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Employee Emergency Relief

From: Michele K. Sutton, President/CEO
Date: March 25, 2020
Re: Employee Emergency Relief Package

On behalf of our entire Administrative Team, I would like to personally thank you for the exemplary manner in which you all have and continue to lead in these unprecedented times. Your engagement and unquestioned support is to be commended.

We love our North Oaks extended family and recognize it is difficult to make decisions which affect the faces we see each day and with whom we have built a relationship. The Governor’s declaration to Stay at Home and cease to offer and perform non-critical medical and surgical services has resulted in significant volume decreases, thereby causing a revenue deficit that if not addressed, would present a threat to our future viability. The essential/nonessential and flexing to volume plans which you were asked to develop and subsequently implement will assist us in meeting our community’s needs long term.

Even before you all were working on your department specific plans, we had started working with our attorneys and subject matter experts to create a system-wide Emergency Relief plan to help mitigate the impact to our North Oaks team members.

The Employee Emergency Relief Plan applies only to the following:

Full time staff/ Advance Practice Providers and part-time staff / Advanced Practice Providers and individuals on military or intermittent leave. The Emergency Relief Plan does NOT apply to individuals who are actively on leave, PRN or people who have tendered their resignation.

Phase I*.

Payroll Check Dated April 2, 2020

  • Full-time benefit staff will receive 40 hours of additional PTO added to their banks.
  • Part-time benefit staff will receive additional PTO hours equal to the FTE percent times 40
    • (Example someone who works 20 hours/week or a .5 of an FTE will receive 20 hours of PTO)
  • Full-time non-benefit staff will receive 34 hours of supplemental pay at their base rate. Part-time non-benefit staff will also receive supplemental pay adjusted for their budgeted FTE times 85%.
  • All North Oaks medical, dental and spousal surcharge premiums will be waived for this pay period. (You will not be required to repay these.)
  • Note: PTO ceilings will be temporarily raised to accommodate the additions and we have waived the 90-day waiting period for immediate use.

Phase II.

April 9, 2020 (a non-payroll week)

  • A one-time special COVID-19 PTO buyback will be offered with the ability to sell up to 80 hours of PTO at 85% regardless of tenure. You will not have to keep a minimum in your PTO bank for this offer. PTO buyback forms will be due to Rachel Johnson in Compensation and Benefits by Monday, April 6 at 8:00 a.m. These forms may be emailed to Rachel – you do not need to drop them off at the HR building.

Phase III.*

Payroll Check Dated April 16, 2020

  • Full-time benefit staff will receive 40 hours of additional PTO added to their banks.
  • Part-time benefit staff will receive additional PTO hours equal to the FTE percent times 40
    • (Example someone who works 20 hours/week or a .5 of an FTE will receive 20 hours of PTO)
  • Full-time non-benefit staff will receive 34 hours of supplemental pay at their base rate. Part-time non-benefit staff will also receive supplemental pay adjusted for their budgeted FTE times 85%.
  • All North Oaks medical, dental and spousal surcharge premiums will be waived for this pay period. (You will not be required to repay these.)
  • Note: Note: PTO ceilings will be temporarily raised to accommodate the additions and we have waived the 90- day waiting period for immediate use.

We have listened to you and our staff and developed what we believe is a responsible yet compassionate plan that will assist the furloughed staff and reward the sacrifices of those working the front lines aiding our patients. We know many of the furloughed staff would have continued to work and would have made the sacrifices too, but their role will be just as important in the recovery and restart phases. Please call them first to share the good news of our three-phase plan to alleviate some of their worries.

We will be repurposing our remaining capital dollars to fund the three-phase relief package. The only capital dollars allocated between now and June 30 will be building projects in progress or critical lifesaving equipment. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support.

Emphasize with your staff how very much we appreciate them. We will get through this as we do everything else … together. We are only as strong as our weakest link. I am proud to be your CEO and watch you all in action.

*The PTO and benefit premium waivers offered by North Oaks may be subject to denial or recoupment should an employee obtain employment benefits of any kind under any federal or state laws passed in response to the COVID-19 health crisis to mandate employers to pay benefits specific to claims related to

COVID-19. Disaster unemployment benefits may be impacted by Phase I and Phase III, please make sure to notify the Workforce Commission accordingly.

EMPLOYEE EMERGENCY RELIEF PTO CASH-IN

The deadline to submit an Employee Emergency Relief PTO Cash-In Request Form to Human Resources is Monday, April 6th at 8:00 am.

  • PTO cash-in hours are paid at 85% of the base hourly rate.
  • Employees are allowed to sell up to 80 hours. No minimum balance requirement.
  • PTO cash-in hours will be a supplemental payment and applicable taxes will be withheld.

Eligible employees may complete the PTO Cash-In Request form and submit to Human Resources. The completed form can be emailed to Bonnie Perrin at perrinb@northoaks.org. Employees can use the drop boxes located in the Tower Lobby and in front of the Employment Center to return forms.

Please be sure your forms are submitted timely, as late forms will not be accepted. The PTO Cash-In payment will be issued on 04/09/2020. For more information call Human Resources at Ext 6532 Option 3.

Click here to download the Employee Emergency Relief PTO Cash-In Request Form.