Dear Faculty and Staff –

I hope this message finds each of you and your families healthy and safe.
As you likely noted in ongoing communications from University leadership, we are continuing to adapt in many ways throughout this unprecedented time in our history.

Now that the local “Stay at Home, Work Safe” order has been extended through April 30, I want to ensure that all of you know that the University of Houston will continue to fulfill its educational mission through remote operations and telecommuting as is currently in place for the majority of the workforce.

Your terrific support and effective transition to the telecommuting framework to maintain critical functions is a key component to our ongoing commitment in service, and was developed in alignment with local, state and federal COVID-19 guidelines. Although this has been a challenging time for everyone, we believe that it has been the most effective and reasonable approach available under the current circumstances.

In addition, please know that your ongoing flexibility and commitment to your role throughout the organization is a key factor to our continuing success and our overall productivity collectively.  From supervisors and team leads to individual contributors, while specific job tasks may have changed slightly within our current framework, we should all continue to examine ways we can contribute and take every opportunity to support the University to be of service, even if that means redefining “normal” work for the time being as these will continue to be often uncertain times that are, indeed, not normal for any of us.

We also want to acknowledge that the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) has added another factor to be taken into consideration.  This federal law extends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and provides federal emergency paid sick leave.  These two leave types may cover certain employees within specialized COVID-19-related categories. You can find detailed information about FFCRA on our Human Resources site. Be sure to reach out to your HR business partner or the HR Customer Service Center with any questions pertaining to FFCRA or our state Emergency Leave that is currently available to employees under specific circumstances through 4/30/2020.

Continuing through this uncertain time will take commitment and hope—and I know that by working together, we will look to the promise of a successful future.

Stay safe, work safe and be healthy.

Warm regards,