Pima County employees deemed non-essential will be asked to stay home from work until Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order is lifted, the county announced Tuesday.

As of Wednesday, April 1, employees sent home will be eligible for county and federal pandemic leave. County employees still working in their offices will continue to do so, though efforts are being made to transition as many people as possible to work from home.

The county’s decision comes one day after Gov. Ducey issued his stay-home order.

According to Pima County, employees considered “essential” are defined as “anyone whose function is essential to the effective operation of the county or who must be physically present to perform their jobs or those employees who are involved in emergency response activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Pima County Board of Supervisors adopted an enhanced pandemic outbreak policy on March 17 which provides county employees an additional 80 hours of “County Pandemic Outbreak Leave.”

The county’s program will be in addition to H.R. 6201 (Families First Coronavirus Act), which was signed into law on March 18 and goes into effect April 1 to provide protected leave for employees.

County employees can receive a maximum of $5,110 from the county program if they are unable to work or telework because they are the subject of quarantine, are advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine or experience symptoms of COVID-19. There is also $2,000 available to employees who are caring for someone under quarantine or watching their children during that time.

“I would like to thank our employees, managers, and directors for assisting in providing essential services to the people of Pima County in these stressful and uncertain times,” County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry wrote in a March 31 memo. "Your public service dedication is very much appreciated by the Board of Supervisors and myself.”