Office of Human Resources

• Paid Administrative Leave was continued by the Governor and the Chancellor through April 10, 2020, using the same criteria as previously communicated.
• Paid Administrative Leave is available for those who are self-quarantined and unable to work, and for those for whom work is not available.
• Paid Administrative Leave can be used for portions of a day for which the employee may not have work available, for instance an employee who can work remotely but does not have a full 7.5 hours of work.
• Employees experiencing symptoms of Coronavirus who are unable to work because of illness are to enter their absence in ESS under “Sick Leave COVID”
• Employees for whom work is available but who choose not to work because they are members of a high risk group, or caring for an individual in their home that belongs to a high risk group are to enter their absence in ESS under “Annual COVID”, “Personal COVID ”, “Compensatory COVID”.
• Employees who are unable to work because they are caring for children under the age of 18, (or disabled children over 18), are to enter their absence in ESS under “Sick Family COVID” “Annual COVID”, “Personal COVID”, “Compensatory COVID”.  *Beginning April 1, 2020, the Federal government enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act), extending emergency sick leave benefits and extended protections under the Family Medical Leave Act to individuals in this group.  Please reference the information below for FFCRA if this applies to your situation.

• Employees who have work and can work remotely should continue to do so.  For employees in a “Remote Work Status,” please refer to the Emergency Remote Work and Telecommuting Procedures. 
• Employees whose work does not lend itself to working from home (e.g. custodians, trades, residence life, police, etc.) and who have been notified they are essential and provided a travel authorization should report to work as directed by their supervisor. 
  • If you don’t know if you have been identified as essential, contact your divisional Associate Vice President, or department Director.  In some cases, your immediate supervisor may not have been deemed essential and may not be working.
  • Employees in these groups who have not been notified and provided a travel authorization do not have work available and should reference information labeled Employees for whom NO work is available.
• As noted, beginning April 1, 2020, the Federal government enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act), extending emergency sick leave benefits and extended protections under the Family Medical Leave Act to individuals in this group.  Generally, the Act provides that employees of covered employers are eligible for:
  • Two (2) weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
  • Two (2) weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor; and
  • Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
  • Links for more information:
    • FFCRA
    • Employee FAQs about FFCRA
    • To submit questions or to request paid leave under FFCRA, please contact COVID19LeaveRequest@passhe.edu

• Employees who are not working or not telecommuting will be required to use their own leave in accordance with direction from the Governor’s Office of Administration.  In order to prevent furloughs the Governor has allowed the use of liberal leave.
• Employees, who are not working or who are unable to telecommute, may request to use any of the paid or unpaid leave types listed below for which they are eligible and with supervisory approval, as needed:
  • Accrued and anticipated annual leave
  • Compensatory leave
  • Holiday leave earned from working on a holiday
  • Accrued and anticipated sick leave
  • Accrued and anticipated personal leave
  • Approvedleave without pay with benefits (LWOP)
• Due to the COVID-19 emergency, Commonwealth leave policies prohibiting employees from using paid leave during their first thirty (30) calendar days of employment and prohibiting employees with less than one (1) year of service from using anticipated leave are BOTH SUSPENDED temporarily for those employees for whom no work is available. 
• For those employees who have carryover leave that was set to expire on April 10, 2020 ordinarily that leave would either convert to sick leave or be forfeited.  The State System will be removing the requirement to use excess carryover leave during this state of emergency. Employees will not lose this excess leave and will not have it converted to sick leave at this time. Once the state of emergency is over, the State System will reinstate the policy with at least 60-day notice.
• Employees who are unable to work or who are unable to telecommute are NOT eligible for the FFCRA leave mentioned above.
• If you choose not to use, or are not eligible for, any paid leave benefits, you may be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits.  Please contact uchelp@pa.gov.  For additional information, please refer to the Commonwealth of PA COVID-19 FAQs.

FAQs

Can I use my accrued and/or anticipated annual leave, or accrued/anticipated personal leave if there is no work available for me due to COVID-19?

• Yes. Beginning April 11, 2020, employees who are not required to be on campus and who cannot work remotely must use their own leave for their absence. Employees who are reporting to work or working remotely should continue to do so and are not required to use leave.
• Employees may use their accrued or anticipated annual or personal leave to which they may become entitled in the 2020 leave calendar year.

• For new employees, the rules that normally prohibit employees with less than one (1) year of service from anticipating annual leave during their first year of employment are temporarily suspended for absences due to COVID-19. Therefore, employees with less than one (1) year of employment may anticipate annual or personal leave to which they would become entitled in the 2020 leave calendar year. 

Can my supervisor deny the use of accrued or anticipated annual or personal leave related to lack of work during COVID-19?

• No

Can I use accrued compensatory leave (aka “Comp Leave”) if there is no work available for me due to COVID-19?

• Yes. Beginning April 11, 2020, employees who are not required to be on campus and who cannot work remotely must use their own leave for their absence. Employees who are reporting to work or working remotely should continue to do so and are not required to use leave.
• Employees may use their accrued compensatory leave; however, compensatory leave cannot be anticipated.
  
