Employees Q & A
Health and Safety Considerations
Curtailment of Operations (Closure) and Employees’ Pay Status
Notice to Employees and to the Unions
Health and Safety Considerations
What is the Influenza A, H1N1 Pandemic?
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads across many international geographic areas. The recently declared pandemic concerns the spread of non-seasonal influenza, and does not reflect the severity of illness. Historical records indicate that there are typically several flu pandemics each century of varying severity. We are thought to be in the early phase of this pandemic, as pandemics typically last 1-2 years.
What is Influenza A, H1N1?
Influenza A, H1N1 (initially called Swine Flu) is a new flu virus causing respiratory infections in multiple areas around the state, country, and world. The symptoms are similar to seasonal influenza; high fever, aches, cough, sore throat, and tiredness. Some people may also have gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea. Additional symptoms may include headache, chills, fatigue, and body aches. Most people do not have immunity to this novel influenza strain.
What can I do to try and stay healthy?
· Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
· Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread that way.
· Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
· Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing by infected people.
· If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
For additional information concerning the H1N1 flu, visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm or the Health & Human Services (HHS) website at http://www.flu.gov
What should I do if I think I have the flu?
The University encourages anyone who has symptoms of the flu to stay home from work or school. If you become ill with influenza-like symptoms, you should stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone. (Your fever should be gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.) Stay away from others as much as possible in order to minimize the spread of the virus.
Do I need to report to anyone if I have the flu?
Yes, you should follow the normal sickness absence reporting procedure, by calling into your individual department to report your illness. Make sure that you know in advance who the appropriate contact is. During your absence from work, you should keep your department contact advised of your possible date of return.
If you have confirmed or suspected H1N1 flu virus, your supervisor or manager shall report it to the Human Resources Department, for monitoring purposes, using the following telephone number or email address: (209)228-2348 or hcf@ucmerced.edu
Should I stay at home if I have been in contact with someone who has the flu?
No, you should attend work as long as you are well and are showing no symptoms. If you do develop flu-like symptoms, you should go home, after informing your supervisor.
What happens to my pay if I have no sick leave or vacation leave available?
The University’s usual illness procedures remain in effect. If you are out of sick and vacation leave, unpaid leave may be requested and granted consistent with policies and/or collective bargaining agreements for the respective employee group.
What steps should be taken if an employee becomes ill with influenza-like symptoms?
Managers and supervisors should recommend that employees who appear to be ill leave work and seek medical assistance from their health care provider. The University is required to maintain a safe and healthy environment, and may take necessary and reasonable steps to minimize health risks for its employees, such as sending employees home or requiring that employees not come to work if they have the H1N1 Flu.
If an employee declines to take leave, managers and supervisors should consult Human Recourses for assistance in determining whether there is objective evidence of an influenza-like illness. If there is objective evidence of influenza-like illness and an employee refuses to take leave, a manager or supervisor may, over the objection of the employee, require that the employee leave the workplace. In such circumstances, the absence should be recorded as “approved”.
Employees should be encouraged to avail themselves of the University’s sick leave policy and other applicable leave policies and collective bargaining agreement provisions. An employee may be entitled to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) under certain circumstances. The H1N1 flu or influenza-like illness may qualify as a “serious health condition” where complications arise.
Are there steps that managers and supervisors can take to prepare for an outbreak of H1N1 flu?
Managers and supervisors should familiarize themselves with the UCM campus plan, system wide policies and local implementing procedures, collective bargaining agreement provisions regarding leave, compensation, employee and labor relations, and alternative work arrangements. Managers and supervisors should make information available to employees concerning the common-sense steps employees can take to protect themselves and help prevent the spread of flu in the workplace. This information can be found on the CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu and www.cdc.gov/germstopper/work.htm.
Managers and supervisors should also keep themselves informed of the latest public health information released by the CDC and plan in advance for the possibility of increased employee absences. It would also be prudent for managers and supervisors to determine in advance whether it would be feasible for employees to work at home when they are not sick themselves but need to stay away from the workplace because of an outbreak to, for example, care for a sick family member.
