Dear deans, directors and department heads,
We hope you have all been able to read our updated university guidance based on Governor’s Pritzker’s stay-at-home order that was issued yesterday. We are writing again (1) to ask you to provide the university with information about your essential employees, (2) to give more clarity about how you should interpret what the Governor has called “essential functions” and (3) to provide guidance on how to protect those essential on-campus personnel, so that we can ensure their safety.
We need to know who your essential employees are. Each department that has essential employees (in accordance with the Governor’s stay-at-home order) who are required to report to a campus or field location, is required to download this spreadsheet template, name the file UNIT/ESSENTIALPERSONNEL/DATE, fill it out and email to ihr@illinois.edu by Wednesday, March 25.
Use this information as you think critically about who you define as essential on-campus personnel:
We are interpreting essential functions as those tied specifically to the health and safety of our community and that can only be done on-campus. For example, it is essential that we have employees who feed the students who are still living in the residence halls. It is essential that we continue to feed the animals in our care. It is essential that we do not neglect radioactive research projects that might otherwise create safety issues. There are many jobs that are important and can only be done on-campus, but that are not essential at this time. If projects can be set aside for a few weeks without harming the health or safety of anyone, please do so. This could include construction projects, many research projects, etc. If it is at all possible to do jobs/tasks that are traditionally done on-campus from home, please instruct your employees to do so. Please continue to be diligent in ensuring our essential personnel are working in the safest manner possible. Consider working with smaller teams, staggering working hours and spreading individuals out spatially.
Our top priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of every individual in our university community. And our intention is to have as few individuals as possible working on-campus. Though all university work is critically important, it is not all essential in times of a global pandemic.
We know these are not easy decisions to make. But our decisions reveal our priorities, and in this time, perhaps more than ever, we need to ensure that our business and operational decisions illustrate our values. If you have questions or concerns, please email Illinois Human Resources at ihr@illinois.edu.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Jones
Chancellor
Andreas C. Cangellaris
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost
