Frequently Asked Questions

The following table is a brief summary of the three COVID-19 related paid leave provisions applicable to policy-covered and represented staff employees. View the guidance document from UCOP for more details.

Note: Paid Administrative Leave and UC Expanded Paid Administrative Leave are the same thing and refer to the same 128 hour allotment. 

View the Chancellor Order in English (PDF).

Ver la Orden del Canciller en español aquí (PDF).

As of May 4, 2020, block is defined as one work day based on normally scheduled work hours for that day. Prior to May 4, 2020, there was a requirement to use the full two-week allotment at one time.

View the job protection guidance document »

• View the Executive Order in English »
  • Aquí está la Orden Ejecutiva en español »

• View COVID-19 Related Leaves and Job Protections Guidance from UC Systemwide Human Resources for Policy-Covered and Represented Staff Employees (updated April 27, 2020) »

• This paid administrative leave may only be used for the following reasons, all of which relate to COVID-19:
  • When the employee is unable to work because the employee or a family member has a COVID-19 related illness and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely
    • This includes Bereavement Leave due to a COVID-19 related death.
  • When an employee is unable to work because the employee has been directed not to come to work for COVID-19 related reasons and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely
    • An employee states they are 65 or older and/or claims to be more medically sensitive to COVID-19 or lives with someone more medically sensitive to COVID-19 and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely
  • When an employee is unable to work because of a COVID-19 related school or daycare closure that requires the employee to be at home with a child or dependent and it is not operationally feasible for the employee to work remotely
• The paid administrative leave allocation for employees with less than full time appointments shall be prorated based on appointment percentage.
• The 128-hour allotment may be used in blocks or intermittently based on need.
  • For non-exempt employees, approved leave may be used in any increment approved by the supervisor in consultation with their HR contact for record-keeping purposes.
  • For exempt employees, consistent with normal practices and legal requirements, approved leave should be entered in full day increments.
• The use of the paid administrative leave cannot occur beyond the end date of employment.
• Any unused portion of this emergency paid administrative leave will not be paid out at time of separation (whether voluntary or involuntary termination).
• Employees may still use accrued sick, vacation or paid time off in order to address their own illness or the serious medical condition of a family member.
• The paid administrative leave may be used prior to usage of accrued leave.

• Yes. Quarantine or Isolation Orders include quarantine, isolation, containment, shelter-in-place, or stay-at-home orders issued by any Federal, State, or local government authority that cause the employee to be unable to work even though the University has work that the employee could perform but for the order.
  • This also includes when a Federal, State, or local government authority has advised categories of citizens (e.g., those within certain age ranges or those with specific medical conditions) to shelter in place, stay at home, isolate, or quarantine, causing those categories of employees to be unable to work even though the University has work for them.
• If an employee is NOT 65 years of age or older and/or immunocompromised and IS deemed essential and we have in-person work at their normal worksite, within their normal work duties, and they refuse to come to work due to the Stay at Home order, the employee is not eligible for reason 1 of the FFCRA Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) qualifying reasons because they have been deemed essential.
  • Therefore, if they refuse available work, this is a voluntary choice. Work with Human Resources to determine if the employee should be placed on a leave without pay.

UC Expanded Paid Administrative Leave

• Student workers, including Casual Restricted employees, are eligible for paid administrative leave. For information on the eligibility of Work-Study awards for paid administrative leave, student workers should contact the Student Employment Office via email or by phone at (858) 534-3751.

FFCRA Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL)

• Student workers are eligible for EPSL if they otherwise meet the criteria outlined in the UCOP Leave FAQs.

Chancellor Supplemental COVID-19 Leave (Supplemental Leave or CSL)

• Student workers, including Casual Restricted employees, are eligible for the Chancellor Supplemental Leave.

Employee’s paid administrative leave hours would be eligible for shift differential pay, consistent with policy or applicable collective bargaining agreement provisions.

For example, for policy-covered employees, Section III.E.1 of PPSM 30 (Compensation) provides, “The shift differential will be included in payments for all types of paid leave, provided that the employee would have been expected to work that shift were the employee not on paid leave.”

If an employee’s administrative leave takes place during a holiday, the employee would receive holiday pay instead of paid administrative leave for that day. For example, if an employee is on COVID-19 administrative leave around Cesar Chavez Day, the employee would receive administrative pay on March 26 and 30 but holiday pay on March 27, if they were eligible for the holiday pay.

