Coronavirus Information for Staff Employees

Dear staff colleagues,

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, this is a time of uncertainty and stress for all of us. On behalf of UP’s leadership, I want you to know that we care about you, your families, and our communities. Our goal is to work together, support each other, and navigate this situation as a united campus. As a community of care and support, we can handle anything that comes our way.

Please note that the University is uploading Coronavirus resources and FAQs at www.up.edu/coronavirus and in the Human Resources section of PilotsUP.

An important goal is to prevent and slow the spread of the Coronavirus. In support of this, the University requests that departments and units work on the following:

• The University encourages supervisors and employees to work together to determine those employees who can work from home, full-time or part-time, on a temporary basis while we respond to the Coronavirus situation. Please carefully review and follow the COVID Telework Policy and the COVID Telework Agreement Form. These documents are available Human Resources section of PilotsUP. 
  
  
• The COVID Telework policy does not cover employees who are requesting telework because: they may have been exposed to the Coronavirus, they have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus, they are quarantined due to the Coronavirus, they have childcare or family care difficulties related to the Coronavirus, or they or a family member is more vulnerable to the Coronavirus due to a health situation. Employees in these situations should work directly with Human Resources at hr@up.edu or (503) 943-8484.
  
  
• If you are currently working from home and need technical assistance, please visit access.up.edu for telework support and resources.  Please contact the Help Desk if you need further assistance.

• Please refer to the COVID Telework policy and guidance for student employees and their supervisors on the Student Employment Page.

• For employees who need to come to campus to do their job duties, we ask that supervisors and employees work together to create social distancing measures as possible and reasonable. This can include things like changing work spaces to create more distance and lessening in-person meetings. Please refer to Human Resources guidance regarding essential personnel on the HR page in PilotsUP.
  
  
• To ensure clarity about the University’s expectations of employees related to Executive Order NO. 20-12, the University has developed a Covid Social Distancing Policy. Please review the policy carefully and follow its requirements.
  
  
• Please remember that all University-sponsored and/or reimbursed travel must either be canceled or postponed until further notice, unless a written exception is granted by the Provost and/or a University Vice President.

To support UP and our communities, each of us needs to do our part, and how each of us contributes may be different. Please know that we cannot treat everyone the same; for example, some positions will require that work be done on campus and cannot be approved for telework. However, we can treat everyone in our community with care and support, with fairness and equity.

If you need help navigating personal or work situations – related to the Coronavirus, illness, childcare or family care, stress, and other situations – I encourage you to reach out to Human Resources (hr@up.edu, 503-943-8484) or to the confidential, free Employee Assistance Program (www.up.edu/hr/benefits/eap.html).  For a list of additional resources, please visit the HR page in PilotsUP.

Also, please support the non-UP communities that you are engaged with. This includes acting responsibly with social distancing measures like not going to large gatherings of people. 

Thank you everyone. Please take care of yourself, your families, and each other.

Sandy S. Chung
Vice President for Human Resources & Title IX Coordinator for Compliance