Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for Employees

Please report this to COVID@lowercolumbia.edu so that we can reach out to the student and make an assessment as to whether or not they should attend class in person.

*Close contact is defined as within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes.

Please report this immediately to COVID@lowercolumbia.edu so we may reach out to the student and get more information regarding their current situation. They will need to refrain from coming to campus until they receive their results. If they test positive, they will need to isolate according to the guidance they receive from the Department of Health and/or their medical provider. 

Please work to provide appropriate accommodations where possible so they do not get behind in class.

Please ask the student to stay home and isolate according to the timeframe provided to them by the Department of Health and/or their medical provider. Please report this immediately to COVID@lowercolumbia.edu so that we may reach out to the student for more information. 

Please work to provide appropriate accommodations where possible so they do not get behind in class.

Hello (Student Name),

Thank you very much for informing me of your diagnosis. LCC cares about your health and well-being, and someone from our Health and Safety department will be in touch with you soon regarding next steps.

Take Care,

(Faculty Signature)

LCC is following the Governor’s proclamation and CDC travel guidance. Below are the options for traveling and returning to campus. Please note that this applies to travel outside of Washington except Oregon.

Options:

1. Get tested before and after travel
   1. If you are traveling, get tested with a viral test 1-3 days before travel. Make sure you have negative results before you travel. Keep a copy of your results as you might be asked for them. Do not travel if you test positive.
   2. Get tested again with a viral test 3-5 days after travel. You must stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel even if your test is negative.
2. If you don’t get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days post-travel.

If it has been two weeks since you were fully vaccinated, you will not need to get tested before and after travel, nor will you need to quarantine post-travel. Documentation must be provided to HR if this situation applies to you.

In Proclamation 20-83, Governor Inslee states that because of the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus found in other countries (currently United Kingdom and South Africa), entry into Washington is prohibited unless certain measures have been taken. Employees returning from a country in which this new variant is found must quarantine for 14 days upon return to Washington State. Therefore, you would not be permitted on campus until the end of the 14 day quarantine.  

If you have a medical condition impacting your ability to report to work, you may request an accommodation. Governor Jay Inslee has extended protections for individuals at increased risk due to COVID-19 by issuing Proclamation 20-46.3 (see link). Additional FAQ guidance about the proclamation can be found here.

The proclamation continues to protect employees who are 65 years or older and/or who fall within the CDC’s list of those who are “at increased risk or might be at increased risk” of severe illness from COVID-19.

Specifically:

1. The employer must offer these employees alternative work assignments, including telework, alternative, or remote work locations, if feasible, and social distancing measures:
2. If an alternative work assignment is not feasible, or the employee declines, the employer must allow the employee to use any accrued leave or seek unemployment benefits;
3. The employer must maintain the employee’s health insurance benefits;
4. The employer is prohibited from permanently replacing high-risk employees.

However, there have been changes to the proclamation. As of April 23, 2021, employees are no longer guaranteed accommodation if they are not engaging in the reasonable accommodation process with the employer. It is within the discretion of the employer to seek medical documentation to verify a high risk employee’s work accommodation. Employers making changes to employees’ existing accommodations under the high risk proclamation must provide written notice at least 14 calendar days prior to the effective date of the change.

If you are included on the list of those who are at increased risk, as defined by the CDC, (see the CDC’s list) and would like to request an accommodation under the Proclamation, please complete the High Risk Accommodation Form and reach out to Human Resources at hr@lowercolumbia.edu so we can begin the interactive accommodation process.

If you don't have a medical condition, but are concerned about workplace exposure to the Coronavirus, you have several options depending on your position:

• Use leave if you qualify
• Request to telework
• Request to temporarily adjust your schedule

This proclamation remains in effect until further notice.

If you have symptoms of fever and cough or shortness of breath, and not had any known exposure to COVID-19 or tested positive for COVID-19, you need to stay home and may return to work with a doctor’s note OR when you have been symptom-free for forty-eight (48) hours AND ten days have passed since symptoms onset.

Some employees may be required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to self-quarantine due to possible exposure of COVID-19. Please refer to the below scenarios to have a better understanding of when self-quarantine needs to occur in addition to healthcare provider recommendations.

Who has to quarantine themselves at home?

