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Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
(Effective January 1, 2021)
This policy is intended to provide guidance to employees about: (1) how we will minimize the likelihood of exposure and subsequent transmission of COVID-19 among Technosystems employees and (2) how we will be handling time off relating to COVID-19.
How we will minimize the likelihood of exposure and subsequent transmission of COVID-19 among Technosystems employees
• The only entrance to the office will be the main entrance to the Renshaw building on 9th Street. Employees will not be able to access the Renshaw building from Liberty Avenue.
• Upon coming to work each day, Technosystems will take and record the temperature of each employee. Employees working at 804 Penn Avenue will be required to come to the Renshaw building main entrance to also receive the temperature screening before entering any Company building.
o All temperature testing under this policy will be conducted by Jerry McGovern or another employee as assigned, signing the acknowledgment at the end of this policy constitutes written consent for temperature testing.
o Employees may use their keyfob to enter the building. Employees must wait at the entrance for the temperature screening to take place. Your temperature will be taken by an electronic thermometer at the entrance to the building.
o Employees are required to follow the 6-foot social distance if another employee is having a temperature screening conducted.
o If an employee has a temperature of 100.4 or higher, Technosystems will send the employee home and will not allow the employee to work for 48 hours.
o If an Employee leaves the building during the workday and returns later in the same day, they may use their keyfob to enter the building. The keypad will not be functional. Temperature screenings are only required at the start of the workday.
o Employees will be compensated at their regular rate of pay for time spent submitting to a temperature recording required by Technosystems.
o If an employee does not consent to testing, Technosystems will send the employee home and will not allow the employee to work for a period of time as determined by Technosystems.
o All records relating to an employee’s temperature test results will be kept confidential to the extent required by applicable law and maintained separately from the individual’s personnel file.
• To protect each other and our loved ones, all employees must perform a self-screening health check prior to coming into work. To do this, employee must consider whether they have:
o Any of the following symptoms in the past 48 hours: fever or chills • cough • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing • fatigue • muscle or body aches • headache • new loss of taste or smell • sore throat • congestion or runny nose • nausea or vomiting • diarrhea
o Within the past 14 days, have you been in close physical contact (6 feet or closer for a cumulative total of 15 minutes) with: Anyone who is known to have laboratory-confirmed COVID-19? OR Anyone who has any symptoms consistent with COVID-19?
o Are you isolating or quarantining because you may have been exposed to a person with COVID-19 or are worried that you may be sick with COVID-19?
o Are you currently waiting on the results of a COVID-19 test?
• If an employee answers Yes to any of the above criteria, the employee must stay home, contact their Manager, and refer to the Time Off Policy below.
• Technosystems is discouraging visitors at this time.
• In the event a visitor must enter the Technosystems offices, the visitor must first be screened at the entrance of the Renshaw building.
• Daily screening of visitors must be completed for any non-employee who enters our workplace.
• Employees or visitors who show signs of COVID-19 (fever, cough, or trouble breathing) should go home immediately.
• Supervisors have the authority to send an employee home if the employee is showing any symptoms.
o Technosystems will close off the areas visited by the person.
o If possible, open any outside doors and windows and use ventilation fans to circulate air in the area.
o After at a minimum of 24 hours, Technosystems will clean and disinfect the area.
o Technosystems will inform those individuals that they may have been close contact to someone with COVID-19. Close contact is defined as:
Within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more while both parties are wearing a mask OR within 6 feet for any duration of time if one or neither party is not wearing a mask. AND
Within 48 hours before the infected person has any symptoms or tests positive
o If you test positive and you have symptoms, self-isolate in your home until each of the following conditions are met:
1. It has been at least ten days since your symptoms first appeared AND
2. It has been at least one day since you have not had a fever (without using fever-reducing medications) and your respiratory symptoms are improving (e.g., cough, shortness of breath). Since the symptom of no taste or smell may last for several weeks, if you satisfy the 2 points above then you may return to work.
o If you test positive and do not develop symptoms, self-isolate in your home until it has been at least ten days since the day your test specimen was collected.
If no taste or no smell is the only symptom, then treat the condition as having developed no symptoms.
o If you were tested but had no known exposure to a confirmed case, and you do not have any symptoms, you can stop your self-quarantine.
o If you were tested but had no known exposure to a confirmed case, and you are symptomatic, you may have another respiratory pathogen that is circulating in the community. Avoid work and group settings until three days after the last day of your respiratory symptoms and fever.
o The quarantine for family members who cannot separate from the infected case begins after the case’s infectious period ends. If the contact does not develop symptoms, quarantine can be as short as 17 days (with a negative test as described above) or 20 days if no testing is performed.
o Quarantine should ideally be for 14 days from the last time they had contact with you; however, for individuals who do not develop symptoms, quarantine can end after Day 10 without testing or after Day 7 if a specimen collected after Day 5 tests negative on a diagnostic test (i.e., PCR, antigen). Close contacts should monitor their health for any symptoms for the full 14 days after exposure.
