# Presentation: 659617

## Managing in an Avian Flu Pandemic:

- Telework and other Human Resources Tools and Programs** **

- Supervisory Skills Training (SST)

- Jay Aul, Manager, HR Air Traffic Organization Support Team, AHR-4
- Eleanor Ratcliff, National Benefits Manager, AHP-400

- September 20 and 21, 2006

**Notes:**
Please save questions until the end of the entire presentation.

## Areas to Cover

**Overview of Pandemic Avian Influenza**
**How AHR plans to support FAA in event of a pandemic**
**Leave issues**
**Time and Attendance/Pay issues**
**Employee relations issues**
**Telework**

## Overview of Pandemic Avian Influenza

***Seasonal (or common) flu***** is a respiratory illness that can be transmitted person to person. Most people have some immunity, and a vaccine is available.**
***Pandemic flu***** is virulent human flu that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness. **

## Current Concern:  H5N1

***Avian (or bird) flu***** is caused by influenza viruses that occur naturally among wild birds. **
**The H5N1 variant is deadly to domestic fowl and can be transmitted from birds to humans. **
**There is no human immunity and no vaccine is available.**

**Pandemic Influenza is not new to the U.S.**
**We had three pandemics in the 20****th**** Century.**

## Overview of Pandemic Avian Influenza

**1918-1919 “Spanish Flu”**
- U.S....675,000+
- Worldwide...50,000,000+
**1957-1958 “Asian Flu”**
- U.S....70,000+
- Worldwide...1-2,000,000
**1968-1969 “Hong Kong Flu”**
- U.S....34,000+
- Worldwide...700,000+

## Characteristics & challenges of a pandemic

**Rapid Worldwide Spread **
**Health Care Systems Overloaded **
**Medical Supplies Inadequate**
**Economic and Social Disruption**

## Meaning for Employers

**Expect 40% of workforce could be out due to pandemic at any one time**
**Cannot predict where it will be... a few places or several**
**Would occur in waves of several weeks duration**
**Would go on for about 18 months or so**
**Some employees will not return to work**

## How do we meet agency mission in that situation?

**Plan in advance**
**Focus on essential functions**
**Use the resources available**
**Modify how we do business to fit the situation**

## Maintaining HR Functions

**Line of succession plan**
**HR Office and SSC backup plan**
**Telecommuting agreements with managers, policy staff, benefits staff, payroll staff, etc.**

## Advice and Guidance

**FAQs**
**Help Lines in Each HR office**
**Establish toll free numbers if necessary**
**Accounting for Employees**
**Telecons/ATN Broadcasts**

**Notes:**
Accounting for employees – Managers may be required to report frequently on the status of their employees

## Changes to HR Policy	

**We can modify or invoke special policies and procedures in emergencies**
**Create a more flexible work environment and relieve some of the burden on employees who have to cover the work of other employees**

## Emergency Policies in Event of a Pandemic

**Waive the bi-weekly pay cap on overtime for FG employees.**
**Change when credit hours may be earned from the flexible time bands of **
**0600-0930 and 1430-1800 **
**to **
**0500-0930 and 1430-2100**

**Expanding the FAA’s official hours from 0830-1700 hours Monday through Friday to 0500-2100 hours to enable employees to work other tours while telecommuting, with supervisor approval.**
**Adding a provision to the telework policy for use of telecommuting to cope with emergencies.**

## Time and Attendance: Making sure employees are paid.

**Backup Timekeepers**
**Backup Approving Officials**
**Expansion of Straight-80 Functionality**
**Employee entry of their time**

## Leave Issues

**In FAA HR policy, there is provision to grant up to 30 days excused absence due to the emergencies.   That may be appropriate in some instances. **
**No FAA-specific special leave for a pandemic.**

## Leave Issues (2)

**Expect employees to use sick, annual, credit hours, LWOP, etc. and the options for care of sick family members.**
**A manager may advance a full-time employee up to 30 days of sick leave in a calendar year.**
**Follow government-wide plan for excused absence if there is one.**

## Care for Sick Family Members

**Employees may request to use sick leave to care for family members who are incapacitated due to a physical illness or to attend to a family member receiving medical examination or treatment.  **
**Full-time employees may use a minimum of 40 hours of sick leave each leave year  for **_**general family care**_**.  **
**If a full -time employee maintains a minimum balance of 80 hours of sick leave, they may use additional sick leave, not to exceed 104 hours in a leave year**.