• For policy-covered employees refer to Section III.H.1.a. of the AFW policy, which states that full‐time exempt employees are eligible for holiday pay if they are on pay status during the week in which the holiday occurs.
• Eligibility language for full‐time non‐exempt employees requires the employee to be on pay status on scheduled workdays immediately preceding and following the holiday.
• Part-time exempt employees will receive holiday pay for the number of hours in proportion to the percentage of their appointment.
• Part-time non-exempt employees on pay status 50 percent time or more of a month or quadri-weekly cycle (excluding holiday hours) will receive holiday pay in proportion to the percentage of time they are on pay status.

Employees who are paid a by-agreement flat-rate amount for their work are eligible for COVID-19-related Paid Administrative Leave under the criteria and provisions listed above with the following conditions:

• Any terms of an employment agreement that address the contingent nature of pay shall remain intact. This includes stipulations regarding cancellation of agreements, such as for lack of enrollment.
• If pay is contingent on work to be rendered and the appointee is unable to provide that work due to COVID-19-related criteria covered under President Napolitano’s Executive Order, then Paid Administrative Leave may be provided for work not finished based on a daily or hourly rate not to exceed 128 hours (16 days) and not to exceed the pay amount established in the terms of the employment agreement.
  • Locations should calculate an hourly or daily rate based on the dollar amount and duration of the employment agreement.

On a one time and non-precedent setting basis, the University will determine the pro rata entitlement to Paid Administrative Leave for per diem and variable hour employees covered by other appointment types pursuant to a formula based on the actual time worked in accordance with the table below reflecting a two (2) month period.

Note: If the person’s lookback is less than their variable appointment percentage, they should have the benefit of the appointed percentage. This also applies to non-represented, non-Academic student employees.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The University of California is a covered employer under the FFCRA.

• View information from the Department of Labor about federal emergency paid leaves under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) »
  • View the FFRCA information in Spanish »
• View COVID-19 Related Leaves and Job Protections Guidance from the University of California Systemwide Human Resources for Policy-Covered and Represented Staff Employees (updated April 27, 2020) »

Yes, reason 4 likely applies. Reason 4 is when the employee is unable to work or telework because the employee is caring for an individual who is either subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 or who has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19. (Health care workers and emergency responders aren’t eligible for this kind of EPSL.)

“Individual” means the employee’s immediate family member, a person who regularly resides in the employee’s home, or a similar person with whom the employee has a relationship that creates an expectation that the employee would care for the person if he or she were quarantined or self-quarantined. “Individual” does not include persons with whom the employee has no personal relationship.

Ecotime

• UC Expanded Paid Administrative Leave
• FFCRA Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL)
• FFCRA Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) - Family
• FFCRA Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFML) - Paid
• FFCRA Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFML) – Unpaid

Kronos

• UC Expanded Paid Administrative Leave: Admin Leave - Excused
• FFCRA Emergency Paid Sick Leave Codes in Kronos:
  • FFCRA-EPSL
  • FFCRA-EPSL – Salaried
• FFCRA Expanded Family and Medical Leave Codes in Kronos:
  • FMLA-FFCRA-EFML
  • FMLA-FFCRA-EFML – Salaried

MyTime: Administrative - A period of exemption from work granted to employee.

TAR: Select other hours code - A - Administrative Leave with Pay.

University of California President Janet Napolitano and the ten UC chancellors sent a letter to the UC community on April 2, assuring UC employees that there will be no COVID-10 related layoffs through June 30. View the letter »

The letter is also available in Spanish.

Employees must first complete the registration form. Registration is only required once.

After registering, employees can use the symptom and exposure screening form prior to each shift. 

Get more information about the symptom and exposure screening process, including step-by-step instructions »

Supervisors/work leads/check-in people are responsible for confirming that employees who are eligible to report to work in-person at UC San Diego worksites have completed the symptom and exposure screening protocol. We have a County and safety obligation to ensure employees are screened before reporting to work in-person.

If you are a supervisor and you have employees who are required to work on-site, you must provide directions to your employees about your preferred method for receiving the clearance email that is generated when an employee completes the screening process. For example, you might request that employees under your supervision forward the email to you.

If you have employees under your supervision who do not have access to the internet to complete the symptom and exposure screening process online prior to reporting to work, you must work with that employee to develop an alternate process. For example, you might request that these employees call you prior to their shift to verbally complete the symptom and exposure screening.

