Status as of July 6, 2023

• You can find the Palomar College COVID-19 Recovery Plan here. It is a comprehensive plan that includes the District’s COVID-19 Prevention Plan.

Effective May 31, 2022 all mandatory mask and vaccine requirements have been lifted for onsite work or classes.  Palomar Community College District continues to strongly recommend that students and employees be fully vaccinated. Employees can submit their vaccination card by email to the Benefits Office at benefits@palomar.edu. Students can submit their vaccination card in their Palomar College student portal.

Currently the District is not requiring  the submission of a booster. However, both BP/AP 5210 – Students and BP/AP 7330 – Employees give the District the ability to include boosters in its Vaccination and Immunization Plans.

Emotional Support Resources

Disrupting Negative Thoughts

Learning To Relax

Forgiveness...The Art of Letting Go

Stick With It

• Employees should stay home if sick. Notify your supervisor if you will miss work.
• If a person develops symptoms of COVID-19 including fever, cough or shortness of breath, and has reason to believe they may have been exposed, they should call their health care provider or local health department before seeking care. Contact in advance will ensure you can get care without putting others at risk.
• Employees who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and refer to CDC guidance or medical provider to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure.
• If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19, please complete the COVID-19 Questionnaire immediately.  Employee confidentiality will be maintained while allowing the College to take appropriate action.
• Report absences on your time sheet or absence report.

Employers are generally limited in their ability to make health-related inquiries or require medical examination of employees, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) (42 U.S.C., § 12100 et seq.) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) (Government Code, § 12900 et seq.)

Managers and supervisors should recommend to all employees who are sick to remain off-duty (i.e., on sick leave) until symptoms resolve, and that they seek medical assistance, as appropriate. Anyone sick and believed to be at risk for COVID-19 infection should be advised to seek medical assistance and follow the CDC recommendations. Managers and supervisors should seek assistance from Human Resources before taking any action to ensure that all appropriate options have been considered.  The CDC reports that COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Employees or Supervisors should report a possible COVID-19 Case via the questionnaire

• Classified/Administrators/CAST/Full-Time Faculty/Part-Time Faculty:
  • Employees have access to their accrued sick leave for their own illness and if needed the extended illness leave which is 100 days of 1/2 pay leave that runs concurrently with sick leave (example if you have 20 days of sick leave you will have 80 remaining days of 1/2 pay leave). Each employee handbook or collective bargaining agreement gives more detail regarding sick leave accrual. If an illness or injury exceeds the 100 days the employee would work with Human Resources to evaluate the ability to return to work or apply for long-term disability insurance.
  • If a family member is sick, an employee can access the Personal Necessity leave which is 1/2 of your annual accrual (Full-Time employees get 12 days of sick leave per year, thus personal necessity would be 6 days of sick leave). Additional leave may be applicable please contact benefits@palomar.edu or call 760-744-1150 ext. 2609.
• Short-Term and Student Employees:
  Each year student and short-term employees receive three days of sick leave in accordance with the California “Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (Labor Code 245-249) for full information on accrual and use  please refer to this link: Sick Leave for Student and Short-Term Employees.

As a public education employer we do not participate in California State Disability Insurance. Instead employees have applicable sick leave. See the FAQ below for the information on sick leave.

Should you have additional employment contact EDD to determine your eligibility.

• If your hours are reduced due to a campus shut down  and you experience a loss of wages, you can file an Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim. UI provides partial wage replacement benefit payments to workers who lose their job or have their hours reduced, through no fault of their own. You should apply directly with the EDD, once they receive your application they work directly with Palomar College to obtain your work and salary history directly from Human Resources and Payroll.
• Federal Work Study (FWS) Employees:  Federal Work-study Students can be paid due to the Federal Work Study guidelines, please refer to the following webpage: https://www.palomar.edu/fa/federal-work-study/