Dear Colleagues,

I hope that this message finds you healthy and that you have been able to enjoy some of the beautiful spring weather in the past few days.  As one of the relatively small group of employees continuing to work regularly on campus over the past weeks, I have missed being able to see you and I look forward to hopefully seeing you back here soon.  That is what I am writing to you about today.

As you have likely seen, both Gov. Parson and Mayor McMurray have indicated their desire for employees to begin returning to work on Monday, May 4th and we are eager for you to be back on campus as well.  In light of the fourth amendment to the city’s declaration and order, and subject to any further changes that may be announced at the local, state, or national level, I wanted to make you aware of the following, which are in addition to the guidance we have issued previously:

  • Beginning on Monday, May 4, subject to further notice, campus will return to normal operating hours, and three buildings (Eder Hall, Popplewell Hall, and Blum Union) will be open to both students and the public.  Access to all other buildings will be restricted to employees only, with exceptions to be approved by appropriate Vice Presidents.

  • Also on Monday, May 4, and again, subject to further notice, any assigned work hours should be planned for work on campus, rather than remotely, unless otherwise approved by your supervisor.

    • If you feel that you need to continue to work remotely, please discuss this with your supervisor so that this arrangement can be approved by HR.

    • If you are currently taking accrued or unpaid leave for some of your weekly hours due to diminished work at this time, please verify with your supervisor whether that arrangement will change for any reason with the shift back to campus.

    • Note: The COVID-19 Work/Leave Policy has been extended through May 29 and Federal FFCRA Leave is also still available for your use as needed.

  • When returning to work on campus, please ensure that you maintain required social distancing practices (6 feet between yourself and other people).

  • Follow proper hygiene practices to protect yourself and others (handwashing, cover your cough, stay home when sick, etc.).  A full list can be found here.

  • Physical plant staff are taking great care to keep campus spaces clean. When using any shared spaces, please use common sense in following the guidance above and take care to clean after yourself as well.

  • Meetings in shared physical space must be limited to 9 persons or fewer.  (More, of course, may join remotely.)

  • Do not congregate in common areas in groups greater than 9 persons.

  • Please note that some spaces inside buildings will remain locked while not in use for the time being in order to limit the need for extra cleaning. (e.g. classrooms not in use due to all online classes for the summer, etc.)  Staff will routinely disinfect common areas and other high traffic areas.

  • If you have been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19, please inform your supervisor by phone/email immediately before returning to work.

If our guidance from local and state officials changes, we will be back in touch about changes to our plans for reopening campus. We will also continue to update information on our COVID-19 webpage.  Otherwise, if you have questions, please let our Human Resources staff know.  We look forward to seeing you back on campus very soon!

 

Best,

 

Sara Freemyer