Faculty & Staff
FSCares Re-opening Plan

Testing on Campus

• The College will conduct random temperature checks at various locations daily on campus.
  • Faculty and staff with a temperature of 100.3 Fahrenheit or higher will be asked to self-isolate and contact their healthcare provider.
• Faculty and staff should self-evaluate daily for symptoms identified by the CDC, including temperature checks. Employees with a fever of 100.3 Fahrenheit or higher, or who are experiencing any other symptoms such as cough, body aches, headache, loss of smell, etc., should immediately self-isolate and contact their healthcare provider.
• To be tested for COVID-19 employees should contact their healthcare provider for guidance or to arrange an appointment. If unable to meet with a healthcare provider employees may wish to consider other testing resources available in Polk County.
• A testing center for rapid-testing has been set up on campus for random testing of the student population. Additionally, Rapid Trace is handling the contact tracing related to any COVID-19 positive cases identified on campus. In the event an employee is identified through contact tracing to be a person who has come in direct close contact with a COVID-19 positive case on campus the employee may be asked to test at the on-site testing center.

Best Practices for a Healthy Work Environment

• Place mail in-boxes outside the office door to eliminate people entering your workspace.
• Use tape on the floor to identify how far a person can walk into your office.
• Place a sign on the office door reminding visitors that face masks are required.
• If your office is large enough for multiple visitors who can maintain the six-foot rule, place chairs in designated areas identified by tape to show where visitors can sit.
• Pause at hall corners and entry areas to determine if others are nearby so you avoid bumping into each other.
• Minimize attendance in break areas. If a break room is full, wait outside until it clears.
• Talk with coworkers at office doorways rather than entering their workspace.
• When attending off-campus events, avoid riding together in the same vehicle.
• Use conference calling or video conference over in-person meetings when appropriate.
• Use a lanyard to keep a mask handy.

Remote-Work Protocols

• Staff and faculty who believe they fall in the group of higher-risk individuals and who wish to seek a temporary reasonable accommodation for the fall semester under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), should contact the Office of Human Resources to discuss available options.
  • Office of Human Resources (email | 863.680.5079)
• To be considered for a temporary remote-work plan, a faculty or staff member must:
  • Have a job that has been shown to be productive and effective when performed away from the office.
  • Faculty must make a request to their Dean to work remotely.
  • Staff must make a request to the Director of Human Resources to work remotely.
  • Work with HR and their physician to determine if the accommodation request is reasonable to include physician documentation to support the request.
• All College policies as found in the Employee Handbook located on the Portal, including those relating to scheduling vacation and other time off, continue to apply.

Faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must immediately alert their dean/supervisor and the Office of Human Resources (email | 863.680.5079).

The College is committed to supporting faculty and staff who test positive for, or are exposed to, COVID-19. These procedures outline the College’s response should a faculty or staff member contract COVID-19.

Faculty and staff who become symptomatic for COVID-19, or who believe that they have been exposed to someone who may be positive, must take a COVID-19 test and quarantine if the test is positive.

Faculty and Staff with Positive Tests

• Faculty or staff members who show symptoms identified by the CDC should not come to work and should immediately contact their healthcare provider.
  • Faculty and staff must immediately alert their dean/supervisor and the Office of Human Resources (email | 863.680.5079).
• Fulltime faculty and staff who must quarantine pending COVID-19 test results will be granted up to an extra 80 hours of sick time for the 2020-21 fiscal year. This additional leave will help ensure continued pay for those who must quarantine.
  • A valid document confirming testing date is required.
  • The 80 hours must be used for COVID-19 illness leave only and is a one-time benefit. Any portion of the 80 hours not used will be forfeited. The COVID-19 sick leave does not roll over into the next year.
• The COVID-19 positive faculty or staff member will identify all work areas where they were present three days prior to the onset of symptoms.
  • If symptoms were not present, the faculty or staff member will identify all work areas where they were present from the known or estimated exposure date.
  • The College will sanitize those areas immediately.
• The affected faculty or staff member will identify individuals they encountered within the workplace in the three days prior to the onset of symptoms.
  • If symptoms were not present, the faculty or staff member will identify individuals they contacted with from the known or estimated exposure date
  • The contact tracing company will inform faculty and staff members who have been identified as being directly exposed using CDC guidance on contact tracing.
  • In accordance with privacy laws, the College cannot personally identify infected persons.
• If tested positive for COVID-19, faculty or staff members will be asked to provide a copy of the positive test result to include date of test.

Faculty and Staff Exposed to a Positive Case

• Employees who have been identified through contact tracing (see more below) as having been exposed in the workplace to direct, close contact will be sent home to quarantine.
  • If exposed in the workplace, the employee may be asked to be tested in the on-site testing center. An appointment is arranged through Human Resources.
• Employees who believe they have been potentially exposed to a positive COVID-19 case in their household or other non-work related event may be sent home to quarantine.
  • Faculty and staff must immediately alert their dean/supervisor and the Office of Human Resources (email | 863.680.5079).
  • Impacted faculty and staff members should contact a qualified healthcare provider to seek advice as to what additional steps, if any, should be taken.
• Human Resources and the dean/supervisor will determine if remote work is appropriate.
• If required to quarantine, fulltime faculty and staff will be granted a one-time additional sick benefit of up to 80 hours of sick time for the 2020-21 fiscal year. This additional leave will help ensure continued pay for those who must quarantine.
  • A valid document confirming testing date is required.
  • The 80 hours must be used for COVID-19 illness leave only and is a one-time benefit. Any portion of the 80 hours not used will be forfeited. The COVID-19 sick leave does not roll over into the next year.
• If required to quarantine and a test was not taken, the employee may return to work after 14 days as long as the employee is not symptomatic and has not had a fever or used fever reducing medications for at least 24 hours prior to return to work.

Contact Tracing

Faculty and staff who become infected with COVID-19 should contact their immediate supervisor or Human Resources at HR@flsouthern.edu, the Rapid-Trace self-report line at 813.699.3551 or email selfreport@rapid-trace.com. Rapid-Trace and Florida Southern College are committed to keeping our community members safe and offering support in the event of a positive case or close contact. If after business hours please notify Rapid-Trace using the self-report line at 813.699.3551 or email selfreport@rapid-trace.com.