COVID-19 Information, Part 3: Direction for Faculty and Staff

UPDATE: March 13 Email to Administration and Staff from Jessica Rentto, Associate Vice President, Administration

Updated (Monday, March 16, 10:05 p.m.): Beginning Tuesday, March 17, all non-essential personnel, and essential personnel whose work can be accomplished remotely, are asked not to come to the San Diego State University campus. Such employees are asked to telework.

SDSU must quickly transition all staff, management, and student employees, including those working in auxiliary units, to telework arrangements. Employees are asked to make arrangements no later than Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18. This will allow employees to gather any essential work materials and equipment from their offices to successfully telework from home.

To support those who will telework, SDSU’s Information Technology Services has introduced SDSU@Home: Remote Work Resources. This new site provides tools and resources for remote work, including request forms for equipment and other materials that may be provided without having to come to campus. Additional resources and direction to facilitate telework will be provided as soon as possible.

San Diego State University is making additional campus changes given coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. One SDSU study abroad student living off campus is confirmed to have COVID-19, though health officials deem campus risk to be low.

Additional internal communications occur at the college, department and unit level to ensure that students, faculty, staff and visitors are well-informed and have current information. 

SDSU will continue to provide updates about this evolving situation on its public-facing COVID-19 web page. The page contains updates related to university decisions, study abroad, business and personal travel, health-related guidance and individual actions members of our community should take.

The university, which remains open, will communicate any additional decisions as soon as possible.

The following information is designed for university employees (auxiliary units are providing specific guidance to their employees):

FAQs

Am I required to come into work?

Beginning Tuesday, March 17, all non-essential personnel, and essential personnel whose work can be accomplished remotely, are asked not to come to the San Diego State University campus. Such employees are asked to telework.

This decision, along with others outlined below, follows the updated guidance and direction from state and federal public health officials and continued conversations with the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office. All decisions are meant to significantly reduce the number of people able to gather on campus. This directly helps to protect those who are at greatest risk of illness, and prevents the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Further, you can contact the Office of Employee Relations and Compliance at (619) 594-6464 to discuss reasonable accommodations.

At this time, one SDSU study abroad student living off campus is confirmed to have COVID-19. In cooperation with the San Diego County Department of Public Health, SDSU will immediately determine how best to address any increased risk to public health. Response protocols may include additional sanitizing of certain campus areas, temporary closing of some rooms or facilities, moving nonessential functions online and perhaps even a temporary closure of the campus.

Is SDSU going to close campus to prevent the spread of COVID-19?

SDSU is following information relating to COVID-19 very closely. The risk of COVID-19 exposure within California and at SDSU remains low. SDSU has suspended its international study abroad programs and has directed its participants to return to their home to self-isolate for 14 days, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).In addition, the university has suspended all future study abroad programs run by Global Affairs through summer 2020.

With the exception of international study abroad programs, SDSU remains open and operations will continue as usual.

A temporary closure of campus will be considered if conditions change.

When is it safe to return to work after having a fever, flu or other contagious illness?

The current advice of the CDC and the medical community is to stay home. Do not return to work until you have not had a fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. 

Anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 should closely follow the instructions of medical professionals and avoid returning to work until their medical provider has indicated that they are safe to return.

Does the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or California Family Rights Act (CFRA) entitle an employee to take leave to avoid contracting COVID-19? 

No. The FMLA and CFRA entitle employees to job-protected leave when they have a serious health condition or when they need leave to care for covered family members who have a serious health condition. Leave for the purpose of avoiding exposure to the COVID-19 is not protected under the FMLA or CFRA. 

In the event that an employee or their family member contracts COVID-19, the employee should contact the Center for Human Resources to discuss available leave options, including leaves available pursuant to FMLA and CFRA.

Can managers and staff teleework?

Yes. Beginning Tuesday, March 17, all non-essential personnel, and essential personnel whose work can be accomplished remotely, are asked not to come to the San Diego State University campus. 

SDSU must quickly transition all staff, management, and student employees, including those working in auxiliary units, to telework arrangements. Employees are asked to make arrangements no later than Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18. This will allow employees to gather any essential work materials and equipment from their offices to successfully telework from home.

