JCSO attends commission meeting

Clarion Top News

Thursday, 28 May 2020 11:40

The Jackson County Commission held a work session followed by a regular meeting on May 18, 2020. At the start of the work session, numerous staff from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) were present to inquire into discrepancies in pay between the JCSO and other county employees.
As stated during the meeting, during the Stay at Home order and the interim of the courthouse being closed to the public, all employees of the JCSO and other county-based offices who were essential were paid double. When the courthouse re-opened to the public on May 1st, the double pay stopped for everyone that had been receiving it. The JCSO was fully staffed, and regular business resumed. Some offices, such as the Commission office, Probate and Revenue were half-staffed and were placed on a staggered A&B schedule. This schedule allowed one part of an office to work Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while the other part worked on Tuesday and Thursday, ensuring the office to stay up and running in case someone from a shift, A or B, was exposed to COVID or became infected.
According to the JCSO staff present to speak at the work session, these two A and B shifts were paid for a full pay period while only working approximately half. According to JCSO staff and jail, their schedules were not staggered, and they were never offered this pay as an option, citing because of being under-staffed, it wasn’t possible to split up into shifts large enough to keep the JCSO running. It wasn’t until after the A and B pay schedule was already implemented that the JCSO was made aware of it. After speaking to the Commission on this discrepancy, the JCSO was offered $100 hazard pay per pay period, which estimates to $50 per week or $10 per day. After deliberating on this option offered to the JCSO by the Commission, some of the JCSO staff refused and made plans to attend the May 18th work session and address the issue.
Jackson County Commission Chairman Tim Guffey stated there was quite a bit of misinformation at the meeting, and he regretted the short notice, impeding the Commission’s ability to address the issue properly at the meeting. Guffey also stated that throughout the week, his office has been visited by various JCSO employees who were seeking a peaceful resolution and expressed their gratitude for the Commission ensuring their pay security during the Stay at Home order. Guffey hopes to further discuss the matter at the next meeting, which will arrive after this issue’s deadline, and hopes that steps will be taken to resolve the issue.