**If the employee has insufficient sick leave for this purpose, he/she may request to use earned comp time, credit hours, annual leave or leave without pay. **
**For care of family members with **_**serious illnesses**_**, employees may take a maximum of 12 weeks (480 hours) in one year.**
**This is a total amount and includes the **_**general care**_** amount.**

## Family and Medical Leave Act

**Under FMLA, an employee is entitled to a total of 12 weeks of **_**unpaid leave**_**, within a 12-month period, to care for a family member who has a serious health condition.**
**Also applies to a serious health condition of the employee that prevents the employee from performing the essential functions of his/her position.**

## Employee Relations Issues

**Sending employees home if you think they are sick**
- Can we?
- What the rules?
**Employees refusing to come to work**
- Family sick
- Concerned about catching the flu

## Sending employees home if you think they are sick

- Don’t try to diagnose employee illness
- Express general concern regarding the employee's health and remind the employee of his or her leave options for seeking medical attention.
- A manager may direct an employee to take leave, but** **it may constitute enforced leave, which is an adverse action (after 14 consecutive days).
- Consult your local human resource management office prior to effecting enforced leave.

## Concerned about catching the flu

**If an employee is concerned about contracting the flu from a co-worker, **
**The employee should first raise the concern with his/her supervisor to discuss appropriate action, e.g., moving to a different work area, taking annual leave, or teleworking if appropriate .  **
**Employees who leave their duty stations without  approval may be considered AWOL.  AWOL could result in disciplinary action.**

## Employees refusing to come to work

**Employees are expected to report for work and perform the normal duties**
**If an employee fails to report for duty without an administratively acceptable reason:**
**Could be considered absent without leave (AWOL) and **
**May be subject to disciplinary action.  **
**The supervisor makes the determination as to whether the employee has an administratively acceptable reason for his or her absence. **

## Social Distancing

**Strategy to help reduce spread of disease**
**Minimize social contact**
**Reduce number of face to face meetings**
**Use telework**

## Telework Program

**The key to successful use of telework in the event of a pandemic is a robust telework program.  As many employees as possible should have telework capability; meaning that they have current telework agreements, connectivity and equipment commensurate with their work needs, and frequent enough opportunities to telework so that systems have been tested and are known to be functional.**

**Notes:**
Good morning or good afternoon – depending on where you are.

I’d like to start with the following quote from the Office of Personnel Management:

## Telework Program (con’t)

**This may require creative thinking to take in employees who otherwise might not be included and ensure their effectiveness as a distributed workforce.**

**Notes:**
I believe this is practical advice from OPM, encouraging us to maximize our use the telework program now, rather than in the midst of an emergency, so that we can learn the lessons we need to know before a crisis arises.

Therefore, I’m going to start with some of the basics of the Telework Program.

So, what is telework?

## Telework

**Paid employment performed at a satellite location for an agreed-upon portion of the workweek**
**The satellite location could be:  **
- A dedicated area within the employee’s home,
- A workstation at a GSA sponsored Telework Center,
- 					or

## Telework (con’t)

- A Department or FAA office in closer proximity to an employee’s home.
- “Virtual office” – on the road or at customer’s worksite

**Notes:**
Some teleworkers who spend almost all of their time going from one site to another to provide service to their customers may perform work from virtual offices.

## DOT Policy

**Encourage use of teleworking to maximum extent possible**
**Serves as recruitment and retention tool **
**Consistent with Section 359 of PL 106-346, must offer telecommuting one day per week or pay period to employees whose job characteristics are conducive to telecommuting**

**Notes:**
It is DOT’s policy to encourage the use of teleworking 

It can serve as a recruitment/retention tool when talking to potential employees

## FAA Basic Principles

**Management option rather than employee entitlement**
**Supervisors have authority to approve or deny participation**
**No automatic right to continue in the event of a change of supervisor or position**

**Notes:**
FAA’s basic principles build on DOT’s policy

## FAA Basic Principles (con’t)

**Employee’s current overall performance rating is “fully successful” or equivalent **
**Written agreement is required for all participants**
**Teleworkers may not care for children or other dependents, perform household chores or other personal activities**

**Notes:**
Also, the

## Position Eligibility

**Work activities portable**
**Data and system security requirements, including sensitivity and Privacy Act concerns are adequately addressed**
**Necessary material and information can be readily be moved to and from the office**
**Technology for off-site work is available**

**Notes:**
Certain positions may not lend themselves to teleworking.  You as a manager have to look at whether the employee’s work activities are portable,

Data and system security requirements relating to sensitive data and the privacy act implications are addressed. 

