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MEMORANDUM
To: Syracuse University Staff Employees
From: Neil Strodel, Associate Vice President – Chief Human Resources Officer
David Pajak, Director, Risk Management and Chief Emergency Management Officer
Date: September 21, 2009
RE: H1N1 Flu Updates
We write as part of an ongoing monitoring and communication plan to apprise you of information related to this year’s upcoming flu season. The goal is
to reduce the effects of flu and flu-like illness, while maintaining operations to support the University’s mission.
The University’s Pandemic Flu Committee is working closely with the Onondaga County Health Department to monitor flu conditions and to advise the
Chancellor’s Cabinet and others at the University about the best practice steps to take on our campus. Conditions and recommendations change
frequently, and we will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.
For more information about the flu, please see http://www.flu.gov.
The latest campus information on the flu and other related matters can be found at http://flu.syr.edu.
The Onondaga County Health Department site is http://www.ongov.net/Health/SwineFlu.html.
Campus leaders are working closely with the staff of Health Services and other campus colleagues to
develop detailed advice and policy for staff and campus departments as we prepare for the flu season. The primary recommendation at this time is that
you consider your work and plan and prepare for disruptions and demands that may well occur during this flu season.
As you put in place contingency plans, we encourage you to consider the following options and contact the designated people for more information:
· Where feasible, Flu-Related Flexible Work Arrangements ( FRFWAs) can be temporarily put in place so that a staff member can maintain work duties for up to 10 business days
while attending to extraordinary personal situations related to the flu. Supervisors should familiarize themselves with the new FRFWA procedure and
form available online and contact Mickey Lord, director, WorkLife and
Organizational Development, at dmlord@syr.edu or 443-9287 with any questions.
· Non-exempt (hourly paid) benefits-eligible employees are credited with sick time (six days for full-time employees) available for use
throughout the fiscal year. After using all of their sick days, employees with an illness or who need to care for a family member with an illness, may
use other forms of paid time off [1] or they may take additional sick days at a reduced rate
(approximately 2/3 pay) per the Sick Time for Personal or Immediate Family Illness - Non-Exempt Staff policy.
An employee who will be out of work for more than five consecutive days due to his or her own illness should contact Risk Management’s disability
coordinator, Sheera Buckley at x5106 or e-mail slbuck01@syr.edu for more information on Disability Benefits.
· Exempt (salaried) benefits-eligible employees may use sick time for their own illness or to care for a family member for up to five
consecutive days as set forth in the Sick Time for Immediate Family Illness - Exempt Staff policy. An employee who
will be out of work for more than five consecutive days due to his or her own illness may use other forms of paid time off [2] and should contact Dana Godbold, retirement and leave of absence specialist, at 443-5367 ordlgodbol@syr.edu, for more information on disability benefits under the Salary Continuation plan.
· Employees or their supervisors should contact the HR Service Center at 443-4042 or hrservic@syr.edu with any
questions on paid time off or disability policies.
· Risk Management and Human Resources will host a Business Continuity Planning (BCP) workshop for department administrators and managers to assist with
contingency planning. The workshops are scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, and Friday, October 2, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Goldstein Alumni
& Faculty Center. Interested unit heads and managers should contact Christine Coe, Risk Management – Safety, at x5474 or cjcoe@syr.edu to register.
The first seasonal flu clinics for students were held on September 11 and 15. Future clinics for students will be scheduled as the pre-ordered vaccine
is shipped. Faculty and staff should be in contact with their primary care physician to get information on vaccination options available to them based
on their personal health history. Please note, seasonal flu vaccines are a covered benefit for members of the University’s employee health plans
(SUBlue, SUOrange and SUPro).
When the H1N1 vaccine becomes available, it will first be given to persons who meet the criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). Faculty and staff that qualify as part of the CDC-recommended vaccination groups should contact their primary care physician to discuss
vaccination options. The University will advise you if the situation changes.
You will receive a postcard in your campus mail that details the vaccinations that have been developed to combat the seasonal and H1N1 flus. In
addition to reading this information, you are encouraged to take precautionary steps to help contain flu transmission. For details about good flu
hygiene, see the “Prevention and Treatment” section of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) H1N1 Web page at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm. Additionally, departments may order hand and/or surface sanitizing
supplies for high contact areas through SU’s Materials Distribution.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about sick and leave time related to H1N1 are available online at the HR website. We thank you in advance for your
understanding and cooperation as we work together to keep our SU community as healthy as possible.
Neil B. Strodel
Associate Vice President, Chief HR Officer/Office of Human Resources
Phone: 443-4224
Email: nbstrode@syr.edu
David E. Pajak, ARM
Director, Risk Management, Environmental Health and Safety
Chief Emergency Management Officer
Phone: 443-5334
Email: depajak@syr.edu
1 Floating holidays, personal business days and vacation time
2 Floating holidays and vacation time
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