Must the University allow parents or caregivers time off from work to care for sick family members?
If certain members of an employee’s family are sick, the employee may be entitled to leave under the FMLA and CFRA. The FMLA and CFRA entitle eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a calendar year to care for certain family members (employee’s child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner) with a serious health condition. Influenza-like illness may qualify as a “serious health condition” where complications arise. University employees may be permitted and/or required to substitute paid leave in certain circumstances, depending on the applicable policy or collective bargaining agreement.
If the family member who is sick is the employee’s child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner, the employee may use up to 6 days of accrued sick leave in the calendar year to care for the family member even if the illness is not a “serious health condition.”
May the University require an employee who is out sick with H1N1 flue to provide a certification from a health care provider before returning to work?
Yes. An employer may require a certification from a health care provider clearing an employee to return to work. However, managers and supervisors should be consistent in this practice and treat employees uniformly.
Departments will be expected to maintain their existing expectations related to absences during a pandemic situation. Employees will continue to be responsible for complying with the established work schedule and existing absence reporting policy.
For absences that are anticipated to be longer than 3 days, contact the Benefits unit (209-228-2363) in Human Resources. Employees may need to be placed on leave.
Does the FMLA or CFRA entitle an employee to take leave to avoid getting the H1N1 flu?
No, leave for the purpose of avoiding exposure to the flu would not be protected under the FMLA or CFRA. In the event that a healthy employee wishes to stay home to avoid exposure, s/he is still expected to comply with the existing departmental policy. The employee acts in accordance with existing procedure by requesting time off from his/her supervisor. To be considered an authorized absence, the time off must be approved by the supervisor in advance. Approval of vacation will be at supervisor discretion in order to meet operational needs.
Can we ask people if their symptoms are consistent with those of the pandemic virus?
Yes. The information received is considered to be confidential and is to be used in support of the individual’s health and related employment needs.
What is the university doing to prepare for a possible H1N1 outbreak?
An executive team meets regularly to review and update current information. Timely and relevant updates are posted on the UC Merced Web site as necessary. The university has a comprehensive plan ready for communicating information in the event of an outbreak.
Is it advisable to ask for contact information when employees are out on personal vacation?
Yes. If your department has determined that certain employees responsible for performing essential functions may need to be contacted during periods they may not be scheduled to work, it is advisable to request their contact information. Such information may include personal telephone numbers, cellular phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. If your department has not already done so, we suggest that you define the essential functions performed within your department and compile a list of positions necessary to perform those essential functions. This will allow you to amend the formal job descriptions for those positions to include the necessity of providing contact information.
Can we legally require employees to provide a contact number?
Yes, if there is a business need to do so and the employee is given reasonable notice of the job requirement. Management should also maintain only such information as specifically authorized by the employee and the context in which this information will be used should also be disclosed to the employee, i.e., personal telephone numbers will be confidential; the list will not be openly distributed, and will only be accessed for an emergency situation.
As a manager or supervisor, can I make a temporary change to employees’ job assignments so that my department/unit can continue our primary (essential) functions during a communicable disease outbreak?
Yes, the University has the right to reassign employees to work outside their usual classifications/responsibilities to the extent they are qualified and can safely perform the work. This includes employees with the necessary skills that are needed to work outside their colleges/divisions. In these cases, the University will notify these employees that they are designated as performing essential functions and when and where they must report to work. Any such reassignments should be discussed with the Employee and Labor Relations first.
Does it allow me to make a temporary change to an employees’ assigned shift and/or assigned work schedule during a communicable disease outbreak?
Yes. The University has the right to temporarily adjust employees’ work schedules to meet operational demands. This adjustment may be made on a case-by-case basis depending upon operational considerations. However, the ability to do so may be limited by a collective bargaining agreement; you should consult the applicable agreement for the classification(s) with which you are working and/or your HR Unit Representative.
