1/4/2021 According to the Postal Service, they continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 across the United States and the following information is provided to assist managers and supervisors to communicate with employees.

Key Facts to Emphasize:

If you have employees exhibiting a cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, or at least two of the following symptoms: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell—provide them with a surgical mask and require them to go home and seek medical attention. Then, inform the District Occupational Health Nurse Administrator (OHNA) immediately (OHNA Contact Information).

1) The best preventive strategies against COVID-19 to communicate to your staff are:

•Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
•Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
•Wear some type of face covering (e.g. cloth or surgical mask) in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, or as otherwise required by postal policy.
•Avoid being exposed through close contact (i.e., within six feet) with other people to the extent feasible.•Stay home when you are sick.

General Guidelines:
•Immediately report any communication you receive from the Public Health Office or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concerning an employee’s health to your District Human Resources (HR) Manager and District OHNA. Your District HR Manager and District OHNA will provide you with instructions for future action.
•If an employee in your facility has contracted COVID-19, has been directly exposed to someone with COVID-19, or has returned from international or cruise travel within the past 14 days, contact your District HR Manager or District OHNA for instructions.
•Familiarize yourself with revised operations and HR policies concerning COVID-19 Resources can be found here
•Ensure approved hand sanitizer (containing at least 60% alcohol) is available at work.
•Ensure CDC posters concerning COVID-19 are posted in appropriate locations.
•Deliver stand-up talks regarding COVID-19 in a timely manner—while adhering to social distancing requirements and ensuring that any deaf or hard-of-hearing employees are appropriately accommodated.
•Provide the contact information of your District OHNA (OHNA Contact Information) and District HR Manager to all employees under your supervision.
•If not already required by postal policy, strongly encourage employees to wear some type of face covering, including cloth face coverings and surgical masks. Provide surgical masks to any employee who requests one, which can be ordered through eBuy Plus.
•Ensure Postal facility is cleaned daily as per the MMO-031-20, Influenza and Coronavirus Cleaning Contingency.

Employee Leave:
•Allow liberal sick leave usage for employees who are sick.
•Certain categories of non-career employees will be provided up to 80 hours of paid leave (coded as TACS 086,Other Paid Leave) in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information concerning these MOUs, visit here.
•The circumstances in which employees may use Sick Leave for Dependent Care have been expanded to include instances in which employees must care for a child as a result of daycare closures, school closures, or the unavailability of a child’s primary caregiver as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Return to Work:
•Contact your District OHNA if an employee who tested positive or has been quarantined as a close contact is ready to return to work.

DO NOT:

•Require medical documentation for employees to return to work from a confirmed COVID-19 related absence.

•Discuss any employee’s particular medical conditions, except to advise that an employee has been “cleared” to return to work.

•Request fitness-for-duty evaluations for employees to return to work.

•Share specific health information about any employee, including an employee who is suspected or who has been confirmed to have COVID-19.

•Make “medical decisions.”

source: NPMHU