Vol. 4 | August 2021

Message from Leadership

Thank you to all who attended the Department wide Town Hall 

Wednesday, July 22nd! For those who may have missed it, Secretary Walsh

shared details of his vision for the Department, Julie Su introduced herself as

our new Deputy Secretary of Labor, and I provided an overview of DOL’s

Reentry Plan. COVID 19 guidance is quickly evolving, and I wanted to use this

space to reiterate the latest key points regarding our Department‘s Reentry

Plan:

Our plan was developed with a values based approach that prioritiz

worker safety, inclusivity and equity, data, effectiveness, accountabil

and innovatio

We prioritized agency flexibility by allowing decision-making to ha

at the lowest appropriate level by the people who know the work

best.

We prioritized engagement with you. We developed our plans with yo

perspective from FEVS, listening sessions, and more. Thank you f

participating in the proc

We’ll be gradually lifting the occupancy limits in our workspaces ov

three phases to increase the number of people doing onsite work.

As we increase the number of employees working onsite, employees

should continue to follow the health and safety protocols in DOL

Workplace Safety and Health Plan.

We don’t yet know what the future will look like, and it will likely look

different than what it looked like pre-pandemic, but we are bei

thoughtful about how we get ther

As explained more deeply in the Deputy Secretary’s email to all DOL

employees on August 12th, the DOL Reentry Plan was updated to reflect a 3

day pause on the reentry for Phase 1 (from September 7th to no earlier than

October 7th). Below is an overview of the updated phased approach that DOL
will follow for reentry. You can find the latest guidance on DOL’s Reent

Information LaborNet pag

Please read on for additional resources, FAQs, and stories of the great wo

our colleagues are doing. As always, please send any questions you may ha

to: 

— Rachana Desai Martin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Poli

In Case You Missed It

Here is a quick recap of the latest COVID-19 information a

guidance sent to all DOL employees:

Use of Administrative Leave to Accompany a Fami

Member Receiving a COVID-19 Vaccinati

Important Update to the Department’s Masking

Guidance

DOL Mask Requirements by Locati

COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan (PDF)

Remote Work Resources

Vaccination Information and Resou

Hot Off The Press: To supplement DOL’s existing administrative leave p

the Department is also granting administrative leave for employees to rec

a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot or to take a family member to receive a

COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. Under this policy, employees can be granted

up to 4 hours of administrative leave, including travel to and from t

appointment, to receive a booster shot or take a family member to receive a

booster shot. If an employee spends less time getting the booster shot,

the needed amount of administrative leave will be granted. Details about th
policy, including instructions for requesting and recording this leave, wil

provided to employees in subsequent email communicatio

Additional information, including Employee Messages, are posted on

DOL COVID-19 LaborNet page. If you have questions, please visit the F

page, or contact us at: 

What’s New with Masking?

In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CD

updated Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated Peop

issued on July 27th, and guidance from the Office of Management and Bud

(OMB), all Federal employees, onsite contractors, and visitors, regardless of

vaccination status, must wear a mask inside of Federal buildings in areas 

substantial or high community transmission. Individuals who are not ful

vaccinated, or decline to affirm their vaccination status, must wear a

regardless of community transmission level. DOL employees, contractors, and

visitors may choose to wear a mask regardless of community transmission

level.

DOL will monitor transmission

levels on a weekly basis, and

will use this DOL.gov tool to

provide employees,

contractors, and visitors with

the current mask requirements

for facilities where DOL of

are located.

Please be aware of the

following:

When the level of transmission related to a given Federal facility

increases from low or moderate to substantial or high, OMB h

directed Federal agencies to put in place more protective safe

protocols consistent with CDC guidelines and guidance from the Safer

Federal Workforce Task Force as soon as operationally feasibl

Per OMB, when the level of transmission related to a given Federal

facility is reduced from high or substantial to moderate or low, the lev

of transmission must remain at that lower level for at least two

consecutive weeks before the agency utilizes those proto
recommended for areas of moderate or low transmission by CDC

guidelines and guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.

