Name: Some state of SC employees losing out under work rules for coronavirus, advocates say
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Some state of SC employees losing out under work rules for coronavirus, advocates say

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Last updated: 9/8/2022 2:18 PMCOLUMBIA&nbsp;— More should be done to help with the tough choices facing some&nbsp;state employees during the coronavirus outbreak, advocates say.Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered all nonessential state workers to stay away from the office and, if possible, work from home. Agency heads and university presidents will determine which staff members are essential to the continuing work.More than 15,000 state workers still are reporting to offices, according to the governor's office's reports from state agencies, with another 15,000 working from home. Many state agencies that employ the remainder of the more than 60,000 state employees have not yet reported their numbers.&nbsp;The governor hopes that at least 75 percent of state employees will be working from home within two weeks, spokesman Brian Symmes said.If an employee in an essential position decides that they should stay home to protect their health, they need to choose some form of personal leave, according to the state guidelines. That could mean going without pay.Carlton Washington, director of the&nbsp;S.C. State Employees Association, welcomed the governor's action but said more should be done to protect employees from the economic damage of this crisis, as is being considered for many other workers.State employees who fear infection for reasons such as underlying health conditions or simply age could take an economic hit if they have to resort to unpaid leave, Washington said.&nbsp;"That is obviously problematic. If an employee stays home by no fault of their own doing, why should they be penalized?" Washington asked.The state instead should be offering some kind of emergency leave to be used when necessary during this disaster, he said.&nbsp;During past events, such as hurricanes, state employees have been given five days of paid leave.Even as some local government offices close to visitors, state offices continue to be open amid the outbreak with new precautions.&nbsp;"Agencies provide critical services to our state throughout the year, but those services are even more important to our citizens during this unprecedented time," Director of Administration Marcia Adams wrote in a March 17 memo to agency directors."This means that employees who are necessary to the continuity of operations may be directed to report to work as needed within the sole discretion of the agency head or his/her designee," Adams wrote.&nbsp;The Department of Motor Vehicles, the state agency that is more likely to deal with members of the public face-to-face than any other, changed its rules for customers on Thursday in an attempt to limit exposure risk in its buildings. Now, only as many members of the public are allowed in as the number of available spots at the service counter.Anyone else waiting to be seen will have to take a number from the greeter and wait outside the DMV office. If more than 50 people are waiting to be seen, they can wait in their cars, according to DMV spokeswoman Julie Roy.Road tests for new or renewed drivers licenses already had been halted until at least April 3. One section of the commercial drivers test also has been canceled, Roy said.Offices frequently&nbsp;have not been close to having 50 people waiting, Roy said, as visitation has dropped this week as more people heeded advice to stay home. After serving about 18,000 people on March 16, offices saw only 5,704 visits on Monday, Roy said.&nbsp;On Tuesday the agency announced reduced days of operation at some of its branches in part because of reduced staffing. The public also is encouraged to use the agency website, , to complete many transactions.A March 10 memo from Adams advised agency managers across state government to provide maximum work-from-home flexibility to people who would be considered most vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. Those categories included older adults, those with compromised immune systems or serious medical conditions such as heart disease and pregnant women.Offices need to be staffed, but a worker who is not feeling well can take sick leave, Roy said."We are doing everything that we can," she said.State employees are well aware that teachers are getting a substantial pay increase that will amount to 7 percent across the board for them, while they will get a merit-based increase that only would mean a 2 percent increase if given equally to all, said Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Columbia.Now they see essential in-office workers told to either work or use leave, and it has provoked frustration about the inequity, he said.&nbsp;"Employees are being told to work and teachers are being told to go home," Jackson said.&nbsp;While many employers both public and private are making allowances for staff members to shift their schedules or work from home during the outbreak, the essentials rules of the workplace in South Carolina have not changed, according to a USC professor.&nbsp;South Carolina remains essentially an at-will state, meaning that employers have very wide latitude to let workers go, unless restricted by guarantees made in the business's employment manual or under a union contract, said Joseph Seiner, who teaches employment law at the University of South Carolina.&nbsp;While the rules are essentially the same, employers in general have to be thinking about how they can accommodate their staff's needs and help to prevent the spread of COVID-19.Dismissing employees who refused to come to work for health reasons during the pandemic might be something that an employer would have to defend in court, Seiner said.“You are opening yourself to litigation, even if it’s ultimately not successful," he said.The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly.Follow him on Twitter at .&nbsp;, Post and Courier, an Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group. 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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Last updated: 9/8/2022 2:18 PMCOLUMBIA&nbsp;— More should be done to help with the tough choices facing some&nbsp;state employees during the coronavirus outbreak, advocates say.Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered all nonessential state workers to stay away from the office and, if possible, work from home. Agency heads and university presidents will determine which staff members are essential to the continuing work.More than 15,000 state workers still are reporting to offices, according to the governor's office's reports...

Some state of SC employees losing out under work rules for coronavirus, advocates say

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