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VALLEY WATER GUIDELINES
1. Who are considered essential workers? How are staff members being informed they are essential?
As mentioned in previous FAQs, all the work that we do here is essential. All the functions that we do here may seem non-essential to others, but they are supporting essential functions and essential activities that we have done. This is a time of uncertainty and stress for our employees and we are refining our response to the definition of “essential work” to ensure that we balance the important public works infrastructure needs our community relies on, with the safety of our employees. We are discussing this concern and are defining critical work to include: any operations and maintenance activities required to ensure that our critical infrastructure functions properly such as: removal of trash and debris for flow conveyance and sanitary purposes, removal of vegetation for capacity, access and fire suppression, fence repairs related to a critical safety needs and all preparation work required for the upcoming SMP season. Homeless encampment abatements have ceased.
Employees should have a conversation with their managers to determine what roles and tasks are essential within each unit. Overall, many of our functions in the organization are considered essential. If you feel that your function is not essential, first have a conversation with your manager and deputy.
For more information, reference the Governor’s list of “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers,” dated 3/22/20.
2. How is management prioritizing our safety?
We are in a public health emergency at a local, state and federal level. Our agency’s response is absolutely keeping the safety of our employees in mind as well as the ability to continue to provide services required as critical infrastructure to the over 2 million residents of Santa Clara County. We are in very close contact with the County Public Health Department to ensure that our response and actions are aligned to the Public Health Department recommendations. Desks or individual workstations are separated by at least six feet to the greatest extent possible. For those common workstations sharing the same workspace that are not physically separated, employees have been instructed to maintain 6 feet apart, or to wear appropriate personal protective equipment when essential work must be performed, and 6 feet separation is not physically possible.
Valley Water has posted signage at each employee entrance of each facility to inform all employees and visitors that they should:
- Wear a face covering while inside this facility
- Avoid entering the facility if they have a cough or fever;
- Maintain a minimum six-foot distance from one another;
- Unless eating or drinking, or otherwise exempt, a protective face covering is required to be worn inside this building.
- Sneeze and cough into a cloth or tissue or, if not available, into one’s elbow; and not shake hands or engage in any unnecessary physical contact.
3. Given the various ergonomic needs for employees currently teleworking, will management consider offering a stipend to allow employees to offset the cost of upgrading their at home work space?
Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to provide a stipend to employees to purchase supplies, equipment or furniture for their home work space. We do allow employees to temporarily borrow and use the mouse and keyboard from their desks in the office. As the COVID-19 situation continues to develop and more Valley Water staff are working from home, we would like to encourage staff to be cognizant of their home office setups as it relates to ergonomics and maintaining work productivity, quality, and efficiency.
Office ergonomics should be treated the same whether you are in a Valley Water office setting or working from home. Please be reminded of a few of the following:
- Eliminate contact pressures
- Reduce fatigue from use of mouse and keyboards
- Adjust your chair to a comfortable work-height
- Consider stretching and micro-breaks
- Understand that certain hobbies, recreational and household activities may contribute to pains and aches. Discretion is advised, to prevent serious injuries
For more information on how to set-up your workstation at home and best practices for ensuring that you’re working with the best ergonomic standards in place, please refer to the “Ergonomics Document” that was sent on 3/17/20 via the “Employee Communications,” Subject: VPN Access, Home Ergonomics, Town Hall Reminder and Pondside Café Closure.
4. What is the childcare charge code? What are my childcare options?
Please be sure to use Project # COVID-19 60601013 & “FFCRA – FMLA+” (Time Reporting Code 47) & Task #1372 for: Childcare due to a COVID-19 related school or day care closure and unable to telecommute. Please be advised that employees using the COVID-19 timesheet reporting codes after April 1 for the first time, must FIRST speak with Benefits and provide the appropriate documentation and/or required forms.
We are working on several options for Valley Water employees who are interested in childcare services. Below are some options throughout the county:
South County
Morgan Hill YMCA
Location: 895 Barrett Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Cost: $200/week. This cost is lower than other locations as a result of private and corporate funding to support the South County. There is a 20% sibling discount.
