Details and FAQs on the COVID-19 Response website.
The university began offering Supplemental COVID-19 Leave in early March 2020, granting staff employees paid leave (without drawing down sick time or vacation time balances) if: (1) the employee could not work from home due to the nature of their work duties; or (2) could not work due to their primary caregiver duties during the closure of their dependent’s school or care center; or (3) could not work due to their exposure to or illness from the novel coronavirus requiring self-quarantine; or (4) could not work because of their high risk for COVID-19. The university has extended this special supplemental leave twice, first through April 15 and later through April 30, 2020.
Staff who have been utilizing COVID-19 Supplemental Leave and who wish to remain on leave may utilize one of the standard options in place prior to the March 12 announcement of COVID-19 Supplemental Leave. For instance:
It is highly recommended that staff members who utilized the Supplemental COVID-19 Leave set up time with their supervisor to explore options for the short and long term. Examples may include flex scheduling (working in the evenings to accommodate child care) or providing additional assignments that may be accomplished remotely.
Wellspring, SU’s Employee Assistance Program offers helpful resources at https://www.wellspringeap.org/login (username: Seattle University). Wellspring can offer ideas on working remotely, balancing family care obligations with work and other topics.
Non-exempt employees will continue to submit hours worked and any sick/vacation hours used through web time entry. Supervisors will remain responsible for verifying web time entry each pay period.
Exempt employees will need to submit an exempt leave report, to track sick/vacation hours, used to Payroll. Supervisors will remain responsible for verifying sick/vacation hours used.
The University's paid sick time benefit complies with the City of Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time ordinance. Our sick time benefit protects the income of employees during incidental or occasional periods of:
Regular, benefits-eligible employees are awarded up to twelve days of paid sick time each year. Other employees, including part-time faculty and student employees, accrue one hour of sick time for every thirty hours worked or credited by the University.
More information on the university’s paid sick time benefit can be found here.
Your current sick time hours are accessible online here. Select the “Employee” category. From the Employee page, select the “Leave” link.
Questions? Reach out to HR here.
Questions? Reach out to HR here. Your supervisor is also an important resource.
Questions? Reach out to HR here.
Seattle University’s move to virtual education for spring quarter 2020 has impacted the opportunity for many student workers to continue in positions earning student wages. Students with positions that allow them to work remotely during the campus closure are encouraged to do so, and will continue to receive wages for hours they work by submitting their hours through WebTime Entry, which supervisors will approve. For students who are not continuing to work remotely during COVID crisis and the campus closure, the university will continue to pay estimated wages through April 30.
For students who are not working remotely after April 30, the university will make “Student Worker COVID Replacement” (SWCR) payments totaling $1000 before tax withholding. Student supervisors are responsible for authorizing these payments and should complete this form by May 7th to ensure timely continuation of payment to student employees not working.
Seattle University has additional resources for helping students experiencing financial hardship. Students experiencing hardship are encouraged to apply for funding from both the CARES Act and Seattle University’s President’s Emergency Fund using the single application form that is now available on MySU. The expenses can be anything within the meaning of “cost of attendance” as defined in the Higher Education Act, including tuition and fees, food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare expenses.
If students have worked previously, please use their prior work schedule to approximate the hours worked and have them enter this into their timesheets (access the history on the Web Time Entry for detail). For students who have not worked previously and have no prior record, please utilize your budget for the position, the fact that students may not work over 20 hours per week, and the time period to develop an average and then ask students to enter this into the daily record.
You may refer them to the Washington Employment Security Department for more information. In addition, students are eligible to apply for emergency funds from the CARES Act. All students will be receiving a separate announcement about that application process.
Yes, Seattle University is authorizing student workers to be utilized for remote work as long as the supervisor is able to address the procedural, wage and hour and privacy issues inherent with any remote worker.
Yes, for spring quarter 2020, Seattle University is undertaking the work needed to pay the student workers who relocated out of state. The student worker must notify their supervisor when this is the case to ensure the university complies with pertinent payroll tax requirements. The supervisor should then notify Payroll if one of your students is working out of state. Please consult with Human Resources before agreeing to employ a student worker residing outside of the United States.
Yes, if all normal approval processes are followed and the work can be performed within the context of current operational conditions.
Student Financial Services will continue to handle the onboarding of newly-hired student workers and will be able to guide you through this process.
The university will suspend paycheck deductions for employee parking permits starting with March 31 paychecks. Many faculty and staff are working remotely and it is appropriate that we temporarily lift this charge. Permit charges will automatically resume at a later date. We’ll be sure to notify you when that happens.
As an Aetna or Kaiser member you can seek medical support electronically to avoid an in-person office visit.
Teladoc is available to all Aetna members 24/7. Through Teladoc you can speak to a licensed provider by phone or video within minutes. Costs will depend if you are enrolled in the PPO or HSA medical plan.
Kaiser members can utilize the Care Chat online messaging system, available 24/7. You can also access an E-Visit to consult with a healthcare provider online and receive a treatment plan within a few hours.
If you or a qualified family member are diagnosed with a serious health condition, an extended absence from work may qualify under the new Washington State Family and Medical Leave Law. Applicable leave eligibility requirements would apply. Meghan van der Sluys (vandersm@seattleu.edu) administers leaves of absences for faculty and staff and is the contact for extended absences due to medical reasons.
Fidelity Investments, the recordkeeper for the university’s 403b retirement plan, regularly posts information for investors. A current example is ‘Six tips to Navigate Volatile Markets’. Log into your Fidelity account at https://netbenefits.fidelity.com/NBLogin to see the latest Fidelity guidance. On-campus consultations with a Fidelity representative have been suspended until further notice. Phone-based consultations remain an option.
Participants in the university’s 403(b) Employees Retirement Plan should be aware of options now available as a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. As always, we recommend reaching out to your Fidelity or TIAA financial consultant to review your current situation – along with short- and long-term financial goals – before making any decisions. The university has adopted the following CARES Act provisions, which are available for those participants directly impacted by the pandemic:
Contact Fidelity Investments (or TIAA) for more information.
Aetna is waiving co-pays for all diagnostic testing related to COVID-19. This means Aetna will cover the cost of physician-ordered testing for patients who meet CDC guidelines, which can be done in any approved laboratory location. Aetna will waive your member costs associated with diagnostic testing at any authorized location. SU is a self-insured plan and has the ability to opt-out of this program at our discretion.
For the next 90 days, Aetna will offer zero co-pay telemedicine visits – for any reason. As an Aetna member, you should use telemedicine as your first line of defense in order to limit potential exposure in physician offices. Aetna will waive your member costs for all video visits through Teladoc®, the CVS MinuteClinic app, and in-network providers who offer virtual care options. SU is a self-insured plan and has the ability to opt-out of this program at our discretion.
To stay current with Aetna’s response to the outbreak, please log in to https://www.aetna.com/
Kaiser Permanente announced that it has the ability to test members for COVID-19. If testing is warranted, please contact Kaiser to make the appropriate arrangements. As a Kaiser member, you will not have to pay for costs related to COVID-19 screening or testing. In the event you are diagnosed with COVID-19, additional services, including hospital admission (if applicable) will be covered and charged according to your normal plan coverage rules.
Questions? Reach out to HR here.