Paid Administrative Leave Guidance for COVID-19

Paid Administrative Leave Guidance

 Berkeley Lab’s existing Administrative Leave for Emergencies policy provides that:

When authorized by the Deputy Director for Operations or designee, leave with pay may be allowed in the following circumstances:

Public Emergencies: Leave with pay may be allowed during public emergencies that effectively prevent an employee from attendance at work or continuance of work in a normal and orderly manner. A public emergency includes fire, explosion, power failure, flood, earthquake, snowstorm, protest, demonstration, riot, sabotage, pandemic illness, and other comparable occurrences. When an employee is absent because of personal reasons resulting from a public emergency, the employee should charge this absence to accrued vacation or leave without pay.

 Accordingly, up to 16 days of paid Administrative Leave has been authorized by Berkeley Lab’s Deputy Director for Operations effective March 17, 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic as support to Berkeley Lab employees impacted by COVID-19 related circumstances. Application of paid Administrative Leave for this purpose will be in accordance with guidance and direction from Laboratory Management, in consultation with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the University of California (UC). The current allotment of paid Administrative Leave (up to 16 days) will be revisited by Laboratory Management as circumstances warrant.

The primary consideration is to provide a path to work for all employees to the extent possible and to mitigate the impact for those who cannot work due to COVID-19 related circumstances. This means that supervisors are expected to enable on-site or remote work and be as flexible as possible to support keeping employees as productively working as operationally feasible.  This includes seeking opportunities for all employees to contribute to the Lab’s operations and mission. Likewise, employees are expected to engage in conversations with their supervisor and be flexible when trying to balance work with personal responsibilities. If on-site or remote work is not possible, Administrative Leave may be appropriate as determined by the division consistent with the guidelines and parameters set forth below.   Administrative Leave will only be granted for COVID-19 related circumstances after a showing that the employee cannot work, intermittently or otherwise, on-site or via telecommute. Employees must exercise good faith in making their request for use of Administrative Leave.  

Following are the guidelines and parameters for paid Administrative Leave eligibility and implementation:

• Division Directors shall identify and approve which employees have been approved for paid Administrative Leave. Employees must code “Admin Leave” on their LETS time for supervisors to approve in LETS for accurate tracking of Administrative Leave usage.
• Exempt salaried employees may code Administrative Leave in half or full day increments; Non-exempt hourly employees should code Administrative Leave in hourly increments.
• Administrative Leave may be used intermittently as needed, in consultation with the supervisor, provided that such use shall not adversely affect the delivery of essential services. This means that employees, in coordination with their supervisor, may work a partial day as regular work time and a partial day on Paid Administrative Leave.
• Paid Administrative Leave is calculated on the compensation that would have been paid at the time that the leave is taken.
• Administrative Leave for employees who work less than full-time shall be prorated according to the percent of the appointment.
• All employee types (both represented and non-represented) may be eligible for the one-time allotment of the paid Administrative Leave. Non-employees (such as Affiliates and Contract Workers) do not qualify for paid Administrative Leave.
• Paid Administrative Leave for COVID-19 related circumstances can be applied effective March 17, 2020 for all current staff, and is available for any new appointees hired effective on or after March 17, 2020.
• Employees who separate from employment while the authority for paid Administrative Leave is in effect, will lose eligibility for Paid Administrative Leave.
• Paid Administrative Leave (similar to sick and vacation paid leave) is treated the same as regular pay for UCRP or Savings Choice purposes. All retirement benefits (including UCRP service credit, HAPC; and employee and employer contributions to the DC Plan) are earned the same as if they were regular salary.
• It is not permitted for employees to receive Unemployment Insurance benefits from the CA Employment Development Department (EDD) while also receiving paid Administrative Leave.
• Paid Administrative Leave may only be used for purposes outlined in the table below.

Work arrangement considerations and paid leave options in accordance with Berkeley Lab policy and special provisions due to COVID-19 related circumstances: