COVID-19 Pandemic: Administration of Time for Regular Full- and Part-Time Staff

This guide is designed to assist supervisors in managing time for their full- and part-time staff employees while working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Remember to maintain honest, consistent communication with your employees during this period. It is important that your team knows that they can count on you to clarify any issues or questions regarding time reporting requirements during this time.

Department leadership is responsible for assigning meaningful and productive work for their employees to engage in while working remotely. Additional sick time has been provided to all staff employees to utilize before going into an unpaid or unemployment status.

The following guidance is for situations where employees will be out of the workplace (regardless of location) and how to report their time worked if all other means to keep them gainfully employed have been exhausted. Please note that each case must be reviewed by Employee & Labor Relations before any action can be taken.

Please direct your questions to the Office of Human Resources by submitting an online inquiry.

If a staff employee is sick or is caring for a sick family member, please follow standard Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) procedures outlined on the Leaves of Absence page.

If you are an OHR Partner and are in need of or have available individuals to fill particular duties or roles, you may submit an offer or request for work opportunities for staff on behalf of your Responsibility Center using this online form.

Managing Time: Is the Staff Employee Working?

Yes, the staff employee is working:

  • Working a standard schedule, which is understood as including non-standard work activities that extend beyond core job descriptions (for example, professional development, assisting intra- and inter-RC projects, and volunteer work in support of the regional community): Non-exempt (biweekly pay) employees should submit hours worked as normal on time cards. Exempt (monthly pay) employees do not need to submit hours worked on their time cards.
  • Working a partial schedule: If the staff employee’s work does not afford a full workweek, they can use sick time*, vacation time, and/or personal time to supplement their time away from work. Reference the chart below, depending on employee exemption status.

    *Review the updates to Sick Leave in response to COVID-19.
Exempt Employees (Monthly Pay) Non-Exempt Employees (Biweekly Pay)
Employees must receive their full salary in any workweek during which they perform any work. Non-exempt employees are paid for all hours worked.
A workweek is defined as Sunday through Saturday. A workweek is defined as Sunday through Saturday.
If an employee does not perform any work in a workweek, it is not considered compensable time. Employees can use available sick time, vacation time, or personal time, or go without pay (which must be taken in full-day increments*). Employees are eligible to use partial days for sick time, personal time, or vacation time, or go without pay**.
If an employee works any amount of time in a given workweek, they are compensated for the whole workweek, unless the time was requested off and approved by management. Time cards should be submitted according to the employee's normal schedule hours.

*Except for intermittent leave, according to FMLA.

**Please reference the Staff Handbook on how to handle time without pay (dock time).

No, the staff employee is not working:

  • Effective March 11, all staff have been assigned two weeks (10 working days) of paid sick leave above and beyond accumulated time, up to the policy threshold of 120 total days. This pertains to all part-time (pro-rated) and full-time staff, as well as temporary employees. Staff employees currently on a leave of absence will be granted the additional time upon their return to “Active Assignment.” Time cannot be used retroactively.
  • Starting the 4th consecutive sick day of not performing any work during a workweek, a leave of absence must be submitted; reference the guide on how to submit an Employee Action for a leave of absence on the Pitt Worx Hub.
  • If additional time off is required beyond the 10 additional days, and sick time, vacation time, and personal time have been exhausted, the leave of absence will be unpaid.
  • Reference the "Processing Unpaid Time" section on how to pay employees based on exemption status.

Processing Unpaid Time

  Exempt (Monthly Pay) Employees Non-Exempt (Biweekly Pay) Employees
Time Card If paid time off, such as vacation, sick, or personal time is not being used, a time card is not required to be submitted. You will only be paid for hours worked; only submit hours worked on your time card.
Pitt Worx Submit a pay adjustment to the Payroll Department. On the contact form, please select "Payroll" from the Service Area dropdown. Then, select "Payroll Adjustment" from the I Need Help With dropdown. N/A
Timeline Subject according to normal Payroll processing schedule. Subject to normal time card deadlines and Payroll processing schedule.

Reference the Staff Handbook for additional information.
 

Processing an Employee Action for a Leave of Absence

Administrators can process an Employee Action for leaves of absence in Pitt Worx. Learn more about processing employee actions for leaves of absence on the Pitt Worx Hub.

Additional Notes

If a staff employee is injured while working from home, they must follow instructions on the Worker’s Compensation website.

Based on the specific guidelines summarized in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act regarding employer paid leave requirements, the University of Pittsburgh is not a qualifying employer. The provisions of the Act are not applicable to Pitt employees. Read more about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on the U.S. Department of Labor website.