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IMPORTANT: Auburn University continues to prioritize the health and safety of the entire campus community by monitoring and adhering to guidance from public health officials. After careful evaluation, all operational modifications previously assigned a tentative end date of June 30, 2020, have been extended through Aug. 8, 2020. There are no other changes to the previous guidance, which can be viewed below. Employees with questions should consult their supervisor.
Previous Guidance (sent April 27, 2020)
Auburn University leaders continue to follow state and federal guidelines regarding COVID-19 and recommendations to protect the health and safety of our community.
After careful evaluation, all operational modifications previously assigned a tentative May 9 end date have been extended through June 30, 2020.
Current employees will be paid through May 9 at their regular rate of pay, even if they are unable to perform their normal job responsibilities. Beginning on May 10:
Supervisors with questions about the new guidelines may participate in an online session with Human Resources representatives. An announcement with information on a Zoom call will be sent later this week.
Remote delivery of instruction will continue through Summer 2020 Sessions 1 and 2. A decision regarding course delivery for Session 3 (remotely or on-campus) will be made by June 1, 2020.
All university events are canceled through June 30.
The university medical clinic remains open. Those exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms should not come to work and should immediately call the Auburn Medical Clinic at 334-844-9825 before visiting the clinic. Employees are expected to communicate with supervisors and seek approval of any absences during which they will not be available for work.
This alternate operations model is currently intended to be in place through June 30. The university will communicate any necessary modifications as circumstances change. Please monitor the university’s COVID-19 site for the latest information and to sign up for daily email updates.
Effective May 10-June 30, 2020
1. FEDERAL LAW - Emergency Paid Sick Leave: Under federal law (the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, FFCRA), all employees receive 2 weeks of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) to use for a list of approved COVID-19 related reasons (“Qualifying Reasons”) (see Page 4 of this document). This leave is available for employees to use through December 31, 2020. The number of hours of leave received by an individual employee will be based on the average number of hours the employee is scheduled to work in a two week period (for an employee with a normal work schedule) or the employee’s average number of hours worked in a two week period over the previous 6 months (for an employee with a variable work schedule). Although federal law includes a daily cap on an employer’s obligation to pay employees for use of EPSL (see attached DOL Fact Sheet), Auburn has decided to compensate EPSL at 100% of the employee’s normal compensation rate with no daily cap.
2. AUBURN POLICY - Emergency COVID-19 Administrative Leave: Emergency COVID-19 Administrative Leave (ECAL) is a new category of paid administrative leave created by Auburn to address certain COVID-19 related circumstances that may impact Auburn employees. Federal law does not require Auburn to provide ECAL to employees. Rather, it is a temporary leave category that will be used by Human Resources during this pandemic emergency only. ECAL operates similarly to Auburn’s existing paid administrative leave, which is provided to an employee at the discretion of the University. ECAL will provide compensation for employees who are unable to work due to a Qualifying Reason (except Qualifying Reason 5), and who have exhausted their use of EPSL. ECAL will be paid at 100% of the employee’s normal compensation rate and will not be charged against an employee’s accrued annual or sick leave.
1. The FFCRA and the leave guidelines outlined in this document apply to all employees, whether working remotely or on the jobsite.
2. Any employee, whether working remotely or on the jobsite, who needs to be away from his/her work for any reason other than a Qualifying Reason may take accrued leave in accordance with normal University policies, including supervisor approval for use of annual leave.
3. Employees who can perform their job responsibilities remotely should continue to do so. Remote employees are expected to maintain productivity, responsiveness, and availability at the same levels that would be required during normal operations.
4. An employee may elect to use his/her own accrued sick leave (for Qualifying Reasons 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6) or accrued annual leave (for Qualifying Reason 4 or 5) instead of EPSL. An employee might choose to do this in order to preserve EPSL for use at a later time (e.g. if an employee has a childcare situation now but wants to preserve the EPSL to use in case of a COVID-related issue next fall).
5. If any employee exhausts his/her EPSL, ECAL will be available to the employee for additional leave due to Qualifying Reasons 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6. ECAL will only be available once an employee has exhausted his/her EPSL.
6. FMLA+ leave will be paid by Auburn as follows:
7. In order to be eligible for FMLA+, the employee alone must be providing care for the child during the period for which the employee is receiving this type of leave. For example, if there is a co-parent, co-guardian, or another suitable individual who is present to care for the child, the employee will not be eligible for FMLA+.
8. In order to be eligible for any approved COVID-19 leave (qualification for FMLA+ or use of EPSL, accrued sick leave, accrued annual leave, or ECAL), beginning with the May 10 work week employees must submit to their HR liaisons a completed leave form identifying the reason for the employee’s absence. This is required to ensure that leave is documented appropriately in compliance with Auburn policies, the FFCRA, and other applicable law. Except for situations where the need for leave is unknown, employees should submit their COVID-19 leave form no later than 4:45 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the applicable work week.
