COSAM News Articles 2020 November Message from the Dean: Plans for returning to campus on Nov. 30

Message from the Dean: Plans for returning to campus on Nov. 30

Published: 11/03/2020

To all COSAM Staff,

On October 30, the University announced some details for how staff at Auburn would begin the transition back to on-campus work. The goal is that on or before November 30 staff should be back on campus subject to the following conditions and constraints. These conditions and constraints are described in this file. The purpose of this note is to simply emphasize a few important points.

(1) All supervisors should work with the folks they supervise to be sure that workspaces meet CDC guidelines with respect to social distancing, proper spacing of traffic for students or visitors that will be present in offices, recommended PPE and shields, etc.

(2) I encourage all supervisors and supervisees in COSAM to discuss workspace safety and resolve any issues now and not wait until Nov. 30 to begin such discussions.

(3) If any modifications to workspaces are needed, please contact Mike Brackin. He will work with you to get any necessary work done.

(4) Assuming that workspaces are deemed safe it is expected that all full-time staff will be spending at least 20 hours/week on-site after Nov. 30. This assumes that any time spent working at home can be used to do Auburn-related work. I.e., that the employee has a job in which they can work from home. The scheduling of time on campus must be approved by your supervisor.

(5) There will be cases where health concerns make it appropriate for an employee to continue working from home after Nov. 30. If you believe that you fall into this category you should inform your supervisor immediately and also work with Stephanie Woodley, the COSAM HR Liaison, to make a formal request for an accommodation. Such accommodations must be approved by the University Office of Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity.

I want to emphasize that while the University wants to transition back to normal on-campus operations, we realize that this must be done in a manner that ensures everyone’s safety.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me and/or your supervisor.

Thanks.

Nick Giordano