Federal Prisons Employees Aren’t Entitled to COVID Hazard Pay, Appeals Judges Rule
Snippet of Article: "In a 10-2 decision, the appeals court said OPM regulations around hazardous duty pay only address the handling of “virulent biologicals” in a laboratory setting, not “ambient” exposure to infected individuals. ...“The OPM memo provides that COVID-19 exposure falls within the [hazardous duty pay] ‘virulent biologicals’ category when the employee is ‘exposed to the virus during the performance of assigned duties (e.g., as in the case of a poultry handler or health care worker)’ but not when the employee is incidentally exposed ‘to the public or other employees who are ill,’” Reyna wrote. “Poultry handlers and health care workers are obviously not laboratory employees working directly or indirectly with COVID-19. These employees’ jobs, like the poultry handlers, require them to work closely with or around other people, subjecting the employees to the hazard of COVID-19 exposure while on the job.”"
Source: www.govexec.com