Dear CEO Staff,
Over the past few weeks we have been monitoring the developments of the pandemic impacting our country and doing our best to follow suggested guidance to minimize its spread. Although there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rensselaer County or within CEO, we do believe that some additional efforts to ensure the health and safety of our staff and customers are necessary.
As a result, we have made the very difficult decision to temporarily cancel programming for children served within CEO and most services to the public that require face-to-face contact through Friday March 27, 2020. Staff that is impacted by this epidemic will be allowed to follow the guidance of the local and state agencies regarding quarantines without interruption of pay or benefits for up to 14 days. Staff requiring a leave of absence longer than 14 days may be required to utilize PTO, SLR, Short-Term Disability or Paid Family Leave.
Staff that are not personally impacted will be allowed to work remotely if possible, within their office space if absolutely necessary, or will be asked to help support relief efforts initiated by the agency (i.e., packing and sorting emergency food or supplies items for distribution) and will continue to receive regular pay and benefits throughout this time. We will continue to reevaluate developments to determine when our usual service model can resume.
The Senior Administrative Team will be working throughout the next two weeks to identify what is needed and how we can support the community if this is a prolonged situation. Supervisors will work with each staff member to determine how you can support the relief efforts when a plan is finalized. All staff will need to maintain regular contact with their supervisor via telephone or email for updates and developments until March 27th.
As we continue to monitor the impact of this pandemic we ask that each staff member follow the recommended guidance to keep you and your family members safe during this unprecedented situation.
Sincerely,
Katherine Maciol
President/CEO