Sierra Club Response to Covid-19

Operating Procedure/ Impacted Job Functions

Promotion of & Participation in SixNineteen Action

On 6/15 Sierra Club announced support for the Movement for Black Lives SixNineteen Action. Sierra Club Staff, Chapters and Volunteers may support this effort while applying pandemic safety practices. We offer these Safety Tips for you to consider, and to encourage others to follow, if/when you and yours go out to rallies & protests. Only you as an individual can decide your risk tolerance and personal comfort with participating in public events during a pandemic. If you are not comfortable, consider checking out ways to show your support from home.

Office Access: Restricted Office/Emergency Access Only: NOTE: This section applies to all Sierra Club offices, including Chapter offices, shared Chapter/National offices and National offices

Sierra Club offices should be considered closed--unless granted an exception--through August 31, 2020. Requests for a temporary exception may be sent to Operations@sierraclub.org.

Access will be evaluated and approved on only rare circumstances and for essential business continuity purposes only. We are limiting access to and traffic at the office to provide a safer environment for our colleagues that need to go to the office for business continuity reasons. And, to limit added opportunities for community-based transmission.

There are three areas that will be considered for business continuity reasons for requesting access to an office:

• Information Technology
• Facilities management
• Mail and check/payment processing

At the national level, staff will only be activated by relevant department heads to provide in-office emergency or business-essential services that are truly critical to our business continuity (ie: a server breakdown that can not be fixed remotely). All other in-office services will cease.

Chapter Offices: Chapter Directors in association with their ExComm can determine a designated volunteer or Chapter Director to access the office to process mail and/or deposits/payments. Chapter staff other than the director may not be asked to access the office unless they 1) would normally perform this job function and 2) are comfortable with doing so. No chapter (or national) staff members will be required to go to an office unless they are comfortable doing so, in their sole discretion. Retaliation related to an employee’s decision will not be tolerated. Questions regarding this must be directed to Operations@sierraclub.org.

(Non-emergency staff seeking to access the office should heed government orders and avoid doing so. If you feel an exception is warranted, please contact Operations@sierraclub.org. Sierra Club will not be responsible for any fines levied by local authorities.)

Expanded Work From Home & Restricted Office Access:

Restricted Access/Expanded Work From Home for All Sierra Club Offices: All staff and volunteers should work/volunteer from home through August 31, 2020.

• Staff and Volunteers should discontinue use of office space for all activities.

• Check out these tips for implementing these changes.

Existing Travel

Suspend all Staff and Volunteer travel through August 31, 2020. Contact World Travel to cancel or change your reservations accordingly (or follow additional guidance from FinOps). In rare circumstances, an exception may be granted and must be escalated by your manager to operations@sierraclub.org at least two weeks prior to commencing travel.

Future Travel

No new reservations for travel until further guidance is issued (prior to 8/31/20).

All In-Person Meetings and Events

Suspend all Staff and Volunteer in-person meetings and events through August 31, 2020. If Google Meet does not meet your needs, our IT team can provide Zoom support by submitting a Help Desk Ticket.

Future In-Person Meeting Planning

If you are in the planning phase for a meeting, postpone booking in-person meetings that require travel, and/or venue contracts until further guidance is issued (prior to 8/31/20).

New Events

Over the next 4-6 weeks we will be consulting with stakeholders on creating clear guidance for and pathways toward consideration of creative in-person event opportunities, like car-caravan protests, that take pandemic safety into account. In the meantime, please reach out to program.safety@sierraclub.org if you are thinking about creating or participating in such an event in an official Sierra Club capacity.

Tips for safer participation in non-SC events

We recognize that many of us feel called to show up in support of justice for Black folks regardless of and in relation to COVID-19. We offer these Safety Tips for you to consider if/when you and yours go out to rallies & protests. Only you as an individual can decide your risk tolerance and personal comfort with participating in public events. If you are not comfortable, consider checking out ways to show your support from home. The Movement for Black Lives has created actions ranked by risk level related to COVID-19.

