School telecommuting update
Bill Maurer
Wed Mar 11 17:11:29 PDT 2020
Hello, All:
As a follow up to the email from Ramona below, we would like to provide
some clarification and school specific guidelines.
The School of Social Sciences encourages the use of telecommuting
*effective March 16th for all Non-Supervisory staff*. Those in Manager,
Supervisor or Director roles are encouraged to remain in the office
through Friday the 20th of March to ensure business continuity and
effective communication to, and among, our faculty and students.
If you believe you or your staff can effectively telecommute with
minimal disruption to the business goals, please complete and sign the
Short-Term Telecommuting Procedure and Agreement here:
https://socs.ci/telecommuting
Once signed, Natalie will maintain it in your file and you will be
expected to complete all business as usual, albeit remotely.
Additionally, please let us know what resources are needed to facilitate
such an arrangement for yourself and with your team members. Supervisors
should make sure that all staff know and understand that they are to be
available via phone, email, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and/or other methods
of communication during the regular work day. Supervisors maintain their
responsibility to provide adequate supervision and direction to
employees working remotely and to set priorities and facilitate the
workflow. [In addition to the 14-day administrative leave policy for
quarantine, remember, regular vacation and sick time policies also
remain in effect. Any questions about leave – please email Natalie Cook,
(natcook at uci.edu)
It is not currently mandatory that you work from home. If you have
business need or prefer the office environment, you are welcomed to come
to the workplace. Should anything change, we will inform you
immediately. Finally, we will be sharing tips and best practices for
communicating and collaborating effectively in a remote work environment
and welcome any ideas or suggestions that you have.
Bill
*From: *Ramona Agrela - Associate Chancellor and Chief Human Resources
*Subject: *Guidelines for Administrators: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak
UCI Office of the Associate Chancellor
*Guidelines for Administrators in Relation to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Outbreak *
This information is effective as of Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.
Dear colleagues:
As UCI administrators responsible for managing staff, it is important
for you to have current and accurate information regarding your role
during this dynamic COVID-19 outbreak period. The following information
has been prepared so that you can make the decisions necessary to
safeguard your staff while successfully managing your operations.
*Preventative Measures*
1. Help your staff stay safe by promoting healthy practices on an
ongoing basis:
1. Wash hands frequently with clean water and soap for at least 20
seconds.
2. If hand washing is not an option, use hand sanitizer containing at
least 60% alcohol.
3. Cover coughs and sneezes using a tissue or crook of the elbow.
Properly dispose of tissues in a waste basket.
4. Stay home if sick. This includes illnesses such as colds and flus.
5. Clean common areas. If possible, assign a team member(s) to
regularly disinfect door handles, phones, desks, conference tables,
chair handles, etc. that are shared by staff.
2. Post the ‘Spread the Word – Not a Virus’ flyer throughout your
department(s). Download the flyer here:
<http://hr.uci.edu/img/2019_2020/Virus%20Prevention%20Flyer%20v12_OL.pdf>
*Business Continuity*
1. Campus offices are open. Know the operating status of the University
on a daily basis. The status will be updated in real-time and shown on
the new UCI Coronavirus (COVID-19) web page, created by UCI Strategic
Communications. It is expected to be live in the next few days:
uci.edu/coronavirus <https://uci.edu/coronavirus>
2. The University is encouraging social distancing, meaning that all
persons are encouraged to stay at least six feet from one another
whenever possible. To that end, we are making available a special
telecommuting program. At this time, telecommuting is not mandatory and
is at management discretion. HR has created short-term telecommuting
guidelines and an agreement document for use by designated leadership.
This document specifies that Vice Chancellors, Associate Chancellors,
Deans and Chiefs are responsible for making telecommuting decisions for
their own staff. Download the Short-Term Telecommuting Procedure and
Agreement here:
<http://hr.uci.edu/img/2019_2020/COVID-19%20Short%20Term%20Telecommuting%20Procedure%20v12%20031120.pdf>
1. To help determine who should make use of the telecommuting
guidelines, you need to define essential versus non-essential staff.
The definition of essential employees will vary depending on the
circumstances and the nature of your department’s operation.
However, the core of essential personnel who should remain onsite in
most circumstances include clinical healthcare workers, police, and
other employees that provide a critical service to the UCI
community. Please contact your Human Resources representative for
help on making these determinations.
2. At this time, represented and non-represented staff are considered
under the same guidelines and operating status. HR is meeting
regularly with union representatives and we will notify you if the
guidelines for represented staff changes.
3. All non-essential, University-related domestic and international air
and train travel is restricted, including for candidates coming to UCI
for interviews. Alternative plans, such as attending a meeting or
conference virtually, or cancelling participation, should be made.
*Leaves*
1. If an employee is unable to work due to their own COVID-19 illness,
they should use their available sick leave and compensatory time. If
they have exhausted their available sick leave and compensatory time,
the University will provide up to 14 days paid administrative leave to
cover the absence. Consult your HR representative if you are interested
in filing for FMLA, which has different documentation requirements.
2. If an employee’s family member is ill with COVID-19, and the employee
has to remain home to care for their family member, they should use
their available sick leave and compensatory time. If they have exhausted
their available sick leave and compensatory time, the University will
provide up to 14 days paid administrative leave to cover the absence.
Consult your HR representative if you are interested in filing for FMLA,
which has different documentation requirements.
3. If an employee is unable to come to work due to public health or
University-required quarantine or self-isolation measures, they may
telecommute if operationally feasible (see above). If telecommuting is
not operationally feasible, the employee should use their available sick
leave and compensatory time. If they have exhausted their available sick
leave and compensatory time, the University will provide up to 14 days
paid administrative leave to cover the absence. Consult your HR
representative if you are interested in filing for FMLA, which has
different documentation requirements.
4. If an employee is unable to come to work due to a COVID-19 day care,
elder care or school closure that requires them to be home with their
dependent(s), the employee may telecommute if operationally feasible
(see above). If telecommuting is not operationally feasible, employees
may use available leave balances including sick leave and compensatory time.
*Resources*
1. UCI launched the new UCI Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Center on
Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Students, parents, faculty, and staff may
contact the center for any and all questions and concerns related to
COVID-19. Hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday.
Messages may be left after hours for a response the following day.
CALL: 949.824.9918
EMAIL: (covid19 at uci.edu)
2. UCI is preparing FAQs including leave information that will follow
UCOP’s guidelines. This information will be available shortly on the HR
coronavirus information web page
<https://hr.uci.edu/disaster-relief/corona-virus.php>. Information on
this page will be updated as it becomes available.
This is an unprecedented and dynamic period in UCI’s history. Your
flexibility, patience and ongoing efforts to minimize rumors and
theories, while sharing factual and helpful information is greatly
appreciated.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your Human Resources
Executive Director:
* Campus HR: Pamela James at (pamela.james at uci.edu)
* Health Sciences HR: Michelle Quint at (mquint at hs.uci.edu)
* Medical Center HR: Michelle Quint at (mquint at hs.uci.edu)
Sincerely,
Ramona
*Ramona Agrela*
Associate Chancellor and Chief Human Resources Executive
UC Irvine Seal
Campus HR <http://hr.uci.edu/campus>
Medical Center HR <http://www.ucirvinehealth.org/hr>
Health Sciences HR <http://www.som.uci.edu/hr/>
Chief Executive Roundtable <http://www.roundtable.uci.edu>
Illuminations <http://illuminations.uci.edu>
© 2019 UCI
Office of the
Associate Chancellor
All Rights Reserved
*Questions or Comments?*
Contact (ragrela at uci.edu)