First and foremost, Law enforcement officials are HUMAN and
are susceptible to the same things as everyone else. However, we haven’t/aren't being
treated fairly in my opinion because every other “essential” profession has
been taken care of, for the most part, throughout the pandemic.
To be fair, the federal government in the USA did implement,
offer, and fund a sort of “pandemic leave” for workers that weren’t able to
telework from home if they were to get the virus (i.e., Law enforcement Officials). However,
it was only a one time use per person, and has since disappeared completely.
So now what…what happens when Law enforcement officials get
COVID?
Basically, they are FORCED to utilize their own sick time
and are again FORCED to stay out of work until they are cleared medically to
return to work. If you don’t understand why this is devastating, just know that
sick time is earned as a reward or as a perk of sort for working a certain
amount of time with an employer.
The issue is that LEOs are more susceptible because we deal with the public ALL the time, hence we are more likely to get the virus. It is completely unfair to have to use the sick time earned for a sickness that was obtained while carrying out the duties associated with Law Enforcement. At face value it comes off as a no-brainer to have to use the sick time, however it can be devastating because not all LEOs have enough sick time, and will not be paid after said time runs out. Virus or not, we aren't being compensated appropriately.
There is an argument to be had here, however I am going to stop it here before this gets too long and gets out of hand. The point is that more needs to be done to protect the health and security associated with LEOs throughout the Pandemic.
-No Coronavirus (COVID-19) Leave For LEOs...