Cell phone reimbursement

For staff utilizing their cell phones during this WFH period, we can temporarily provide additional cell phone reimbursement for such business use, up to $85 (so long as it's not equal to or more than the total monthly bill for the employee’s respective cellular services per IRS guidelines). National Staff should simply submit the expense in Concur along with the first page of their detailed bill (the page that includes the statement totals by phone line). If you use product codes use your respective code that starts with AA9. Please utilize the comments section in Concur to note any increase or new approval in light of the Sierra Club’s COVID-19 response. Chapter Staff may request reimbursement following their existing Chapter level protocols using the M9000 product code. If you are unclear about how this works, please contact your manager.

Home Utilities & Internet Subsidy

For staff who do not regularly work from home and are now required to under current COVID-19 guidance, you can submit up to six (6) monthly reimbursement requests to offset incremental costs as follows:

• $125/month -For individuals who had to procure internet services at home to comply with our guidance

• $50 - For individuals who have existing internet access at home but are incurring additional utility expenses to comply with our guidance

National Staff should submit the expense in Concur with the first page of applicable bills in order to receive this as a non-taxable reimbursement. If you use product codes use your respective code that starts with AA9. Chapter Staff may request reimbursement following their existing Chapter level protocols using the MM9000 product code. The six requests cover: 3/15-4/14, 4/15-5/14, 5/15-6/14, 6/15-7/14, 7/15-8/14 and 8/15-9/14, 2020.

Emergency Salary Advance

The COVID19 response Emergency Salary Advance allows staff to request a salary advance in the event of a personal emergency. Staff may request up to $2,500 for the advance. You may submit the request by email to your Human Resources Partner or to the Human Resources Director, who will forward it to Payroll for processing after confirming. The advance amount will be deducted equally over the next four paychecks. All advances will be processed via direct deposit (or via your current payroll check processing set-up) and repayments will be processed as payroll deductions. No more than two emergency salary advances will be approved within a 12-month period.

Supplies (IT and ergo equipment) Purchases

We understand that increased work from home (WFH) may pose an inconvenience as we continue to support the health and welfare of our staff, volunteers and our communities in which we live and work. While we strive to be prudent with our resources during this crisis and recognizing that this situation is expected to last longer than originally anticipated, we do want to offer support for staff that are unable to conduct work from home without additional office equipment-- such as a surface for work computers, chairs with a backrest, laptop stands, etc. For staff in those situations, requests for essential equipment may be made as follows for both National and Chapter Staff:

For IT Equipment: Computer equipment (monitors, mice, keyboards, headsets, etc.) requests should be made by opening an IT Help ticket to ensure equipment compatible with your laptop can be purchased.

Non IT Equipment: Equipment (desks, risers, chairs, etc.) requests should be sent to operations@sierraclub.org including a link to the equipment you wish to purchase and your manager’s pre-approval. Operations will provide guidance on next steps to purchase and report expenses depending on the purchase.

Medical and/or Accommodation Requests: If there is a documented medical/accommodation need, staff should contact their Human Resources Partner first. operations@sierraclub.org.

If there is a documented medical/accommodation need, staff should contact their Human Resources Partner

Supplies (IT and ergo equipment) Existing

IT approved that it was acceptable for staff to bring assigned monitors, keyboards, mice and related ergonomic products (e.g., monitor stands, wrist pads, etc.) home and later return to the office. PLEASE NOTE: Some equipment may not connect directly to your laptop. However, we currently want to avoid staff returning to offices to pick up equipment. All staff are encouraged to open an IT Help Ticket for consultation and support before purchasing any equipment.

