COVID-19 Leave Option Guidance

Paid Administrative Leave (Updated 1/27/23)

Berkeley Lab’s existing Administrative Leave for Emergencies policy provides that if declared as a qualifying emergency event by the Deputy Director for Operations, “Administrative leave with pay for a specified duration may be granted during emergencies that effectively prevent an employee from attendance at work or continuance of work in a normal and orderly manner, and where alternate arrangements are not possible”.

Qualifying emergency events are defined in the policy as follows:

• Public Emergencies. A public emergency includes fire, explosion, power failure, flood, earthquake, snowstorm, protest, demonstration, riot, sabotage, pandemic illness, and other comparable occurrences.
• Operational Emergencies. An operational emergency is a major unplanned or abnormal event or condition, such as sitewide power interruptions, that involves or affects Berkeley Lab, and which causes, or has the potential to cause, serious health, safety, or environmental impacts.
• Civil Disasters. Administrative leave with pay may be allowed for search-and-rescue or disaster-control work by an employee as a member of an organized civil disaster unit. Leave with pay is not granted for training, drills, or practice exercises.

Accordingly, Administrative Leave has been authorized by Berkeley Lab’s Deputy Director for Operations effective March 17, 2020 through 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.

Authorization for Employees Prevented from Working Onsite and Unable to Telework remains in effect.  Divisions are strongly encouraged to keep employees productively working either onsite or teleworking to the extent possible. If these efforts are unsuccessful, paid Administrative Leave can be used in this scenario for the health, safety, and welfare of our workforce. Continued use of Administrative Leave for this specific purpose will be evaluated. 

IMPORTANT UPDATES (new updates in RED text):

• (1/27/23) 2022 Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) – The University of California’s Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) program for 2022  has expired as of December 31, 2022, including for Berkeley Lab. Employees should review this guidance document to evaluate alternate leave options as applicable. 
  • The UC EPSL program was modeled after the California State COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave benefit, which also ended on 12/31/22. At present, there is no indication that an extension for 2023 is planned.  

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 by the Deputy Lab Director for Operations for paid Administrative Leave is March 17, 2020, through 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. 
• In support of President Biden’s Executive Order 13991 (Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing), and an emphasis on the importance of individuals getting vaccinated against COVID-19, DOE has authorized the Lab to provide Paid Administrative Leave to cover the following:
  • Up to 4 hours per shot/dose as applicable for the employee to obtain their own COVID-19 vaccination (effective beginning February 10, 2021) or booster shot (effective beginning September 22, 2021). This is available, as needed, to all employees (both onsite and telework) in accordance with the table below. For LETS time reporting, “Adm LV Vacc” must be used.  
  • Up to 2 full days for employees who need time off of work if they experience side effects from their own COVID-19 vaccination (effective beginning February 10, 2021) or booster shot (effective beginning September 22, 2021). 
    • NOTE: Employees requesting Paid Administrative Leave to cover time off for obtaining vaccinations or taking time to recover from vaccination side effects must follow existing procedures for requesting time off and reporting time in LETS for their supervisor’s approval.
  • Up to 4 hours per shot/dose for the employee to accompany a family member who is receiving their COVID-19 vaccination (effective beginning August 26, 2021) or booster shot (effective beginning September 22, 2021). For LETS time reporting, “Adm Fam Vaxx” must be used.
• Division Directors shall identify and approve which employees have been approved for paid Administrative Leave. Employees must use the applicable Admin Leave codes 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 the resumption of onsite work transition period may continue to use paid Administrative Leave intermittently 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 any 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 limit for those appointment types.
• 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.
• 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.

 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: