Back to School: Your Rights, Explained - Part 1 8/27/2020
Back to School: Your Rights, Explained - Part 1
EPISODE SUMMARY
NEA General Counsel Alice O'Brien returns to the podcast to discuss legal rights, protections, and concerns educators should be aware of as they start a new school year in the midst of a global pandemic.
EPISODE NOTES
Find more resources and information about your rights at educatingthroughcrisis.org
Mandatory Quarantines Should Not Bleed Teacher Sick Leave.
by deutsch29
As teachers across the nation return to school in person amid the coronavirus pandemic, personal safety and safety of others are on our minds. We don't want to contract the virus. We also don't want to spread the virus, especially to vulnerable populations, including aging family members.
But there is another looming concern: What will happen to my accrued sick leave if I am required to quarantine more than once due to being exposed to someone (i.e., a student or a fellow faculty member) with COVID-19?
Our district is following the CDC guideline of 14 days of quarantine from last day of known exposure, regardless of receiving a negative COVID-19 test result. A 14-day quarantine entails missing 10 days of school.
According to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the first two-week quarantine period is paid by the employer and does not involve tapping into the employee's accrued vacation or medical/sick leave. For subsequent COVID-19-related quarantine periods, the employee is eligible to be paid two-thirds of regular rate of pay and can substitute accrued vacation, medical or sick leave in place of this two-thirds-pay option. The Act does not specifically allow for such substitution beyond a second, two-week quarantine period.
Important point before we proceed: This Act expires on December 31, 2020. That would almost surely be before less than half of the 2020-21 school year has passed for schools and districts that have delayed the start of the year.
Back to a second quarantine (assuming the first quarantine occurs before the end of 2020 and therefore does not affect an employee's own accrued sick leave):