As we have all seen during the last 2-3 months, securing sensitive data is a serious issue.  We want to make sure that if employees have sensitive data off-site, it is properly handled at alternate worksites as well.  

The employee has the technology available to work off-site

## Position Eligibility

**Work has clearly defined performance measures**
**Contact with customers and employees can be performed electronically or by telephone**

## Position Eligibility (con’t)

**Employees in the following positions are not eligible to telework:**
**Air Traffic Controllers**
**Electronics Technicians**
**Aviation Safety Inspectors **
**Airway Transportation Safety Specialists **
**Engineering Technicians**
**Air Traffic Assistants**
**Aircraft Operations**

**Notes:**

Employees in the following positions are generally not eligible to telework.
This is due to the type of duties they perofrm, not the series they are in.  Some of the employees on this list must go from site to site to serve their customers. For others, such as air traffic controllers, the technology to perform the work is contained at the worksite or duty location. 

## Telework Options 

**Optional**
- Those who work at alternative work sites during an agreed-upon portion of the work week or pay period
- Ad Hoc teleworking permits an employee to work on an irregular, or project oriented, basis
**Emergency**

**Notes:**
There are 2 categories of teleworking:

Optional

And Emergency

Within the optional category, there are those who work  . . . 

What is a designated emergency teleworker?

## Designated Emergency Teleworkers	

**Employees may be identified as an emergency worker required to support the FAA’s essential functions by teleworking**
**Employee should have available all equipment and systems necessary to perform expected functions**
**May be required to report to a DOT/FAA emergency relocation facility for all or part of the designated emergency telework period**

**Notes:**
This category of teleworker was added when the telework policy was revised in recognition that the optional category would not serve the needs of the FAA to perform it’s mission

## Designated Emergency Teleworkers	

**The previous FAA telework policy did not permit employees to telework for part of the day.**
**In recognition of the additional flexibilities needed should emergency situations arise, we determined that this capacity was necessary**

**Notes:**
Previously, employees did not have the flexibility to telework for part of the work day.

We recognized that there would be situations where this flexibility would be very useful during an emergency. 

## Designated Emergency Teleworkers

**May also be available to optional teleworkers, but MUST be approved by the manager in advance**

**Notes:**
The opportunity to telework part of the day is available to optional teleworkers as well, but must be approved . . .

## Manager’s Role -- General

**Implement telework to the greatest extent possible so that systems are in place to support successful remote work in an emergency **
**Communicate expectations to all employees regarding their roles and responsibilities in relation to remote work in the event of pandemic **

**Notes:**
So, what is your role as a manger?  In general, you have a responsibility, among which are 

## Manager’s Role – General (con’t)

**	**
**Establish a communication process to notify employees of activation of this plan **

**Notes:**
Specific Requirements

## Manager’s Role – Specific 

**Establish the employee’s work schedule and its duration**
**Identify the work to be performed**
**Identify the times an employee will be “on call”, if necessary**

## Manager’s Role (con’t)

**Employee may not work overtime, compensatory time and/or credit hours while in designated emergency telework status without prior supervisory approval**
**The employee and manager concur with the conditions and requirements relating to telework during an emergency situation**

## Manager’s Role (con’t)

**Ensure that the employee completes a telework agreement**

## Telework Agreement

**Any employee who teleworks, even a designated emergency worker, must have a telework agreement on file**
**If an employee currently teleworking has not filled out, should submit Telework request on new form**

## Telework Agreement (con’t)

**In addition to “Employee Organization”, should also provide pay band/FG information**
**Certify that performance rating of record is at least fully successful**

## Telework Agreement (con’t)

**The block which records the number of days at the worksite should also show whether the days are on a weekly or pay period basis.  If the employee is going to work on an *****ad hoc***** basis, leave this block blank.**

## Telework Agreement (con’t)

**Schedules are typically limited to a maximum of 2-3 days per week**
**In the box where the employee checks the type of telework, check either Ad Hoc or Optional, but not both**