Use the search feature on the DOL.gov tool to locate your DOL facility. You can

search by typing a portion of your facility’s address, city, state, and/or count

If you have any questions, please contact

Vaccination Status Certi

Requirement

Consistent with the guidance from Safer Federal Workforce Task Force,

beginning Wednesday, August 25th, onsite contractors and visitors to DOL

facilities will be asked to provide information on their vaccination s

DOL onsite contractors and visitors to DOL facilities are asked 

complete the Certification of Vaccination form and keep it w

during their time on DOL premise

DOL, including CORs, will not collect or maintain completed Certifi

of Vaccination forms from contractor staff or visitors at this

Onsite contractor staff and visitors who disclose that they are ful

vaccinated must comply with Departmental guidance for fully

vaccinated individuals.

Contractor staff or visitors that choose “not yet fully vaccinated,” “n

been vaccinated,” or “decline to respond” on the form must comply

with CDC and DOL guidance, including the following safety protocols

while in DOL facilities and provide proof of having received a nega

COVID-19 test from within the previous 3 days (this is a recurring

requirement).

Individuals entering a DOL facility to obtain a public service or benefit 

not need to complete the form or show documentation of a nega

COVID-19 test result. However, if these visitors are not fully vaccinated,

they must comply with all relevant CDC guidance and safety protocols,

including mask-wearing and physical distancing requirements.

All CORs were notified of this requirement on Tuesday, August 24th. Pl

contact Ryan Chandler, Senior Director, Strategy and Administration for OS

for more information at

Please note that the DOL COVID-19 Coordination Team is developing a centr

system for collecting vaccination status information from federal empl
At this time, the Certification of Vaccination Form is not applicab

federal employees.

Additional information is posted on the DOL COVID-19 LaborNet FAQ pag

well as the DOL.gov visitor page.

Employee Spotlight: Jenn Sta.Ana

SOL, San Francisco/Seattle Regi

“Since 2016, I’ve been on the Board of the

Filipino Bar Association of Northern Californ

(FBANC), which is dedicated to diversifying the

legal profession and serving the Filipino/a/x

community, the largest Asian American Pacif

Islander (AAPI) community in California and the

third largest AAPI community in the United

States. When the pandemic hit San Francisco in

March 2020, FBANC knew that the Filipino/a/x

worker community would be gravely affect

by business shutdowns. Much of the populati

consists of migrant workers, some of whom have been trafficked as ch

labor. Even with their meager pay, many send remittances back to t

Philippines to support their families and homeland. In fact, much of the

Philippines’ GDP relies on remittance

I partnered FBANC with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Cauc

to create a free virtual legal clinic to help translate state unemployment

insurance forms, state disability insurance forms, and state paid family leave

forms for the worker population deserving of language access and cultural

competent services. I recruited nearly 80 volunteers including lawyers, law

students, paralegals, and undergraduate students to provide help in the

Filipino dialects of Tagalog, Ilocano, and Cebuano, as well as Spanish,

Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean.

Our clinic was open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week from April to May 2020 to

make up for the state agency’s limited hours (4 hours a day, 5 days a week) at

the time. Since these virtual services were the first of their kind, the clinic

on the list of resources for those contacting the offices of Governor 

Newsom and then-Assemblymember Rob Bonta, who was the only Filipino

State Assemblymember at the time and who now serves as California
Attorney General. FBANC also trained two nonprofits on how to run sim

virtual clinics to expand availability to the public.

I’m glad to report that the clinic helped over 140 clients and almost 530

callers at the height of business shutdowns and while there was a dearth of

available virtual assistance. A number of volunteers have been inspired me to

pursue employment and labor law due to their experience. The American Bar

Association, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and the National A

Pacific American Bar Association recently recognized FBANC, in large part

to this clinic. Thanks to more legal nonprofits increasing their virtu

presence, and the increased hours of state services, FBANC closed its daily

clinic and shifted to offering the clinic once in Fall 2020 and once in the Sp

2021.”

