Human Resources

HR Update - COVID-19 Response for the period of April 8 - May 1, 2020
Apr 3, 2020, 11:11 a.m.
 

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I hope this message finds you healthy and settling into the new ways of working and living that we now find ourselves in.  The purpose of this communication is to provide additional information related to the following topics:

  • Staff Compensation and Time Reporting Guidelines

    • April 8 – May 1, 2020

    • Holy Thursday and Easter Holiday Time

  • What to do if you become sick or need to care for a family member

  • Social Distancing Protocol

  • Staff Awards Event Update

  • Supportive resources from Claremont, our Employee Assistance Program provider

  • Training Opportunities


Staff Compensation and Time Reporting Guidelines

In an email dated March 31st, Susan Collins and Margaret Kasimatis stated: “we will continue to pay staff, who are unable to work their regularly scheduled hours from home, their full-time regular earnings and benefits through May 1, 2020, without utilizing any paid time off.” As the Contra Costa County Shelter-in-Place order has been extended through May 3, 2020, the College acknowledged that having staff continue to utilize vacation and sick hours to remain whole may exhaust the leave balances of many employees.  As such, the new guidance goes into effect for the period of April 8 – May 1, 2020.

The previous guidelines that I sent out on March 20th for the period March 17 – April 7 remain in place. 

Time-reporting guidelines through April 7, 2020

  • Report all hours worked
  • Check your leave balances (vacation/annual leave and sick) at the top of your web time-entry timesheet.  For the hours that you were unable to work your full schedule, you may report vacation/annual leave and/or sick hours (do not report hours beyond the amount in your current leave balances)
  • If you do not have enough vacation/annual leave or sick hours to fulfill your normally scheduled hours, you should use the Emergency Closure code to report the number of hours necessary to fulfill your normal hours (for most employees that is either 40 or 37.5 hours per week; part-time employees should report hours equivalent to their regular normal hours).  Report these hours in the ‘Other Time Hours’ column, and use the drop-down arrow in the ‘Other Time Types’ column to select Emergency Closure.

Time-reporting guidelines for the period April 8 – May 1, 2020

  • Report all hours worked
  • For the hours that you were unable to work, use the Emergency Closure code to report the number of hours necessary to fulfill your normal hours (for most employees that is either 40 or 37.5 hours per week; part-time employees should report hours equivalent to their regular normal hours).  Report these hours in the ‘Other Time Hours’ column, and use the drop down arrow in the ‘Other Time Types’ column to select Emergency Closure.
  • To ensure time reporting accuracy in the event you are taking a non-COVID-19 related sick day(s) or have requested a vacation day off, please report those hours accordingly as you normally would, as sick or vacation/annual leave time. The Emergency Closure code should only be used to fulfill your normal work hours under COVID-19 related current circumstances.

Holy Thursday and Easter Holiday Time

  • Thursday, April 9 is Holy Thursday.  Although we regret that we will not be able to come together for our traditional lunch, we will keep with our tradition of closing early on this day.  As such, 4 hours should be charged using the President Closure code which can be found in the ‘Other Time Hours’ column on the timesheet.
  • Friday, April 10 and Monday, April 13 are regularly scheduled holidays in observance of Easter. Please remember to report your Holiday time on these days.

Staff and Supervisors/Managers should communicate clearly with each other to ensure there is a shared understanding of time to be reported in the various categories.

I will be sending out a separate communication to those who supervise student workers with specific information and guidance that pertains to student workers, including those on Federal Work-Study.

What to do if you become sick or need to care for a family member

In the event that an employee becomes ill or quarantined or has to care for a family member, they should first notify their supervisor/manager.  They should then contact the Benefits Department in Human Resources at benefits@stmarys-ca.edu, and file an online claim for California State Disability or Paid Family Leave benefits.  The normal one week unpaid waiting period has been waived per the Governor's Executive Order.

We encourage you to review the FAQs provided by the Employment Development Department (EDD) for guidance on what programs are available and what situations may be applicable to your circumstances.

If you have a confirmed case of COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone that has a confirmed case, we ask that you, in good faith, notify your supervisor and the Benefits Department in Human Resources at benefits@stmarys-ca.edu.

Social Distancing Protocol

Please see the attached Social Distancing Protocol document that has also been posted at the front entrance to the College, and ensure that you are complying with all social distancing measures that have been put in place to ensure your safety and that of our community.  

Staff Awards Event Update

As many of you are aware, we traditionally hold a Staff Awards event in late Spring to bring attention to staff who have reached service milestones, or who have been nominated by their peers for special recognition. As it is not likely that we will be able to hold an in-person event of this nature during this academic year, we are working closely with the Staff Council to make alternative plans to bring the spirit of this event to life in alternative ways.  (If you want to nominate someone for the Staff Distinction Awards, you can still do so here.)  

Supportive resources from Claremont, our Employee Assistance Program provider

We recognize this time may be stressful in a range of ways and want to suggest a few supportive resources you may want to review.

Training Opportunities 

For those that may not be able to work their full regularly scheduled hours, it may be a good time to take advantage of training and development opportunities and utilize this time to enhance your skills.  In the next week, we will be outlining a variety of free and online training resources for employees.  If you have specific training or staff development needs, please reach out to Maura Wolf, mpw2@stmarys-ca so that we can respond.

Thank you again for your efforts to pivot quickly and work together to serve our many constituents during this time.  Keeping current with updates, changes and important information I and others have been sharing makes a big difference to us all.

Please reach out to our team in Human Resources at hr@stmarys-ca.edu with any needs or questions you may have.

Please take care,

Laurie Panian
Associate Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Title IX Coordinator
Saint Mary's College of California