As a reminder, all City business (including the review and acknowledgment of forms) is to be conducted using only City email addresses.

Employees wishing to work remotely during the shelter-in-place order should review the Telework Guidelines and Agreement and submit a request to their supervisor.  If approved, employees should use the Telework Time Tracking Tool to report their work assignments and progress on a regular basis to their supervisor.

Unfortunately, temp/seasonal employees are not eligible to participate in a temporary telework agreement.  In the event a temp was able to report to the City facility and work during this period, they should enter the hours worked as they normally would. Otherwise, temp/seasonal staff may want to consider applying for unemployment insurance benefits or other work.  

If an employee is unable to work due to having or being exposed to COVID-19, they may be eligible for payments from SDI (State Disability Insurance). SDI provides short-term benefit payments to eligible workers who have a full or partial loss of wages due to a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy.

If an employee is unable to work because they are caring for a family member who has been diagnosed to or has been exposed to COVID-19 they may be eligible for State of CA Paid Family leave (PFL).

Employees should visit: https://www.edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019.htm for more information and/or to submit a claim.

Please note that Executive Management, Mid-Managers and employees in certain bargaining groups (SRPA, SRFA, SRPMM, SRFCOA) do not contribute to SDI/PFL through their employment with the City. However, they may be eligible due to previous or outside employment.

If an employee is concerned about potential exposure to COVID-19 but has not been advised or ordered to quarantine by a medical professional or authorized government authority, they can use vacation and/or other available paid leave (comp, sick, etc).

Employees will be paid for their regularly scheduled time by the City while test results are pending. If the test is positive, a Workers’ Compensation claim will be filed to cover lost wages. If the test result is negative, the employee will return to work. The nuances of these cases will be handled by HR and the EOC Director on a case by case basis depending on the circumstances. If an employee believes they have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 at work, they should contact HR and your department director immediately and complete a Workers’ Compensation claim form.

Employees will be able to use all sick and non-sick paid leave accruals, unless the employee is approved (and is able) to work remotely. Employees may be required to provide satisfactory documentation that they were quarantined at the direction of appropriate government authorities or medical physician.

• If an employee reports to work and exhibits objective signs of being sick (e.g., significant coughing and other respiratory troubles, symptoms of fever), please strongly encourage the employee to go home.

• If an employee does not agree to go home, the City will direct them to do so and pay them four days of paid administrative leave to do so.

• If you have any concerns regarding a co-worker being sick or a member of the public, please contact your department director and/or HR immediately.

Employees will be required to first exhaust accrued sick leave. For the duration of the local emergency, employees will be permitted to use other paid leave accruals (e.g., comp time, vacation, etc.). Managers have approval authority and must ensure appropriate timesheet completion. This temporary use of other paid time off will terminate when the City determines that it is no longer required.

If an employee believes they were exposed to COVID-19 during their regular course of work, they may be eligible for Workers’ Compensation benefits. Employees should submit a Workers’ Compensation Claim form to HR. Employees should use leave accruals for the time off while their claim is under review by LWP (our workers’ comp administrator). If approved, any time off will be categorized as Workers’ Comp and any leave used for this absence will be credited back to the employee.

Employees should wipe down their work areas and counters. Social-distancing (keeping 6-feet apart) should be maintained as much as possible. All employees should be using hand sanitizer regularly and wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

See this helpful video for specific instructions regarding proper hand washing:

The City’s Catastrophic Leave Policy applies to an illness or event that is expected to preclude an employee from returning to work for an extended period of time.  At this time, the 2-week quarantine period is not considered an “extended” period of time.  Medical absences of longer than 30 days, may be eligible for Catastrophic Leave donations and will be considered on a case by case basis.  Requests should be submitted to nadine.hade@cityofsanrafael.org. 

We understand that employees may wish to know whether a coworker was ill due to COVID-19, the flu, a cold or some other reason.  The City, though, is not entitled to ask for diagnosis information from employees.  The City will follow the County Public Health Officer’s direction in order to insure all employees who may have been exposed and/or were sick, are medically released to return to work. If you have a concern, please contact our department’s management team and/or HR. 

As a City employee, we all took an oath as a Disaster Service Worker and you may be called upon to serve in this capacity. We are working closely with the County EOC and identifying the needs of the community which are changing daily. Every employee should be available to be reached via phone during their regular work schedule. If you are on a 9/80 work schedule, please be available to respond Monday through Friday during this emergency.  

Based on the recent Governor’s order, all work-related travel and training should be cancelled. Please work with the vendors in order to receive reimbursement and/or credit for later use. 

California’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program pays benefits to workers who have lost their job and meet the program’s eligibility requirements. Temp employees that have experienced a reduction in hours may be eligible for unemployment benefits and should visit the State EDD website for more information.

State Disability Insurance (SDI) provides short-term benefit payments to eligible workers who have a full or partial loss of wages due to a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy. Most City employees contribute to SDI through deductions from their paychecks (noted as “SDI” on your paystub).   Please note that if you test positive for COVID-19 or are caring for a family member who tested positive for COVID-19, you may be eligible for Emergency Paid Sick Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

If you test positive for COVID-19, or are caring for a family member who tested positive for COVID-19, you qualify for federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave because the condition constitutes a “serious health condition” and your absence from work will be designated as protected leave under FMLA/CFRA.

Under the new Families First Act, if you are unable to work (or telework) due to a need to care for your child because their school or childcare has been closed due to a public health emergency, you are eligible for FMLA/CFRA protected leave. 

For any of these reasons, you may be eligible for Emergency Paid Sick Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

If an employee wishes to be off work for personal reasons unrelated to illness, caring for a child or other qualified reason under the Families First Act, they may request vacation, comp or other leave time.  As with any leave request (other than sick), this would require your manager’s and/or department director’s approval. If the reasons above, do not apply you must respond to serve as a disaster service worker if needed.

A) From March 23, 2020 thru March 31, 2020 :

If you cannot work (either on site or remotely) due to childcare issues or caring for a family member or not having a fully executed telework agreement in place yet, you will be paid for your regularly scheduled time through March 31st.

Employees who are sick for all, or any portion of the day/week will be required to use their accrued sick leave.

B) From April 1, 2020 through May 31, 2020 (will be re-evaluated as state and/or public health orders change):

If you cannot work at all (either on site or remotely) due to childcare issues or other reason related to COVID, you may be eligible for Emergency Paid Sick Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  Please see the FAQs page for more information.

If you have an approved telework agreement with your supervisor but cannot work some of the time due to childcare issues or other reason related to COVID-19, you may apply for Emergency Paid Sick Leave for the hours you cannot work and record your time for the hours you were able to work remotely.

If you are in the process of developing a telework arrangement with your Supervisor/Manager, please see them for direct guidance on how to record your time.

If you are called to serve as a Disaster Service Worker (DSW) for a shift(s), you will be paid for any hours worked in that capacity. Please follow the guidance above if you are not working in full-time capacity as a DSW.

Employees may continue to request time off (vacation, comp, etc.), if they would like to, and are required to use accrued leave balances for any time they are unavailable to work.

Employees who are sick for all or any portion of the day/week will be required to use the appropriate leave accrual for the time they are off and unavailable to work.  if the illness is related to COVID, please see the FFCR FAQs.