DOA director confirms COVID differential pay delay is on agencies

The weight is on the shoulders of individual agencies for frontline employees to receive COVID differential pay in a timely manner.

And that's the reason for the delay, Department of Administration Director Edward Birn said.

 Multiple agencies to include the Guam Fire Department, Guam Police Department, Department of Corrections and Department of Public Health and Social Services are behind in submitting the necessary timesheets to DOA for processing. However, Birn assures that with or without CARES Act money, our front liners will be paid accordingly.

"The whole purpose of this covid pay was to reward people for being in a potentially hazardous situation so we want to reward those people according to the terms set out in the executive order as quickly as possible," he said. "The cares money was a fixed amount of money of under 118 million and we actually spent all of that but we will still pay out covid pay adjustments that are in accordance with the executive order whether or not it comes from the CARES Act money or not,"

Birn says at the peak of operations, the average payout on a given period was $120,000, and the government is now down to roughly $50,000 a pay period.

While Birn did not have a specific number on how many agencies have yet to submit paperwork, he says there is one department drawing some concerns.

"I know there are some particular concerns with public health because they were on the frontline of this effort and some of their divisions, they report by divisions, and some of their divisions are behind," he said. "So that is obviously a concern for us and we have been talking to public health and we are going to offer them some help to get these timesheets processed."

KUAM has reached out to DPHSS spokesperson Janela Carrrera for an update on the agencies covid differential pay status, we are awaiting a response.