As of June 7, 2020, supervisors (as designated by the staff in the symptom and exposures screening registration form), will receive emails when their staff have been cleared or not cleared when filling out thedaily screening questionnaire. If supervisors wish to only receive emails in their inbox when their staff are not cleared, follow these instructions to create an inbox rule. 

3 Easy Steps

1. Create a new folder for “Pass” emails for your reports who passed the symptom and exposure screening.
2. Set up an inbox rule for “Pass” emails
3. Test your rule to verify

Create a new folder for “Pass” emails

1. Log in to Outlook Web by logging in with your UC San Diego email credentials at https://outlook.office.com
2. In the left-hand navigation column, right-click on “Folders” and then select “Create new folder”
   1.  
3. Name the new folder. For example, “Symptom Screening Passes”

Set up an inbox rule for “Pass” emails

1. Log into Outlook Web by logging in with your UC San Diego email credentials at https://outlook.office.com
2. Click the “gear” icon in the top-right, search for “rules”, and click on the link for “Inbox Rules”
   1.  
3. Click “Add new rule”
4. Name the rule to help you identify it later. For example: Symptom Screening Passes
5. Add these conditions:
   1. Message body includes: Should your symptoms change while at work please contact your supervisor immediately.
6. Add these actions:
   1. Move to: <select the folder you created earlier>
7. Make sure “stop processing more rules” is checked off.
8. Click on SAVE at the bottom to save the rule

Here’s how the screen should look after everything is configured:

Test your inbox rule to verify

Now that you have the inbox rule set up to filter “Pass” emails into a folder, you should test it out to ensure it is working properly by sending yourself two emails. These two emails include unique snippets of text from both the “PASS” and “NOT CLEARED” emails

1. Send yourself an email with this in the body to test the inbox rule for PASS emails:
   1. Should your symptoms change while at work please contact your supervisor immediately.
   2. This email should filter directly into your new “Symptom Screening Passes” folder.
2. Send yourself a second email with this in the body:
   1. A clinical advisor will be available at that number to discuss your symptoms and work with you on next steps for your care.
   2. This email should arrive directly into your Inbox.

Prior to allowing the employee to work in-person, the supervisor/work lead/check-in person should direct the employee to complete the screening using their mobile phone.

If that’s not possible, the supervisor/work lead/check-in person should conduct the symptom and exposure screening verbally (using this checklist in English or Spanish) in advance of allowing the employee to work in-person. In conducting the screening verbally, the employee should either state “no” to all of the symptoms or “yes” to one of the symptoms without requiring a designation of which symptom.

Supervisors/work leads/check-in persons should not ask the specific symptom for which the employee has a “yes” answer.

If you are a fellow employee, report this information to your supervisor.

If you are the supervisor, direct the employee to please re-take the symptom and exposure screening and send the employee home.

If the Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine (COEM) recommends that you be tested for COVID-19 following a failed symptom and exposure screening, the university will cover the cost of testing done at UC San Diego Health locations only. A failed screening occurs if you indicate during the symptom screening process that you have experienced one or more of the listed COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days or if you indicate that you have been exposed. If you use your own provider outside of UC San Diego Health, you and/or your healthcare provider must pay for the related costs of testing. 

All employees should conduct the screening daily and should notify their supervisor/work lead/check-in person accordingly. If the employee is reporting to campus or any other physical UC San Diego location for work, even for a few minutes, they are mandated by law to conduct the symptom and exposure screening and report if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms before they arrive.

Supervisors, work leads and check-in personnel are receiving the “no to all” or “yes to one or more” emails or phone calls. Employees are specifically NOT asked to identify which particular symptom they are experiencing.

Learn more about the privacy practices for UC San Diego's COVID-19 Employee Health Managemenr program »

No. Generally, HIPPA does not apply to the health information collected by employers. In this particular case, since we are not asking for disclosure of specific symptoms, we are not gathering protected health information.

Learn more about the privacy practices for UC San Diego's COVID-19 Employee Health Managemenr program »

The employee will receive a cleared or not cleared email. If an employee has not cleared the symptom and exposure screening, the individual that the employee identified in the registration form as their supervisor, work lead, or check-in person will also receive an email.

In the current configuration as of June 30, 2020, UC San Diego Health employees who clear the symptom and exposure screening must affirmatively notify their supervisor, work lead or check-in person; Campus supervisors receive this notification automatically.

Employees without internet access should call the appropriate supervisor/work lead/check-in person to conduct the symptom and exposure screening prior to going to work-in person. The supervisor should share the current symptoms to screen for and allow the employee to state “no” to all of the symptoms or “yes” to one of the symptoms without requiring a designation of which symptom.

Supervisors should not ask the specific symptom for which the employee has a “yes” answer.

If an employee refuses the lawful order requiring symptom and exposure screening prior to entering the work site, take the following steps:

1. Determine the reason for the refusal.
2. If the refusal is based on religious exemption or other protected reasons, consult with the HR contact and Employee Relations regarding appropriate pay status.
3. If no reason is given, consult with your unit's HR contact and Employee Relations. Generally:
   1. Policy-covered employees will be placed on a leave of absence without pay.
   2. Represented employees will also be placed on a leave of absence without pay. (The unions have been noticed by Labor Relations.)

To provide relief for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government issued a rule giving employees and non-Medicare retirees flexibility to make changes to their group health plan coverage and more time to complete certain transactions. Eligible individuals may request changes starting June 1, 2020.

View important changes to UC benefits programs for relief during the pandemic »

Changes include:

• Options to make changes to your medical plan
• Options to make changes to your Health and Dependent Care Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs)
• More time to file claims, file appeals and apply or pay for COBRA

FAQs about changes to UC benefits programs for pandemic relief »

On May 21, 2020, the UC Board of Regents voted to implement provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) designed to make it easier for participants to access funds from their retirement savings plans.

If you or a dependent are diagnosed with the virus SARS-Co-V-2 or with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or you experience adverse financial consequences as a result of the virus or disease, the CARES Act is designed to help by extending access to loans and withdrawals from employer-sponsored retirement savings plans like UC’s.

Learn more about CARES Act withdrawals and loans from retirement savings accounts »

Benefits Orientation is offered every Monday from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., via Zoom.

New employees can register for Benefits Orientation via the UC Learning Center »

Managers and supervisors are encouraged to use maximum flexibility when working with employees to assess individual needs and ensure continuity of critical university functions. Creating voluntary sign-up sheets to work through scheduling issues may help outline where there are gaps for critical services in the coming weeks. Where there are service gaps that cannot be filled through self-selection, rotating shifts can be assigned through reverse seniority.

For assistance with represented employees, contact Employee Relations.

If your employee can work remotely, your employee should not come to campus. Only individuals who are absolutely necessary to continued, critical university operations and cannot work remotely may come to campus. If you have further questions about whether your employee falls into this category, supervisors are encouraged to speak with their managers, unit heads, AVCs and/or VCs to discuss in more detail.

Employee Relations is also available to assist in thinking this through.

Scenario 1

Employee exhibits symptoms of COVID-19.

Call Occupational Health²/Healthcare provider for assessment and determination if in-person visit or referral to personal health care provider:

1. If Occupational Health/Healthcare provider says COVID-19:
   1. Offer remote work, if appropriate.
   2. Employee may use Admin Leave, sick leave, vacation leave or other accruals.
2. If Occupational Health/Healthcare provider says no COVID-19 and employee is well, employee may return to work without note
3. If Occupational Health/Healthcare provider says no COVID-19, but employee is otherwise ill, employee may use Admin Leave, sick leave, vacation leave or other accruals, if not ok to work remotely

Scenario 2

Employee has in the past 14 days been to a Level 3 country¹ (and is therefore excluded from in-person work activities) or is unable to come to work due to public health or University-required quarantine or self-isolation measures.

1. Offer remote work, if appropriate.
2. Employee may use Admin Leave, sick leave, vacation leave or other accruals.

Scenario 3

Employee “A” is worried that Employee “B” may be infected with COVID-19.
Absent Scenario 1 or 2, advise Employee “A” of resources to support concerns or anxiety and reiterate the guidance from the Office of the President. View guidance for UC locations concerning COVID-19 »

Scenario 4

Employee “A” states they are 65 or older and/or claims to be more medically sensitive to COVID-19 or lives with someone more medically sensitive to COVID-19 

1. Offer remote work, if appropriate.
2. Employee may use Admin Leave, sick leave, vacation leave or other accruals.

If employee seeks other accommodations and/or cites non-COVID-19 related needs, contact Disability Counseling and Consulting immediately regarding appropriate next steps.

