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FAQs from CEA Legal on COVID-19

Memorandum

From:  CEA Legal Center

RE: COVID-19 LEGAL FAQ 

Disclaimer: This publication is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for specific legal or other professional advice. If you have specific questions about your legal or contractual rights, contact your Colorado Education Association union representative or local leader/representative. This guidance will be updated periodically based on new information and guidance, so please refer back to this link for the most current information.

 

This memorandum serves as a guidance to frequently asked questions presented to the CEA Legal team regarding how to respond to the unprecedented epidemic sweeping our nation. The FAQ’s will be updated as we address questions from the field. Please be patient and understand that these circumstances present new and uncharted areas of law. CEA Legal will provide the best advice it can based on its understanding of current law however, the law is unclear in many areas.

To review more up-to-date information from CEA Legal, please click here.

The answer to this question depends upon many factors. If a school district’s master agreement or Board of Education policies require pay and benefits when schools are closed for emergencies, then the covered employees would have to be fully paid and receive their full benefits during the closure. In many school districts, classified and certified employees are covered by different master agreements. Thus, it is possible that one agreement would require its covered employees to be paid during an emergency closure, while another would not. Therefore, it is important for employees to review and understand the provisions of any master agreement that might cover their employment and to reach out to their local union president or UniServ Director with any questions.

 

If the master agreement or school board policies do not require pay and benefits during emergency closures, or there is no master agreement, the answer is more complicated. Unfortunately, the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which covers classified employees, does not require employers to pay covered employees during a shutdown that is not the fault of the employer. However, school districts that have master agreements are required to negotiate with their local associations if they decide not to pay employees their full pay and benefits during a shutdown – because pay and benefits are mandatory subjects of bargaining. Local associations can negotiate with their districts for full pay and benefits during a shutdown, and there are many arguments in favor of this position. For example, since school districts have already budgeted for full pay and benefits for their employees for the full school year, they clearly have the resources available to pay their employees during the shutdown.

Very likely. The U.S. Department of Labor has issued guidance enabling states to provide benefits to these employees and it appears that Colorado will take action to do so. Any school district employee who is not being or will not be paid due to a Coronavirus shutdown should file an online application for Unemployment benefits immediately. If a member is denied benefits, please have the member follow up with their UniServ director or leader as soon as possible as there is a short 20-day appeal period.

No, time that an employee is not scheduled to report to work may not be counted as FMLA leave. If a school district temporarily stops its activities and employees are not expected to work, the days during which operations are ceased do not count against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement. Likewise, a school district cannot charge employees’ accrued sick or personal leave accounts for days when the schools are shut down and the employees are not expected to work.

As stated above, employees cannot be charged for usage of sick, personal or FMLA leave for days when the school district is shut down. Therefore, the employee’s preexisting sick, personal or FMLA leave must be terminated when the school district shuts down and no further days may be charged against the employee’s leave until school resumes.

Yes, as long as the work is reasonably related to the employee’s job, the employee is qualified to perform the work, the employee is fully paid for his/her time spent performing the work, and the work does not expose the employee to a health risk. A school district cannot require employees to meet or interact with students or others during a closure because that could present a health risk. In regards to SPED services and meetings, a district could not require teachers to provide SPED services in person, but could require them to do so virtually if that is possible. It is the district’s responsibility to ensure that any virtual services it provides to SPED students are in compliance with SPED laws. Teachers who have any questions or concerns about SPED compliance should direct them to the appropriate district administrators and document their communications.

Yes, as long as the teachers are provided with all equipment, instruction and assistance necessary to do so and the teachers are paid at their regular rate of pay for all days that they work.

An employee who does not come to work because he/she either has or is suspected of having Coronavirus, was exposed or is suspected of being exposed to Coronavirus, has symptoms of Coronavirus, or is in a vulnerable group for Coronavirus, is entitled to use any accrued paid sick leave, sick leave bank leave or personal leave that he/she may have. The employee also has the right to use any FMLA leave to which he/she is entitled.

 

In addition, under emergency rules issued in Colorado, an employee who has Coronavirus, or has been tested for Coronavirus and the result is pending, is entitled to up to four days of paid sick leave if the employee has no paid sick leave that he/she is entitled to use.

To review the current status of the Department of Labor’s response to the COVID-19, please click on this link.