The Warren Sun

Detroit city workers on the COVID-19 frontlines will receive hazard pay, according to Mayor Mike Duggan.

Taking a cue from a policy in Atlanta, Detroit will pay workers an additional $800, effective Apr. 13. A few others will receive an extra $5 an hour for every hour they work. Firefighters, who work in shifts, will get an additional $90 a shift.

Duggan said in a press conference earlier this month that “what these police officers, firefighters, EMTs and bus drivers are doing in this crisis is nothing short of heroic," according to The Detroit News.

The mayor says that most cities are continuing to pay employees who are stricken with the virus or are under quarantine. He said the hazard pay applies to first responders, law enforcement and other city departments. Workers will receive hazard pay for as long as the emergency lasts, Duggan said.

According to Fox2Detroit, at least 200 Detroit workers on the frontlines have been stricken with the novel coronavirus. Three police officers, a firefighter, a Detroit department of transportation driver, and a pair of building safety and engineering inspectors have passed away from COVID-19.

The mayor said employees were not deterred by the crisis.

Meanwhile, Wayne County officials are considering the same for its workers. “We're used to, in law enforcement, confronting dangers we can see,” Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said, according to The Detroit News. “This is an enemy that we can't see.”

The sheriff said Wayne County Executive Warren Evans vowed to “do what he can to benefit the people who are putting themselves on the line every day.”

Evans’s spokesman, Bill Nowling, reiterated his boss’s promise.

“The county executive recognizes the unique circumstance that we're in and the work that our deputies and frontline essential employees are doing to continue to provide these important public services," Nowling told The Detroit News. “We need to make sure that their compensation reflects that.”