Logan County Board sends covid policy back to committee

 

[January 20, 2022] 

At the Logan County Board regular meeting, there was quite a bit of discussion about a proposed covid policy being brought forward from the board’s Executive and Personnel Committee.

Board members present were Vice Chairman Scott Schaffenacker, David Blankenship, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Steve Jenness, Keenan Leesman, Dale Nelson, Bob Sanders, Annette Welch and Jim Wessbecher. Board Chairman Emily Davenport was absent.

The policy the board was considering said that employees who are not fully vaccinated must wear masks unless they are alone, eating or drinking, needing to be identified for safety or security purposes or wearing a respirator or facemask.

Employees would also be allowed to go without a mask in cases where the Sheriff’s Office determines that the use of face covering is not feasible or creates a greater hazard. Examples would be when it is important to see the employee’s mouth for reasons related to their job duties, when the work requires the use of the employee’s uncovered mouth, or when the use of a face covering presents a risk of serious injury.

Another part of the policy states that employees Who Are NOT Fully Vaccinated must be tested for Covid-19 every 7 days. They would need to provide documentation of the recent COVID-19 test result to the Sheriff’s Office no later than the seventh day following the date on which the employee last provided a test result.

Additionally, when employees test positive for COVID-19, they would be expected to notify the Sheriff’s Office and immediately leave the workplace. To return to work, they will be expected to have a negative nucleic acid amplification test, meet return to work requirements in CDC’s isolation requirements or receive a return-to-work recommendation from a licensed healthcare provider.

The policy also defines face coverings, facemasks and being fully vaccinated. Those who are vaccinated are to provide proof of vaccination.

A motion was brought forward to approve [a] COVID Policy and OSHA Mandate as a temporary addendum to the County Personnel Guidelines.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, two county employees addressed the board.

Logan County Circuit Clerk Kelly Elias wanted to know whether the board planned on going through with approving the covid policy. The Supreme Court denied a recent covid policy, and she said her office opposes it.

Kim Turner, who heads the probation office, said she was not clear about some of the expectations in the policy draft. Turner is not sure how the policy would work procedurally if they were to report to the Sheriff's Office.

Some board members also had comments and questions about the policy.

If the policy is state or federally mandated, Jenness asked if the board was required to approve it.

Logan County State’s Attorney Brad Hauge provided a timeline of recent rulings regarding covid policies. On January 7, the Illinois Department of Labor adopted a federal vaccination and testing mandate. Based on this action, Hauge wrote the draft of the county policy under consideration. Hauge said he wanted to cover the county against potential lawsuits if the Illinois Attorney General were to sue the county for not enforcing the mandate.

On January 12, Hauge presented the policy to the board’s Executive and Personnel Committee. At that time, Hauge said the Supreme Court had not made their ruling, and the policy was placed on the agenda for the January workshop.

On January 13, the United States Supreme Court made a ruling to stay, or suspend, President Biden’s vaccine or test policy for large businesses.

After the January 14 ruling, Hauge said he reviewed the Supreme Court Case. He then emailed Chairman Davenport and Vice Chairman Schaffenacker to give them his opinion now that the mandate is stayed.

That same day, the Illinois Department of Labor rescinded their adoption of the federal mandate.

Currently, Hauge said there is no federal or Illinois Department of Labor mandate for the board to pass this policy. He anticipates that may change in the next few weeks as more cases come down on the issue.

If the board voted for the covid policy Hauge wrote, he said it would go into effect late February and expire in July.

In conversation with Blankenship after the meeting, he said it appears to be setting another narrative through political science versus protecting people with medical science. Blankenship feels if it is truly problematic to society, why delay the implementation until February 24? That does not seem sensible.

With the ruling by the Supreme Court, Jenness said he thought it was for non-public employees.

Because of the questions, Sanders motioned to send the policy back to the Executive and Personnel Committee for further information.

Before voting on sending the policy back to committee, other board members expressed their thoughts.

In the electronic newsletter from the Illinois State Association of Counties, Wessbecher said it talked about the Supreme Court decision and how counties would tie into the decision. He said the newsletter talked about the testing policy being dissolved. Wessbecher said it covers counties across the state.

