Since moving to remote operations on March 16, DePaul's leadership has strived to make decisions to support staff employees and student workers during this time of disruption in normal work schedules. One major decision in this regard was to pay the difference between hours worked and individuals' regularly scheduled hours through June 30, despite the reduction in work hours for many. The university can no longer supplement the pay of individuals who cannot work their full schedules due to remote operations. Effective July 1, the university will only pay for actual hours worked.
“With the sudden emergence of this pandemic, our goal was to alleviate the immediate impact to the DePaul workforce. Longer term, it is clear that we will need to balance and manage the multiple impacts of the pandemic across the university and make adjustments accordingly," says Stephanie Smith, vice president for Human Resources.
As the end of the fiscal year approaches, the university has had to re-evaluate the situation and determine how best to proceed. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over; nor is there a sense for when it might be over. Given this reality and the myriad economic impacts that this pandemic is certain to have on university operations and future budget projections, DePaul has modeled scenarios to ensure the university remains viable not only through the next academic year, but for years to come.
Staff employees whose pay will be affected will be contacted directly by their manager. Managers will review the available work with their employees and determine the revised weekly work schedule for any employee with reduced hours. For affected staff, the university is exploring ways to offer additional work opportunities by establishing a “Talent Share" program. The program will be managed by the Talent Acquisition team in the Office of Human Resources and will connect employees who have available time and related skills with departments that need temporary support. More information about the program will be available within the next month.
DePaul has also announced the extension of work from home through at least July 17.
Student workers whose work cannot be handled remotely are encouraged to pursue other employment opportunities on DePaul's Campus Job Board. Information about expected start dates and remote capabilities are noted in each job description. Student workers and their managers can find updates and answers to questions about remote operations on the Student Employment Website.