LBCC joins all colleges and universities in Oregon in encouraging employees to receive the vaccine for COVID-19 to protect themselves, the LBCC learning environment, and our community at large. Likewise, we also join all colleges and universities in leaving that choice up to our employees (in other words, LBCC will encourage, but not mandate, that employees receive the vaccine).

As a learning institution, we will share resources and information to help educate employees about the vaccine's availability and efficacy, and support employees who need time to attend scheduled vaccine appointments.

Vaccines are very important to LBCC's general return to normalcy, but your return to campus is not contingent on vaccination. Rather, whether employees are allowed to work from campus depends on the college's business needs within the remote environment under which we are currently working. The "people approved for regular work on campus" list will continue to remain in place until state guidelines allow us to change our remote-work situation.

While LBCC will not mandate that employees receive vaccines, we want to encourage employees who make that choice. All employees will therefore receive up to four (4) hours of time off without loss of pay for each time they receive a dose of the vaccine. This means employees don't have to tap their leave balances to get the vaccine and should not track the time on their timesheet. Employees DO need to request the time off with their supervisors in advance in order to ensure that there is adequate coverage in their absence.

Yes, employees can reinstate up to four (4) hours of any sick leave taken to get the vaccine in the past, if they choose. To reinstate hours, employees must speak with their supervisor, and the supervisor will email payroll (payroll@linnbenton.edu) to make these arrangements.

If you do experience some symptoms of illness after receiving a vaccination dose and need to take time off of work as a result, you will need to tap your sick leave hours to do so. Remember, do not come to campus if you are not feeling well. Please be sure to communicate with your supervisor.

Those who have received the final dose of the vaccine and have also passed the 2-week period to reach maximum immunity will no longer have to quarantine after traveling out of state. If you have not received the vaccine, you are still asked to abide by Oregon's travel advisory and follow the quarantine guidelines.

If you are working remotely, you should plan to continue working as usual. If you work on campus, first ask your supervisor if remote work is available for you to continue working at home. If no remote work is available, you can use your sick leave balance to cover the time.

We are hopeful! With vaccine availability rising, we anticipate the risk levels in our counties will decrease and that colleges and universities across Oregon will begin to be allowed more people on campus. With that in mind, we are working on plans for increasing our in-person offerings this fall, with the goal of being able to fully welcome students back to in-person class in Spring of 2022.

Of course, all of this is contingent upon the health of our communities and guidelines we receive from the Oregon Health Authority and Governor's Office. We will continue to share news and updates with LBCC employees and students as we go forward. In the meantime, thank you for all that you have done to support LBCC—and our students! —during this difficult time!