If the board were to reconsider the policy, there is only one way Leesman would support this policy. Leesman would be in support if the board stated the policy is only enforceable if forced by state or federal mandates. Leesman said he feels the only questionable parts of the policy are mandating weekly testing and providing vaccination status. He wants to know how people can be forced to get tested if their vaccination status is unknown.

With other sections, Leesman said they would benefit employees. For example, the county employees would get four hours paid time off to get vaccinated. The guidance for testing positive and what is needed before returning to work is another part Leesman feels is a good measure. Leesman said face covering policies are nothing new.
 

Because Nelson thinks everyone should have a choice in these matters, he said he would not support the policy even if came back. He feels the policy singles out vaccinated versus unvaccinated people, which would seem to violate HIPPA laws. He is not sure what is driving the policy.

Additionally, Nelson said he does not find face coverings that effective. When people are wearing them and touching their face masks then not using hand sanitizer after touching the masks, Nelson does not feel they are helpful. Nelson wants everyone to have a chance to make a choice to do what is best for themselves. He does not feel it is a decision that should be made by the board as a whole.

To Blankenship, there are holes in the policy, and he will not support it either. If there is testing, he thinks the testing should be done on both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Blankenship said the vaccinations and boosters have been known to fail. He knows people who have been vaccinated and had the booster but ended up in the hospital with covid afterwards.

Paying four hours of time off and mileage to those getting vaccinations appears to Blankenship like they would be rewarding compliance with taxpayer money. Those who do not get a vaccination do not get any compensation for testing. In essence, Blankenship said they are imposing an unfunded mandate on those people. In his opinion, that is discriminatory.

After the meeting Blankenship said a large part of the push to vaccinate is the desire to protect fellow man. However, the policy does not offer that same consideration to those with pre-existing conditions who comply by going to testing centers weekly and may potentially be exposed to infection, putting them in harm’s way. Blankenship asked where the care and concern for them is.

Two questions Wessbecher had were, who pays for the testing and who verifies the test if someone takes a home test? Wessbecher said the whole thing is typical of government with the mandate for private businesses with one hundred people [or more]. He gave a hypothetical example of a plant with one hundred employees and one right across the street with ninety-nine employees. Wessbecher then asked, do we not care about the ninety-nine? He feels the whole thing is a way for the government to force the vaccine.
 

Unless the Supreme Court ruling changes, Welch said she does not think the board should move forward with the policy. She said the governor has mandated things we do not comply with. Additionally, the county does not even have a full time HR person that could handle what would be mandated. Welch did appreciate the work Hauge put into the policy since at the time, they thought a policy would be needed.

Even if the policy goes back to the Executive and Personnel Committee, Welch said she does not see a reason to bring the policy forward again. Unless a significant change requires the board to consider the policy again, Welch said she sees no reason for it to be brought back.

After this discussion, the board voted unanimously to send the policy back to the Executive and Personnel Committee for review.

Other action items

The board approved the Finance Committee motion for a salary adjustment for the Public Defender. Jenness said this adjustment is for the county to get reimbursed by the state for part of the public defender’s salary.

The board also approved the following Road and Bridge Committee motions:

An engineering agreement with Hutchison Engineering to design a bridge rehab project on County Highway 28 over Kickapoo Creek.

A resolution to award the Motor Fuel Tax Fund contract for aggregate materials.

Building and Grounds Committee update

Building and Grounds Chairman David Blankenship said the courthouse dome and cupola is currently having the wrap put around it.

At the John A. Logan building, a new fire alarm and security system will soon be installed to replace the old ones that have failed.

The Building and Grounds Committee voted to approve $2,993 for the fire alarm system and $2,236 for a new security system. These amounts will come out of the line item for maintenance. Once they get into the project, there may be slight adjustments made to the amounts, but Blankenship said it would be minimal. It was approved at the committee level because it was below the amount required to bring it to the full board.

The next Regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, February 15 at 6 p.m. in the Orr Building.

Copy of covid policy
COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard Policy - Pdf

[Angela Reiners]