Curtailment of Operations (Closure) and Employees’ Pay Status
If I have to postpone our departmental business because of a communicable disease outbreak, can I send employees home?
Yes. If your Vice Chancellor or Dean determines to close all or part of the department’s operations based on an emergency, then you have the authority to send employees home.
Can I allow employees to telecommute or work alternate work schedules in order to continue operations?
Yes. In reviewing your staffing situation, allowing your employees to telecommute may be a viable option during this critical period. Please refer to Human Resources for information relating to Flexible Work Arrangements.
What right does a supervisor have to require that an employee report to work or remain at work during a public health emergency?
Management retains the right to schedule work and assign duties to employees. If an employee is unable to report to work as scheduled due to illness or injury, the supervisor may require medical documentation authorizing an absence. Please consult with Employee and Labor Relations should you require further clarification.
If a staff member is directed to report to or remain at work, is otherwise able to report to or remain at work, and refuses the directive of a proper authority to report to or remain at work, normal corrective action procedures should be followed as appropriate either immediately or once the emergent situation has stabilized, and upon consultation with the Senior HR Leadership Representative for the respective college/division.
If my department closes for the duration of an emergency, and the employees are sent home, what is their pay status?
Employees must use accrued leave (vacation/sick) or leave without pay as authorized by University policies and collective bargaining agreements. Timely processing of unpaid leaves is critical in order to avoid overpayments to employees. Normal leave policies will be applied until and unless a decision to change them for the emergency event is made by the proper authority and communicated to campus. Any changes to normal paid leave practices made by the proper authorities during an emergency event will be communicated to faculty, staff, and students by the University.
If units are shut down, but some positions need to be filled, and there are more available employees than open positions, how do we prioritize who is permitted to work?
We cannot answer this question definitively. An important component of each department’s pandemic preparedness planning process is to identify its essential functions, a succession of persons available to perform the functions in the event of staff absences, as well as a succession of persons to whom overall authority would be designated in the event of illness(es). In addition, collective bargaining agreements may have provisions related to temporary layoff that will need to be consulted.
In the event of a health emergency, management has the right to schedule work and assign work duties to employees while balancing operational needs. Managers have the discretion to reassign an employee’s job duties as deemed necessary to the extent they are qualified and can safely perform the work, and to explore alternate arrangements in order to ensure that essential operations continue.
What would happen to employees’ pay if they have no sick leave or vacation leave available?
Unpaid leave may be requested and granted consistent with policies and/or collective bargaining agreements for the respective employee group.
Otherwise, any changes to normal paid leave practices made by the proper authorities during an emergency event will be communicated to faculty, staff, and students by the University.
If the campus or certain departments are closed, how long will employees be paid? If closed, can units who are self-supporting continue to pay employees longer than campus if funds are available, or pay them for a longer period of time?
Any changes to normal paid leave practices made by the proper authorities during an emergency event will be communicated to faculty, staff, and students by the University.
Notice to Employees and to the Unions
Can I tell employees about our emergency response plans?
Yes. Employees should know what to expect before a public health emergency occurs. In those departments that expect to remain operational, employees need to know what role they will play. Therefore it is prudent planning to include your employees in the development of contingency plans and inform them of the communications plan.
Do we have the obligation to notify the unions prior to implementing the unit’s contingency plan?
The majority of the decisions you will make are well within the University’s right to manage the workplace under a collective bargaining agreement. We recommend that you do not delay implementation, thereby not impeding continued operations. However, we suggest that you advise Employee and Labor Relations as these changes are implemented; we will notify the unions with a blanket notice, if necessary, and as soon as possible.
Does the foregoing advice also apply to academic employees?
The basic principles set forth above regarding steps that the University may take to ensure a safe workplace apply to the University’s academic employees. Managers and supervisors should refer to the Academic Personnel Manual to determine applicable leave policies for the various categories of academic employees.