Outings

National Outings: All domestic and international trips that begin between now and August 31, 2020 have been cancelled. We’re continuing to monitor trips beginning between Sept 1 and the end of the year. Decisions about these trips will depend upon local quarantine, social distancing policies, and the discretion of the Executive Team & Board of Directors. The status of trips will be determined approximately six to eight weeks before their departure date. Some additional international trips have also been affected; decisions about international trips will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Inspiring Connections Outdoors, Local Outings, Military Outdoors: All Outings and events are cancelled through August 31. We are developing guidance for restarting these outings when that day arrives. We will continue to set guidance for these activities based on feedback from volunteers, staff and what the organization recommends.

Lodges & Huts and YCHC

All lodges and huts, as well as the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center, are closed to the public until further notice.

Operational Services

Our IT, Finance & Operations and Human Resources staff are stretching considerably to put these plans into place. As we learn from our implementation, some regular services may be delayed or available on a limited basis. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Mail Processing

Field based Chapter, Shared or National Offices: For mail processing resources please refer to this memo.

Oakland & WDC: Mail will be processed weekly by Facilities staff. Personal mail and packages will not be processed and should not be directed to offices until further notice. If you have business continuity or otherwise urgent mail needs, please open a Facilities help desk ticket for assistance.

Check Processing (Deposits and Payments)

Chapters: Chapter Directors should work with their respective ExComm to determine a responsible check processing plan that includes means of depositing incoming checks as well as processing employee/volunteer reimbursements and vendor payments in a timely manner. We recommend in-person services be avoided when possible and that physical distancing, mask wearing and frequent hand-washing/sanitizing be part of your plans. National staff should work with their respective operations contact regarding inbound or outbound payment needs.

Illness related Short Term Disability

You may qualify for a leave of absence or short-term disability depending on the nature and duration of your illness. Please contact your Human Resources Partner to learn more about what options may be available to you.

Illness of loved one related Family Leave

You may qualify for a leave of absence or other state family leave benefits depending on the nature and duration of your loved one’s illness.  Please contact your Human Resources Partner to learn more about what options may be available to you.

Staff Time & Attendance-- Additional Paid Time Off

In recognition of the ongoing COVID crisis, we are extending the timeframe on the previously granted 10 days (75 hours) of COVID FlexTime through August 31, 2020. That means, any staff that need time off to use for COVID related issues-- for illness, caring for sick loved ones, or dealing with school/daycare/facility closures-- can use up to 75 hours of COVID FlexTime between March 16 and August 31, 2020.

For those staff that are most severely impacted by COVID-related issues - whether for illness, caring for sick loved ones, or dealing with school/daycare/facility closures - we are offering the following options for you to consider:

1. Continue to use accrued sick time from your individual bank, which remains broadened to apply to any COVID-related impacts. (Vacation and alternate holiday time remains an option as well.)

2. If continued usage of sick time would take your balance below 15 days (112.5 hours), you may make a request for an additional 5 days (37.5 hours) of COVID FlexTime to be used by August 31st. If you need to request these additional days, please discuss with your manager and HR partner. Managers are expected to be responsive to and accommodate these needs, and if there are questions that should be discussed with your HR partner.

We are aware that in select cases the above measures may not meet the needs of those facing hardships over the longer term. Human Resources are holding conversations with union leadership and other stakeholders on creating options for donated sick time that could be applicable to COVID-related time off needs. We hope to advance those conversations and come to an agreement over the next few weeks.

This guidance applies to all National and Chapter staff. For Chapter staff, the cost for COVID FlexTime will continue to be covered by the national budget. Please use code “MM9000 COVID Flex Time” when reporting this time in Workday. You do not need to enter a detailed comment-- “N/A” will suffice.

Parent & Caregiver Resources

Many parents/caregivers have been asking about different types of resources to help navigate the moment we're in as it relates to:

• addressing the needs and concerns of kids and young people during this time about the virus itself

• support for parents/caregivers working from home while supporting their children's learning while schools are closed

Climate Parents is working with Campfire staff to add this content to the COVID 19 resource hub. Please send additional resources you find to lisa.hoyos@sierraclub.org.Thanks to Hop Hopkins for his initial infusion of helpful content. We’ll be adding more organized and robust coronavirus-related content over the next several days.