530 - Temporary Policy on University Quarantine Orders

Subject: Temporary Policy on University Quarantine Orders

Section: U530

Date: November 9, 2020

Purpose:

To provide for the administration of a paid absence for employees who need to comply with a quarantine directive from a University COVID-19 contact tracer. This policy will be effective through March 31, 2021.

who is governed by this policy:

This temporary policy applies to all staff employees.

Policy statement:

A. Employees who receive a quarantine directive from a University of Chicago COVID-19 contact tracer will continue to be paid for regularly scheduled work days during their absence provided the following conditions are met:

The quarantine directive must be issued by a University of Chicago contact tracer;
The investigation of the contact tracer concluded, the employee was in close contact with an infected person in the course of performing their duties for the University; and
The employee’s job duties cannot be performed remotely.

B. Employees will be required to provide a copy of the communication from the contact tracer to their supervisor to confirm the start/end dates of quarantine.

C. Hourly non-exempt employees will be paid for their regular working hours at their regular hourly rate.

D. Employees will continue to accrue sick, vacation, and personal days during their absence.

E. This paid absence applies to employees who meet the above criteria for the duration of the quarantine order, typically fourteen (14) calendar days or fewer.

F. Employees will be paid for missed regularly scheduled workdays during the quarantine period, however this shall not exceed ten (10) workdays. Should an employee need to extend their absence beyond the period of the proscribed quarantine, the employee may use their accrued time if circumstances allow or contact Leave Administration for other options.

G. Payroll will enter this time in Workday as Quarantine Pay.

H. Whether the employee can perform their duties remotely will be at the discretion of the supervisor and the unit management.

I. This policy will sunset on March 31, 2021

Key Definitions:

Word/Phrase	Definition
University of Chicago Contact Tracer	A member of the Department of Safety and Security COVID-19 Contact Tracing program charged with the responsibility of conducting contact tracing interviews with affiliates who have potentially been exposed to the virus through close contact in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus on campus

roles and responsibilities:

Governed Party	Roles and Responsibilities
Employee	The Employee is responsible for following the Supervisor’s time off request procedures and recording sick leave use.
Supervisor	The Supervisor is responsible for setting time off request procedures, ensuring they are followed, verifying the use of sick leave is appropriate, monitoring for pattern absences, and approving sick leave use in the time off calendar.
HR Partner	The HR Partner is responsible for ensuring employees are categorized accurately to ensure sick leave is accrued and used correctly.