This has certainly been an unusual year, but none-the-less, Monday is Labor Day already.  Created and maintained as a national holiday for over 120 years., Labor Day is exactly what it sounds like: it is a day set aside to honor and commemorate all that labor unions have contributed to the work environment.  All of the gains achieved through the labor movement have had a tremendous, positive, and noteable impact on the wages, hours, and working conditions of this country.   Enjoy your holiday, celebrate safely.  9/4/2020

We are not sure how each agency or our members will be impacted by this change, we just wanted to make everyone aware that this change has taken place.

Today marks the "go-live" day for the changes to Human Resources.  It was announced by Gov Lamont in July of 2019 and goes into effect today.   The Centralization plan separates Labor Relations issues from all other HR functions; Labor Relations issues will now be handled through the Office of Labor Relations (OLR) within OPM while all other HR roles will be handled under DAS (items like FMLA, retirement, job classes, job postings, exams, benefits, salaries, etc). 

There will still be "on-site" staffing at many agencies, just fewer.  Most HR staff will now conduct the business from a centralized location (Human Resources will be centralized at 450 Columbus with DAS, while OLR operates out of 450 Capital Ave).  For HR issues (non-Labor Relations issues), each agency has been designated a "pod" (they haven't come up with better names yet, so there is Pod1, Pod2, Pod3, etc).  As this is new, we are not clear when individuals should contact their on-site HR staff or reach out to their "POD".   There is a matrix that identifies which POD each agency is connected with.  view the pod matrix.  

-8/28/2020

3 Items of Popular Interest: How to handle Back-to-School, the power outage from Storm Isaias last week, and the guidelines for out of state travel:

Power Outages From Storm Isaias (August 7):
A new Override Reason Code (ORC) has been created for use when an employee who has been teleworking during the COVID period is unable to do so, because of power/connectivity issues at the telework site.  The employee is responsible for contacting the supervisor to determine if the standard workplace can accommodate the employee’s coming to work while the power/connectivity issues persist, in light of current COVID guidelines for facilities.  For any day that the workplace cannot accommodate the employee’s reporting to the regular state worksite, the employee will be allowed paid leave in accordance with CGS 5-248(a).  The new Override Reason Code is PCC19 and is effective dated July 31, 2020.  The new ORC should be used in conjunction the Time Reporting Code (TRC) LOPD.

Back-to-Schools (August 10):
As the 2020-2021 school year approaches, employees are being informed that school districts in which their children are enrolled are offering multiple options, including returning to full-time in-school, remote learning, or a hybrid of in-school and remote learning methods; many are allowing families to select the method of learning they prefer.  As employees seek to address specific family situations, they may come forward to request a variety of scheduling options, including extended telework. How do we handle these various circumstances?  

Consideration of telework or schedule modifications that coincide with the academic needs of the child are made at the agency level on a case-by-case basis.  Decisions should be based on the organizational needs of the agency/agency operations, the agency’s approved re-opening plan, and the ability of the employee to remain
productive, including the employee’s level designation.   Employees should be encouraged to make such special requests as soon as possible, so that management may respond timely.

Out of State Travel (August 12)
An employee has returned to Connecticut after spending more than 24 hours in a state that is on the list of affected states. While the employee is quarantining, that state is removed from the list. Must the employee complete the required quarantine period, or can they return to work as of the date that state is removed from the list?
 
The employee must complete the quarantine period. If the employee is able to work remotely, the employee should work remotely; if not, the employee must code the absence in accordance with this guidance.

On June 24, 2020 Governor Lamont announced a travel advisory that individuals traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID-19 self-quarantine for 14 days from the time of last contact with the identified state. Many employees will continue to telework, so for those employees, resuming work after travel to an identified state does not involve return to the workplace. However, for those employees who must return to the workplace following travel to an identified state, the agency and the employee must recognize that additional time away from work will be necessary due to this reason. If paid leave under 5-248(a) has not been exhausted, then the employee may utilize that entitlement. Otherwise, leave accruals will need to be used or the employee risks being placed on an unpaid leave of absence. See Guidance under Level B.

The CDC recommends all nonessential international travel should be avoided.  Employees who travel outside of the U.S. must self-monitor at home for 14 days following their return. Many employees will continue to telework, so for those employees, resuming work after travel does not involve return to the workplace. However, for those employees who must return to the workplace, the agency and the employee must recognize that additional time away from work will be necessary due to this reason. If paid leave under 5-248(a) has not been exhausted,
then the employee may utilize that entitlement. Otherwise, leave accruals will need to be used or the employee risks being placed on an unpaid leave of absence. See Guidance under Level B.

If you are a teleworker today and you are unable to work from home b/c you don't have power at home, please contact your supervisor before simply going into the office.  Most agencies do NOT want hordes of people descending upon the building on a single day.  If your supervisor gives you the green light to come into the office, then feel free to do so.  If you contact your supervisor then you should be considered "on-the-clock" until you get a determination.   Also, (although untested), we believe travel time to the agency would count as time worked.  If you wish to use a PL/Vac time, you

The Pandemic Picnic is sold out for 9/4 and 9/11

The unfortunate news is that all Social Committee events have been canceled through November 2020...this means no Maneeley's picnic, no Red Sox or Yankees games, no Christmas Spectacular, no Foxwoods, no events at all through November 2020...we are still leaving the door open for our annual Holiday Party at the Aqua Turf; we have not yet canceled this event.

So We Got Creative:

Since we couldn't hold our Lake Compounce trip nor our Maneeley's picnic, we put our heads together and worked out a way to hold a summer picnic anyway...so here is our plan:  we will be hosting a "picnic" of sorts in the parking lot of the A&R Office.  It is not the traditional gathering, but rather a "stay-in your car, drive through" picnic.  We will still have food, games, gifts, and prizes for all who attend.  This event is only open to active A&R members. 

This will be different than any picnic we have had before, but we think we can pull this off safely and still have some fun. The good part, everyone still has their LPRTY time available (the half-day for a summer picnic in our contract page 90), so here is your chance to use that time.  The event/s will be held on two consecutive Fridays: Sept 4 and Sept 11 (you choose 1 day) and we are limited to 150 people on each date.  The cost is $10 per person and we have 2 ways to register:

1) Pay by Check:  Fill out this form and mail the form and check as indicated
2) Pay by Credit Card: Register online and we will contact you for your credit card info (you MUST leave your phone number so our office staff can call you and take your credit card info over the phone)...don't call us, we will contact you for the c.c. info.

THERE ARE NO WALK-IN REGISTRATIONS...sorry, but, well, COVID.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY AUGUST 28th

Over the past several months several job Classifications in the "managerial" (MP) pay plans have gone through the lengthy process of joining our union.  If you are in one of these titles, you know the effort and time it took to accomplish that task.  Endless hearings at the State Board of Labor Relations, a determination that your job titles were eligible to be in A&R, then unionization votes - in each case unanimously in favor of joining A&R.

As many of you know, the next step in the process is Impact Bargaining with the state.  At the bargaining table the state and the union have reached