Information for staff on working remotely – March 14, 2020

Dear Faculty and Staff,

In light of the recent closure of so many K-12 school districts throughout Massachusetts due to the ongoing spread of COVID19, I’m reaching out with an important update on temporary remote work.

We are sympathetic to the fact that this situation has left some of you in situations that make coming to work difficult, due to changes in your regular child or family care arrangements (school, childcare, elder care etc.). With that in mind, we are ready to move toward allowing more people to work remotely while keeping the University’s operations going. In the event that a decision is made to shift all courses from traditional classroom instruction to online instruction for students, we envision also allowing all non-essential staff, who can perform their job duties effectively from home, to do so. Managers should continue to work with staff this week to determine temporary remote work/telecommuting options. If we move to online instruction, which appears increasingly likely, or if more workplace social distancing should become necessary, a large-scale remote work plan will likely be implemented sooner. This decision will be made in advance of our students’ planned return date of March 29.

Staff who feel that they need to work remotely should speak with their supervisors AS SOON AS POSSIBLE about a plan to do so. Once departments have remote working plans in place that ensure continuity of operations, as well as some on-campus presence among each department, staff who have approval from their supervisors may begin working remotely under guidance from the FSU Office of Human Resources that will be issued soon.

For those staff who are going to have issues coming in to work immediately, you may begin working remotely as soon as Monday, if you are able to get approval from your supervisor. If you cannot get approval over the weekend, you should touch base with your supervisor when you come in on Monday.

Again, no final decisions have been made on remote course instruction once students return on March 30th, but faculty should continue preparing for this transition.

We continue to work closely with state and federal public health officials on plans to ensure the safety of our community. I am so grateful to everyone for their hard work and flexibility as we navigate this crisis. I encourage everyone to continue checking the University COVID19 webpage regularly for updates and information.

Javier