College of Charleston employees who do not teach are struggling to adapt after an executive order required all state employees to return to work in person.
Governor Henry McMaster’s March 5 order instructed all state agencies to “immediately accelerate the transition back to normal operations,” prompting publicly funded institutions, such as the college, to send their employees back to the office.
At College of Charleston, the order is causing stress among employees, such as administrators, admissions staff, counselors and financial aid workers, who are struggling to find short-term childcare options.
According to the college’s return to work plan, which was submitted to the SC Department of Administration, employees will return in phases, with employees in need of daycare returning on April 5 and employees with disabilities or medical problems returning on April 26. April.
The college has chosen not to interrupt current class schedules or teaching models, so teachers will continue to give a mix of classroom and remote classes, as they have been doing since the beginning of the school year.
Since the widespread availability of vaccines has been able to alleviate some of the concerns about the virus, the biggest stressor has to do with the care of children.
Although she has worked in person since the summer, Anastasia Gilpatrick, an official at the College of Charleston and chairman of the advisory committee, said the order made her and other employees struggle to find solutions to care for their children.
“I have children who are in daycare centers; it means that I need to get off work a little earlier and now I’m not sure how I’m going to make this work, ”said Gilpatrick. “Many people are struggling in a very short time to find a full day care option.”
Gilpatrick said many daycare centers and after-school programs are overbooked, leaving employees with few options.
For those with school-age children, returning to face-to-face work would mean transferring some students from the virtual school to the face-to-face at the end of the school year. Some employees, especially women, may have to reduce their working hours to adapt to the change, she said.
“If we truly honor academic excellence, we should not cause further disruption to the education of our broader community, which includes our preschoolers and elementary school children,” she said.
Although faculty members are not interrupted by the transition to personal work, teachers share general disagreement with the order. The AAUP SC Conference sent a letter to the Governor’s Office requesting that colleges and universities be given autonomy in their return to work plans.
“We look forward to a near future in which South Carolina colleges and universities can return to normal activities, face to face, but a premature and unique policy undermines that perspective,” said the executive council of the conference I wrote.
“The health and safety of students, teachers and staff should be the primary consideration in making decisions about when to reopen a campus, as well as making decisions about all aspects of campus operation during the pandemic,” the note said.
The teachers’ association is not the only group to speak out against the order. The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina wrote a letter demanding that McMaster terminate the order as long as the pandemic continued or postponed until June 15. McMaster’s spokesman told a Post and Courier reporter that the governor has no intention of meeting these requirements.
The college leadership recognized the difficulties that the order imposes on its employees. The college’s president, Andrew Hsu, said the government had requested an extra week for people who needed to find day care centers in its original plan, which the state denied.
“Our original goal, of course, was to give employees a little more time to find out where to send their children. Or if they have health problems, give them time to get vaccinated, ”said Hsu. “All state agencies are in the same place where everyone has to comply.”
The college plan is in line with plans approved for other colleges in the region. According to plans submitted to DOA, Clemson University and Trident Technical College are demanding that employees who are caregivers return on April 5. Citadel required employees, except an individual with medical accommodation, to return on March 8.
To help support staff members who are struggling with day care centers, the College of Charleston leadership contacted school district superintendents, provided resources to find day care centers, and sought to expand the early childhood education center to provide on-campus day care for children. Hsu officials said.
Any team member who has a health problem will need to provide a medical certificate to be able to work from home, Hsu said. These officials are due to return on April 26, unless the medical certificate indicates otherwise.
However, employees with a family member considered to be at high risk for serious illnesses due to the virus will not have the same luxury.
According to DOA information provided to the college regarding the application, these employees are expected to return to work. The DOA cited the American with Disabilities Act, which does not apply when a person has a disabled family or household member.
Gilpatrick said team members are advocating that these employees be able to use a special request process to work remotely part-time or for a limited time.
“They need more time to get vaccines or work with their departments to address concerns or possible changes to their work practices or workplace to make it safe for them,” she said.
Many team members were not vaccinated because they were not eligible until recently, added Gilpatrick.
The authorities have not expressly said what will happen if employees do not return to work in person on the scheduled date. Paul Patrick, the college’s chief of staff, said that each situation will be dealt with individually.
“Just as we do with any performance, efficiency or absence problem, this is dealt with on a case-by-case basis,” said Patrick. “We will work with the employee’s supervisor and HR to find out what we need to do to correct the situation.”
Gilpatrick said she and other officials understand that the college’s leadership is unable to deviate from the state order. However, she would like to see the government advocating more flexibility.
“At the very least, college employees should not be forced to come back in person full-time if they have virtual students at home who need to finish the school year,” she said. “In addition, the college must allow supervisors to have the same flexibility as they did before the pandemic to allow their employees to work. The offices will suffer because people will be forced to have reduced hours or unusual hours.”