Requirement: Must be a resident of Cities of Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy or South San Jose.San Jose
South Valley YMCA
Location: 5632, Santa Teresa Blvd., San Jose, CA 95123
Cost: $376/week. This cost is reduced from the initial $500 standard cost as a result of external funding the YMCA received to support public sector essential employees.
Note: The center is currently closed but will reopen if they get at least 20 enrollments (30 spaces available).West Valley
Southwest YMCA
Location: 13500 Quito Rd. Saratoga, CA 95070
Cost: $375/week
Note: Site is currently open and has spaces available for additional enrollment.North County
El Camino YMCA
Location: 2400 Grant Road, Mountain View, CA 94040
Cost: $375/week
Note: Site is currently open and has spaces available for additional enrollment.
Staff at the YMCA locations have met the education and training requirements and their experiences exceed the American Camping Association Standards and Licensing Standards. Additionally, all staff have been fingerprinted and cleared through the Department of Justice and FBI to work with children as childcare providers.
Any Valley Water employee interested in registering for one of the listed childcare services, should complete the registration materials for the desired location and directly contact the designated YMCA representative listed on the registration packet.
5. During this pandemic what is Valley Water’s philosophy regarding assigning employees additional non-essential work and the employees' mental health? Does management understand that the pandemic is taking a toll on employees and adjusting workloads and expectations appropriately to protect employees' health?
Valley Water recognizes the current COVID-19 emergency can be a situation that can inject anxiety into our personal and work environment. Valley Water’s work is essential as we are critical infrastructure. Please work directly with your manager to discuss workload, priorities and deadlines, if necessary, to enable you to be more successful in completing assigned work while balancing the health-related impacts you may be experiencing.
Furthermore, staff is encouraged to seek support through CONCERN, Valley Water’s FREE Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP is available to you and your eligible dependents. CONCERN is available to help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at no cost to you.
Concern provides FREE Short-Term Counseling (up to 8 sessions free per issue per year for each eligible family member):
- Relationships (i.e., families, couples, parent/child)
- Emotional issues (i.e., stress, depression, anxiety, grief, loss, death)
- Substance abuse issues (i.e., alcohol, drugs)
This program is staffed by licensed credentialed counselors and provides information, referral and short-term counseling for personal issues affecting work or personal life. Your contact to CONCERN EAP is confidential and will not be revealed to anyone, including your employer.
NEW Expanded Therapy Options! Concern Counseling is now available by phone, video, realtime chat, and text (24-7 asynchronous messaging).
- http://www.aqua.gov/ConcernEAP
- http://www.aqua.gov/wellness/coronavirus-info-concern
- Concern Counseling Options during COVID-19 (link to downloadable handout)
For more information on CONCERN EAP, please visit employees.concernhealth.com/mentalwellness
or call 1-800-344-4222.
6. Does Valley Water have an updated guidance for employees on face masks? (eg. Will employees need to wear masks at work?)
Recently there has been more guidance coming out from Santa Clara Public Health and one of those things that you have likely heard about is a lot of local cities and counties are now mandating that the public and public facing essential employees wear a face covering when they are out in public and while they are doing their work.
As a precautionary measure and following right in line with that strong recommendation and in full support of senior management and the bargaining units. We are going to be instituting a directive to have all personnel that enter Valley Water facilities to wear a face covering while they are inside the facilities and the directive will go into effect starting April 24. Specifically, this directive is going to require that you have a face covering on while you’re inside the building, both in common areas and also working in open cubicles, where you wouldn’t need it is during eating or drinking as long as you’re maintaining the social distancing protocols and/or if you’re in an enclosed office or a room with the door close and you’re alone. You would not have to wear the mask during that time.
Outdoor workers are highly encouraged to wear a mask at all times. We do understand that there are some times where there is physical exertion activities that make it a lot more difficult to breath when you’re wearing a face covering and unless there is an ocean mandate for respiratory protection for those activities we allow those employees not to wear those face coverings that are inhibiting their breathing. Other than that, if it is required we are saying please put them on and if any of our employees are in those cities or counties that are mandating out in public then you need to put it on.