9. TES employees do not accrue sick or annual leave under Auburn policies but do qualify for benefits under the
10. FFCRA and will also qualify for ECAL as outlined above.Nine-month faculty do not accrue annual leave under Auburn policies but do qualify for all benefits under the FFCRA.
EPSL may be used when an employee is unable to work (or telework) due to a need for leave because the employee is:
1. Subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
2. Under self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19 based on the advice of a health care provider;
3. Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;
4. Caring for an individual who is subject to an order as described in (1) or who has been advised as described in (2);
5. Caring for a son or daughter of any age whose school or place of care has been closed, or whose childcare provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions; or
6. Experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretaries of Treasury and Labor.
Printable version
Important: Unless noted, information on this page is current as of April 27, 2020. If you have a question that is not addressed in this section or on this page, please email univhr@auburn.edu with the subject line "Employee question". Please include your title and department in the email. HR will respond to your question as soon as possible.
All three new leave benefits will begin on May 10, 2020.
All employees, including non-benefits eligible and student employees are eligible for up to two weeks of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) if they are unable to work either on campus or remotely because they:
Employees, including non-benefits eligible and student employees, who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days, may be eligible for up to 12 weeks of Expanded Family and Medical Leave (FMLA+) due to qualifying reason #5 above, if they are unable to work either on campus or remotely because they need to care for their child(ren) whose school or place of care is closed, or whose child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 related reasons. The first two weeks of FMLA+ are unpaid, but an employee may choose to use their own accrued vacation leave or apply the 2 weeks of EPSL to ensure continuity of pay. Then weeks 3-12 will be paid as FMLA+ pay at the employee’s normal compensation rate.
Employees, including non-benefits eligible and student employees who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days, may be eligible for Auburn University’s Emergency COVID-19 Administrative Leave (ECAL) for qualifying reasons 1-4 and 6 above. ECAL may only be used when an employee has exhausted his/her EPSL and is paid at 100 percent of the employee’s normal compensation rate. ECAL will be available through June 30.
Yes, generally speaking FFCRA leave is available to an individual who is actively employed with work available and meets the qualification requirements of the new law. Federal work-study students are subject to the guidance of the Department of Education regarding financial aid payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nine-month faculty who have a summer appointment are eligible for FFCRA leave (EPSL, FMLA+ and ECAL) being offered through June 30. Nine-month faculty without summer appointments will be eligible for FFCRA leave (EPSL and FMLA+) upon returning to active pay status in the fall semester.
Not unless you would have been considered an active employee and scheduled to work during the time for which you are requesting EPSL, FMLA+ of ECAL.
Qualifying Reason 2 applies when a health care provider has advised the employee to isolate/self-quarantine because the employee has COVID-19, may have COVID-19, or is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and following the advice of the health care provider prevents the employee from working, either at the worksite on by telework.
The “symptoms of COVID-19” for purposes of qualifying reason (3) are dry cough, shortness of breath, fever or any other symptoms identified by the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). “Seeking a medical diagnosis” means that the employee is “taking affirmative steps to obtain a medical diagnosis, such as making, waiting for, or attending an appointment for a test for COVID-19.”
The Department of Labor’s Q&As emphasize that you may take EPSL or FMLA+ to care for your child only when you need to, and actually are, caring for your child if you are unable to work or telework as a result of providing care. Generally, you do not need to take such leave if a co-parent, co-guardian, or your usual child care provider is available to provide the care your child needs.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has not yet identified any “substantially similar condition” that would allow an employee to take paid sick leave. If HHS does identify any such condition, the Department of Labor will issue guidance explaining when you may take paid sick leave on the basis of a “substantially similar condition.”
To initiate your FFCRA leave of absence (for any of the six reasons noted above), you should notify your immediate supervisor as soon as possible and complete the COVID-19 Leave Request Form.
You are unable to work if your manager or supervisor has work for you and one of the COVID-19 qualifying reasons set forth in the FFCRA prevents you from being able to perform that work, either under normal circumstances at your normal worksite or by means of working remotely.
If you and your manager agree that you will work your normal number of hours, but outside of your normally scheduled hours (for instance early in the morning or late at night), then you are able to work (paid normally) and leave is not necessary unless a COVID-19 qualifying reason prevents you from working that schedule.
If you are unable to perform the tasks currently assigned to you – including those implemented as part of a remote work agreement because of one of the qualifying reasons 1-6 above, then you are entitled to take up to 2 weeks of EPSL. Upon exhaustion of EPSL and for qualifying reasons 1-4 and 6, you may also take ECAL.
Similarly, if you are unable to perform those remote working tasks or work the required remote working hours because you need to care for your child whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, because of COVID-19 related reasons, then you are entitled to take FMLA+. Of course, to the extent you are able to work remotely while caring for your child, EPSL nor FMLA+ are available.
