UB has implemented several guidelines and protocols to ensure that our campuses are safe for our faculty, staff and student employees.
Need help with UB's COVID-19 protocols for employees? Please contact:
The COVID-19 pandemic impacts everyone. Do your part to foster a healthy and safe campus environment for all by following these important guidelines.
Prior to returning to campus for UB's fall 2020 semester, all employees should do the following:
All UB faculty, staff and volunteer faculty/staff who come to a UB or UBMD campus must omplete the Daily Health Check. If you are unable to use the text-based or web-based Daily Health Check, please complete the accessible form below every day you are on campus.
NOTE: All Visitors (e.g., invited guests, vendors) who are otherwise not affiliated with the university are required to complete the Daily Health Check prior to their arrival on campus. An accessible form for visitors is available here.
Please note that UB students, faculty and staff who are not required to complete the Daily Health Check are strongly encouraged to do so out of concern for their personal health and the health of the entire community.
For complete information on the required Daily Health Check, visit UB’s main COVID-19 page.
Source: Human Resources
To reduce the risk of virus transmission, and in accordance with SUNY guidelines, a precautionary seven-day quarantine at their own residence is highly recommended for all UB students, faculty and staff who return to or come to campus in August (or thereafter) to start the academic year.
During these seven days, all members of the campus community are asked to exercise extra caution in protecting yourself from COVID-19 infection, especially by:
Upon return to campus, it is important and necessary that all individuals adhere to all UB health guidelines, which include the use of a face covering at all times, appropriate physical distancing and frequent handwashing.
The university’s guidelines will continue to be updated as needed in accordance with new recommendations from the state and CDC, and as new scientific findings emerge. Updates will be posted on the Health and Safety Guidelines webpage.
If you suspect you have COVID-19, please contact Human Resources or your supervisor immediately. We will provide guidance.
Human Resources
UB-HR@buffalo.edu
716-645-7777
If you are unable to report to work because of a nonmedical COVID-19 situation (e.g., caring for a child whose school or day care is closed; caring for a family member with COVID-19), please contact your supervisor. They will work with UB Human Resources (HR) to determine what benefits or leave options may be available (e.g., accruals, NYSPFL, FMLA, or other) and to consider whether there are any alternative work arrangements that would allow you to perform essential job duties.
Source: Human Resources
Effective March 17, 2020, all non-essential SUNY employees were assigned to perform their work-related duties and responsibilities from alternate work locations, via telecommuting.
Beginning 7/1/20, UB has begun allowing some units to return to on-site activities, upon approval of each unit’s Return-to-Work plans.
Employees will be informed by their supervisors if their work situation (work remote or work on-campus) has changed.
UB employees returning from a designated state who cannot telecommute and are deemed essential and critical for the operation or safety of the workplace, upon a documented determination by their supervisor and a human resources (HR) representative in consultation with appropriate state and local health authorities, the exposed, asymptomatic employee may return to work so long as the employee adheres to the following practices prior to and during their work shift, which should be monitored and documented by the employer and employee:
If an employee is symptomatic upon arrival at work or becomes sick with COVID-19 symptoms while at the workplace, absent close or proximate contact with a person with COVID-19, the employee must be separated and sent home immediately and may return to work upon completing at least 10 days of isolation from the onset of symptoms OR upon receipt of a negative COVID-19 test result.
UB requires every member of the campus community to wear a face mask at all times. Most physicians and medical authorities agree that there are very few medical conditions in which a face mask will be unsafe.
In fact, the American Lung Association has stated that even individuals with underlying chronic lung disease should be able to wear a non-N95 facial covering without affecting their oxygen or carbon dioxide levels.
If you are uncomfortable wearing a face mask, we recommend:
In the unlikely event that you suffer from one of these medical conditions, you can be granted an exempt from wearing a face mask if you provide a doctor’s note verifying that you have a medical condition that makes wearing a face mask unsafe.
If you think you have cause for a medical exemption:
Be Aware of Campus Sensitivities
If the individual is given an exemption for facial coverings, there is still the chance for confrontation or challenge by members of the UB campus community concerned about you as a potential spreader of infection.
Work-related Exemptions
Cloth face masks may not be enough protection for individuals whose work brings them into higher than average exposure to infectious airborne particles. Examples may include individuals who work on the front lines of health care or in some research laboratories. In these cases, UB will provide you with the appropriate personal protection equipment, including appropriate face coverings.
Contact your supervisor or UB Human Resources at 716-645-7777 for specific guidance regarding your personal work situation.
Updated 1/13/2021