The following email was sent to ADAPT Community Network Chapter members on May 22 by Ilene Weinerman, chapter liaison.

Since the last email update you received in April, the UFT has been in regular communication with ADAPT management about the issues our members say are important to navigating these challenging times. Below is some information the union can share with you as a result of these discussions and our experience assisting members with COVID-19 related issues over the past few months.

New York State COVID-19 paid sick leave

Under legislation signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, you are entitled to at least 14 days of paid sick leave (separate from your accrued sick leave) if under a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine due to COVID-19. Some of the qualifying circumstances for an order of quarantine include:

• Your own positive test result
• Symptomatic after contact with a known COVID-19 case
• Close contact with someone who tested positive or is in mandatory isolation
• Returned within the last 14 days from a country with a COVID-19 travel advisory

Read more about New York State COVID-19 paid sick leave »

If you were absent from work due to one of the qualifying criteria above but had sick time deducted from your bank, please contact our chapter office for guidance at 718-722-6958.

Paid time off

• For all employees: ADAPT has agreed to extend the annual June 30 deadline to use accrued holiday, personal and excess vacation time. The new deadline is June 30, 2021.
• For school employees: If you worked on Friday, April 10 (Good Friday), you should have accrued seven hours of floating holiday time. Please check Ultipro to confirm these hours are reflected in your accrued time record.

Problems accessing Ultipro

At this difficult time, it is especially important that you maintain access to Ultipro to ensure that your pay and accrued time record is correct. Although ADAPT’s main office remains closed at this time, you can resolve problems with accessing your Ultipro account by contacting the 80 Maiden Lane office using the information below:

• By phone: 212-683-6700, ext. 1255
• By email: HR@adaptcommunitynetwork.org

School calendar

The UFT has begun discussions with management concerning possible adjustments to the school calendar, with focus on the spring recess days that were replaced by remote teaching, determining start/end dates for the upcoming summer school session and whether there should be an adjustment to the last day of the current school year. In acknowledgement that remote teaching and other unique aspects of this school year will likely continue into the next, the union is working to ensure that your entitlement to school closing time is maintained as set forth in our contract.

Health and safety protocols

There has been no change to the current safety protocols which include temperature checks before entering the work site, and masks and gloves provided during your shift.

Compensation

The pay practices implemented on April 6, 2020, are in place through May 31. ADAPT will resume discussions with the union at the end of this month to discuss changes that may be necessary beyond that date based upon available funds. Please see the list of pay practices for specific titles below (according to our information at the time this email was written):

• Residential program specialists, senior residential program specialists, on-call residential program specialists, nurses and day habilitation employees (who are assigned to perform direct care work at a residence): You receive your regular hourly rate plus 20% premium added for each hour worked. For example, if your regular hourly rate is $15 hourly, for each hour worked you should receive $15 plus 20% ($18 hourly).
• Employees working with individuals who are isolated: You receive your regular hourly rate, plus additional pay equal to your regular hourly rate for each hour worked (in other words, double time).
• Double time does not apply if you are working in a site/apartment referred to as “quarantine,” “precautionary quarantine,” etc. If asked to volunteer for such an assignment, you may still have the opportunity to earn extra money due to a longer shift, but your pay rate will remain at your regular hourly rate plus 20%. If you are considering working in one of these settings, the union advises that you first confirm with your supervisor the work hours, working conditions and pay rate so you can make an informed decision.
• School employees, Article 16 – Clinic workers, custodians, secretaries and day habilitation employees (who are assigned to perform day habilitation work at a residence): If you are working, you receive your full regular pay.
• Employees who do not presently have a work assignment or who currently are unable to work: You receive your full regular pay by using accrued paid time off as follows: For every five-day work week, you use three days of accrued paid time off, and ADAPT is paying you for the other two days. If your accrued time is depleted, you have a negative balance which will be recouped when you return to work and start accruing time again.

Coronavirus Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer

New York State was recently approved to disperse the Coronavirus Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT). This program will automatically send families the equivalent of about $5.70 per day to make up for meals that each student would have been eligible for while in school.

Because NYC is a universal free lunch district, every child in a city-run public school qualifies. It adds up to about $420 per child, retroactive from the time schools were closed through the end of the school year in June. Families do not have to apply. For those already receiving food assistance, the additional funds will be added automatically to EBT cards. Payments should begin in early June. For all others, benefits are expected to be mailed beginning in late June.   

Charter and parochial school students also qualify if their school participates in the federal school lunch program.

Additional resources for coping with COVID-19

We've compiled a list of resources that may be helpful to ADAPT members and their families on the UFT website. This list will be updated periodically and will also be available through our chapter office. Please use the link below to read more about Workers' Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and how to get tested for COVID-19.

Learn more about worker benefits and resources during the COVID-19 crisis »

Throughout this emergency, our chapter office is working and ready to assist you. If you have questions about any of the information in this update, or anything else ADAPT-related, please call 718-722-6958 and leave a detailed message. One of our union representatives will return your call.