Do you know of a DOL colleague making a difference during COVID19? Share the story with us: DOLCOVID-19Newslet

New Resources Regarding Alternate

Worksites

As teams adjust telework plans, employees and supervisors

must work together to develop updated telework

agreements. The Office of Human Resources (OHR) 

together a helpful Quick Reference Guide on Alternate

Worksite Policies and Procedures to help you through this

process and to answer many of your question

For telework agreement guidance and templates, please visit OHR’s Telework

LaborNet page.

Get Your Vaccine Today!


The first half of the open forum will define reasonable accommoda

provide an overview of the reasonable accommodation process, and addre

common questions that have been asked by the DOL community in respon

to COVID-19. The second half of the open forum will be devoted to answering

questions from participa

Please see the following for more informatio

For Supervisory Employees: Reasonable Accommodations

Wednesday, September 1st, from 2-3pm ET

For Non-Supervisory Employees: Reasonable Accommodations

Thursday, September 2nd, from 2-3pm ET

Closed captioning is available by selecting “More Options” (three dots i

the meeting toolbar) and then selecting “turn on live captions.” To r

the American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting link, please ema

Have a topic you think would be good for an upcoming Open Forum? Let us

know at 

Asked & Answered

You asked, and we answered!

Q: What should I do if I think I may have been exposed to

the virus?

A: According to the CDC, an individual who is not fully

vaccinated (at least two weeks past their final dose) and has been within

feet of an infected person for a cummulative total of 15 minutes or more ov

a 24-hour period, also known as ”close contact,” should consult with their

healthcare provider as soon as possible, and immediately inform their

supervisor so that appropriate work measures can be taken under the DOL

COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan and exposure notification procedures.

vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine after exposure, but 

stay home if they are sick and get tested 3-5 days after exposure to someo

with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and wear a mask in public indo

settings for 14 days after exposure or until they receive a negative tes

Q: If I receive a notification to return to onsite work in Phases 1 or 2,

what circumstances can I defer reentry until Phase 
A: All employees may work with their supervisors to request deferral unt

Phase 3 due to personal health vulnerabilities, household heal

vulnerabilities, dependent care concerns, or other concern

Only employees with personal health vulnerabilities may engage in t

reasonable accommodation process. Employees who have househo

members with vulnerable health conditions and/or dependent care issues a

not permitted to engage in the reasonable accommodation process, but

work with their supervisor to defer reentry until Phase 

Agencies should to the greatest extent practicable and in an equitab

manner provide an option to defer reentry until Phase 3 to employees 

vulnerable health conditions, household members with vulnerable heal

conditions, and/or dependent care issues. Supervisors may grant or de

these requests in accordance with business needs.

Q: What is the criteria for moving between phases?

A: The DOL COVID-19 Coordination Team, which includes representat

from OASAM, OSHA, SOL, and the Office of the Deputy Secretary, is advis

Department leadership on reentry planning and implementation. The D

COVID-19 Coordination Team may make decisions to extend a phase or retu

to a previous phase depending on various factors, including vaccination rate

transmission rates, and new case trends.

The DOL COVID-19 Coordination Team will also follow guidance from t

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and direction from the S

Federal Workforce Task Force. For example, depending on the conditions a

guidance, the Coordination Team may determine that the Department shou

stay in Phase 1 longer than the 30 days or reinstate previous restrictions 

onsite work. The Coordination Team will be monitoring this situation clo

and keep the health and safety of employees at the forefront in the decisionmaking process.

For more FAQs, visit the DOL COVID-19 FAQ LaborNet page!

Want to Learn More?

We have a number of helpful resources available for you on the DOL COVID19 LaborNet page! Information is updated daily — visit some of the mo

popular links below:

COVID-19 Guidance and Resources Main Page
Workplace Flexibiliti

Telework

Benefits & Wellne

Questions? Please email us at