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Dear Gables and Marine campus colleagues (non-UHealth/MSOM),
On Friday, March 13, an email communication was distributed to all Gables and Marine campus leaders (non-UHealth/MSOM) regarding temporary exceptions to policies to encourage social distancing and minimize the number of people on campus in response to COVID-19. These are temporary measures, as we are continuously monitoring this public health crisis, and will evaluate changes as the situation arises.
The health and well-being of our community remains our priority.
We have asked managers to use their best judgment and encourage employees to work from home wherever possible and accommodate requests as outlined below while continuing to meet the critical needs of the operation.
Please review the following information carefully and speak with your manager about remote work options.
The following are guidelines for Coral Gables and Marine campus employees effective March 14 through April 4.
TELECOMMUTING OPTIONS
Friday, March 13 was a test of capability for a wide range of employees to work from home. To evaluate our efforts, there will be a survey emailed Monday, March 16 to all Coral Gables and Marine campus employees asking for feedback. It is critical to have your participation in this survey regardless of whether you worked from home or worked from your regular office space. The information will allow us to plan and prepare for potential disruptions due to COVID-19.
Employees may be eligible for a work-from-home arrangement if job duties are not required to be performed on site, do not directly provide on-site support to students, and can be performed remotely with minimal disruption. There are many tools that can be used in assessing whether work can be performed from home, the list of remote access tools available on the remote access technologies website may be helpful.
Note: All work-from-home arrangements require a manager’s advance approval.
Once it is determined that job duties can be performed from home, managers were advised to prioritize in assigning work-from-home arrangements.
CDC guidelines on individuals most vulnerable:
Employees who fall into one of the high-risk groups as identified by the CDC and have notified their managers that they have an underlying chronic medical condition that makes them especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus should be considered a priority in accommodating a work-from-home arrangement, wherever feasible. If a work from home arrangement is not possible, employees in this category will be eligible to use accrued paid time (sick leave/vacation or floating holidays) so that they may self-isolate at home to reduce risk. Employees in this category may be required to provide medical documentation.
School or Daycare Closure:
Employees unable to come to work due to a COVID-19 daycare or school closure that requires them to be home with their child may work remotely if operationally feasible; if remote work is not operationally feasible, employees may use accrued paid leave time (sick leave/vacation or floating days) during this period.
Employees may not bring children or any relatives to work with them, particularly during this time.
Rotational Options:
Once the above priorities have been considered, departments are encouraged to implement broader measures to foster work-from-home arrangements that minimize the number of employees on campus while fulfilling critical operations. This may include rotating staff working from home and some remaining on site, essentially a Team A and Team B approach.
PAID SICK TIME
Our priority is to ensure the health and safety of the University community and encourage all those who are ill, or caring for those who are ill, to remain at home. In that spirit, we are implementing temporary measures to enable employees affected by COVID-19 to focus on getting well without concern of losing pay.
- Employees unable to work due to their own or their family member’s COVID-19 symptoms should remain at home and utilize sick time. If accrued sick time has been exhausted, staff will be eligible to borrow from future sick time not to exceed 21 business days (or up to 168 hours) during this period.
- Temporary or per diem employees unable to work due to their own COVID-19 symptoms who have provided appropriate medical documentation, will be provided paid administrative leave for a period of up to 2 weeks equal to their normal work schedule.
Travel Restrictions:
Employees currently returning from the affected countries identified by the CDC, are required to remain at home in self-isolation for 14-days on administrative paid leave. Employees are required to contact Infection Control at (786) 427-5018 to report their return from travel.
If an employee chooses to travel to one of these countries after the latest set of restrictions published on March 11, they will still be required to self-isolate upon return but will need to use their own accrued paid time off to remain in pay status. We strongly discourage all international travel and domestic travel that requires any form of mass transportation, except for local mass transit.
All employees should continue to take preventive actions during this time to avoid the spread of the virus. For continuous updates on COVID-19, please refer to the University’s dedicated COVID-19 site ( coronavirus.miami.edu) for complete, up-to-date guidance on campus events and meetings.
Please continue to work with your supervisor and leaders as we monitor COVID-19 and the related public health guidelines. For additional assistance, please reach out to your manager or HR partner.
Thank you for all that you continue to do as we work to care for our families, staff, faculty, and the broader UM community.
Mary Harper Hagan
Vice President
Human Resources
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