The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued interim guidance for employers in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition, the Baker Administration has issued guidelines for state employees on this matter. The purpose of the document is to provide UMass President’s Office employees with guidance that is consistent with these guidelines. This guidance will remain in place for the UMass President’s Office until Monday April 13th or until additional guidelines are issued, whichever is earlier.

  • Please remember that the large majority of people who are exposed to COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms. The best defense against COVID-19 is basic hand washing, coughing and sneezing etiquette, and remaining out of work if you are ill.

The guidelines are as follows:

President’s Office employees who meet any of the following criteria should not report to work:

  • Employee has had a presumed or confirmed positive test for COVID-19
  • Employee has had close contact with a person who had has a presumed or confirmed positive test for COVID-19
  • Employee has recently returned from a CDC-designated level 3 country or other restricted travel areas defined by the CDC
  • Employee is experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19:
    • Fever
    • Cough
    • Shortness of breath

Employees experiencing these symptoms should call their healthcare provider. The CDC provides specific guidance to assist people with assessing their risk level on their Risk Assessment page.

Notification, Documentation and Return to Work

Employees who are absent from work because they meet one or more of the criteria above should follow their existing department notification process, and they should contact Jacquie Kittler, Director of Employee & Labor Relations, at jkittler@umassp.edu or at 774-455-7559. In addition, they should contact Jacquie Kittler to coordinate the terms of their return to work.

Consistent with CDC guidelines, employees who do not report to work because they meet one or more of the criteria above should contact their healthcare provider. However, they do not need to provide UMass with medical documentation to validate their absence.

Use of Paid Leave

Employees can use available paid leave (including sick, vacation and personal leave) if they are absent from work for one of the reasons above. Employees who do not have sufficient paid leave to cover their absence should contact Jacquie Kittler at jkittler@umassp.edu or 774-455-7559.

If an employee is fit to perform work, but unable to report to work because they have self-quarantined from having had close contact with a person who is presumed or confirmed to test positive for COVID-19 or because they recently returned from a CDC-designated level 3 country or other restricted travel area defined by the CDC, they may be able to work from home rather than use paid leave. This arrangement should be reviewed and agreed to by the employee, his/her supervisor and Human Resources.

Work from Home

The President’s Office is exploring options to increase the number of employees who may work from home. At this time, existing work from home agreements should continue in their current form. However, supervisors should work with employees, who currently do not work from home, to develop work from home options that could be implemented in the event we need to expand the number of employees who work from home.

Employees with Symptoms

If an employee is concerned that a co-worker may pose a health risk to others, please contact Jacquie Kittler at jkittler@umassp.edu or at 774-455-7559. We ask that any decision to send an employee home from work, or restrict an employee from the workplace, be made in conjunction with Human Resources on a case-by-case, fact-specific basis.

Work Related Travel

All international and out-of-state University-related travel for President’s Office employees has been cancelled.

Personal Travel

The President’s Office strongly discourages employees from traveling internationally at this time. Employees who choose to engage in personal travel should review the “Traveler’s Health Notices” that can be found at CDC Travel page. Employees should be advised that travel to certain locations may result in the need for the employee to self-quarantine upon his/her return in accordance with CDC recommendations. Employees should be aware of the impact personal travel and any requirement to self-quarantine will have on their paid leave balances. Self-quarantine-related absence from work as a result of personal travel will require use of the employee’s paid leave.

Conference and Large Gatherings and In-Person Meetings

Employees may not attend external work-related conferences, seminars or events in person. Alternatively, employees are encouraged to participate remotely. Regular internal business shall continue. However, meeting organizers are encouraged to utilize alternatives like conference calls, Zoom, WebEx and other group communication tools.

Additionally, employees may not host in-person meetings, seminars or conferences that include external parties. All such gatherings must be held using alternatives such as conference calls, Zoom, WebEx, etc., or must be cancelled. This does not pertain to meetings, seminars or conferences with internal staff only; however wherever possible, such gatherings with internal staff are encouraged to be held using the previously-mentioned alternatives.

In-person meetings with UMass employees from other campuses or with consultants performing work for the University should only take place if:

  • The meeting is essential to the COVID-19 response process or another essential business continuity function
  • The meeting cannot be held remotely
  • The meeting cannot be rescheduled to a later date

  • The meeting/interaction would consist of a small group of people

Err on the side of caution when making this assessment.

In this unique situation, employees working on the campuses should be considered “external parties”.

Interviews for Employment

Interviews with candidates for employment should be conducted remotely or rescheduled.

Employees with Increased Risk

Older adults and individuals with serious chronic medical conditions are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill should they contract COVID-19. Employees in these risk groups are encouraged to talk with their supervisors to review possible alternative work assignments which may include working from home. These employees may also contact Katie Temple, the Senior Benefits Generalist for the President’s Office, at ktemple@umassp.edu or 774-455-7571 to discuss this matter.

As is always the case, supervisors should not ask employees about the details or their “chronic medical condition”. Instead, they should direct the employee to Katie Temple in HR. During this unique period of time, HR will not ask employees for medical documentation to support their claim that they have a chronic medical condition.

Bias in the workplace

Employees are reminded to be mindful of projecting their anxiety about COVID-19 onto people from specific races and ethnicities. Stigma directed towards any group regarding the virus is contrary to the facts and runs counter to the values of our University and is not to be tolerated.

Additional information

Employees with specific questions regarding COVID-19, including its symptoms, spread, prevention and treatment can be found with the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health at the links below.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Jacquie Kittler at jkittler@umassp.edu or 774-455-7559. Employees are also reminded of the availability of the University’s Employee Assistance Program which can be reached at 844-393-4983.