Testing through the university’s vender will be mandatory
West Virginia University officials said Thursday 2,000 — or 20% of its Morgantown workforce — will likely be working remotely when the fall semester starts Aug. 19.
“We’re currently notifying employees,” said Cris DeBord, the university’s vice president of Talent and Culture, during a video conference with the campus community that focused on how employees can safely return to work when the semester begins.
Workers who end up working from their homes will have to sign a telecommuting agreement with the university that’s still under development, but essentially will say the employees will do their same job duties, only remotely.
“If you can work remotely, we want you to,” said DeBord, adding this will help mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19 when 30,000 students return to Morgantown next month. And any employee who travels out of state for any reason other than commuting, will be required to self-isolate for five days.
“We’re trying to make it to Thanksgiving,” he said.
In addition to ensure social distancing this fall, no outside venders will be allowed on campus to make sales pitches. Any visitor to campus requires a host and must complete a COVID-19 checklist before arriving.
“Speakers for class will have to do it remotely,” he said. “All meetings will also need a remote participation option.
“It’s one more tactic to slow the spread,” he said.
Only finalists for jobs will be on campus for interviews. DeBord said the university has put aside rooms for this use.
Also, all employees will be tested at no charge at a WVU-sanctioned COVID-19 test site by Aug. 15. DeBord said it doesn’t matter if an employee has been tested at an outside location. The university has contracted with an outside vender to do the testing so it can keep track of results on a database.
Any WVU employee who is required to take the COVID-19 test and fails to do so by the Aug. 15 deadline will be subject to disciplinary action that could include administrative leave without pay.
Employees who work off campus don’t have to be tested.
There will be symptomatic and surveillance testing, he said. Plus, there will be random testing for antibodies to see if an employee had COVID-19 at one time.
“We’re ramping up right now to test for antibodies,” said Rob Alsop, WVU’s vice president for Strategic Initiatives.
“If a person tests positive, then we will work with them on the qualifications of returning to work,” he said.
DeBord said the university also has a special pay plan in place for employees who may come down with the novel coronavirus during the fall semester.
“We want to make sure we make you whole,” he said.
Wearing masks or face coverings on WVU’s three campuses will be mandatory. If more than one person is in a room, then employees must wear face coverings. The university plans to have people outside heavily used buildings such as the Mountainlair to ensure compliance.
The university has also ordered 400,000 paper masks to place throughout its campuses. These masks are free.
“We know some people will forget,” Alsop said.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
