As Interim President Lim announced yesterday, UTA will begin pivoting back to primarily in-person operations by no later than Sept. 20. To prepare for increased population density on campus, departments and units are expected to restore onsite work, including the return of employees.

In alignment with the University’s commitment to offering in-person courses, services and activities to students, many employees, as part of their essential functions, will need to work on campus in some capacity to support this effort. The decision for an employee to work remotely and/or on campus will be determined by the manager after considering the job task and departmental needs under the expectation that in-person business and operational services are not negatively affected.

The following information is available to help employees and managers safely resume on-campus operations and identify areas in which accommodations are acceptable or needed.

Resuming on-campus operations and remote work options

Managers are encouraged to offer flexibility while maintaining operational needs as it relates to an employee’s work arrangement. Depending on the nature of their work, some employees will need to work fully onsite while others may be able to continue in a remote or hybrid capacity under the Staff Remote Work Policy and Faculty Remote Work Policy.

For those employees who can work fully remote or in a hybrid format, a Remote Work Agreement for Staff or Remote Work Agreement for Faculty must be completed, signed and sent to the Office of Human Resources at askhr@uta.edu. Human Resources has developed the Manager Toolkit to assist managers in assessing remote work options.

Random required COVID‑19 testing

Until further notice, 20% of our campus population, regardless of vaccination status, will be selected each week for testing. Notifications will come from covidtesting@uta.edu, and employees will have one week to get tested after being selected.

To support compliance, supervisor reports of employee selection and compliance are now available through MARS. Supervisors should follow up with any employee who has been selected for testing but does not show completion of the requirement before their testing window expires.

To maintain employee privacy, the supervisor reports in MARS will show only whether or not an employee has met the testing requirement, not the results of a COVID‑19 test.

The supervisor dashboard in MARS can be accessed by visiting myapps.uta.edu, selecting the MARS icon, then selecting the Wellness Supervisor Dashboard after logging in. If you have any questions about accessing the report, contact Knowledge Services at 817‑272‑2155, knowledgeservices@uta.edu, chat or open a Service Now Ticket.

What to do if an employee tests positive

Employees who test positive must submit the Personal Diagnosis Form and self-isolate at an off-campus location for at least 10 days, during which time UTA Health Services will monitor the employee. Before any employee returns to campus, they must submit a note to Human Resources Leave Management from a medical professional clearing them to return to work.

If an employee’s position is suitable for remote work, managers may permit the employee to work remotely for the duration of their self-isolation period. Otherwise, employees must use any accrued compensatory time, sick leave and vacation—in that order—to receive paid leave.

ADA accommodations

Employees with immunocompromised disabilities may be eligible for accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These accommodations are different and separate from Remote Work Agreements.

The ADA accommodation process is outlined in the Requesting Disability Related Workplace Accommodations Procedure with more information and resources available on the UTA Human Resources website.

Examples of qualifying immunocompromised individuals include:

Employees who fall into one or more of these categories should contact Adrianna Wade, UTA’s ADA coordinator, at adrianne.wade@uta.edu to request an accommodation.

Fostering a safe return to campus

As we move toward pre-pandemic ways of working and learning, it is important our employees continue to feel safe on our campus. The best way to do this is to take seriously the health and safety precautions and guidance implemented at the federal, state, local and University levels. Specifically, we encourage everyone to do their part by:

Thank you in advance for your continued hard work and diligence to help keep us all safe while restoring on-campus work to support UTA’s mission.