COVID-19 Closing —
Full-time Employee FAQ Update
April 1, 2020
This version of the Employee FAQ addresses forward-facing questions as of April1, 2020 for full-time employees.
To reference the previous Employee FAQs, dated March 24, 2020, please visit here.
Will my pay continue? For how long?
During the period of time leading up to April 6th, we have been operating under “administrative leave”, much as we would have done during an extended weather closing. Beginning April 6th, however, we will transition into a status in which all full-time employees will be actively working, either onsite as approved by the Executive Team, remotely, or a combination. This will enable us to continue paying all full-time employees, including those on support contracts. Your work, however, might look quite a bit different than the work you normally perform. All full-time employees shall be on call during normal working hours, unless the employee takes leave available under district policy or law.
Will part-time employees be able to continue working?
Beginning April 6th, part-time employees will not be scheduled to work until further notice unless they have been authorized by the SLT to cover a specific essential task.
Does the Families First Coronavirus Response Act apply to Tulsa Tech?
Yes, you recently received an email from Pam Winterscheidt that provided notification of the new Act. Please contact HR with any questions you may have.
Do I need to use my personal leave while the District is closed?
Beginning April 6th, all full-time employees will be in work status. Employees will, once again, be expected to enter leave requests into Time Clock Plus for vacation, personal business, or sick leave.
What if I need to be off due to illness or doctor appointments?
If you are currently out on medical leave or become ill, you will be expected to use sick leave to cover the time away from work.
My vacation leave is maxed out. What will happen to upcoming accruals?
We are temporarily extending the maximum amount you can accrue so that you will not lose upcoming accruals. No action is needed on your part.
Do I need to come into work?
We previously announced that, through April 5th, only full-time employees assigned to “onsite essential tasks” would be permitted to work onsite. Acknowledging the President’s revised order extending social distancing guidelines, this date has now been extended to April 30th, unless our guidance changes.
During this time, we will continue to operate in the same manner as we have been, only permitting those on campuses and sites that are working on approved “essential tasks” that can’t be accomplished remotely. Additionally, for the safety of our team members, any employee 65 or older, or who falls into an “at-risk” category (as defined by the CDC), will not be permitted to work onsite (even on essential tasks) during this time period.
If I am asked to come in to perform essential tasks, what precautions should I take?
The District is committed to the health and safety of those individuals that will be coming in to work on assigned essential functions. To maximize the safety of the work environment, work areas will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized daily. CDC and health department recommended practice of having gatherings of less than 10 will be followed.
When performing an essential task onsite, work should be performed as efficiently as possible to minimize the time on-site. The adherence to social distancing guidelines while at work will be required. Workplace social distancing guidelines can be found here.
Can I come into work if I want to?
No. Unless assigned to work on an approved onsite essential task, all full-time team members will be expected to work remotely. While working remotely, we encourage departments and work teams to the use online collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams, phone conference calls, emails, etc. in order to meet, collaborate, develop curriculum, and otherwise help advance the mission of the District. As previously mentioned, IT has computer equipment available for employee checkout, if needed.
Can I pick up work items or personal belongings from my work area?
If there are work materials or personal items that you need to get from your office or classroom, please contact your director to submit a request for access. Your director will coordinate with the SLT to arrange building access, when possible.
Even if you possess keys to a building, you will not be permitted to enter any facility without prior approval and deputy assistance.
Office or classroom technology equipment is not to be removed from your work area but check-out equipment is available through IT.
How can students pick up textbooks or personal belongings?
If students need to pick up textbooks or personal belongings from classrooms, please contact your director to submit a request for access. Your director will coordinate with the SLT to arrange building access. You will be expected to accompany students into, and out of the building. You may arrange to take multiple students in at the same time but this must be limited to 5 students at a time.
Students are not be permitted to cluster outside of buildings waiting for scheduled access times. Social distancing must be enforced and group sizes kept to 5 or fewer and scheduled accordingly. Even if you possess keys to a building, you will not be permitted to enter any facility without prior approval and deputy assistance.
