July 20, 2021
(Note: this agreement was extended on 9/21/21 through 10/31/21)
For the period through September 30, 2021, we are commencing a new volunteer pilot project:
- Staff will work from LSNYC’s offices full or part-time on a voluntary basis, and will otherwise continue to be based at home during this period.
- DAs/Central Facilities Manager or designees will oversee office scheduling to ensure that occupancy limits are observed and to maintain adequate coverage, and will come up with a protocol that prioritizes health and safety for employees, including use of individual offices when practicable, client needs, and equity.
- To facilitate coverage of tasks that are essential during this period of partial office reopening[1], LSSA and management recognize that volunteers may be willing to cover some tasks that they do not normally perform when all staff members are working from the office. To the extent that any staff member volunteers for out-of-home work that is other than and/or beyond their usual job, it is understood those tasks do not become a part of that employee’s regular job, and there is no expectation they will continue performing those tasks beyond the duration of this pilot project.
- LSSA, primarily via the program Covid committees, will work with management to administer a volunteer solicitation system for these tasks. The LSSA and management program COVID committees shall confer at least every 2 weeks to monitor the efficacy of this pilot. Each such meeting shall include discussion of the status of Microecologies’ reinspections and implementation of health and safety measures in each of the program’s locations. The initial meeting will take place within two weeks of commencement of this pilot and will continue at least once every two weeks thereafter.
- Microecologies will be asked immediately to revisit each of LSNYC’s offices to review changes made, or underway, based on their recommendations. Microecologies will be asked to schedule these visits as soon as they are available. A union representative may join each visit.
- Effective immediately upon reaching agreement, occupancy limits for each office location shall be 40% of the number of staff who worked at each location prior to closure.
- Occupancy limits for each office location may be increased to 50% of the number of staff who worked at each location prior to closure after:
- Each office is reinspected by MicroEcologies and a union representative, and
- MicroEcologies confirms that necessary health and safety measures have been effectively implemented, and
- Each office develops an ongoing air-safety monitoring and maintenance plan
- 100% of occupancy will be defined as the number of employees who were based at a given location in March 2020 prior to Covid closures. See Appendix B [listing occupancy numbers by location]. Visitors, clients and all employees will be calculated as part of occupancy.
- Masks will continue to be required in the offices at all times, unless this requirement is modified by a borough Covid Committee after sign-off by MicroEcologies.
- Those volunteering as part of this pilot project are eligible for reimbursements as per the CBA, including but not limited to reimbursement for transportation to sites other than the office. In addition, after submission by the employee of documentation of actual paid expenses in the form of a letter, receipt, or other similar documentation, childcare and eldercare costs will be reimbursed at their actual cost of up to $15 an hour.
- This pilot may be terminated by either side after providing two weeks’ notice that includes the reasons for termination, during which time the borough Covid Committees will meet and confer and make good faith efforts to resolve any outstanding problems. If terminated, any volunteer responsibilities are terminated and the parties will return to the table to negotiate a new agreement.
- This proposal does not cover in-office and in-court appearances and appearances in other adjudicative forums.
[1] Essential tasks during this period include but are not limited to those attached in Appendix A.