COVID-19 Guidance

Benefits

It is entirely appropriate to experience feelings of stress, anxiety and fear during this crisis. If you are, know that you are not alone, and there are a number of resources available to you. The Employee Assistance Program (ComPsych) has created an online toolkit that includes a wide variety of information and can assist employees with personal, work and life issues. 

The GIC also provides resources to help its members cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Employee Benefits Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which includes the new federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the new federal Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA), employees are entitled to paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for reasons directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the new paid leave provisions, and the agency website remains the best source of information related to the FFCRA. For more information, please go to the agency’s website. For more details on this, please reach out to Katie Temple at ktemple@umassp.edu.

Coronavirus Response Act ("FFCRA"), please fill out the FFCRA Request Form.

Returning to On-Site Work

At the University of Massachusetts, the health and safety of our employees is our highest priority. The UMass President’s Office (UMPO) planning approach for COVID-19 response and returning to on-site locations is deeply rooted in ensuring that all decisions are made with best interests of employees in mind. On August 3, 2021, President Meehan emailed President's Office staff that for the health and safety of all University employees, all UMPO employees must be fully vaccinated to return to on-site work. The Hybrid Work Pilot for the UMPO begins on Monday, September 27, 2021.  

The OTT (On-Site Transition Team) and Human Resources has been working on the return to onsite work plan and has created FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) documents for both the Boston and Shrewsbury offices. The FAQ's may be viewed below under Return-to-Work Resources. 

The OTT has also updated the Return to Work Guide.  

 

Return-to-Work Resources

Daily monitoring of one’s health and well-being prior to coming to work can aid in early detection of COVID-19 and is an effective measure to prevent community spread.

The symptoms of COVID-19 include:

  • Fever (temperature over 100.4F) without having taken any fever reducing medications
  • Loss of Smell or Taste
  • Cough
  • Muscle Aches
  • Sore Throat
  • Shortness of Breath
  • Chills
  • Headache
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite

In our ongoing effort to protect on-site employees, we ask that employees conduct a daily self-check before going to work.

You can find the checklist at COVID-19 Daily Self Checklist. Any employee who meets the criteria in the checklist and/or begins experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should not report to work, should contact their healthcare provider, and should contact Katie Temple in Human Resources at 774-455-7571 or ktemple@umassp.edu.