URMC values each and every employee, not just during times of crisis such as this but every day. The organization has made some decisions that will hopefully help ease some of your fears during this time of uncertainty. We know that your finances are at the forefronts of your minds and we want you to know that we hear you. Below are some new changes and tools that can help you get through this difficult time.

Emergency Sick Leave

Effective April 1, 2020, employees may be eligible to use Emergency Sick Leave, a new federally mandated paid sick leave for coronavirus related illnesses and care issues. HR Policy 904 Emergency Leave and Compensation details out the eligibility requirements and usage guidelines. This leave is separate from PTO and Major Dis, and is provided to you, up to 80 hours. Healthcare providers were given the option, by law, to opt out of this. We chose to opt in because we care about you.

Read the policy to familiarize yourself with the options available to eligible employees.

PTO & Major Dis Policies UPDATED

The PTO and Major Disability policies have been updated to included the following:

• When a Public Health Emergency has been declared by federal, state, or local government, employees may request not to use their accrued PTO to cover their absence from work.
• Salaried, exempt employees may volunteer to take off work for personal reasons other than sickness or disability, without using PTO. (The employee’s decision must be completely voluntary and documented in writing.)
• When a Public Health Emergency has been declared by federal, state, or local government, employees may use major disability hours to cover their absence related to a family member’s illness when the employee’s family member is subject to Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order or; the family member is advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine or; the family member has been diagnosed with a communicable disease, such as COVID-19.Beginning March 31, 2020 through the close of business June 30, 2020, or the end of the pandemic, whichever comes first, employees may use Major Disability hours after using one day, at least 8 hours, or leave without pay for COVID related issues, to include, but not limited to, employee illness, employee family member illness, or child care issues. If the employee returns to work and an eligible absence occurs within two (2) weeks, the employee may continue using Major Disability hours so long as there is not a break longer than two (2) weeks of using PTO or Major Disability hours for an eligible reason. Medical documentation is requested, but not required, when applicable.
• Employees may request to cash out up to 40 hours of accrued PTO as a “cash-out” at a rate of 75% of the PTO value. Cash out requests for the April 17th pay date must be in by April 9th to be processed. Cash out requests for the May 1st pay date must be in by April 23rd to be processed. This will replace the cash out option for June 2020.

Partial Unemployment Claims

The state of Georgia has issued a requirement for employers to file partial claims on behalf of employees whenever it is necessary to temporarily reduce work hours or there is no work available for a short period of time. There are applicable dollar thresholds that the Department of Labor has established for eligibility. Not everyone whose hours have been reduced will qualify for partial unemployment but URMC does not make that determination. Managers have been provided with instructions on submitting paperwork to HR for affected employees. Please talk with your supervisor if you believe you are eligible for this or contact HR.

Working from Home

With the order from Governor Kemp, all positions that can work from home should work from home. Some staff have asked a few questions about working from home. Perhaps this Q&A will help.

“Can my manager require that I work from home?”

Yes, during this time, managers can redirect work to an offsite location such as one’s home.

“Do I have to come into the building to pick up work?”

If your work requires materials from your physical work location, you will need to make arrangements to get those. Employees are encouraged to work with their manager to have the materials brought outside.

Mental Health Resources

We understand the pandemic situation can cause a lot of anxiety and worry. Don’t forget the resources that we already have in place through our employee assistance programs. REACH EAP can help you if you find yourself in need of a counselor or other tools to manage your life. All REACH EAP Services are available via telephone 24/7/365.

REACH EAP also passed along a free resource through the Calm app. This is a great way to find your focus and calm your anxieties. Visit the website to access the tools there for free today: https://blog.calm.com/take-a-deep-breath

AIG Valic

The coronavirus-relief bill known as the CARES Act allows retirement plan sponsors to adjust plan provisions to provide greater access to retirement savings during this time. Because we know that you may have changes in your life that require access to your financial resources, we’ve made some plan changes to help. These changes will go into effect soon, and you can reach out to John Lamberth at 478-244-7290 or Abby Giles at 478-319-7832 for more information and guidance. Remember, the purpose of your 401(k) is to save towards retirement and you should consult with a financial professional before making drastic changes.

Here are the changes explained from AIG Valic:

Explanation of CARES Act Optional Plan Provisions
Plan sponsors of 401(a)/(k) defined contribution, 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans can implement the following optional provisions with plan sponsor election.

Addition of a coronavirus-related distribution. Plan sponsors can add a new distribution event that would allow eligible participants to take penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts of up to $100,000 (combined limit) during 2020. The distributions would not be subject to the required 20% tax withholding. In addition, individuals have the option to repay the distribution to an eligible retirement plan or IRA within 3 years.

Eligible participants are defined as those who test positive or whose spouse or dependent tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, or a participant who experiences adverse financial consequences as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, laid off, having work hours reduced, being unable to work due to lack of child care or the result of the closure or reduction in hours of a business owned or operated by the individual.

The Plan Administrator may rely on the participant’s certification that one of these conditions is satisfied.

Loans to those eligible for coronavirus-related distributions. Plan sponsors can modify their loan provisions to allow an eligible participant to receive a plan loan in an amount not to exceed the lesser of $100,000 (increased from $50,000) or 100% (increased from 50%) of the participant’s vested account balance. The modified loan limit is effective for loans made for a 180-day period beginning on March 27, 2020. Plan sponsors can also allow eligible participants with either existing loans with a payment due date after March 27, 2020, or new loans made after that date through December 31, 2020, to delay payments for one year. Any subsequent repayments must be adjusted to reflect the delay and interest accrued during the delay. In determining the maximum loan period (normally five years), the delay period is disregarded.

Temporary waiver of required minimum distributions. Plan sponsors can choose to waive minimum distribution requirements for 2020. The waiver applies to any distribution required to be made in the calendar year 2020, including 2019 distributions being made by an individual’s required beginning date of April 1, 2020, so long as the distribution was not already made before January 1, 2020; 2020 required minimum distributions and a beneficiary receiving distributions over a 5-year period.

HR Accessibility

Beginning on Monday, April 6, 2020, the Human Resources office will be closed to the public until further notice. If you need HR services, please call or email the staff to make an appointment. Laura Stokes, HR Director, will be onsite most days for any emergent issues.

If you need to send documents to HR, please scan and email those documents rather than sending through the snail mail. HR staff will be fully accessible via email and reachable by phone.

We are still working hard to support you through this time!