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Murphy – A council member has proposed using taxpayer dollars in the form of paid leave to reward town employees who receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Murphy Councilman Frank Dickey asked Town Manager Chad Simons to draft a proposal on how to reward town employees with a paid day of leave as an incentive to receive the vaccine.
At the Feb. 1 meeting, Dickey told fellow council members that he has seen some reluctance toward receiving the vaccine from people in the community, including close relatives.
“I saw that Lowe’s was giving their employees a $1,000 bonus to get the vaccine, and I just got to thinking that we could offer our employees the day off ... versus giving money,” Dickey said.
In October, Lowe’s announced that the company would provide discretionary bonuses to recognize front-line hourly associates for their continued service during the pandemic. Full-time hourly associates received $300, while part-time and seasonal associates received $150.
The release issued by Lowe’s never said the bonuses were an incentive for accepting the vaccine, but rather the latest round of “incremental financial support” for associates who remained working during the pandemic. Employees at the local Lowe’s store told the Cherokee Scout they have never been offered money as an incentive to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, Forbes reported last month that Dollar General, Instacart, Trader Joe’s, Aldi and Chobani will offer frontline employees financial incentives to accept the vaccine. Those private companies’ plans seem to be based on the amount of time required to travel and go through the process of being vaccinated.
The majority of those companies promised workers 2-6 hours of pay for receiving the vaccine. However, Instacart promised its independent contractors a $25 stipend to “take time away from Instacart” to be vaccinated.
While those five major companies plan to use their profits to pay employees who take time away from work to receive the vaccine, Dickey proposed using taxpayer dollars to give town employees a “bonus” for receiving the vaccine. He even seemed to suggest that employees who do not receive the vaccine should be punished.
“The ones who don’t want to take the vaccine, that’s fine, too, but we need to basically remove them from direct contact with the public,” Dickey said. “Maybe relegate them to office work or something.”
While further explaining his proposal, Dickey seemed to suggest that town employees who accept the offer should receive two days off from work for being vaccinated.
“Maybe give them one day off when they get the vaccine and the next day off [or at a time they can work out with their manager],” Dickey said. “I know that’s kind of a bonus. They would pay income tax on it. They’d be paid just like they were at the job.
“It’s to encourage people to get the vaccine.”
It’s no secret that Dickey is deathly afraid of COVID-19; he’s made that clear in public board meetings since the summer. His comments last week suggest that perhaps Dickey feels elected officials are obligated to hold people accountable if they choose not to be vaccinated, but he didn’t fully explain his position.
“I think it’s our obligation as public servants to protect the public,” Dickey said. “If we send somebody out there and they refuse to have the vaccine, you know, and blah, blah, blah, you know, we can crush this thing, you know.”
If all of Murphy’s employees were to accept a paid day of leave as an incentive to be vaccinated, it would cost the town about $6,500. That amount would double if they receive two days of paid leave.
In a Feb. 3 phone conversation, Dickey doubled down on his idea.
“We could give them the time off to go get a shot, if they desire to do it that way and then give them a day off,” he told the Cherokee Scout. “Or we could give them the whole day off when they get the shot. It’s kind of up to the board to decide and debate.”
When asked to clarify his comments on relegating non-vaccinated employees to office work, which would pull police officers off the street if they refuse the vaccine, Dickey again suggested that it was the town’s responsibility to ensure everyone is vaccinated.
“If we’re going to have people working out in the public, and the Town of Murphy is paying their salaries, we want to protect the general population as much as we possibly can,” Dickey said. “Therefore, we would want our employees to have the virus vaccine. And if they do have the vaccine, I think we ought to reward them in some manner. Either give them the day off they get the shot, or give them the day off they get the shot and an extra day off determined by their managers.”
Murphy is not exactly flush with cash to spend on employee incentives. The town set its 2020-21 fiscal year property tax rate above the revenue neutral rate to offset potential revenue loss associated with the pandemic and protect from having to use its fund balance to pay for operational expenses.
The town also declined to give employees a cost-of-living adjustment increase this fiscal year due to expected budget constraints, and instead paid out $16,227 in holiday bonuses (including FICA and pension costs) to staff.
Town officials plan to discuss Dickey’s proposal at the next board meeting, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, March 1. The meeting is open to the public.