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| Date: | March 20, 2020 |
| To: | All PMC Employees |
| From: | Scott Koehler |
| Subject: | PMC Plans for COVID-19 |
What is PMC doing in regard to the COVID-19 Virus?
We have provided information regarding PMC’s travel policy, our temporary attendance policy, limitations on visitors and cleaning of the plant. Those policies remain in effect. In addition, we have asked every department to determine whether employees can work remotely. If so, they will develop a schedule to minimize staff at PMC. We recognize that as a manufacturer it is impossible for most jobs to be done remotely. Therefore when you are here, please keep your own area clean and keep an appropriate distance from other employees. And, wash your hands often.
Our overall objective is to reduce the number of people in the facility at one time, and to reduce the amount of contact we have with each other. We have limited the size of meetings and if necessary have conducted meetings via software like GoToMeeting. If you have any ideas on ways to reduce the contact we have with each other, please talk to your supervisor.
What happens if an employee at PMC is tested positive for COVID-19?
Current Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines do not call for a shutdown of a facility if an employee is diagnosed with the virus. If an employee does come down with the virus the plant will be closed for several days and probably through a weekend for cleaning and then to re-open. Any employee who was diagnosed with the virus and any employee who had any contact with that employee will be required to self-quarantine for two weeks.
In the event that multiple employees are diagnosed with the virus, we will close the plant for a minimum of two weeks. After two weeks employees may return provided they have shown no flu like symptoms for at least 24 hours.
Some businesses have already shut down, will PMC shut down too?
We have no plans to shut down at this time. Many of the companies that have shut down have large numbers of people working closely together. We are relatively small and most of us don’t work in close proximity to each other. Remember to practice social spacing and to wash hands often.
What happens if the government closes businesses for some period of time?
We will follow all federal, state, and local instructions as we learn of them.
I want to work remotely, how do I do that?
You should discuss it with your immediate supervisor. Some jobs can be accomplished remotely and some cannot. There may be hardware and software issues depending upon what applications you use. Our goal is to have as many people work remotely as possible. PMC will not be able to provide computers to all employees who wish to work remotely.
If I am off work due to COVID-19 will I get paid?
Yes, but how much and for how long will depend upon the reason. Under legislation recently passed by Congress, for full time employees beginning April 2, 2020:
You are entitled to up to 80 hours of paid leave at your regular hourly rate in the following situations:
- You are quarantined because you have contracted COVID-19.
- You are advised to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.
- You have symptoms related to COVID-19 and you are seeking a diagnosis.
You are entitled to up to 80 hours of paid leave at two thirds (2/3) of your hourly rate if:
- You are caring for an individual who is quarantined or is advised to quarantine.
- You are caring for a child if the school or place of care is closed due to COVID-19 precautions.
The maximum amount you can receive is $511 per day if you are quarantined or $200 per day if you are caring for somebody else, regardless of your regular pay rate.
You are also entitled to up to 12 weeks of leave if you are unable to work or telework because you are caring for a child under the age of 18 due to the closure of schools or care providers due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
- The first two weeks are unpaid but you may use PTO already provided by PMC.
- The remaining ten weeks are paid at 2/3 of your regular pay rate, not to exceed $200 per day.
Current temporary attendance policies remain in effect until April 2, 2020.
How can I stay informed about things at PMC?
We will be adding a page to the PMC website for up to date employee information. It will be available Tuesday, March 25. Log onto www.papermc.com and click on the link entitled “Employee Information”. You will be asked for a username and password. Your username will be your first initial and your last name (no spaces, just like the payroll website). Your password will be the last four digits of your social security number.
We will post all of the information that is on the bulletin board to the website as well.