Employee Information

Staff should be functioning at full capacity; however, shared office time should be minimized. In those workspaces that limit the ability to adhere social distancing guidelines, staff should rotate between teleworking and on-campus work. Those in vulnerable populations will be accommodated to the extent Human Resources policy allows and in conjunction with the supervisor.

Employees who have tested positive or who have symptoms of COVID-19 should seek medical care, notify their supervisor and stay at home. These employees are eligible to use up to two weeks paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and can use any other available leave.

Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and may stay home and telework when possible. The employee should follow GDPH recommendations in caring for their family member. These employees are eligible for up to two weeks paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and can use any other available leave.

High-Risk Populations

Upon request, individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness with COVID-19 will be given an opportunity to continue to work remotely. The GDPH and CDC have stated that people of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19:

• Older ages: The CDC no longer gives a minimum age for those at risk. The USG will continue to use 65 as its measure for evaluating requests for alternate work arrangements. Individuals who are younger than 65 can provide documentation from a healthcare provider that their age is a determining factor for risk that should prevent them from working on campus as scheduled
• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
• Obesity (body mass index of 30 or higher)
• Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Sickle cell disease
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
• Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
• Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
• Liver disease
• Pregnancy
• Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
• Smoking
• Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
• Type 1 diabetes mellitus

The UNG Office of Human Resources has an Accommodation Request Form for employees to use in making such a request. Documentation for underlying medical conditions will be required as a part of the request. All requests should be submitted to the UNG Office of Human Resources, who will review the request and, upon approval, work with the employee and immediate supervisor to document and provide for the alternate work arrangement.

All non-essential travel by USG employees is prohibited until further notice. The USG will provide updated information as the situation changes.

Intercampus travel should be restricted to essential UNG business only.

Travel for faculty and staff in the USG will continue to be informed by the most current guidance for state agencies and travel guidance from the CDC.

It is recommended that future guidelines for in-state and out-of-state travel include a list of approved areas/states dependent upon COVID-19 transmission. 

Faculty and staff who are traveling back to their campus from a region that is in the midst of a COVID-19 increase should follow the appropriate CDC guidelines related to self-quarantine.

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for two weeks (up to 80 hours or a part-time employees two week equivalent) of Emergency 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 a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

Employees employed for at least 30 days are eligible for up to an additional 10 weeks of paid Expanded Family Medical Leave. A full-time employee is eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave (two weeks of Emergency Paid Sick Leave followed by up to 10 weeks of paid Expanded Family Medical Leave) at 40 hours a week, and a part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.

Employees using the Expanded Family Medical Leave are entitled to pay at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate (over a 12-week period).

Emergency Paid Sick Leave may cover up to 80 hours of sick leave for an employee who has been directly exposed to, or who has been ask to quarantine, due to COVID19. The compensation is capped at $511 per day, not to exceed $5,110 total.

Compensation for those who are caring for someone else will be at least two-thirds (2/3) of their regular pay rate but capped at $200 per day and an aggregate total of $2,000.

Note: Emergency Paid Sick Leave may cover up to 80 hours of sick leave.

The leave totals are not cumulative. In this scenario, the employee would receive two weeks of leave, not four.

Note: Emergency Paid Sick Leave may cover up to 80 hours of sick leave.

Telework options should be allowed for employees who can conduct their job duties remotely without interruption or disruption to services. The employee’s manager (as defined by the institution) is authorized to determine which employees under their supervision are in roles where telework is an option. Employees requesting telework considerations based on a personal health condition that is considered high risk per CDC Guidelines due to COVID-19 should complete the ADA Accommodation Request Form for an alternative work arrangement.

A record should be maintained of which employees have been authorized for telework. For more information, please review UNG’s teleworking policy.

Flexible schedules should be utilized to reduce the number of employees physically on campus to the minimal level required at any given time to sustain service, safety and compliance. Flexible schedules should span normal service or may also be extended to non-standard hours to support social distancing. Please keep a record of changes to employee schedules.

Affected employees are entitled to take this leave as part of their standard 12-week FMLA allotment. It does not add an additional 12 weeks onto the already existing 12 weeks of FMLA.

The first two weeks of leave under this provision are unpaid – as is customary under the FMLA. The employee may take these two weeks of unpaid leave at the same time as the two weeks of emergency paid sick leave. Those utilizing FMLA based on a personal health condition and/or to care for a family member will fall under normal FMLA provisions with pay coming from available sick and vacation leave.

The remaining 10 weeks must be paid – unlike other FMLA leave. Employees employed for at least 30 days are eligible for up to an additional 10 weeks of paid Expanded Family Medical Leave 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. A full-time employee is eligible for up to 10 weeks of paid Expanded Family Medical Leave at 40 hours a week, and a part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.

Employees using the Expanded Family Medical Leave are entitled to pay at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate (over a 10-week period).

Those utilizing FMLA based on a personal health condition and/or to care for a family member will fall under normal FMLA provisions with pay coming from available sick and vacation leave.
Note: The employer may require employees to give as much notice as is practicable when the need for leave is foreseeable.