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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministrative Order 2020-03 Guidance for Employees and Officials Regarding COVID-19 03-19-20 SO �: X CO ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2020 - 03 Guidance for Employees and City Officials Regarding COVID-19 (Effective March 19,2020) PURPOSE The City is working closely with the Gallatin City-County Health Department (GCCHD) and other local partners to ensure a coordinated response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), consistent with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). With the recent identification of COVID-19 cases in the State and in Gallatin County, the City is further focusing on measures to protect the health of its employees, officials, and all members of the Bozeman community. The purpose of this Administrative Order is to provide guidance on the measures the City is now taking to ensure the City is fulfilling its role as a community partner in slowing the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining support for City operations and services and a safe work environment for City employees. Many of these measures involve"social distancing"—prudent actions designed to slow the spread of contagious disease. The City understands the current environment has caused anxiety for our employees and would like to reassure our employees that these measures are being taken as a precaution. Because this public health situation is changing day-by-day, and sometimes hour-by-hour,these guidelines are subject to change or revocation as the City Manager considers necessary. Any changes will be communicated to employees in the timeliest manner feasible. The following measures are applicable to all City employees and officials, unless an exception has been made by the City Manager. Up to date guidance on COVID-19 is available at https://www.healthygallatin.org/coronavirus- covid-19/. Administrative Order 2020—03 Page 1 This Order provides guidance for employees on issues related to the work environment, meetings,use of leave, and instructions for tracking and reporting activities related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. These measures apply until further notice. 1. Sick employees must stay home. Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness must stay home and may not come to work until they are free of fever(100.4'F or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours,without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees must notify their supervisor by phone,text, or email, and stay home if they are sick. Employees will be compensated in accordance with Section 7 below during the period they are home sick. 2. Employees who appear sick will be sent home. Employees who appear to have acute respiratory illness symptoms (i.e. cough, shortness of breath) upon arrival to work or become sick during the day will be separated from other employees and be sent home immediately. Employees may not return to work until they are free of fever(100.4'F or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees will be compensated in accordance with Section 7 below during the period they are home sick. 3. Essential job functions;working from home. The City and each department are working to determine which job functions can be performed at home. Upon notification from your Department Director that you can work from home with appropriate technology, devices and mandatory technology safeguards,you will be required to work from home. Department Directors will provide specific direction to their employees regarding the ability to work from home, as well as direction on work hours and schedule for non-exempt employees. The City and each department will create a plan detailing which essential job functions must reasonably be performed at the employee's usual workplace. Employees working from home may be required to sign a telecommuting agreement if required by the City Manager. Any employee whose position has been identified as mission critical to be performed on site and who is at heightened risk for adverse health complications if exposed to COVID-19 must immediately notify their direct supervisor so that alternate arrangements may be made, or additional measures can be taken to protect you at work. 4. Employees remaining in their usual work place. In accordance with City Emergency Declaration(s)related to COVID-19,individual department plans, or other administrative orders, all employees who are well and who have been identified as mission critical employees or as employees whose duties cannot reasonably be performed from home must continue to perform their city functions in the usual manner. The City and local health Administrative Order 2020—03 Page 2 officials will work to ensure all such employees follow CDC and local health guidelines for personal hygiene,workplace sanitation, and social distancing practices wherever appropriate and feasible, including moving or reassigning work stations to minimize close contact between employees, staggering work shifts in conformance with applicable collective bargaining agreements, and/or other flexible work arrangements. 5. Employees who are well but have a sick household member must stay home. Employees who are well but have a household member who is diagnosed with COVID-19, or who is displaying the symptoms of COVID-19 described in section 1, should notify their supervisor. All such employees must self-quarantine for a minimum of 14 days. 6. Employees at heightened risk may be required to work from home. All employees are encouraged to self-monitor for signs of possible COVID-19 exposure. Employees who are at heightened risk as described below must take the following actions: a. Any employee who has travelled outside the State of Montana on or after March 12, 2020 must report such travel to their Department Director, who will then work with the City Manager and Human Resources Director to determine whether the employee will be required to stay home and for what period of time. b. Any employee who is, or has a household member who is, considered by the CDC or GCCHD to be at heightened risk because of factors such as age or an underlying health condition, such as heart or lung disease or diabetes, or who are immunocompromised,must report this circumstance to their Department Director, who will then work with the City Manager and Human Resources Director to determine whether the employee will be required to stay home and for what period of time. c. Any employee who, for any reason not covered by (a) or(b),believes they are at heightened risk and should work from home is encouraged to discuss their particular circumstances with their Department Director. 