[Plantsci] ACTION REQUIRED: End of University Release Time

[Stevens, Amanda M - (amanda84)]

Good afternoon all-

Per the announcements attached, the University of Arizona is discontinuing the use of University Release time to compensate employees who are unable to perform their jobs remotely.  Deadlines are listed below:
                Undergraduate Students: University Release will end on Wednesday, May 6 (last day of classes)
                All other employment categories: University Release will end on Sunday, May 10.

This means that if you are not covered by a waiver to work in the lab and are unable to perform the functions of your job remotely, you will no longer be compensated to your full FTE.  Instead, you will  only be compensated for the time worked, either on campus or remotely.

Some guidance:

  *   If you have undergraduate students who have been receiving pay via University Release, please advise them that this will no longer continue after May 6.  The hours they report on their timesheet must be hours they worked either in person or remotely.  If your student will be in an unpaid status, but will be returning to your lab upon campus re-entry, please let Erin know, so their position is not terminated. If they will no longer be working, please let us know and we will terminate them in the system.
  *   If you have grads, staff, research staff, appointed personnel who have been receiving pay via University Release, please advise them that this option is no longer available to them as of May 10.
     *   Positive time reporters will then be entering into their timesheets actual hours worked, either on campus or remotely.
     *   Exempt employees will report "presence at work-PAW" for the time they are working in the lab or remotely and will have to utilize accrued vacation or sick time for hours that are not worked, or report hours as unpaid or furlough.
  *   If you are international on an H1B Visa or a J1 Visa and have been compensated via University Release, please contact Erin (erinkorte at email.arizona.edu<mailto:erinkorte at email.arizona.edu>) immediately, as this change may affect your VISA status.
  *   If you are unsure as to how much University Release has been used by your employees, please let us know and we can pull the payroll reports.


Options for employees:

  1.  Speak to your supervisor to adjust your workload so that you can fully complete your job function remotely, if you are not approved on a lab waiver.
  2.  Report sick/vacation hours for hours you are not able to work.
  3.  Report Furlough hours (if you are required to participate in the furlough) for hours that you are unable to work remotely.

Options for Supervisors:

  1.  Adjust job expectations so that the functions of the job may be completed remotely.  Although there has been discussion of returning to campus for the Fall semester, every effort should be made to accommodate employees so they can perform the duties of their job remotely.  We understand that this is not always possible, and have therefore provided the following suggestions/options:
     *   Employee can utilize sick/vacation/comp time to cover the hours the employee is not working.
     *   Employee may report Furlough hours (and go unpaid for) the hours they are unable to work remotely.
     *   Employee may report unpaid absence for the time they are not able to work remotely (although long term use of this function can negatively affect UA contributions toward health insurance and other benefits).
     *   You can reduce the FTE as appropriate to allow for the remote work.
     *   Layoffs/non-renewals may be an option if your employee is not able to complete work remotely.
  2.  You have the option to edit an existing waiver/submit a new waiver for critical activities taking place in the lab- this will allow you to list an employee as an essential employee, provided UA and CDC guidelines are met and the employee willingly returns to campus. I ask that if you make edits to your current waiver or submit a new waiver, you also send a copy of the request to me (amanda84 at email.arizona.edu<mailto:amanda84 at email.arizona.edu>).
     *   Create a New Request: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=BVXjXo7rKUmTfWRd9QEyiN2weuZFXBhBvh655YcE9AJUMFpaOTRURkU0SjM2RUczMDU5MklKRzdHNS4u
     *   Add Edits to an Approved Waiver:  https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=BVXjXo7rKUmTfWRd9QEyiN2weuZFXBhBvh655YcE9AJURDdMT1gxQThSN09VN1JGS0tLQ1czUFo0Qy4u

We understand that this is a difficult time for many, a time for tough decisions, and oftentimes, with little or changing guidance.  Please utilize the services of Life & Work Connections<https://lifework.arizona.edu/> and share that resource with your employees. Please let Erin or me know if you have any questions or concerns or if you need to discuss you individual situation for further guidance.

Best,

Amanda

Amanda M. Stevens, MPA, MAcc
Manager, Finance and Administration
CALS School of Plant Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Forbes 303B
PO BOX 210036 | Tucson, AZ 85721
Office: 520-621-8689
amanda84 at email.arizona.edu<mailto:amanda84 at email.arizona.edu>

https://cals.arizona.edu/spls/home

[Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension]

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