June 29, 2021
Please read the following information carefully as it includes significant updates to COVID-19 mandates and a requirement for all employees to acknowledge an attestation.
Action Required
All employees must read and acknowledge the updated New York State guidance for the COVID-19 public health emergency. The attestation must be submitted no later than July 9 or within three business days after returning to campus. To complete the attestation form, login to BearPAWS<https://bearpaws.potsdam.edu/>, select the “Personal Information” and click on “Acknowledge COVID-19 Guidance.”
COVID-19 Updates
Effective immediately:
- Fully vaccinated employees are no longer required to wear a face covering in all settings on campus. As face covering requirements phase out for fully vaccinated employees I want to remind the campus community you can still choose to wear a face covering. Fully vaccinated is defined as two weeks after the one dose vaccine or two weeks after the second dose of the two dose vaccines. Unvaccinated employees must still wear a face covering per the Face Covering Policy.
- Fully vaccinated employees are no longer required to maintain social distancing on campus. Unvaccinated employees or employees who choose not to disclose their vaccination status are still required to maintain at least six feet of distance between themselves and others, both indoors and outdoors, whenever feasible.
- Capacity limits indoors are no longer required for fully vaccinated employees. If meetings include unvaccinated employees or those who choose not to disclose their vaccination status, capacity is limited by the ability for those individuals to maintain at least six feet of distance between themselves and others.
- Daily health screening is no longer required for any employee. It is important that all employees still exercise caution and not report to work if exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. Human Resources must still be contacted if an employee has tested positive for COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
- As a reminder, employees that show proof of full vaccination no longer need to participate in COVID-19 testing. Unvaccinated employees or employees that choose not to show proof of vaccination must still participate in weekly COVID-19 testing. Employees may voluntarily upload the front and back of their vaccination card here.
The updated Guide to Returning to the Workplace can be found here.
Telecommuting
The state-wide pilot telecommuting program will expire July 2, 2021. As communicated previously, all employees are expected to return to campus in person full-time or part-time for employees whose obligation is less than 100 percent unless you are currently observing your period of no obligation.
Please note that fall planning is still in progress therefore there may be changes to these processes for the Fall semester. Face coverings have become a part of our everyday lives. It will be important to acknowledge that we may all have varying levels of comfort as it relates to the choice to get vaccinated, wear a face covering, and other precautionary measures and we must continue to respect each other's differences. I want to thank each of you for your patience and diligence as these important changes are made at the campus.
Sincerely,
Melissa Proulx
Assistant Vice President for Administration & Human Resources