Connecticut College

Mar. 12, 2020

Staff Guidance regarding COVID-19

Dear Staff Colleagues,

We are following up on the email President Bergeron sent you last night regarding COVID-19. We want to reiterate that the College is not closed. Faculty and staff will continue to fulfill their work responsibilities as under normal circumstances and will be paid accordingly.

This unprecedented situation and the uncertainty that comes with it is naturally creating feelings of confusion, anxiety, fear, anger, helplessness, and depression. We want to offer a few actions that you can take yourself and share with others:

• Stay abreast of the facts.  We are all learning about COVID-19. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) provide up-to-date information about COVID-19 and steps we can each take to mitigate its spread.
• Practice self-care.  From personal hygiene and stress management to getting adequate sleep and maintaining a healthy diet, we each need to take care of ourselves. Make this a priority.
• Practice community care.  If you have a fever or other flu symptoms, stay home. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Maintain a healthy distance between yourself and colleagues to reduce the possible spread of infection.
• Use your resources.  The College’s employee assistance program, HigherEd EAP, provides free, confidential, in-person and telephonic counseling for you and your immediate family members. To schedule an appointment call 800-252-4555. HigherEd EAP also has a COVID-19 website with articles, FAQs, videos, webinars, and more. 

We recognize that everyone’s personal circumstances are different, and so we have developed the following guidance: 

• If you are in a high-risk group for getting seriously ill from COVID-19 as defined by the CDC, you may complete and submit the COVID-19 Request for Accommodation form as well as provide evidence supporting your serious personal health condition to the Human Resources Office. HR will review the request with your department head and notify you if your request is granted.  

• In the event that you need to stay home to care for a young child because of a school closure due to COVID-19, you may:
  • Contact your department head and request to work an alternate on-campus schedule, and/or if you can complete some/all of your job functions remotely, ask your department head if you can telecommute. Department heads will determine if this can be granted based on business needs.
  • Choose not to work. Be sure to notify your supervisor as soon as possible that you will be absent. Sick leave will be charged if available, and sick leave banks will be allowed to run seven days in arrears. Once sick leave is exhausted, you may use any available vacation days. The College is not able to offer more at this time.

• If you become sick with COVID-19
  • You must stay home and follow public health officials’ guidance. After following that guidance, you must be fever free for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medication before returning to work. Fever, in this case, is 100.4? Fahrenheit.
  • If you accrue sick leave, the hours you are scheduled to work will be charged to your sick bank, if available. Once your sick bank is exhausted, you will receive up to 3 additional paid sick days, then your sick bank will be allowed to run 7 days in arrears. Once the previous is exhausted, your vacation bank will be charged, if available. The College is not able to offer more at this time.
  • If you are scheduled to work, but do not accrue sick leave, you will be paid for up to three days. The College is not able to offer more at this time.

• If you are quarantined by a public health official or find yourself caring for someone ill with COVID -19
  • You must follow public health officials’ guidance. Additionally, you must be symptom-free and fever-free for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medication before returning to work. Fever, in this case, is 100.4? Fahrenheit.
  • If you can fulfill some or all of your essential job functions remotely, you should contact your department head to request to telecommute. During the telecommuting period, you will receive your regular pay for the hours you work.
  • If you accrue sick leave, the hours you are scheduled to work will be charged to your sick bank, if available. Once your sick bank is exhausted, you will receive up to 3 additional paid sick days, then your sick bank will be allowed to run 7 days in arrears. Once the previous is exhausted, your vacation bank will be charged, if available. The College is not able to offer more at this time.
  • If you do not accrue sick leave, you will be paid for up to three days for hours you do not work. The College is not able to offer more at this time.

We know you have many questions and ask you to monitor the FAQs on the College’s Coronavirus website, which we continue to update. If you have a question that is not answered there, please do forward it to HumanResources@conncoll.edu or one of us directly.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Miller, Vice President for Human Resources and Organizational Development
John McKnight, Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion