Clark County Commission rescinds policy for unvaccinated employees

The Clark County Commission last week rescinded its COVID-19 policy that prohibited most of its unvaccinated employees from teleworking during quarantine.

Employees who were not vaccinated and are “required to quarantine due to an exposure to a presumed COVID contagious individual will not be permitted to telework in lieu of working in the office,” the policy stated.

Clark County administrator Jennifer Hutchinson said employees who are unvaccinated from COVID-19 can work from home if they test positive for COVID-19 if they believe they are able — similarly to employees who come down with the flu.

The policy was in effect since August 2021.

“It was still so unknown what this was going to look like longterm,” Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt said. “I think we’re at the point now where we know it’s going to be with us forever. Sometimes it’s very severe, sometimes it’s not, sometimes people can work through it, sometimes they can’t.”

Unvaccinated employees were required to use any and all appropriate leave for their scheduled time in the office during the quarantine period, the policy stated. All unvaccinated employees were required to submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test to the county’s personnel department in order to return to work.

The now-rescinded policy did contain an exception: if an unvaccinated employee is healthy enough to telework and the employee has a normal schedule that includes regular teleworking, then the employee is permitted to continue working their normal telework schedule when they have been exposed to COVID-19.

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