• Effective March 1, 2024, the CDC changed its guidance on Covid-19, now addressing it simply as a respiratory virus. Please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for full details: 
     
    Following current CDC recommendations for respiratory viruses, there is no longer an isolation period. As with any time you are sick, it is recommended that you stay home and return to work once your symptoms are improving and you are fever-free for 24 hours. It is no longer necessary to provide notification to my office of an absence due to Covid
     
    Absence Management: With absence due to Covid, or any illness, please continue to be diligent about reporting all absences in Frontline so we can provide coverage. Please enter your absence in Frontline as a sick day, and notify your supervisor as you normally do. (Please note: You do not need to notify that you have Covid.) 
     
    Payroll and Covid Paid Sick Leave (PSL): Effective July 1, 2024, the NYS Department of Labor Paid Sick Leave for COVID-19 (“COVID PSL”) has been extended through June 30, 2025. There have been no changes to the NYS Department of Labor law. To review: New York State’s Paid Sick Leave for COVID-19 (“COVID PSL”) provides paid leave for up to three (3) occasions of up to fourteen (14) calendar days for each occasion, beginning on the date of your positive test or onset of symptoms, in the following circumstances:
    NYS Covid PSL.jpg
    Please note that this includes all occasions dating back to March 2020. This does not reset with each calendar or school year. If you have any questions as to how many qualifying occasions you have had, please contact me directly. 
     
    Receiving Covid Paid Sick Leave (PSL) procedure: While NYS DOL COVID PSL law requires an order to isolate, and isolation is no longer required by the CDC, NYS DOH or NCDOH, the District will continue to offer Covid PSL in accordance with the NYS DOL. To ensure we are properly accounting for and tracking Covid PSL, and to protect employee HIPAA rights, our procedure is as follows: 
    • At the building level, the employee's absence is coded as Sick Days; the absence is not coded as Covid
    • To access the NYS DOL Covid Paid Sick Leave, the District is now requiring a positive laboratory-conducted Covid-19 test from an accredited laboratory facility
    • To claim Covid PSL, please bring verification of a positive laboratory-conducted test result and the attached Covid PSL claim form to Jodee Riordan in the Office of Human Resources on the day of your return to work. The  Covid PSL claim form is available on our website and in the District Office when you bring your form. 
      • HR will determine that the employee meets the criteria for Covid-19 PSL (there are multiple factors, including the number of leaves since March 2020, the number of days taken, etc). 
      • Once the verification and eligibility criteria are met, clearance will be given to Payroll by HR to recode sick days to Covid PSL, and the employee's sick days will be credited back. 
    • Please note: This may not take place during the current payroll period. 
    Covid Test Kits: The District does not have test kits, and is not anticipating receiving test kits for distribution at this time. 
     
    Any questions regarding Covid, please contact Jodee Riordan at jriordan@lew-port.com, or 716-286-7242. .