Can I check out computer equipment to take home?
Computer equipment should not be removed from offices or classrooms.
Employees wanting to check out “work from home” equipment should contact the IT helpdesk at 918-828-5025 or helpdesk@tulsatech.edu to coordinate.
No self-uninstalls of employee’s desktop or classroom equipment will be permitted. IT has similar equipment that can be loaned out. Equipment check out will be available for exempt as well as non-exempt employees.
IT will be providing remote help desk support to help you be able to connect to the District’s network.
What types of work will I be assigned to handle from home? How will I get my “work from home” assignments?
By the end of this week, you will be communicated with by your director outlining “work from home” assignments. For instructional and instructional support personnel, this will most likely entail working on Distance Learning materials so that we can deliver training to our students. For many support employees, the assignments might look significantly different than your normal work. For example, rather than preparing meals for our students, cafeteria team members might be assigned to develop new recipes, take online courses to learn new skills, perform research on new food service trends, etc. The idea is that you will be assigned a body of work that will be beneficial to the District.
Our hope is to take advantage of this time to improve the overall capabilities and strength of the District. Assignments might change from week to week as new needs are identified. Again, prior to the end of this week, you will have information about the work you will be performing beginning on April 6th. There is no need to enter your time into Time Clock Plus. Again, our primary goal was to identify ways to ensure ongoing pay for the upcoming weeks while school is closed.
While in “work from home” status, we request that you be available for phone calls, responsive to work emails, and available to lend assistance and expertise as needs arise.
Will our deputies be working during the closing?
Our deputies will continue to work during the closing. If you need to reach deputies during this time, you can contact them at 918-828-1190. They will not, however, be permitted to grant building access during the closing except for times slots that have pre-authorized for picking up items.
Should each campus have someone present over the next several weeks?
No. We are putting buildings into energy savings mode and expect employees to be home, unless assigned to cover an essential function, as defined by the Executive Team.
Are outside groups permitted to use meeting rooms during this time?
All outside group meetings have been canceled through April 30. Feel free to contact Conference Services for more information.
Do I have to cancel work-related travel?
Yes, all work-related travel should be canceled through April 30. This will be extended as needed.
Will students be returning to campus this school year?
High School students; No. Adult students; to be determined.
The State Department of Education voted to close all school buildings to K12 students for the remainder of the school year. All schools were directed to create Distance Learning opportunities for K12 students beginning April 6th and lasting through the end of the school year.
Based on this directive, we are now working to create Distance Learning opportunities for all of our high school students (approximately 4000 students) which will begin on April 6th. High school students will not be permitted back on campus during this school year unless we are granted approval by the State Department.
As you know, most of our programs involve a lot of hands-on training experiences, which are core to how we teach and what we teach. Unfortunately, these “hands-on” experiences will not be available to our high school students for the remainder of this school year unless additional guidance is provided by the ODCTE and SDE. This will not, however, prevent us from rallying around this challenge to deliver as much “minds-on” training as possible to help our students learn new things and advance their knowledge during the remainder of the school year. Virtual learning will occur in various forms including reading assignments, quizzes, video tutorials, etc. While less than ideal, we will work to make a positive impact on our students during this time.
While the SDE mandate doesn’t restrict our adult training programs in the same way, we do not anticipate having the ability to bring adult students on-campus until after April 30th. If this is not the case, we will plan accordingly. We will continue working with the ODCTE to get clarity on what options might be available to open our facilities for our adult-only programs. In the meantime, we will provide Distance Learning options to our adult students beginning April 6th, just as we will be doing for our high school students.
Will graduation be cancelled?
Yes. To ensure that our students, their families, and our employees remain safe, we are canceling this year’s graduation. Any money paid by students will be refunded.
How can I stay up-to-date on this situation?
While we remain in a closed status, please stay up-to-date by frequently checking the Tulsa Tech Safety and Security Website. You will also receive e-mails from Tulsa Tech with updated information. Please attempt to be available via phone and monitor voice messages during the closing.