Those who may have medical concerns about wearing a face covering and having difficulty breathing, please work with your manager immediately so you can start the interactive process with the reasonable accommodation coordinator. Anybody who has medical documentation that recommends that they do not wear a mask due to medical conditions will not be held accountable for this directive.
If you forget a mask during the day there are individuals in every facility that will have masks available. There will be communications on who to contact to get a mask for the day. Those are disposable masks you just use for the day and dispose of them. The other thing, these masks are not really intended to protect you from getting sick from somebody else. It is actually to protect others from people that may be asymptomatic and may have COVID. CDC is cautioning that these face masks are only one protective measure, but you need to make sure that you are maintaining social distancing. It is not a replacement for social distancing or personal hygiene (washing hands, using hand sanitizers).
FACILITIES & SUPPLIES
1. Can you advise staff what types of cleaning and sanitization are being conducted at our facilities?
All of our facilities are being cleaned a minimum of five days a week for facilities that are operating five days a week. For facilities that operate seven days a week such as treatment plants get a higher frequency of cleaning.
As part of our additional enhanced cleaning scope, we have called out 25 additional areas of cleaning to be performed everyday. Valley Water has instructed our janitorial services to start cleaning and disinfecting common areas, such as conference rooms, chairs, telephones, and door handles of common use throughout the facilities. Additionally, that effort has been increased to include door handles, light switches, elevator buttons, push bars, thermostats and copiers/printers on a daily basis.
A lot of the cleaning efforts are completed before and after business hours when it is not visible to employees to reduce disruption and make it easier for janitorial staff to complete their work. We have worked with our Janitorial Service to increase the number of staff providing janitorial services and approved overtime to have them complete these cleaning services on off hours.
2. Can you please let us know what the current protocols are for the use and especially the cleaning of fleet vehicles? Are vehicles being disinfected after being used? If not, and since there is no hand sanitizer or disinfecting wipes available at the warehouse, how do we ensure that there isn’t germ transfer on high-touch vehicle surfaces?
Pool vehicles are cleaned and disinfected after every use and separate and dedicated vehicles should be used to the greatest extent possible. There is diluted isopropyl alcohol and industrial disinfectant in spray bottles with paper towels available from the Warehouse for staff to use in place of disinfectant wipes, if needed. Those with assigned vehicles have the ability to get disinfecting supplies from the warehouse to have in the vehicle.
Additionally, there are rubber gloves available in the Warehouse for staff to wear while operating vehicles, if needed. As always, frequent hand washing with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds throughout the day is highly recommended. We are requesting all staff to their part in preventing the potential spread of this virus by maintaining and cleaning surfaces, if touched by bare hands, before leaving an area with high touch surfaces for others’ use.
3. What type of office support is being given to employees?
The EOC logistics team has put together some of the frequently ordered office supplies in an easy to store container to assist with your office supplies needs while you telework from home.
Employees working onsite have access to office supplies in the office but are welcome to sign up to pick up a container if needed.
The office supply container will have the following supplies as well as one 8oz bottle of hand sanitizer and one reusable face mask:
● A ream of copy paper
● Post it notes (2 each)
● Highlighter (yellow and one second color)
● Black pens (2 each)
● Blue pens (2 each)
● Red pens (2 each)
● Standard size 8 ½ x 11 writing pad (2 each)
● Paper clips (1 box)
● Manila file folders- standard size (10 each)
● Correction tape (2 each)
● Binder clips (1box small, 1 box large)
● Mechanical pencil (2 each)
The Winfield Warehouse has a quantity on hand for employees that were not able to make it to a distribution day to come by and pick up individually. Staff can come by any business day during our operating hours (7-12 and 1-4:30) to pick up a container.
IT/TECHNOLOGY
1. Why can’t I take the equipment from my workspace, such as my monitor or chair home?
At this time all staff are permitted to take home their keyboard and mouse from their desk, their cellular device and their Laptop or Tablet computer. Staff are not permitted to take home other equipment from their workspaces except for very special circumstances such as a medical necessity or those with explicit authorization from their Chief due to an operational need.