To support those who will telework, SDSU’s Information Technology Services has introduced SDSU@Home: Remote Work Resources. This new site provides tools and resources for remote work, including request forms for equipment and other materials that may be provided without having to come to campus. Additional resources and direction to facilitate telework will be provided as soon as possible.

What steps should be taken if an employee becomes ill with fever, cough or other concerning symptoms? 

Managers and supervisors should recommend that staff who are sick stay home and utilize sick leave until symptoms resolve, and that they seek medical assistance, as appropriate. 

Can managers require a staff member who is out sick (not due to COVID-9) to provide a health care provider’s note? 

Not normally. Managers should actively encourage sick employees to stay home. If an employee is out sick for five or more days, the manager should contact the Office of Employee Relations and Compliance at 619-594-6464 to determine if a health care provider’s note is necessary. 

Can managers prohibit staff from coming to work if the staff is known to have contracted COVID-19 themselves, or to have had close contact with someone who has? 

If you believe that a staff member has COVID-19 or has had very close contact with a person who has COVID-19 (such as living in the same household), please contact the Office of Employee Relations and Compliance at 619-594-6464 for guidance.

With SDSU moving to adopt virtual instruction, does this mean that I do not have to come to work?

All instructional activities and office hours – including for any remaining lab courses – will now only utilize virtual platforms. We had planned for some face-to-face labs to be continued this week, however this is no longer the case. SDSU and SDSU Imperial Valley remain open to students, faculty and staff. The move to virtual instruction will limit the number of gatherings on campus in an effort to decrease the risk of exposure.

Beginning Tuesday, March 17, all non-essential personnel, and essential personnel whose work can be accomplished remotely, are asked not to come to the San Diego State University campus. Such employees are asked to telework.

To support those who will telework, SDSU’s Information Technology Services has introduced SDSU@Home: Remote Work Resources. This new site provides tools and resources for remote work, including request forms for equipment and other materials that may be provided without having to come to campus.

Additional resources and direction to facilitate telework will be provided as soon as possible.
For faculty and staff on campus who may have conditions that put them at higher risk for COVID-19, we take this very seriously. Please contact your supervisor and/or the Office of Employee Relations and Compliance at (619) 594-6464 if you need accommodations.

What are my options if I am out of sick leave accruals?

At this time, managers should allow staff who are out of sick leave accruals to utilize vacation or compensatory time off for this purpose.

The Center for Human Resources will work with faculty and staff who have no leave accruals so that individuals do not lose pay or benefits.

What is social distancing and how can I implement it on campus?

Pursuant to CDC recommendations, social distancing involves remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance whenever possible to limit the ability of the virus to spread. Social distance does not involve isolation, self-quarantining, or restricting one’s movement. Some recommendations for social distancing in the workplace include utilizing Zoom in lieu of in-person meetings, sitting a minimum of six feet away from colleagues, using elbow bumps or waving in lieu of hand shakes, avoiding lines or at a minimum maintaining a good distance between people in the line, and washing hands frequently for a minimum of 20 seconds.

What are the guidelines for travel?

Effective immediately, SDSU and its auxiliary organizations will suspend all international and non-essential domestic travel from now through the end of the spring semester (May 31). 

If you have upcoming travel that was approved before March 10, 2020, please cancel your travel arrangements and submit a travel expense claim along with receipts and proof of payment and proof of cancelation to be reimbursed for non-refundable expenses.

Many conference organizers and airlines are issuing full refunds. In the event  a traveler is unable to obtain a refund, expenses for approved travel incurred prior to March 10, 2020 are eligible for reimbursement.

Future travel, including summer and fall 2020, will be determined as the COVID-19 situation evolves.

Do employees get paid if the campus is closed?

Yes, in the event of an emergency campus closure, leave shall be granted to all employees who are both scheduled to work and are denied access to the campus during period(s) of closure. Currently, SDSU remains open; the campus is not closed.

During periods of full or partial campus closure, employees who have already scheduled sick leave or vacation time, will still be charged for that time. Employees who would have been absent on any day of closure because they were in non-pay status should not be granted emergency campus closure leave. Examples would be an employee under a disciplinary suspension or an employee in non-pay status because they were absent without leave.The campus president can designate when the campus is closed. This emergency campus closure leave is valid only for the days for which the president announces the campus closure and cannot be banked or saved to be used for a future date.