1. Persons with COVID-like symptoms.
   • If you have had a test and been diagnosed with COVID-19, you need to isolate as outlined by the Department of Health.
   • If you have NOT had a COVID-19 test, but you have had close contact with someone who has had a test and been diagnosed with COVID-19, you should quarantine as directed by the Department of Health.
   • If you have NOT had close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, but are feeling ill, you should not return to campus until you have been symptom free for 48 hours AND 10 days have passed since symptoms onset. You may have any number of other respiratory diseases circulating in our communities.
2. Persons who feel fine, displaying no symptoms of illness.
   • BUT your child or someone else in your household has a cough and a fever, but has NOT been tested for COVID-19. The sick person should follow recommendations set by the CDC. You may return to work when your family member has been symptom-free for 48 hours. Several potential respiratory diseases exist that can cause cough and a fever.
   • BUT a friend of a friend of yours has COVID-19. You can continue to go to work and school as long as you feel well and you have not been in close contact with the person who has COVID-19. If you have not been around someone with COVID-19, the chances that you contract COVID-19 are fairly low.
   • BUT you are worried about your older or medically-fragile friends and relatives. This is a time to practice good physical distancing and hygiene. Refrain from shaking hands, high fives, and hugs. Stand six feet or more from other people. Wash your hands frequently.
3. You feel fine, displaying no symptoms of illness.
   • BUT you have had close contact with a sick person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
     • You should not go to work or school, and should quarantine according to the Department of Health.
     • Call your healthcare provider and monitor symptoms of COVID 19 during the 14 days after the last day you were in close contact with the sick person with COVID-19.
   • BUT you tested positive for COVID-19.
     • You should not go to work, school, or public and should isolate according to the Department of Health.

Click here for more guidance regarding what to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19.

You still need to follow LCC’s COVID safety procedures such as wearing a mask, socially distancing, practicing personal protective behaviors.

If you have been vaccinated and have an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, you are not required to quarantine if you meet all of the following criteria:

• Are fully vaccinated (i.e. it’s been 2 weeks or more since you received your second dose in the 2-dose series or more than 2 weeks since you received one dose of the single-dose vaccine)
• Are within 3 months following receipt of the last dose in the series
• Have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure

If an employee feels fine, not displaying symptoms, but has had close contact with a sick person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, the employee should notify their supervisor immediately.

Supervisors will work with employees to verify if their work can be done remotely. If the employee is provided the opportunity to telework and declines to do so, the employee must use their own accrued leave.

Request to telework by completing the applicable telework form and submitting to HR. Review the Telework Procedure for more details.

• Employee Telework Agreement Form
• Faculty Telework Agreement Form

Telework resources for employees:

• 9 Tips to Be Productive While Working at Home During COVID-19
• Make Working From Home Work for You
• How to Work From Home Without Losing Your Mind

In those instances where a telework arrangement is not feasible, employees who are self-quarantined will be released from work with no loss in pay during the time of self-quarantine for up to no more than 14 calendar days. If the employee starts to display symptoms while at home, the employee will no longer qualify for paid administrative leave and will need to use one of the leave types  as outlined in this leave chart if you qualify. It is vital to stress the importance of the responsibility for employees to consider the health of the workplace and their coworkers by exercising sound judgment and transparency during times of illness.

Employees will be required to submit a request for the self-quarantine leave by providing a self-written statement confirming the circumstance warranting the self-quarantine and should submit the request to HR. An email is considered written documentation. A note from a medical provider is not required. LCC retains the right to request written verification confirming the circumstances warranting the self-quarantine, which may include a signed affidavit from an employee.

If an employee contracts or tests positive for COVID-19, they are required to use one of the leave types on this leave chart if they qualify. For a list of leave options click here.

Due to school or childcare provider closures, you may:

• Request to telework (Note: telework may be approved even if you are the primary provider for child(ren) during telework hours).
• Use one of the Federal Leave options if you qualify, use sick leave, compensatory time, vacation leave, and/or leave without pay. You can also view leave options on this leave chart.
  
  

Anyone who is unable to wear a face mask due to disability, medical condition, and/or religious reasons, should contact HR at hr@lowercolumbia.edu to go through our accommodation process.

Use one of the Federal Leave options if you qualify. You can view all of your leave options on this chart.

Employees may be eligible to apply for Shared Leave, Unemployment Insurance benefits, Industrial Insurance (L&I) benefits or Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML). The Employment Security Department has published COVID-19 Scenarios & Benefits Available, a useful tool to help understand when unemployment, L&I or PFML may be applicable.

Please continue to protect yourself and families, neighbors and colleagues by staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Whenever possible avoid close contact with people who are sick, and frequently clean touched surfaces and objects.

Remember to treat individuals and communities impacted by COVID-19 with compassion and support – viruses do not discriminate and neither should we. Please speak up if you hear, see or read stigmatizing comments or misinformation.

If you think you have been exposed to someone with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, follow the steps provided by the CDC to monitor your health and to avoid spreading the disease to others if you get sick.

In order to protect against the spread of Coronavirus, LCC is requiring everyone on campus to wear a cloth face covering until further notice. Employees may provide their own face covering, or they can request one at the security office (employee id required). Please read through this list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for more detailed information.

Either before, or immediately upon your arrival to campus, please contact your LCC Security Team at (360) 431-8839, or email Jason Arrowsmith at jarrowsmith@lcc.ctc.edu or Rheba Rukkila at rrukkila@lcc.ctc.edu, and let them know of your arrival and what buildings or facilities you will be accessing. It is also appreciated if you contact the Security Team upon your departure as well.

This is a safety measure put in place until May 5, 2020.* Security will know to include your area more frequently during their patrols, maintenance staff will know to clean your office area, and, in case there is an emergency, the Security Team will know that you are on campus and will know where to contact you.

*Date subject to change.