7. Administrative leave; use of sick leave. Employees requesting administrative leave with pay as described herein must complete an employee absence form available from their Department Director or the human resources department. a. Administrative leave(with pay). The City will pay the following employees their regular salary or hourly rate without the use of leave accruals: i. Employees who are diagnosed with COVID-19, or who have the symptoms of COVID-19 described in Section 1, or who must provide care to a household Administrative Order 2020—03 Page 3 member or dependent diagnosed with COVID-19 or who is displaying the symptoms of COVID-19 described in Section 1. ii. Employees who are impacted by COVID-19 as described below and are unable to work from home. "Impacted employees"include: 1. An employee who is, or who has a dependent or household member who is diagnosed with COVID-19, or who have the symptoms of COVID-19 described in section 1; or 2. An employee who has been directed by the City to not report for work, and the City has not provided the employee the means to perform their work from home; or 3. An employee directed by a medical professional or public health authority to quarantine; or 4. An employee, an employee's dependent, or an employee's household member is in one of the categories identified by the CDC as being high risk for serious complications from COVID-19 and has been advised by a medical professional, a public health authority, or pursuant to this Administrative Order not to leave their home or come to work; or 5. The school or daycare center of an employee's dependent has closed due to precautionary or emergency measures related to COVID-19; or 6. Supportive services for an employee's dependent (such as medical transportation, in-home care providers, etc.) are unavailable due to COVID-19 which requires the employee to care for that dependent; or 7. Public or alternative transportation is unavailable due to precautionary or emergency measures related to COVID-19 and an employee is unable to travel to and from work. iii. Employees able to work remotely and who are impacted by COVID-19 as described herein must communicate with their supervisor as to their individual capacity to continue to work remotely as their individual or household situations change. Employees shifting between working remotely and addressing impacts of COVID-19 must clearly delineate their time pursuant to Section 8. b. When use of sick leave accrual is required. Employees who wish to be absent from work and who do not wish to work from home, but do not meet the circumstances in Administrative Order 2020—03 Page 4 Section 7(a) above,must use their sick leave accruals per the City's existing policies and procedures. c. Medical professional verification. Employees are not required to provide the City with written verification of medical condition in order to take administrative leave with pay or to return to work in accordance with this order. 8. Time keeping and COVID-19.Regular sick leave will be reported and tracked as normal. Direct COVID-19 response and Administrative Leave(with pay)will need to be recorded differently to track the costs. a. Administrative Leave (with pay). The code CORONA must be used in the timekeeping system to record the Administrative leave. b. Direct time on COVID-19 response.Direct time will need to be recorded using the CORONA project code. In addition, a report template will be sent out by the Fire Chief at the end of the pay period to collect details of what the time was used for. This aids the City in getting some of the time reimbursed. 9. Staff meetings/meeting with members of the public. Employees are encouraged to limit their in-person staff meetings and Directors are encouraged to provide options for staff meetings to occur using technology. The City's Information Technology(IT)Department has resources to use for telephonic meetings. Please refer to the following link for information on using phone conferencing: https://www.bozeman.net/Home/ShowDocument?id=l 0075. Other options may be available. Department Directors may authorize other resources in consultation with the IT Department. For meetings between employees and members of the public,please discourage in-person meetings. Do everything possible to use telephone conferencing or other forms of technology to limit employee and citizen personal interactions. Again,Department Directors can work with the IT Department to provide information on technology options. General phone conferencing is always available. Before conducting or scheduling an in person meeting with the public, employees must receive authorization from their Department Director. Notwithstanding the above, meetings with ten or more people,whether staff,public, or a combination, are prohibited. The meeting may be conducted using a combination of in person attendance and telephonic resources. 10. Volunteers. Directors whose departments use volunteers must inform volunteers to not report to City facilities. Administrative Order 2020—03 Page 5 11. Travel. a. Work Travel. All work-related non-essential travel is suspended. The City Manager will determine on a case-by-case basis whether work related travel is essential. b. Personal Travel. Employees and officials are asked to consult the latest CDC guidance relevant to personal travel before travelling, available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html. 12. Department Plans. In addition to county-wide emergency response plans, each department must prepare a plan for its own operations in response to this public health environment for approval by the City Manager. Your Department Directors and supervisors will communicate any additional department-specific measures to you. 13. Recruitment; new employees. a. Active recruitment. Directors who are in the recruitment process must contact the City Manager for further instructions. The City Manager may extend closing dates for open recruitments,reschedule or cancel interviews, or take such other actions the City Manager deems appropriate on a case-by-case basis. b. Candidates with conditional offers. The Director of Human Resources must advise the City Manager of all candidates to whom offers have been made. The City Manager may cancel or amend offers made to candidates who have not yet accepted their conditional offers. The City Manager and the Director of Human Resources will work with candidates who have already accepted offers to determine appropriate start dates or other arrangements. 14. Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority (MMIA) benefits and employee assistance. MMIA has published information regarding coverage for testing,remote resources available to covered employees and officials (such as tele-medicine) and other useful information at https://www.mmiaeb.net/covid-19/ This is a stressful time for employees. Some employees may need to seek additional help. Please remember the City provides an Employee Assistance Plan(EAP)benefit to all employees. More information can be found at https://www.mmiaeb.net/mental-health/. 15. Expenditure tracking for expenses related to COVID-19. All expenditures related to COVID-19 response must be recorded using the project code CORONA. The expenditure needs to be coded to the correct account codes (fund, department, division, and activity) and Administrative Order 2020—03 Page 6 the CORONA project code aids the City in tracking all the expenditures for response throughout the City. 16. Employee concerns. The City is committed to ensuring a safe work environment for all employees. If you have concerns regarding COVID-19 and the City's response,please contact your direct supervisor first and then your Department Director. 17. Confidentiality. Information you provide about having been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or your own diagnosis will be kept confidential to the extent possible. This means that if we have to warn coworkers or take other action to protect other employees or the community,we will do our best to protect your identity, consistent with the direction of the GCCHD and applicable privacy laws. 18. Exceptions. The City Manager may make exceptions to these measures on a case-by-case basis. Employees or officials seeking an exception must inform their direct supervisor, copying their Director. DATED this 19th day of March, 2020. Dennis M. Taylor, Interim CitylManager Administrative Order 2020—03 Page 7