  

Can my supervisor deny the use of compensatory leave related to lack of work during COVID-19?

• No

Can I use my accrued and/or anticipated sick leave if there is no work available for me due to COVID-19? 

• Yes. Beginning April 11, 2020, employees who are not required to be on campus and who cannot work remotely work must use their own leave for their absence. Employees who are reporting to work or working remotely should continue to do so and are not required to use leave.  

• Normally, the use of sick leave is only appropriate when you are sick or injured. However, the rules associated with sick leave use have been temporarily suspended for absences due to COVID-19.  This temporary suspension is only in effect during the COVID-19 emergency. 
• Employees may use accrued and anticipated sick leave to which they would become entitled in the 2020 leave calendar year. 
• For new employees, the rules that normally prohibit employees with less than one (1) year of service from anticipating sick leave during their first year of employment are temporarily suspended for absences due to COVID-19.  Therefore, employees with less than one (1) year of employment may anticipate sick leave to which they would become entitled in the 2020 leave calendar year. 

If I use sick leave because I am sick or injured for any reason including sickness due to COVID-19, do I still need a note from my doctor?

• No.  The rules associated with sick leave use, including the rule requiring employees to provide a doctor’s note for any sick absence of three (3) or more consecutive workdays, have been temporarily suspended for absences due to COVID-19. This temporary suspension is only in effect during the COVID-19 emergency.

Can my supervisor deny the use of sick leave related to lack of work during COVID-19?

• No

Can I use approved leave without pay (LWOP) instead of using all my paid leave during this time? 

• Yes.  Approved LWOP may be used with supervisory approval. However, LWOP must be used in increments equal to at least one full pay period.  You may begin a LWOP in the middle of a pay period provided the LWOP extends through the end of the next pay period.

Can I use a combination of LWOP and paid leave during this time?

• Yes. However, LWOP must be used in increments equal to at least one full pay period.

Am I still responsible to pay the employee health care contribution if I use LWOP?

• Yes. If you are on LWOP for more than one (1) full pay period, you will receive a bill from the Pennsylvania Employee Benefits Trust Fund (PEBTF) or the State System for the required employee contribution/payment.

Will I earn leave or seniority while on unpaid leave? 

• No, you do not earn leave or seniority credit while on unpaid leave.

If I am currently on administrative leave due to work not being available can I apply for FFCRA leave?

• No, you only qualify to utilize FFCRA leave if there is work available that you are unable to perform.

• Employees who self-quarantine are to remain quarantined for 14 days from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, or from the date of last exposure to an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19, or from the date of last exposure to an individual who is caring for an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19, subject to the provisions noted above relative to types of leave available.
• Universal Masking: Specific to the Governor’s recommendation for “universal masking”, understand this is to protect others from germs you might spread by coughing or sneezing.   Please refer to the guidance on universal masking, including instructions on how to make your own mask. The university is in the process of procuring non-medical/home-made masks as a result of this recommendation.  Until then those employees working on-campus should consult the information on the site for constructing their own masks.

Pennsylvania Department of Public Health – Coronavirus Information

Center for Disease Control – Coronavirus Information

No, all student workers will be treated the same.

Yes. With many offices closed to the public and regular employees working remotely, a student worker should not be onsite working under the current situation. That said, if there is work a student worker could perform remotely, they are permitted to do so. All hours worked by a student worker will be submitted and approved by their supervisor using eTime as is the current practice.

Supervisors of student workers can assign different work from what the student may have been doing historically. The work should not be bargaining unit work, and the work should still be supervised by a bargaining unit member or a manager. If students will be transferred to another department under a different cost center, please reach out to Student Payroll at stu-pay@iup.edu.

Yes, if there is no work a student can perform remotely, students will continue to get paid. Payments will be calculated using the average hours of the three full pay periods prior to Spring Break, pay periods ending 1/31/20, 2/14/20, and 2/28/20. In no case can the payment(s) exceed a student’s allowable hours or exceed their allowable award if funded by financial aid.

The student should not receive the average salary payment. This situation should be considered a voluntary resignation. The supervisor should separate the student through eTime.

Students should submit actual hours worked in eTime.

Supervisors should approve hours according to normal schedule.

Payroll staff will ensure students receive payment for the higher of two amounts—either actual hours worked, or the amount explained in Q4, the average of the three full pay periods prior to Spring Break.

The first average salary calculation payment will be on April 10, 2020. The final payment will be May 22, 2020.

Student employees can log into eTime and review the hours submitted for the pay periods in Q4. The gross payment can be calculated by multiplying the hours by the hourly rate and dividing by the number of pay periods in which hours were recorded. See the examples below:

Yes. The work must be suitable to their graduate assistantship, tied to their academic program.

Graduate assistants will continue to receive their stipends as previously arranged.

A paper paycheck will be mailed from the State System of Higher Education to the permanent address on record in SAP. At this time, no new direct deposit enrollments are being accepted for existing employees.