COVID-19 Leave Option Guidance

Paid Administrative Leave

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, Administrative Leave has been authorized by Berkeley Lab’s Deputy Director for Operations effective March 17, 2020 through September 30, 2020, or until such time this leave assistance is no longer needed, 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 authorization of paid Administrative Leave 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:

The period authorized for paid Administrative Leave is March 17, 2020 up through September 30, 2020 or until such time this leave assistance is no longer needed. Authorization per eligible employee is based on their regular effort time up to an average of 40 hours per week.
(Revised: 6/22/20) Paid Administrative Leave for employees unable to work or telework because of the need to care for their child whose school/place of care is closed or child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 are authorized for up to 16 days (or 128 hours). When this limit is reached, employees may consider using other leave options such as the below noted FFCRA, their own personal accrued leave balances, or investigate unemployment benefits offered by the CA Employment Development Department (EDD). The 16 day limit does not apply for the other listed eligible scenarios below.
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.
Employees who are gradually resuming on-site work during a transition period of continued limited operations may continue to use paid Administrative Leave intermittently for the portion of time they are not authorized for on-site presence and are unable to telework. Paid Administrative Leave is not authorized for the portion of time the employee is authorized to perform on-site work.
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.
Administrative Leave cannot be donated to another employee.
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.
Administrative Leave taken by employees in Limited and Rehired Retiree appointments will count towards the 900-hour limited for those appointment types.
Paid Administrative Leave for COVID-19 related circumstances can be applied effective March 17, 2020 up through September 30, 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.
Paid Administrative Leave is not authorized for elder care responsibilities. Employees in this situation may use their accrued leave balances or elect to take leave without pay for this purpose.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Leaves

Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL)

Effective April 1 through December 31, 2020, pursuant to the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), Lab employees are generally entitled to take up to 80 hours for full-time employees, or the two-week equivalent for part-time employees, of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) if LBNL has work for them to do but they are prevented from working or teleworking because they:

are subject to a Federal, state, or local order to self-quarantine or self-isolate due to COVID-19,
have been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19,
are experiencing COVID 19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis from a health care provider,
are caring for an individual who is 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,
are caring for a child whose school or place of care has closed, or whose child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions, or
are experiencing a substantially similar circumstance, to be defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Berkeley Lab’s health care workers are not eligible to take EPSL for Reasons 4 and 5 above.

Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFML)

Also effective April 1 through December 31, 2020, pursuant to the FFCRA, Lab employees who have been employed by the Lab or UC for at least 30 calendar days preceding the leave are generally entitled to take up to twelve workweeks of Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFML) if the Lab has work for them but they are unable to work or telecommute due to a need to care for a child of theirs whose school or child care center has closed, or whose child care provider has become unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions.

Berkeley Lab’s health care workers are not eligible to take EFML.

More information can be found at the following link to LBNL’s Guidance on Use of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and/or Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFML):

https://ehs.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/04/LBNL_epsl-efml_guidance.pdf

Also, the Department of Labor notice on FFCRA leaves is available here:

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf

COVID-19 Leave Options Guide

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

Scenarios

Work Arrangement or Leave Policy Applied

Employees identified as authorized personnel for onsite work

Work on site with appropriate safety measures.

Charge benefitting project and activity ID (PAID)

Employees not identified as authorized personnel and who are able to telework

Telework – with requisite supervisor approval and agreement in place. Charge benefitting project and activity ID (PAID)

Employees prevented from attendance on-site and who are unable to telework due to the nature of their jobs
Employees required to self-isolate per the Lab’s self-isolation policy and unable to telework
Employees stranded abroad due to travel restrictions preventing their return to the US and who are unable to telework

Paid Administrative Leave*. Charge the Administrative Leave PAID by selecting the leave type “Administrative Leave” when reporting time.

*NOTE: Employees resuming on-site work may continue to use paid Administrative Leave only for the portion of time they are not authorized for on-site presence and are unable to telework. Paid Administrative Leave is not authorized for the portion of time the employee is authorized to perform on-site work.

Employees who no longer meet the criteria for Paid Administrative Leave may request to use available accrued leave balances (Sick Leave and/or Vacation Leave) as needed and until exhausted. Or may use leave without pay. Charge the appropriate leave type when recording time.

Employees unable to work or telework because of the need to care for their child whose school/place of care is closed or child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19

Paid Administrative Leave*. Employees in this scenario are authorized to use paid Administrative Leave for up to 16 days (or 128 hours) through September 30, 2020. With division approval, charge the Administrative Leave PAID by selecting the leave type “Administrative Leave” when reporting time.

OR FFCRA leave options below:

Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL), up to a maximum of 80 hours for a full-time employee or the two-week equivalent for a part-time employee. An eligible employee is entitled to such EPSL regardless of how much leave they have taken under the FMLA. Prior use of EPSL will impact the amount of EPSL available to the employee.

Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFML) if the employee has been on LBNL’s or UC’s payroll for at least the 30 calendar days immediately prior to the leave:

- The first two workweeks of EFML are unpaid, unless an employee elects to use EPSL paid at an employee’s regular pay rate, or accrued personal leave (sick and/or vacation or PTO) at their regular pay rate.
- The remaining up to ten work weeks are paid at the employee’s regular pay rate, consistent with the employee’s regular work schedule, unless an employee elects to substitute other accrued paid leave, paid at their regular pay rate.
- Any prior use of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitlement in 2020 reduces the employee’s EFML entitlement.
- Any use of EFML also reduces FMLA entitlement in 2020 assuming the employee is eligible for FMLA.

Employees unable to work (onsite or telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:

is subject to a governmental quarantine or isolation order
has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine
is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis

Use accrued leave balances (sick and/or vacation or PTO) for full pay rate.

EPSL up to a maximum of 80 hours for full time employees, and the two-week equivalent for part time employees, paid at an employee’s regular pay rate. Prior use of EPSL will impact the amount of EPSL available to the employee.

Employees unable to work (onsite or telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:

is caring for an individual subject to quarantine/isolation order or who was told by a health care provider to self-quarantine
is experiencing a substantially similar condition, to be defined by the Department of Health and Human Services

Use accrued leave balances (sick and/or vacation or PTO) for full pay rate.

EPSL up to a maximum of 80 hours (or the two-week equivalent) paid at an employee’s regular pay rate. Prior use of EPSL will impact the amount of EPSL available to the employee.

Employees who are unable to work due to their own or a family member’s illness

May request to use available accrued leave balances (sick and/or vacation or PTO). Or may request to use leave without pay.

Charge the appropriate leave type when recording time.

Please refer to the FMLA/CFRA guidance to determine if you are eligible.