Aug. 31 - School of Law instruction began, 6-month forecast for Delta variant
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Student Center. Photo by Ian Parker
Each day, a UCI expert will answer one of your questions about COVID-19, vaccinations, variants or the future of work. Submit questions via email.
Today’s question is fielded by Ramona Agrela, chief human resources officer and vice chancellor human resources:
Will COVID-19 paid leave be extended? With a rise in breakthrough COVID cases and children under 12 not yet vaccinated, UCI employees might still need leave time to care for themselves or a family member who has it.
Emergency Paid Sick Leave ends on Sept. 30; we have no indication from the UC Office of the President that the leave will be extended. In March 2021, the University offered all employees, including exclusively represented employees, a new 2021 allotment of Emergency Paid Sick Leave. Full-time employees may take up to 80 hours of EPSL for one of six qualifying reasons, ranging from caring for themselves or others with COVID-19 to caring for dependents because of school closures. As with the prior EPSL allotment, employees receive their regular rate of pay during EPSL. Although the law allows employers to place caps on pay for EPSL, the University decided not to apply these caps. This allotment of EPSL expires Sept. 30. Employees may apply for EPSL at this website.
After Sept. 30, staff employees may utilize leave accruals, such as sick, vacation, PTO or compensatory time off, for leaves related to COVID-19. Additionally, staff employees on leaves longer than a few days should file a leave request via UCI's partner Sedgwick. For long leaves, staff employees may qualify for disability income and should coordinate with Sedgwick and HR.
UCI ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS
Vaccination proof due Monday
The deadline to upload your vaccination verification or submit an exception or deferral request is less than one week away. Students and employees are strongly encouraged to upload their COVID-19 vaccine records or apply for one of the exemptions today.
UCI Law welcomes new students and faculty
Last Monday, the School of Law began in-person instruction. Of the 445 total J.D. students, 170 make up the incoming first-year class. The LL.M. program welcomes 42 students. which is tied for the largest number of LL.M. students enrolled in the program’s history, and the Graduate Tax Program welcomes 11 students. UCI Law also welcomes three new full-time faculty members this year, as well as two new and two continuing visiting faculty members.
Additional family resources available for employees
To continue to assist employees during this unique and unprecedented period of transition, UCI has partnered with Bright Horizons to expand the resources available to support you and your family. As part of the Bright Horizons Back-Up Care and Additional Family Supports programs, all UCI faculty/academics, staff, resident physicians and graduate students now have access to additional academic support, including virtual tutoring and the Bright Horizons College Coach program. Visit families.uci.edu for more information and resources for dependent and elder care. To register for the Bright Horizons program, visit https://clients.brighthorizons.com/uci. If prompted, enter the username UCI and the password care4you. Contact the Employee Experience Center at 949-824-0500 or eec@uci.edu with questions.