‘How are they still without a plan?’ Cal Poly employees worry about expiring COVID benefits
On Jan. 1, 2021, it’s likely the coronavirus pandemic will still be rampaging through California.
But on that day, thousands of employees at the nation’s largest public university system — California State University — will be left without COVID-19 benefits that allow them to take time off work for pandemic-related reasons.
“I guess I just assumed that as long as COVID is raging, we’d have these benefits,” said Kari Howell, a program coordinator for Cal Poly Scholars in San Luis Obispo. “We’re 10 months into this pandemic — how are they still without a plan?”
The benefits, which are called CSU Paid Administrative Leave, or CPAL for short, grant CSU employees up to 256 hours of paid leave for COVID-19-related reasons. Those include employees who get sick with the virus or need to care of kids stuck at home due to school and daycare facility closures.
The CPAL benefits went into effect March 23 and are set to expire on Dec. 31.
Howell said she used most of her CPAL benefits this year to take care of her 2- and 4-year-old kids at home when daycare facilities closed due to the virus.
The preschool at Cal Poly that Howell’s 4-year-old, Max, attends will not open until Jan. 19 “out of an abundance of caution,” to allow employees and students to get tested for COVID-19 after the holiday, according to university spokesperson Matt Lazier.
This leaves Howell with more than two weeks in January when she and her husband will have to balance their full workloads with caring for two young children.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Howell said.
These benefits “told me that where I spend 40 hours a week is a place that respects me and respects my responsibilities outside of work,” she added. “So the fact that these benefits are expiring ... it’s really disappointing.”
As an alternative, Howell said Cal Poly Human Resources told her to use the 10 days of regular sick or vacation paid time off that’s she accrued as an employee who has worked at the university for fewer than five years.
Unions want CSU to renew COVID-19 benefits
The California State University Employees Union, which represents about 16,000 classified staff members across all 23 CSU campuses, was negotiating with the Chancellor’s Office on Tuesday to get the benefits renewed for the 2021 year.
Other employee unions, such as the California Faculty Association, did not have any immediate plans to negotiate the renewal of the benefits. Charles Toombs, president of the CFA, said that incoming CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro was aware that the union, which represents about 29,000 faculty across all CSU campuses, wants the CPAL benefits renewed in 2021.
The CSU system currently has no plans to continue the CPAL benefit program in 2021 and is waiting for more guidance from the U.S. Department of Education regarding how it can use funds from the new COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress on Monday night, according to CSU spokesperson Mike Uhlenkamp.
Those funds theoretically could be used to renew the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCRA, benefits, which are similar to the CPAL benefits and also expire on Dec. 31, according to union leaders.
Kaila Bussert, who works at Cal Poly’s Robert E. Kennedy Library, said she used all of her CPAL benefits and then began using her FFCRA benefits to take care of her 3-year-old daughter while working a full-time job.
“We didn’t feel comfortable putting her in daycare again, so we’ve just been playing it safe and keeping her home,” Bussert said. “But that means taking care of her 24/7. And (caring for) a toddler is super intense; it’s a lot of hands-on time I need to spend away from my desk.”
Bussert said that COVID-19 benefits have “been a lifesaver” for her family during the coronavirus pandemic.
When the benefits go away at the start of the new year, Bussert said she has no idea what she’s going to do.
“It’s like they’re expecting things to go back to normal, when it’s not normal at all,” she said. “It’s very infuriating, you know, that we can’t get basic support and help.”
Union representatives said they’re frustrated and concerned about the benefits, and hope that the CSU will choose to extend the benefits. Lewis Call, the CFA chapter president for Cal Poly, said the CSU is likely concerned about how much money the benefits cost the system.
However, Call and other union leaders said not many employees across the CSU system have used the benefits.
“This has helped a small number of people in a big way,” said Jim Philliou, executive director of CSUEU. “We’re trying to help out our employees during the pandemic, which is clearly still going on.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 3:22 PM.
