20 December 2021

Dear OSU Community Members,

After the White House’s announcement of Executive Order (EO) 14042 requiring employees of large federal contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19, we communicated that requirement will apply to all OSU employees, regardless of where duties are performed.

Oregon State remains committed to its vaccination program requirements despite uncertainty regarding the legal status of the executive order following an injunction approved by two levels of federal courts. It is anticipated that further court review will occur in January.

In light of current public health conditions, OSU will maintain the requirements and enforcement of dates of compliance with our program, as previously communicated. While OSU will continue to monitor the legal developments around the federal executive order, based on our policy, all OSU employees continue to be required to provide proof of vaccination by Jan. 4, 2022.  Employees who are not fully vaccinated nor approved under an exception process must continue testing weekly.

OSU’s updated COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement applies to all university employees, full-time or part-time, including but not limited to academic faculty, professional faculty, academic wage appointments, classified staff, graduate assistants and student employees, though exceptions are allowed based on medical or disability reasons or sincerely held religious beliefs. Formal compliance measures based on individuals’ status with the updated OSU COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement, per the university’s Oct. 27, 2021 message, will take effect on Jan. 4, 2022.

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we are choosing to broaden the allowable use of COVID-19 leave to cover employees who are getting a booster shot and/or recovering from symptoms related to getting the booster.

As a reminder, the university offered an additional block of 80 hours of COVID-19 Leave for use from Sept. 16, 2021 through June 30, 2022. Please note that we have included the booster as an additional reason to the existing definitions of allowable use:

·       Time off for the employee to quarantine or isolate as outlined in the OSU Quarantine and Isolation guidelines.

·       Time off to care for a family member who is required to quarantine or isolate.

·       Time off to get a booster shot and/or recover from symptoms related to getting the booster.

For questions about how to apply COVID-19 leave time used during the window of Sept. 16, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2021, please reach out to AskHR and they will take action on retroactive updates by the end of January 2022. Reporting use of COVID-19 leave remains the same for leave taken from Jan. 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022, by choosing COVID-19 leave in EmpCenter.   

If you have questions, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions within OSU’s COVID-19 Safety and Success website or contact [email protected].

Thank you,

Dan Larson
Vice Provost for Student Affairs
OSU Coronavirus Response Coordinator

Date: 
December 20, 2021