COVID-19 Updates
COVID-19 Temporary Paid Administrative Leave
Posted on March 22, 2020
Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that the California State University has granted use of temporary paid administrative leave up to 128 hours effective March 23 through December 31, 2020 for CSU (state) employees who are unable to work due to COVID-19 related reasons.
Under the new provisions, all benefits-eligible employees, academic student employees, and non-represented student assistants (hereinafter “employee”) shall be eligible for this one-time allotment that can only be used due to COVID-19 related absences, subject to the following conditions:
- All hours must be used by close of business on December 31, 2020 at which time the remaining allotted hours will expire;
- The hours may be used at any time during this designated period, including intermittently, either before or after the use of any accrued leave or other paid leave, at the request of the employee, in consultation with the supervisor and provided that such use shall not adversely affect the delivery of essential University services; and
- The number of hours of paid administrative leave for employees who work less than full- time shall be prorated according to the percent of the appointment.
This paid administrative leave is only for employees who are unable to work, on campus or remotely, for the following purposes:
- When an employee is unable to work due to the employee’s own COVID-19-related illness or that of a family member for whom the employee would normally be able to use sick leave;
- When an employee is unable to work because the employee has been directed by their supervisor or healthcare provider not to come to the worksite for COVID-19-related reasons and/or it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely; or
- When an employee is unable to work due to a COVID-19-related school or daycare closure, and the employee is required to be at home with a child or dependent, and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely or in conjunction with the childcare commitment.
How to Request Paid Administrative Leave:
- Unit 3 and Unit 11 (TAs, GAs, and ISAs) employees: contact Faculty Affairs (Diane Volpp at dvolpp@csufresno.edu).
- Staff, managers and non-represented student assistants: contact Human Resources (Cathy Legarretta or Juanita Aguilar at benefits@mail.fresnostate.edu).
- Auxiliary employees: Please note this Paid Administrative Leave does not apply to auxiliary employees. More information will follow regarding leave options available to auxiliary employees, based upon the recently passed federal COVID-19 relief legislation.
Nothing in these provisions shall be construed in any way as to diminish the rights or benefits that our employees are entitled to under any federal, state or local law, collective bargaining agreement, or any other existing CSU policy.
As a reminder, temporary paid administrative leave is also available as follows:
- Effective March 16, 2020, for employees who are 65 years and older or medically compromised (i.e. high risk for serious illness due to health conditions) and telecommuting is not feasible, subject to verification by Human Resources.
- For student assistants who are ill, need to self-isolate, or their job duties are impacted by transitioning to virtual education, the allotment of up to 128 hours of temporary paid administrative leave hours will be available starting April 6, 2020 and is subject to the same conditions as noted above.
HR 6201 - Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
On March 18, 2020, the President of the United States signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (HR 6201). The FFCRA, which contains a number of provisions aimed at helping both employers and employees, will become law on April 2, 2020. Once the U.S. Department of Labor publishes its rules for the administration of FFCRA, an update to this policy and available leave for employees will be issued by the CSU Chancellor’s Office.
The health and well-being of our employees is a top priority for the CSU and our campus leadership. We appreciate your concerted efforts to navigate this unprecedented situation and the extraordinary care and compassion we are collectively demonstrating for each other.
Sincerely,
Marylou Mendoza-Miller, SPHR
Associate Vice President for Human Resources