Technosystems will undertake the following sanitation measures to help ensure the safety of its employees:
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. These surfaces include, but are not limited to, table-tops, light switches, railings, elevators, bathroom surfaces, break rooms and all related appliances within break rooms.
• Electrostatic disinfection will be completed daily. Electrostatic disinfection uses a specialized sprayer to ensure the most complete disinfecting coverage possible. The commercial grade disinfection solution is specially made to kill airborne diseases both in the air and on surfaces.
• Utilize the HVAC air filters as defined by the CDC following replacement frequency instructions as defined by the manufacturer.
• Employees will be responsible for routine cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched surfaces in their personal office space such as keyboard, mouse, phone, desk, drawer handles.
• Employees are asked to avoid using other employees’ phones, desk, offices or other work tools and equipment, when possible. Clean and disinfect them before and after use.
• Employees are required to close their office door at the end of each workday.
• Employees are asked to minimize visiting other floors within the building. If you visit an unoccupied floor, you must inform Jerry McGovern as we will need to perform cleaning of that space.
• Employees are asked to avoid visiting the office on Saturday or Sunday.
• Hand hygiene supplies will be readily available in convenient locations.
• Employees are encouraged to telework (when feasible). Employees should discuss this option with their Manager if they desire to telework. Technosystems will support telework when it is feasible to accommodate.
• Implement social distancing measures ― employees should practice social distancing by maintaining 6 feet from each other during daily interactions, meetings, and moving within the workplace.
• Decrease social contacts in the workplace (e.g., limit in-person meetings, meeting for lunch in a common area, etc.).
• Avoid gathering while waiting for the elevator and maintain the 6-foot distance.
• Due to square footage of our elevators, only (1) rider and (1) elevator operator may use the passenger elevator and only (2) riders and (1) elevator operator may use the freight elevator at a time.
• Limit non-essential work travel.
• All employees must provide their own face covering to be worn while in the workplace.
• Employees isolated in their personal office space with the door closed, when unshared with any other colleagues, do not need to wear a mask. However, when the employee leaves their individual office or has invited a colleague into their office, they must wear a mask.
• Coverings must meet the following criteria provided by the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”):
o Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face and without gaps
o Have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric
o Be secured with ties or ear loops
o Have a nose wire to prevent air from leaking out of the top of the mask
o Be able to be laundered and machine-dried without damage or change to shape
o A gaiter may be used so long as it has two layers or can fold to make two layers
• Employees must ensure that Face Coverings brought from home are workplace-appropriate and do not feature offensive images or content. Please refer to the Human Resources Department with any questions.
Employees should be aware of the underlying medical conditions that may increase their likelihood of complications arising from the contraction of COVID-19. Employees should follow up with their healthcare provider if they have any of these conditions, or other similar conditions they believe may create a higher risk to them. These underlying risks, which are based on CDC guidelines, include:
• Blood disorders (e.g., sickle cell disease or on blood thinners)
• Chronic kidney disease as defined by your doctor. Patient has been told to avoid or reduce the dose of medications because of kidney disease, or is under treatment for kidney disease, including receiving dialysis
• Chronic liver disease as defined by your doctor (e.g., cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis). Patient has been told to avoid or reduce the dose of medications because of liver disease or is under treatment for liver disease
• Compromised immune system (immunosuppression) (e.g., cancer treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation, receiving an organ or bone marrow transplant, taking high doses of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressant medications, HIV with a CD4 count <200)
• Current or recent pregnancy
• Endocrine disorders (e.g., diabetes mellitus)
• Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders).
• Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease)
• Lung disease including asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (chronic bronchitis or emphysema) or other chronic conditions associated with impaired lung function or that require home oxygen
• Neurological and neurologic and neurodevelopment conditions (including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy (seizure disorders), stroke, intellectual disability, moderate to severe developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury)
In the event you do not feel safe coming to work, be assured that the steps outlined above will help to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 within the workplace. If you nonetheless feel unsafe, you should reach out to your Manager or the Human Resources Department to discuss this concern and to determine any potential options that are suitable to the employee and Technosystems.
• Employees have COVID related sick leave benefits available to them through the voluntary extension of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Pittsburgh City Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act
o Available to employees who cannot work or telework
o Up to 80 hours of paid sick leave based on base rate of pay
o Part-time employees receive a pro-rated amount of leave based on average hours worked
o No qualifiers to be an eligible employee
o Must be used for the following qualified reasons:
Due to local isolation order related to COVID-19
If employer determined that an employee would be a health risk to others due to exposure to COVID-19, or due to that employee exhibiting symptoms
If an employee must care for a family member due to that family member being determined as a health risk to others due to exposure to COVId-19, or due to that family member showing symptoms of COVID-19
If an employee needs to quarantine due to being diagnosed with COVID-19, showing symptoms of COVID-19, or needs to seek diagnosis or other care for COVID-19
If an employee must care for a family member who needs to quarantine or seek treatment/diagnosis under the above point.
• Please refer to additional Technosystems sick/personal leave and vacation policies.