Scenario 5:

Employee is unable to come to work due to a COVID-19 day care or school closure that requires them to be home with their child and/or employee’s work does not lend to working remotely

1. Offer remote work, if appropriate.
2. Employee may use paid Admin Leave, sick leave, vacation leave or other accruals.

Admin Leave may be used in advance of exhausting other accruals. View the Executive Order regarding paid Admin Leave issued March 16, 2020 »

If you are seeking guidance and support in navigating conversations with Campus staff about COVID-19, please contact Employee Relations for further questions.

For Health and Health Sciences employees, please consult Health Human Resources for guidance.

For questions regarding impacts to non-represented/non-Academic student employees, please contact the Student Employment Office via email at studentemployment@ucsd.edu or by phone at (858) 534-3751.

View a one-page, printable version of Human Resources Guidance for Staff Regarding COVID-19 »

Updated: March 19, 2020, 2:30 p.m.

¹ See A5-A8 of guidance for UC locations concerning COVID-19 and view up-to-date travel information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 
² View locations and contact information for Occupational Health »

Types of Employees (Essential vs Non-Essential)

1. Essential employees who are required in-person to continue the critical operations of the University
2. Essential employees who are able to conduct their essential services work remotely
3. Non-essential employees who are able to conduct their work remotely
4. Non-essential employees whose work cannot be conducted remotely, and whose work does not maintain the critical operations of the University. Note: this may include employees who, after management has determined the number of employees needed from category 1, do not meet category 3.

Employees should notify their supervisor if they have a request for administrative leave with pay for one of the three categories outlined above.

Supervisors will need to approve the administrative leave with pay after evaluating essential operational functions.

Employees should follow regular and established call out procedures (if your unit has them) to notify individual supervisors about the administrative leave with pay request and state the criteria met for the administrative leave.

Yes. In accordance with the current San Diego County Health Order, all UC San Diego employees reporting to campus or any physical UC San Diego location for work must conduct a self-screening for COVID-19 symptoms and report any symptoms. Employees who are working remotely do not need to complete the symptom screening process. 

Learn more about symptom screening and access the symptom screening tool »

Updated: May 29, 202

Effective immediately, and until further notice, Talent Support Services is not providing LiveScan services for campus.

During the time that UC San Diego’s operations are impacted by COVID-19, we will be processing background checks via HireRight consumer reports.

To request a background check, please complete the form Consumer Report Department Request Form available on the Recruitment and Onboarding page for COVID-19. Talent Support Services will obtain authorization and release for the procurement of a consumer report from applicants.

If you have questions related to the background check process, please contact Talent Support Services via email at livescan@ucsd.edu. 

As UC San Diego continues to manage operations in these extraordinary times, in response to the significant anticipated financial impact on the university and constraints imposed by the current health pandemic, we are implementing strict position control, under the direction of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Effective March 30, 2020, all campus staff hiring is paused, regardless of whether the search was already underway or only being contemplated. If there is a staff hire that a unit leader believes to be absolutely essential to the core function of their unit, a request for an exception to the staff hiring pause must be made to the EVC/VC in charge and approved by the CFO.

While every request is unique and will be treated as such, before making a request, you should consider the following questions:

• Is the position mission critical? This means, will not filling the position directly undermine our ability to carry the university mission, or can we live without it for some time?
• Is there any way to reallocate the work through an internal restructuring, even temporarily?
• If we really need the position filled now, is there any chance we could temporarily find available talent in another area where the workload is down?

All candidates should be interviewed via Zoom (until further notice). 

If your candidate does not have access to a computer, you can conduct the interview by phone. 

• The performance appraisal process was delayed until the fall for policy-covered (non-represented) staff employees. The new deadline for the completion of appraisals is October 15, 2020.
• For represented employees, due dates for performance appraisals are determined at the department/unit/organization/VC level. Related timelines that are triggered by the due dates are in accordance with the relevant collective bargaining agreement.

• For represented employees, due dates for performance appraisals are determined at the Department/Unit/Organization/VC level. Related timelines that are triggered by the due dates are in accordance with the relevant collective bargaining agreement.
• Please contact Human Resources Employee Relations to assess whether this timeframe is appropriate, particularly for employees who would receive an overall “I” or “U”.