Update for faculty and staff from Vice President for Human Resources

March 13, 2020

Dear Purdue faculty and staff,  

I write, first, with a sincere thank you for all of the efforts, care and assistance over the past few weeks as we work to address this extraordinary situation that we are in responding to COVID-19.

Given the vast amount of information that has come your way, I would like to provide a few basic reminders and urge you to continue to check the university’s COVID-19 website, where the latest updates will be posted regarding policy or answers to frequently asked questions.

As you know, the university remains open and staff are expected to be at work in order to ensure normal operations for the institution. Faculty should continue to be available for departmental responsibilities and to respond to student inquiries. Research efforts should continue. Senior Vice Provost Frank Dooley and EVPRP Theresa Mayer will continue to provide updates to instructors and researchers.

We understand that there are circumstances where an employee may need to be away from campus due to family issues including childcare, and we intend to be flexible in that regard. Purdue has a process in place for flexible work that is available for individuals on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of an employee’s job responsibilities. Flexible work requests, per university policy, need to be reviewed and approved by a senior administrator (or designee) based on the unit process.

In addition, employees who are ill or who need to care for a family member who is ill have leave options, including accrued paid-time-off hours (sick leave, vacation time, personal time, FMLA). This includes those who are at higher risk for serious illness should they contract COVID-19 as well as those who are uncomfortable reporting to work. Employees should work directly with their supervisor and human resource representative to address leave options.

The move to remote course delivery has caused many employees to take on time-specific tasks and roles to ensure the health and safety of the campus community, because of this we are offering an alternative to the 2019-2020 performance and merit timeline. 

  • Manager assessments should be completed by May 1. Managers may choose to extend today’s deadline for employees to complete their self-assessments.
  • Calibration meetings will take place May 4-11.
  • Merit sheets will be launched on May 13.  Rating entered during the manager assessment will appear on the merit sheet.

The alternative timeline is designed to allow flexibility for everyone to respond to the evolving needs of the campus community, while still allowing time for merit to be entered into the system for a July 1 effective date. These dates may be revisited as we continue to monitor the work environment.

This is an evolving situation and we are taking measures that we deem appropriate with the information available at this time. We will continue to follow the guidance of the CDC, the Indiana State Department of Health, and our own health and safety experts and will provide updates as situations change.

Please continue to care for your colleagues, yourselves and your families. And thank you, again, for all you are doing to help us manage this challenge.

Sincerely,  

Bill Bell
Vice President for Human Resources