SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Nurses Association (INA) and the State of Illinois have agreed on a series of COVID-19 related compensation and safety measures for registered nurses who work in state mental health facilities, correctional centers, Illinois Youth Centers, veteran’s administration homes, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and Department of Public Health.
In addition to the pandemic pay, nurses excluded from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act who worked full-time from May 1 through May 31 will be granted an additional personal business day to be added to their accrued benefit time January 1, 2021.
To be eligible for this benefit, nurses must have had zero days taken days off during the period.
This marks the second group of nurses for which INA has negotiated enhanced pandemic pay. In early April, INA and the University of Illinois Hospital agreed on a premium pay scale to reward nurses who were working through the pandemic at the hospital.
More than 100 nurses have tested positive for COVID-19 and two have died since the pandemic began this year.