With employee safety as our top priority, this decision was made only after extensive consideration of all risks including the risk of injury to employees, lifting and transporting large equipment, damage to the equipment, violating shelter in place orders to procure necessary cabling, distribution of equipment, supportability concerns, sanitation of devices upon return to work and other critical topics.
HDMI cables are available for all staff who wish to connect their laptop or tablet to a large screen at home. Please contact the IT Help Desk for more information at [email protected] or call (408) 630-HELP.
(4/2/2020) Telephones - 519 Valley Water staff have either been issued a Valley Water Device or receive the cell phone stipend. All District-Issued phones have unlimited talk, text and data. Staff who have opted to go on the stipend program are the recipients of an allowance based on a survey from comparator agencies. Per the Smartphone Stipend policy, employees are responsible for usage beyond the amount of the Smartphone Stipend.
EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS
1. What type of insurance coverage are we being presented to treat COVID-19?
For questions/concerns regarding insurance coverage, we encourage staff to contact their health providers.
Blue Shield
● Treatment of COVID-19 is now covered at 100%, along with testing and screening for the virus.
● Blue Shield will waive out-of-pocket costs* for copays, coinsurance, and deductibles for COVID-19 screenings performed virtually using telehealth (including Teladoc) or in a doctor’s office, urgent care center, or emergency room (ER), and COVID-19 testing that’s recommended by a doctor.
● Blue Shield is offering its Teladoc services, including brand new Behavioral Health access, to all members (including dependents) at a $0 member copay through May 31 (download informational flyer).
● Employees who have been billed for any COVID-19 related treatment/testing should contact Blue Shield 1-855-599-2650 to inquire about reimbursement
● *Effective for treatments received between March 1 – December 31, 2020
Kaiser
● Treatment of COVID-19 is now covered at 100%, along with testing and screening for the virus.
● Kaiser will waive any out-of-pocket costs*, including copays to test, diagnose, and treat COVID-19 (including hospital stays).
● Employees who have been billed for any COVID-19 related treatment/testing should contact Kaiser at 1-800-464-4000 to inquire about reimbursement.
● This waiver applies to all admissions directly related to COVID-19 through December 31, 2020.
2. Will there be any adjustments to the Sick Leave Conservation Program?
After discussion at the Chiefs Meeting on May 1st, the existing Sick Leave Conservation Program will remain unchanged.
STAFFING & BENEFITS
1. Valley Water is retroactively converting our Emergency Leave with Pay to “FFCRA– FMLA”. In the event that an FMLA situation arises for an employee in the near future will this time count against their 12-week allotment of FMLA for the calendar year?
FFCRA FMLA+ and FMLA leave time both count toward the 12-Week allotment. Valley Water uses a rolling 12-month period to calculate eligibility, not a calendar year. For additional information, please refer to http://www.aqua.gov/benefits-ffcra or contact [email protected] to discuss your specific situation.
2. Can you explain how FFCRA affects FMLA. FMLA allows 12 weeks of unpaid leave protection, FFCRA draws from those same 12 weeks, right? It does not use our sick leave, PL, Vacation or other paid leave if we are using one of the covered COVID-19 leaves, right?
They do run concurrently. Any type of leave under FMLA counts towards the 12-week allotment. You are allowed to use the codes that we provided in the timesheet reporting, there are 2 new codes provided this week. Benefits will work with employees that are coding to ensure that the correct coding is used.
3. Has any Valley Water employees received Disaster Service Worker assignments related to COVID-19? Or has Valley Water been given any information suggesting that assignments may be imminent? If so, are there any ideas of how those will be assigned or rolled out?
We are not aware of any authority FEMA has in regard to using Valley Water resources/staff without Valley Water permission to fulfill the needs of other agencies. The type of resource support you reference in your email inquiry would follow the resource requesting process. If FEMA is making the request for resources, it goes to the State (CA) first, then down to Santa Clara County (Operational Area). The Santa Clara County Operational Area (SCCOA) would then reach out within Santa Clara County, including Valley Water, to see if the resource request could be fulfilled. If it’s a local request, the request would still be coordinated through the SCCOA. Valley Water would have the choice to support the resource request or not support the request. An important aspect that is considered internally is what the impact would be to Valley Water if we provided the requested resources. Each request will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Valley Water continues to assess internally the needs of staff and resources to maintain our essential functions, and this perspective is being utilized throughout the length of the current pandemic event.