## Telework Agreement (con’t)

**Show the days in the office, e-mail address, if different than duty station e-mail address, and address of alternate worksite**
**Show work assignments, if needed, especially for the *****ad hoc***** teleworkers**

## Telework Agreement (con’t)

**If employee is a designated emergency worker, check that box as well**
**Make sure employee and manager sign and date**

## Telework Agreement (con’t)

**Return to Regional Telework POC.  Managers may wish to keep a copy for their records but it is not required.**
**If the alternate worksite is the employee’s home, the Self-Certification Safety checklist must be completed by both the employee and manager**

## Telework Agreement (con’t)

**The terms and Requirements pages are new and require the employee to initial each page to certify that he/she has read and understands the contents**

## Benefits

**More productive, better quality work **
**Supervisors experience improved employee commitment**
**By avoiding commutes to high-density areas, employees have more productive time **
**Improves the environment**
**Reduces leave usage**

**Notes:**
Employee works in a quiet environment with minimal disruptions
Employees want to keep the benefit they enjoy
Reduces stress levels which contribute to better health
Temporary medical problems are able to work effectively, less interruption to the office.

## What if problems arise?

**Telework not a right**
**Manager must decide whether a particular position is appropriate for off-site work**
**Establish procedures to minimize the adverse impact on other staff members**

**Notes:**
As I mentioned earlier, teleworking is a management option, not an employee entitlement
You as the manager decide whether the position is appropriate and whether the employee is abiding by the terms and requirements of the telework agreement

Minize impact on other staff members by requiring that the employee change from an RDO schedule, or have their telework day occur other than on a Friday, etc.

## What if problems arise? (con’t)

**If arrangement not working, end an employee’s participation**
- 90 day participation should be allowed to determine the impact

**Notes:**

You should allow at least 90 days to determine whether teleworking is an appropriate arrangement for you and the employee

You may want to suspend the telework arrangement for a specific period of time or you can end the employee’s participation.

If you decided to terminate the agreement, you need to fill out the bottom of the telework agreement stating the reason for termination and when the termination is effective.  If the employee has government equipment, record the date when the equipment was returned to the office. 

Send a copy of the termination to your Regional Telework POC

## Telework POCs

| AAL | Teresa Burgan | 907-271-5756 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ACE | Dave Slagenweit | 816-329-2688 |
| ACT | Jackie Butler | 609-485-5271 |
| AEA | Tonya Syphrett | 718-553-3158 |
| AGL | Michelle Jones | 847-294-7705 |
| AMC | Lou Thompson | 405-954-5950 |
| ANE | Katrina Newlin | 781-238-7266 |
| ANM | Kim Keyes | 425-227-2027 |
| ASO | Anita Brewster | 404-305-5361 |
| ASW | Mamie Harley | 817-222-5895 |
| AWA | Geri Johnson | 202-267-9031 |
| AWP | Hughie Barnes | 310-725-7830 |

## Resources

**FAA Telework Policy**
**	**_**[http://employees.faa.gov/library/policies_guidance/hr_policies/hrpm/lws/lws-8-19/](http://employees.faa.gov/library/policies_guidance/hr_policies/hrpm/lws/lws-8-19/)**_
**	**
**Link to AHR Emergency Policies**
**http://employees.faa.gov/library/policies_guidance/hr/**
**DOT Telework Order**
**	**_**[http://dothr.ost.dot.gov/DOT_ORDER_1501.1.pdf](http://dothr.ost.dot.gov/DOT_ORDER_1501.1.pdf)**_
**	**

## Resources (con’t)

**FAA Telework Policy**
**	**_**[http://employees.faa.gov/policies_guidance/hr_policies/hrpm/lws/lws-8-19/](http://employees.faa.gov/policies_guidance/hr_policies/hrpm/lws/lws-8-19/)**_
**OPM Telework Guide for Managers**
**	**_**[http://www.telework.gov/documents/tw_man03/tw_man.asp](http://www.telework.gov/documents/tw_man03/tw_man.asp)**_
**OPM Pandemic Influenza Information **
**	**** **_**[http://](http://www.opm.gov/pandemic/index.asp)**__**[www.opm.gov/pandemic/index.asp](http://www.opm.gov/pandemic/index.asp)**_
**	**