Union: Disney World Fireplace Crews Not Getting Comp Advantages for COVID-19| Staff Compensation Information

Monday, August 16, 2021 | 0

Although firefighters who operate the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando are working at one of the country’s hotspots for new COVID-19 infections, they are still calling for sick leave and workers’ compensation benefits for those who may be affected by the virus, according to local reports.

Union leaders for the Reedy Creek Fire Department told the Orlando Sentinel that 90 firefighters and paramedics have been exposed to COVID in the past two weeks, including 10 who contracted the virus.

Many fire fighters have reportedly shown up to work with possible COVID symptoms because they are unable to collect workers’ compensation for claims related to the virus, the Sentinel reported.

Instead, department employees will have to use personal vacation time for sick days if they opt to quarantine or test, the union told the newspaper.

Disney declined to comment on the matter, and a fire department spokesman said the agency would not be allowed to confirm the COVID numbers for its employees, the Sentinel reported.

A lawyer speaking with the Sentinel said some firefighters’ COVID claims had been denied despite a Florida law ordering the state to protect workers who contract the virus.

The Sentinel reported that Orange County Fire Department employees who test positive for COVID can receive compensation until a doctor calls them back to work.

Orlando City Fire Department employees can also apply for employee compensation related to COVID, but must take advantage of personal vacation time if they need to be quarantined, the Sentinel reported.

Between January 2020 and June 2021, Florida workers filed 44,613 COVID compensation claims, according to the state’s Department of Employee Compensation.

Although claims for damages fell to a pandemic low of just 298 in June, infections are on the rise in Florida.

According to the New York Times, there were 20,656 new cases of COVID in the state on Thursday alone.

Florida recorded an average of more than 21,000 COVID cases per day for the past week, according to the data.