller branches offer curbside pick-ups only

▪ 55 in the tax department

▪ 21 in information technology and services

▪ 19 in the register of deeds department

▪ 18 in the finance department

Across the Triangle, Wake County spent $4 million on hazard pay for emergency operations staff and field workers only; the county has paid for it with funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Employees in office buildings who could “predictably socially distance” would not qualify, said Johanna Rogers, Wake County’s chief operating officer.

Orange County has not given any employees hazard pay, said Penny Rich, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners.

Spending ‘public money’

“It’s taxpayer money,” said Millicent Rogers, a life-long Durham resident and parent of children in public schools.

Rogers questioned why Davis bypassed the board of county commissioners when he authorized hazard pay.

“If he didn’t need board approval, he should have still had a financial report indicating to the county commissioners and the public what expense Durham was going to provide for hazard pay, and for whom,’ she said. “There’s no transparency of that.”

Some commissioners objected to Davis implementing hazard pay without consulting them.

“Our job as elected officials, one of the biggest responsibilities that we have, is to be responsible for the budget,” said County Chair Wendy Jacobs at last week’s meeting.

She said the staff had not informed the board of the policies in place for months.

“Every dollar we spend of public money, it’s a choice,” she said, and pointed out that thousands of Durham residents are at risk of eviction.

“We have to make those policy decisions, and they’re going to impact at the end of the day what we can then go back out and do to help people in our community who are in desperate need,” she said.

Other Durham community leaders wonder why other workers aren’t getting increased pay.

“I’m all for employees getting hazard pay,” said Michelle Burton, president of the Durham Association of Educators. “My concern is that (Durham Public Schools) classified staff, they’re still not making $15 an hour.”

Durham County approved a quarter of the $19 million increase in local funding the school board requested for the 2020-21 fiscal year, The News & Observer reported. The school board had asked for funding to increase salaries along with other expenses, but Davis’ proposal gave extra money to student enrollment growth and capital needs only.

Cafeteria staff, bus drivers and instructional assistants fall under the umbrella of DPS classified staff.

“Those classified staff, they weren’t thought about at all, and these are women of color who are working in these positions,’ said Burton. “Black women. Brown women.”

Davis authorized the hazard pay for the welfare of county employees, some of whom have been infected with COVID-19, he said.

“People don’t go into this line of work to get rich, but I think, you know, they are committed to public service and carrying out the public’s work,” he said. “They, as much as anyone, deserves to be at a minimum appreciated.”

What FEMA says about hazardous pay

“Hazardous duty pay” comes up once, on page 72, in FEMA’s 277-page handbook for the agency’s public assistance program.

The policy guide qualifies it as an “extraordinary cost,” which includes “call-back pay, night-time and weekend differential pay.” It also extends to “essential employees who are called back to duty during administrative leave to perform Emergency Work.”

Lizzie Litzow, FEMA’s press secretary, said in an email to the N&O that “generally healthcare workers” and “first responders” qualify for hazard pay, and it is “up to the applicant to identify who is the essential employee.”

Asked whether employees who work in offices, such as in a finance or legal department, would fall under the umbrella of emergency work, Litzow wrote, “Most likely not.”

“This does not sound like an otherwise eligible emergency protective measure as it relates to COVID-19, this sounds like their day to day function that is not associated with working on COVID-19,” wrote Litzow.

“It is difficult to provide a determination without submitting a complete package for consideration for reimbursement that includes all the documentation and justification to assess,” she also wrote.

“Emergency Work” for the pandemic includes medical care, food distribution, non-congregate sheltering, mass casualty management, and distribution of personal protective equipment, wrote Litzow.

FEMA determines eligibility based on an applicant’s “pre-disaster written labor policy,” according to the guidebook.

The “pre-disaster” part gave Reckhow some misgivings about Durham County’s eligibility.

The county started to distribute hazard pay on March 14. But the finance department amended its hazard pay policy twice during the pandemic; first, on March 26, and then a second time, on April 29.

“In fact, it references COVID,” Reckhow said at last week’s meeting. “So obviously we knew about it.”

Durham County will use about $88,000 in CARES act funds to cover hazard pay for emergency medical service workers.

What if FEMA doesn’t pay?

Hazard pay will cost the local government well over the $3 million already spent if the county continues to spend the way it has, county budget director Keith Lane said.

If FEMA doesn’t reimburse 75% of the hazard pay, the county would have to take it from other budget lines or take money from its fund balance, or savings account.

The first option could be a problem, Lane said, because property and sales tax revenue will be less than usual next year because of the pandemic.

Pulling from the fund balance, he said, could damage the county’s credit rating and lead to pricier loans in the future.

And while the $3 million spent so far would not dent the savings too much, any further expenses could affect other priorities.

“Fixing the problem could mean less money for departments, less money for schools,” he said. “At worst, it could mean that vacancies continue to stay vacant. Or even worse, that we have to furlough positions,” he added. “These are the darkest of possibilities.”

Durham County could also cover the expenses if it gets more federal aid, but the possibility hinges on the outcome of the Nov. 3 election, Davis told the commissioners last week.

“Well today, none of us know what that is,” he said. “And so, as you can imagine, it continues to be a guessing game.”

Davis doesn’t know when the county will suspend its hazard pay policy, he said, but staff would assess the county’s financial situation in December.

This story was updated Oct. 22, 2020, to correct Penny Rich’s title.

This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 12:37 PM.