* Capitol News Illinois…
A bill that allows teachers and other school and university employees or contractors who are fully vaccinated to take paid administrative leave if they have to miss work due to coronavirus-related issues cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday and will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker.
House Bill 1167, by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, would guarantee full pay for any day that a fully-vaccinated school employee misses if they are required to stay home because they have a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19. […]
Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, pointed to a hypothetical example of two teachers, one vaccinated and one not, who have to stay home to take care of a sick child. He said one of those would receive paid leave to do so but the other would not. […]
Harmon, however, said the bill does not mandate that any school employee be vaccinated, and he compared the extra benefit vaccinated employees would receive to the extra pay some teachers receive if they pursue an advanced degree.
* Center Square…
“This is not a vaccine mandate,” Harmon said. “There is no requirement that one needs to be vaccinated to work in public schools. It is, however, an incentive.”
There are also provisions in the measure giving retroactive time to vaccinated staff who previously took time off because of COVID-19 issues and guarantees pay for workers like bus drivers if schools have to shut down because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
The measure found bipartisan opposition, but secured enough votes to pass both chambers and could now be sent to the governor.
Senate Democrats voting “No” were Glowiak Hilton, Hastings and Joyce.
Senate Democrats not voting were Belt, Collins, Crowe, Loughran Cappel, Muñoz and D. Turner.
No Republicans voted for the bill.
…Adding… IEA President Kathi Griffin…
“Our state is in the middle of a growing teacher and education employee shortage. We have thousands of open public education positions right now. We need to be doing everything we can to attract young people to the profession and to also show those who’ve chosen education as their life’s work that they are respected. Providing COVID administrative days and paycheck protection for hourly employees is one way we can do that. We know some of our support staff and teachers have exhausted their sick and personal time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have educators who saved their sick time to take after the birth of a child, who have since run out of days and are now forced with a very difficult decision - to take unpaid time off or to cut precious bonding time with their newborn short and return to work early. We have support staff who’ve used all their sick and personal days, and are being forced to take unpaid time off to quarantine or for another COVID related reason. House Bill 1167 would provide much needed relief to our teachers and support staff who’ve worked diligently to not only provide a quality education for students but also work to keep their students, schools and their communities safe over the past two years.”
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 9:49 am:
I am fully vaccinated and boosted (and hoping I can somehow get the second booster). I think this bill needed to cover not just vaccinated teachers and school and university staff, but also vaccinated State Employees too. Especially those still having to come in the office most of the pandemic. I tried to email my union to see if they could urge a change in the bill or an AV so state workers who are vaccinated could be added, but they never replied back. This from a union who supported this compromise teacher vax bill and emailed all members, including state employee members, to trumpet their support.
- Demoralized - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 10:12 am:
The state employee thing isn’t happening. It just isn’t. If it was it would have happened a long time before now. I suggest you move on.
- Huh? - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 10:29 am:
“get the second booster”
If you are older than 50 years old, CDC says you are eligible.
- JS Mill - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 11:06 am:
=No Republicans voted for the bill.=
Yet the ILGOP wants to be taken seriously. But they are for the working man and woman I thought?
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 11:19 am:
==If you are older than 50 years old, CDC says you are eligible.==
I am a few years away from 50 but have a weakened immune system and lots of OTC medicines now, hence I would consider myself immunocompromised even though never diagnosed officially as such. Won’t give up masking for a long time and I will refuse to be in immense crowds ever again after this two year ordeal.
- Elliott Ness - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 11:24 am:
This is clearly something ha should be locally bargained, bad look for the unions to choose sides among members, some who can be and are vaxxed and others who may not be. Same dues?
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 11:27 am:
== some who can be and are vaxxed and others who may not be. Same dues?==
Plus Vaxxed Teachers vs. Vaxxed State Employees too
- Sue - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 12:00 pm:
Can someone please explain why using sick days for Covid related illness should somehow be treated differently then taking off the days for any other type of illness. The impacted employee has the benefit of having been paid for the absence- why reinstate the used sick days which by the way are later used by the employee at the end of their career to apply toward both payment and pension credit. I love teachers as much as anyone but absent their political muscle in an election year the legislature and JB are creating a special class in exchange for both contributions and election support
- Leslie K - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 12:04 pm:
Glad they came to this reasonable compromise. Take reasonable steps to protect yourself, and if you still get sick, you are covered. Take no responsiblity for your own safety, the public shouldn’t have to either.
Maybe more should be covered this way (e.g. state employees), but legislation is frequently incremental. Accept a win and keep working for more.
- Demoralized - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 1:09 pm:
==Can someone please explain why using sick days for Covid related illness should somehow be treated differently==
Because those days weren’t necessarily taken because the person was sick. They may have been quarantined due to exposure. That’s the difference. They were told they could not come to work.
- lowdrag - Friday, Apr 1, 22 @ 1:44 pm:
So you now pit the unvaccinated against the vaccinated.