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COVID-19 Updates

Message to Staff from Interim President Jiménez-Sandoval

May 12, 2021

 

Dear Colleagues,

As we reflect upon the past year, I want to personally thank each of you for your resilience and flexibility whether you have been working remotely or on campus.

In light of the Governor’s announcement that California aims to fully open its economy on June 15, 2021, and with the increasing number of individuals who chose to get vaccinated, we are looking forward to welcoming our campus community back to campus for the fall semester. 

Our Fall 2021 Planning Task Force has been diligently reviewing plans and providing recommendations as to how we can safely and effectively repopulate the campus in the fall. As such, there is much to do to ensure a safe, phased return of our students, faculty and staff.  With that in mind, we have developed the following phased repopulation timeline for our managers and staff to help ensure that we are ready for the fall semester and that you have as much notice as possible to plan:

  • Starting May 10, managers were asked to return to campus a minimum of two (2) days per week.
  • June 1, managers will be asked to return to campus a minimum of three (3) days per week.
  • July 6, managers will be expected to return to campus full time.
  • July 12, staff will be asked to return to campus a minimum of three (3) days per week.
  • August 9, staff will be expected to return to campus full-time.

Flexibility and accommodations:

  • Staff who are unable to return to campus due to school and/or daycare closures over the summer may make arrangements with their supervising manager to return full-time when K-8 schools reopen in the fall.
  • Staff who are unable to return to campus due to health-related concerns may contact Human Resources at 559.278.2032 to request an ADA Job Accommodation (self) and/or Leave of Absence (self/family).

Staff who would like to request to return to campus earlier than July 12 are able to do so by coordinating with their supervising manager to ensure their work environment meets all the CDC and Cal-OSHA guidelines and that applicable re-entry training has been completed. Also, some departments may ask their staff to return to campus earlier than July 12 due to operational needs. In these cases, staff will be provided with advance notice in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

The feedback from the recent Pulse Surveys has been very insightful in helping understand what concerns our staff have about returning to campus. The majority of respondents reported some level of comfort in returning, ranging from extremely comfortable to slightly comfortable. However, the survey also confirmed that some staff would feel more comfortable about returning to campus with some of the following elements: being in a lower county tier, safety protocols including accountability of those who do not comply (e.g. wearing of facial masks), office configurations, and vaccine mandate/availability. These concerns and others reported by our staff will continue to be addressed. We will continue to keep you informed about revised workplace regulations currently being developed by Cal-OSHA, which may include the end of social distancing in the workplace effective in August.

Please be assured that the health and safety of our campus community continues to be our top priority and our campus will continue to follow protocols in accordance with Cal-OSHA, state and local public health guidelines, directives from the Chancellor’s Office and collective bargaining agreements. We expect to have more information soon from the CSU in regard to the vaccination requirements.

I would like to strongly encourage everyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so to protect not only yourself, but also your family and those around you.

We recognize that there will be questions and concerns about our plans for the fall. Please join us on Thursday, May 13, from 1 to 2 p.m. for a campus-wide Forum Webinar with the Fall 2021 Task Force. 

Also, we are pleased to share with you a link to FAQs developed by the Fall 2021 Task Force. We will continue to update this document as more information becomes available. In the meantime, if you have other questions that are not answered here, please contact your supervising manager. Specific questions about technology equipment can be directed to your immediate supervising manager, who will consult with your Technology Services liaison.

I look forward to seeing you back on our beautiful campus!

 

Sincerely,

Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Ph.D.
Interim President