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March 16, 2020

Dear SUNY Poly State and RF Employees,

At the direction of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New York State is asking non-essential employees to temporarily work from an alternate location to promote recommended social distancing and limit population density, which should help to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and assist in addressing childcare issues resulting from school cancellations. Please note that the purpose of this guidance is not to close SUNY Poly and the Institution will continue operations. 

SUNY Poly designates essential personnel and may change an employee’s designation (as either essential or non-essential) at any time, as the operational needs of the Institution require (see essential employee policy). Essential employees and anyone who remains on campus are again encouraged to use social distancing and take common sense precautions, as we have previously shared: https://sunypoly.edu/covid19/prevention.

Effective immediately, non-essential employees are to temporarily work from an alternate work location. Essential employees are to discuss with their supervisor individual status and the need to report to work on–site. The supervisor, per the essential employee policy, will determine what level of staffing is needed in any department or operational unit. Any approved temporary request is subject to revision, suspension, or revocation based on future guidance by SUNY or the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER).

We understand that due to the nature of their work, not all employees have the flexibility to work from an alternate work location. Those situations should be discussed with your supervisor. For non-essential employees working from an alternative location, please see the following considerations:

• The temporary alternate work location is COVID-19-related (e.g., child care due to school/daycare closing, elder care support, additional underlying health risks of the employee or member of their immediate household, etc.).
• Employees must charge appropriate accruals for situations unrelated to the COVID-19 outbreak such as illness or vacation.

• The supervisor’s confidence that the person’s alternate work location is adequately conducive to completion of full core duties.
• Work duties will be performed during the employee’s normal work day.
• The employee will be available for work-related discussion online or by phone during all working hours.

Ultimate approval will be made at the level of the appropriate vice president or divisional head.

If you can work remotely, please fill out this telecommuting form ASAP and please send it to your supervisor.

We will be providing further guidance to address specific considerations.

Employees should also consider updating their contact information and signing up to receive their paychecks via direct deposit in SUNY self-service. This may be helpful for those employees working from an alternate location. Directions to do so are located here:

• NYS employees
• RF employees

Should you have any questions, please contact the University’s Office of Human Resources Management at SUNYPOLYHR@sunypoly.edu. We ask that you continue to monitor SUNY Poly’s COVID-19 webpage, as well as your SUNY Poly email for regular updates.

Over the last several days, students, faculty, and staff have demonstrated SUNY Poly is a responsive, resilient, and caring community. We hope that this update will assist you as we all adapt to this evolving set of circumstances.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Haines
Vice President of Human Resources
SUNY Polytechnic Institute