ACCOUNTING & PAYROLL
1. How should we use our regular charge codes versus COVID-19 charge codes?
Regular Project Numbers, for non COVID-19 related work, are to be used with “Telecommuting Regular Earnings” (Time Reporting Code 50), but if you’re also working onsite, enter a second line for “Regular Earnings” (Time Reporting Code 11).
COVID-19 Related Work
- COVID-19 Project #60601013 should be used for the following (your regular Unit# applies):
- Active EOC or Non-EOC staff participating in daily EOC calls and/or conducting EOC work:
- “Telecommuting” or “Regular” – no Task Codes or #0000
- Weekly Town Hall Meeting:
- “Telecommuting” or “Regular” – Task #1373
- Active EOC or Non-EOC staff participating in daily EOC calls and/or conducting EOC work:
COVID-19 Related Absences (Should NOT be used unless pre-approved by Benefits)
- COVID-19 Project #60601013 should be used for the following:
- “FFCRA – EPSL” (Time Reporting Code 46) for the following absences:
- Sick, or in isolation and unable to telecommute – Task #1370
- Quarantined due to (1) an immediate household family member confirmed, or physician suspected of COVID-19 illness, or (2) recent return travel from a listed region and unable to telecommute – Task #1371
- “FFCRA – FMLA+” (Time Reporting Code 47) for the following absence:
- Childcare due to a COVID-19 related school or day care closure and unable to telecommute – Task #1372
- “Emergency Leave with Pay” (Time Reporting Code 45) for the following:
- Absence where no telework is possible (management approval required) – no Task Code or #0000
- Precautionary leave (management approval required) – Task #1374
- Exhaustion of FFCRA entitlements above (please contact Benefits prior to coding) – Task #1370, #1371, or #1372
- “FFCRA – EPSL” (Time Reporting Code 46) for the following absences:
2. Due to working from home, can any unused Personal Leave hours not used by the end of June be rolled over to the next fiscal year?
After discussion at the Chiefs Meeting on May 1st, the decision was made to not allow for a roll-over of any unused Personal Leave hours. Staff is encouraged to utilize their available personal leave hours prior to the end of the fiscal year, after receiving approval from their managers for time off.
3. For employees who have received the vacation accrual exception and end up with an amount of vacation hours over the normal maximum entitlement at the end of the exception period, what happens to those surplus vacation hours?
You still need to work down your numbers. The intent is that you can continue to accrue, but you do need to get your numbers below the maximum, because at some point you will stop again. We have agreed that the accrual exception will go through October 31, so by October 31 you will need to be below the maximum. The intent is that you should still be taking vacation time and utilizing personal leave during this event whenever possible.
4. Could employees who reach their max vacation accrual opt to cash out the excess hours?
If an employee is requesting to receive their cash out (fully or partially accrued) sooner than October 22, 2020, which is specified in the pledge form, they should refer to Admin policy AD-2.4.102 Vacation Cash Out, Unforeseeable Emergencies, determine if they are eligible, and submit an application for approval by the Chief Financial Officer. Form FC1856 Emergency Vacation Cash Out Request form is now available for employee use.
The form is posted on HR’s main page: http://www.aqua.gov/HumanResources, as well http://aqua.gov/forms/fcforms for easy access. Please refer to Vacation Policy: http://www.aqua.gov/home/scvwd/main/policies/administration/hr/Ad-2.4.102.pdf for more information.
5. Can we withdraw or surrender 457b?
Changes have recently been adopted to Valley Water's 457b Plan to take advantage of the recently enacted CARES Act. As a result, persons meeting the CARE Act requirements for a Coronavirus related distribution will be entitled to make tax favored withdrawals of up to $100K until December 31, 2020 and have an increased loan limit and extension of the repayment period. Please log in to your Nationwide Retirement Solutions account for full details.