HIGHLIGHTS OF MOU ON EFFECTS OF DISTRICT EMERGENCY ACTIONS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Below is an update on the MOU our union successfully bargained with the District around emergency actions relating to the Coronavirus Pandemic. We have reached final agreement with the District. Click here to view the full MOU.  Your input and our collective actions have greatly contributed to the success of this process.

Some of your faculty colleagues will be phone-banking later this week to inform everyone of these relief measures and to ensure members receive qualifying benefits. Please note that for any leaves of absence, you should contact HR and for reimbursements/compensation, you can follow up with your immediate supervisor.

Click here to find answers to many frequently asked questions about the MOU.  If you have any other questions or encounter barriers, contact your AFT chapter co-chairs and/or Paul Bissember, AFT 1493 Executive Secretary, at: bissember@aft1493.org.


Highlights of the AFT MOU

  • The relief measures outlined in the MOU last until the end of the semester (May 30, 2020)
  • Faculty will maintain their salary and benefits throughout the Spring semester. Faculty will be fully compensated for cancelled or suspended classes.
  • Emergency Leaves –In addition to the leaves guaranteed under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), Faculty will be granted the following types of leaves:
    • Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) – Faculty who meet the FFCRA eligibility [1] to receive EPSL shall receive their regular rate of pay until the end of the semester. This leave is for faculty who are quarantined, advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider, or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.  This also includes any faculty who have had classes canceled this semester.
    • Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) to care for family members – Faculty who meet the FFCRA eligibility criteria to receive EPSL at 2/3 pay [2], shall be paid their full rate of pay for 10 days. This leave is for faculty who are caring for a family member.
    • Emergency Family and Medical Leave (EFML) – Faculty who meet the FFCRA eligibility [3] to take the EFML at 2/3 of their regular pay for up to 12 weeks may use accrued leave to bring faculty up to 100% pay for the full 12 weeks. This leave is for faculty with children who have had their schools closed due to COVID-19.
    • Forms for COVID-19 Leaves of Absence:
  • Workload Adjustment – Faculty shall be limited to only required duties and responsibilities outlined in our Contract, Appendix D1 A for Instructors (p. 58), D2 A for Counselors (p. 59) and D3 A for Librarians (p. 60). Faculty with coordination duties will do their best to continue their coordination and will be provided flexibility to continue performing these duties to the best of their abilities.
  • Reimbursement – Faculty shall receive reimbursements for incurred expenses for conferences not attended or cancelled. In addition, the district will reimburse faculty for preapproved expenses incurred as a result of teaching online.  If members need additional equipment to work remotely, they shall inform their immediate supervisor, and the District will procure and provide the necessary equipment. If you encounter any problems or barriers in getting you equipment you need, please contact your AFT chapter co-chairs and/or Paul Bissember.
  • Flexibility around Online Instruction and Academic Freedom – Faculty will retain academic freedom and the mode of online instruction will be left up to the instructor.
  • Compensation for migrating classes online –
    All faculty will receive their regular pay as if March 12, 13 and 16 had been instructional days.
    All faculty shall receive up to ten (10) hours of additional compensation at the special rate, without prior approval, in recognition of transitioning to online instruction    .
    For adjunct faculty who did not benefit from the preparation days when the District canceled classes on March 12, 13, and 16, they will receive additional compensation in an amount equivalent to 100% of their regular pay received for each class taught on Tuesday March 10 and/or Wednesday March 11.

    Instructions for requesting 10 hours of added pay for transitioning to online instruction:

  • Evaluations –
  1. Tenure Track: evaluations proceed as scheduled, but faculty are not evaluated on their methodology or use of distance technology, and student surveys are limited to course content.  (Note:  tenure track evaluations are typically completed by now)
  2. Tenured and Part-Time:  If the classroom observation has NOT been completed, evaluations are postponed.  If classroom observation has been completed, evaluee decides if evaluation continues or is postponed; if postponed, portions completed do not have to be repeated.

Footnotes

1.     a. Subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;

b. Advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;

c. Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;

2.  Is caring for an individual subject to an order described above, or is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

3.  An employee may take EFMLA leave only when they are unable to work because they must care for the employee’s child who is under the age of 18 years, if the child’s school or place of care has been closed or the child’s care provider is unavailable due to an emergency related to COVID-19