If you are an eligible employee, you are entitled to EPSL under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act regardless of how much leave you have taken under the FMLA.
Your eligibility for FMLA+ depends on how much leave you have already taken during the 12-month rolling calendar period used for FMLA. You may take a total of 12 workweeks for FMLA or FMLA+ reasons during a 12-month period. If you have taken some, but not all, of the 12 workweeks of your leave under FMLA during the current 12-month period, you may take the remaining portion of leave available. If you have already taken 12 workweeks of FMLA leave during this 12-month period, you may not take additional FMLA+.
For example, assume you took two weeks of FMLA leave in January 2020 to undergo and recover from a surgical procedure. You therefore have 10 weeks of FMLA leave remaining. Because FMLA+ is a type of FMLA leave, you would be entitled to take up to 10 weeks of FMLA+, rather than 12 weeks. And any FMLA+ leave you take would count against your entitlement to preexisting FMLA leave.
It depends. You may take a total of 12 workweeks of leave during a 12-month rolling calendar period under the FMLA, including the FMLA+. If you take some, but not all, of the 12 workweeks of your FMLA+ leave by December 31, 2020, you may take the remaining portion of FMLA leave for a serious medical condition, as long as the total time taken does not exceed 12 workweeks in a rolling 12-month period. Please note that FMLA+ leave is available only until December 31, 2020; after that, you may only take FMLA leave.
For example, assume you take four weeks of FMLA+ leave in April 2020 to care for your child whose school is closed due to a COVID-19 related reason. These four weeks count against your entitlement of 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a rolling 12-month period. If you are eligible for regular FMLA leave and need to take such leave in August 2020 because you need surgery, you would be entitled to take up to the remaining eight weeks of FMLA leave.
However, you are entitled to emergency sick leave under the EPSL regardless of how much leave you have taken under the FMLA. Paid sick leave is not a form of FMLA leave and therefore does not count toward the 12 workweeks in the 12-month period cap. But please note that if you take EPSL concurrently with the first two weeks of FMLA+, which may otherwise be unpaid, then those two weeks do count towards the 12 workweeks in the 12-month period.
No. You may take up to two weeks—or ten days—(80 hours for a full-time employee, or for a part-time employee, the number of hours equal to the average number of hours that the employee works over a typical two-week period) of EPSL for any combination of qualifying reasons. However, the total number of hours for which you receive EPSL is capped at 80 hours under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act.
In general, no, unless you were able to return to light duty before taking leave. If you receive OJI or salary continuation benefits because you are unable to work, you may not take paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave. However, if you were able to return to regular or light duty and a qualifying reason prevents you from working, you may take paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave, as the situation warrants.
No. Only hours worked will be counted towards the 40 hours in a workweek for purposes of overtime calculations.
Yes. An employee’s regular rate of pay will include shift differential pay.
No. The only type of family and medical leave that is paid leave (through EPSL and FMLA+) is FMLA+.
Yes. You will be able to continued group health coverage, including any family coverage in which you are enrolled.
No. EPSL is in addition to other leave provided under Auburn’s existing policy.
Yes. If you are taking EPSL, you may substitute any accrued vacation leave, sick leave, or comp time, you have accrued. Please note, however, accrued sick time may not be used for childcare needs due to COVID-19 related closures of your child(ren)’s school, daycare, or childcare provider.
It depends on why you are taking the leave, and if you are working on campus or remotely.
Unless you are working remotely, it cannot be taken intermittently if the leave is being taken because:
Unless you are working remotely, once you begin taking emergency sick leave for one or more of these qualifying reasons, you must continue to take emergency sick leave each day until you either (1) use the full amount of emergency sick leave or (2) no longer have a qualifying reason for taking emergency sick leave. This limit is imposed because if you are sick or possibly sick with COVID-19, or caring for an individual who is sick or possibly sick with COVID-19, the intent of FFCRA is to provide such emergency sick leave as necessary to keep you from spreading the virus to others.
In contrast, if you and your manager agree, you may take emergency sick leave intermittently if you are taking emergency sick leave to care for your child whose school or place of care is closed, or whose child care provider is unavailable, because of COVID-19 related reasons. For example, if your child is at home because his or her school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, because of COVID-19 related reasons, you may take emergency sick leave on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to care for your child, but work at your normal worksite on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
If you are working remotely, EPSL, FMLA+ and ECAL may be used intermittently.
Employees are encouraged to visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions or email univhr@auburn.edu.
The University is still encouraging remote work, where possible. Supervisors are encouraged to work with employees to be creative and find alternative, meaningful work-related activities for the employee to complete in order to telecommute. Alternative, meaningful work may differ for each position. Some things to consider:
When work cannot be done remotely, the following are some guidelines for bringing employees back onto campus to work.
