As was communicated in the August 13, 2021 message from Provost Cornish, surveillance testing will be required once per week for all employees working on campus during the upcoming semester who are unvaccinated or have not submitted vaccine documentation to the Office of Human Resources. This testing must be completed at the Cayuga Health System (CHS) test site located at the Shops at Ithaca Mall. Ithaca College will cover the cost of this testing during the 2021-2022 academic year. Employees must use their available paid time away in accordance with College Policy or arrange for release time with their supervisors. If an employee has exhausted all of their accrued paid time away (PTA), they should be in contact with their HR Business Partner to discuss other available options to ensure they are paid for this time. COVID-19 time away should not be used for testing purposes unless authorized by an HR Business Partner.
Also included in that communication, it was stated that employees who have provided proof of vaccination and who are placed in quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19 will continue to be able either work remotely, if their duties allow, or, if not, to subsidize their time away using the COVID-19 time type up to the two-week requirement for quarantine. Employees who choose not to be vaccinated and who do not have a valid exemption based on medical reasons or sincerely held religious beliefs will be required to utilize their own PTA balances if they are unable to report to work due to quarantine. Employees who are placed in isolation, due to a positive COVID-19 test, should use COVID-19 time regardless of vaccination status.
Employees wishing to request an exemption due to medical reasons or sincerely held religious beliefs should contact their HR Business Partner.