HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions 22-05-591 - 05/16/2022 - Premium Pay' STATE OF GEORGIA RESOLUTION NO. Rat 02 - 6, - S f
COUNTY OF FULTON
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MILTON,
GEORGIA AUTHORIZING A ONE-TIME PREMIUM PAYMENT FOR ELIGIBLE
CITY EMPLOYEES USING FUNDS RECEIVED UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE
PLAN ACT OF 2021
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the Novel
Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease is a global pandemic; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency
and pledged the "full power of the federal government' to fight this pandemic; and
- WHEREAS, on March 14, 2020, Governor Brian Kemp declared a statewide emergency
in Georgia, describing COVID-19, and the corresponding pandemic, as a public health emergency;
and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, the Mayor and City Council for the City of Milton
declared via emergency ordinance 20-03-416 that an emergency exists in the City of Milton due
to COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the U.S. Senate amended H.R.
1319 (P.L. 117-2) known as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA); and
WHEREAS, on January 6, 2022, the U.S. Treasury adopted the Final Rule to implement
ARPA in Title 31, Part 35 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR); and
WHEREAS, the Final Rule has an effective date of April 1, 2022; and
WHEREAS, under the Final Rule, recipients may use Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal
Recovery Funds to retroactively provide premium pay to eligible employees who performed
essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency; and
WHEREAS, the Final Rule identifies emergency response personnel and local
government workforce as "eligible" workers; and
WHEREAS, ARPA defines "essential workers" as "those workers needed to maintain
continuity of operations of essential critical infrastructure sectors and additional sectors as each . .
.[government] may designate as critical to protect the health and wellbeing of [its] residents;
WHEREAS, the Final Rule determines "essential work" to mean work that is not
performed while teleworking and involves either: regular, in -person interactions or regular
physical handling of items that were also handled by others; and
WHEREAS, the Final Rule seeks to incentivize premium pay being paid to low- or
moderate -income workers;
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' WHEREAS, under the Final Rule, an employee who is not exempt from the Fair Labor
and Standards Act (FLSA) overtime provisions is deemed to be a low- or moderate -income
worker;
WHEREAS, an employee whose total wages and renumeration (including premium pay)
is less than or equal to 150 percent of Georgia's average annual wage for all occupations or the
county's average annual wage, whichever is higher, is deemed to be a low- or moderate -income
worker;
WHEREAS, providing premium pay to workers that do not satisfy the above -criteria
requires an additional written justification to US Treasury (in its Project and Expenditure Report)
on how granting premium pay to the employee (or employee class) responds to eligible workers
performing essential work;
WHEREAS, the City of Milton will not provide premium pay of employees where written
justification is required;
WHEREAS, the May 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report released
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on March 31, 2022, shows Fulton County's average annual wage
for all occupations to be higher at $59,100 than the state of Georgia's at $53,940; and
' WHEREAS, the City of Milton's public facilities were closed to the public on March 17,
2020 and reopened March 22, 2021, when the COVID-19 vaccination was readily available for all
employees; and
WHEREAS, the City of Milton received the first tranche of ARPA funds in the amount of
$7,391,612 on July 19, 2021 and the remaining funding of $7,391,612 is slated to be received in
Summer 2022; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton desires to approve premium pay
for certain eligible employees, using ARPA funds.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and City Council of the City of
Milton that,
ARPA funding shall be appropriated to provide premium pay to eligible workers
who meet the following criteria:
a. Full- and part-time individuals who are actively employed by the City of Milton
as of the date of this Resolution, May 16, 2022; and
b. Worked in -person for the City of Milton between March 17, 2020 and March
22, 2021; and
c. One of the following is satisfied;
' i. Annual salary, when combined with premium pay, is less than $88,650
as of March 22, 2021, or
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' ii. the employee is not exempt from the FLSA overtime provisions (for
part-time employees, annual salary cap is pro -rated based on hours
worked).
2. The City shall provide to each eligible employee:
a. $600 per -month -worked during the eligible time period for sworn police
officers and firefighters (this amount equates to a premium payment less than
or equal to $13/hour of additional compensation); or
b. $200 per -month -worked in -person during eligible time -period for all non -sworn
personnel (this amount equates to a premium payment less than or equal to
$13/hour of additional compensation); and
c. Rate for part-time personnel will be pro -rated based on hours worked, but in no
event will premium pay result in any worker receiving more than $13/hour of
additional compensation.
3. The premium pay will be paid in a one-time, lump sum payment.
4. All applicable employer payroll taxes and contributions shall be funded using
ARPA funds. As required by law, employees must pay their own taxes and
contribution requirements.
5. Total appropriations of ARPA funds for premium pay shall not exceed $638,800.
6. In no event shall any single worker receive more than $25,000 under this premium
pay initiative.
' SO RESOLVED, this 16'' day of May 2022.
Peyt tson, Mayor
C:Zm'y
Lowi City rk
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