As we all adjust to the new telecommuting business model at Mt. SAC, your Chapter 262 leadership hopes you and your families remain safe, continue to practice social distancing, and following all the guidelines to protect yourselves and your families during this crisis. We also extend the same hope to all our nearly 250,000 CSEA brothers and sisters statewide and particularly our CSEA retirees.
Your Chapter 262 leadership team wants you all to know that while the campus is closed, our work representing you continues. We are currently using e-mail and Zoom to continue discussions with the District, including developing a plan to continue successor agreement negotiations. Very few in the Mt. SAC community are experienced with holding video conferences or telecommuting, so we are all learning to adjust and figure out how to conduct business remotely. It is a learning process. Fortunately, Mt. SAC’s reason for being is education and life-long learning, and now we are the learners.
It is easy to lose track of some things while we are so focused on dealing with the coronavirus, so your Chapter 262 leadership team wanted to remind you and inform you of a few important issues. Think of these as a CSEA 262 Public Service Announcement.
Tax Break — Because of the coronavirus disruption, both the Internal Revenue Service and the California Franchise Tax Board have extended the deadline to submit your tax returns to July 15, 2020. There are many kinds of state income tax, and you can find the information and deadlines to file at the FTB web site by following this link. For the IRS information, click here.
COVID-19 Relief Act — Many of you have heard about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) passed by the federal government, and you have asked what it means. One of the provisions of the FFCRA is paid leave under certain conditions. However, as nice as this bill is, it does not apply to us. If you want to read more information about this bill, you can read more here.
Protect Yourself — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created a web site with information about how the virus spreads, the symptoms, and how to protect yourself. There is even an instructional video about washing your hands. Yes, washing hands and surfaces around the home is extremely important. You can read all about this and more at the CDC web page by following this link here.
California’s COVID-19 Response — California is responding to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). California is actively working with the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local governments, health facilities, and health care providers across the state to prepare and protect Californians from COVID-19. If you would like all the latest statistics, prevention tips, information about what to do, and many other COVID-19 related resources, visit the California Department of Public Health web site by following this link.
Campus Closed — Mt. San Antonio College is currently closed to the public. There are some employees who have been called to work on campus because they are needed to perform an essential duty. Remember that you are not to come to campus unless specifically instructed to do so by your manager. If you need to come to pick up something from your office, then notify your manager and get approval. Do not come on your own. If your manager approves, then come to campus, but please remember to notify Campus Safety at 909.274.4555 that you will be on campus and give the time and location of where you will be. When you are done, leave immediately and go back home.
Vacations — If you are currently on vacation or have a vacation scheduled, you can cancel your vacation and make yourself available to work. Canceling is voluntary, and you can still use your scheduled vacation time to be a staycation (because you should stay at home, not travel!), in which case you are not expected to be available to work during that time. Because of the emergency, however, some essential duty workers could have vacations revoked and asked to report to work. So far, this has not happened, but some members were asking the question.