Information for Employees

RIT is grateful to our employees for their remarkable and tireless work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidelines for safety in the workplace—including on-campus vs. remote work, meetings and events, symptom monitoring, COVID-19 testing, and more—are covered in the RIT Safety Plan and apply to RIT faculty, staff, and student employees.

Returning to Campus

Before returning to campus for the Fall Semester, RIT is requiring all employees to:

  • Get a COVID-19 test and provide proof of a negative result using the RIT Employee Self Serve portal prior to coming to campus.
  • Take an online training session on protecting yourself from COVID-19. Human Resources is sending instructions for taking this course to all employees.
  • Respond to a daily RIT Health Screen, seven days a week, even if you are not coming to campus.

Support for Employees

RIT has decided to pursue institutional membership to Care.com. This service assists with locating local caregivers for children and seniors, housekeepers, and tutors. Until this institutional membership option is available, employees can begin using the free version or purchase the premium paid version and be reimbursed once RIT’s enterprise-level coverage goes into effect.

Human Resources has created the Dependent and Childcare Resources page, where faculty and staff can find information from local school districts and community-based organizations.

Employees also can use RIT’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers work-life specialists who will provide customized resources for child and elder care, pet care, and home repair. The EAP also provides confidential counseling on topics related to job pressures, problems with children and stress, anxiety, and depression.

Testing and Reporting

Schedule your appointment

New York State has set up a free testing site at Monroe Community College. Details and registration are available online. You may also call 888-364-3065 to schedule an appointment. Appointments are booked a few days in advance, so we suggest scheduling an appointment immediately to ensure you meet the timeframe of your campus arrival.

You can also contact your personal health care provider or find other testing locations.

When scheduling your test, let them know that you are an essential employee for Phase 4 in Higher Education.

Getting your test result

At the MCC testing site, individual test results are sent to the individual by phone, text, or they can access the online patient portal. Using the online patient portal, take and save a screenshot of your test results.

For test results from a personal health care provider or other private testing site, take a photo, screenshot, or scan a copy of the results.

Reporting your results to RIT

Once you have received your test results, log into Oracle’s MyInfo application and select RIT Employee Self-Serve. Using the link “COVID-19 Test Results,” answer the questions in that section and upload a copy or screenshot of your results in this application. Your manager will verify the test result.

If you received a positive test result, that should also be reported in Oracle using the steps provided above. You do not need to upload any documentation of your positive test result. The Director of Environmental Health and Safety will automatically be notified.

If you do not have regular access to a computer and cannot access Oracle, you can show your test results to your manager and they will be able to update Oracle.

Frequently Asked Questions

We strongly recommend that students, faculty, and staff do not travel outside the Finger Lakes Region (Monroe and adjacent counties) unless absolutely necessary. If travel must occur, please remember to follow all safety precautions and refrain from participating in group gatherings where distancing and masking is not occurring.

RIT is requiring all employees to:

  • Get a COVID-19 test and provide proof of a negative result using the RIT Employee Self Serve portal prior to coming to campus.
  • Take an online training session on protecting yourself from COVID-19. Human Resources is sending instructions for taking this course to all employees.
  • Respond to a daily RIT Health Screening, seven days a week, even if you are not coming to campus.

When an employee does not complete the Daily Health Screen, their supervisor is notified. Employees should notify their supervisor in advance if they will not be able to complete the Daily Health Screen.

Employees will be automatically marked as excused from completing the Daily Health Screen if any of the following circumstances apply: student employees, student co-ops, and graduate research assistants who have completed the student remote attestation; as well as employees on short-term disability, personal or professional/career development leave, military leave, or family leave.

Employees who work outside of New York state 100 percent of the time may attest to that through RIT Employee Self-Service in Oracle and will therefore no longer need to complete the Daily Health Screen. In addition, these employees will be marked as automatically excused on the supervisor listing in the Daily Health Audit.

Adjuncts who work 100 percent remotely may attest to that through RIT Employee Self-Service in Oracle and will therefore no longer need to complete the Daily Health Screen. In addition, these employees will be marked as automatically excused on the supervisor listing in the Daily Health Audit.

Students, faculty, and staff can call 585-438-5257 to complete the screen.

Be sure to close the tab/window each day after successfully submitting your Daily Health Screen, and open a new tab/window the following day to complete that day’s screen.

No. The time it will take to complete the Daily Health Screen will be minimal. On average it should take less than one minute per day. It would present practical, administrative difficulties to track a non-exempt employee’s time in increments of one minute or less. Additionally, applicable law does not require an employer to pay employees for time deemed to be minimal.

  • New York state’s free testing site is at Monroe Community College. Tests are by appointment, and need to be booked a few days in advance. When scheduling a test, an employee should let them know that they are an essential employee with direct contact with the public while working. If booking online, employees should enter “Higher Education” in the occupation field and then state their role at RIT in the field for other occupation details. You may also call 888-364-3065 to schedule an appointment. We suggest that you schedule an appointment as soon as possible to ensure you meet the timeframe of your campus arrival.
  • Consulting your personal health care provider and asking to be tested because you are an essential worker in higher education.
  • More information is available on the New York State COVID-19 website.

Employees not scheduled to work on campus this semester are not required to obtain a COVID-19 test at this time. However, if an employee’s work situation changes, then they must obtain a test prior to reporting to campus. No test is required if employees will be on campus for a brief visit no more than once a month (e.g. to pick up mail),​ or if they are visiting campus and remaining outdoors.​

No. Faculty and staff should go to a testing facility or their personal physician for testing.

More information is available on the Testing, Quarantine, and Contact Tracing webpage.

RIT expects to be open for on-campus instruction, research, campus programs, and services in the fall. As a result, faculty and staff members with requirements to be on campus will be expected to do so. However, in accordance with the requirements of New York Forward, RIT will limit the total number of occupants at any given time to no more than 50 percent of the maximum occupancy for a particular area. In order to accomplish this goal, if a faculty or staff member’s work can be accomplished remotely and there are no requirements for a faculty or staff member to be on campus, then they will be given the opportunity to work remotely. Additionally, if flexible work schedules can be implemented, managers/supervisors may create these arrangements.

Faculty and staff who have concerns about returning to work on campus due to a medical condition that places them in a higher risk group or those who wish to seek an accommodation in order to perform the essential functions of their job, should fill out an accommodation form.

RIT encourages employees with these specific workplace challenges to work directly with their supervisor to make arrangements that meet the needs of employees and RIT. RIT’s Department of Human Resources also has created the Dependent and Childcare Resources page, where faculty and staff can find information from local school districts and community-based organizations.

Employees testing positive, or residing with someone testing positive, for COVID-19 will be required to report this information using the RIT Employee Self Serve portal. Positive test information will automatically be reported to the Director of RIT’s Environmental Health and Safety. Employees should also update their answers in the Daily Health Screen.

Employees should tell the student to contact the Student Health Center and remind them to complete the Daily Health Screen.

All employees should follow RIT’s normal process for reporting absences due to illness and RIT’s Short Term Disability process based on their employment category:

Tele- or video-conferencing is encouraged for administrative functions and/or meetings. In-person meetings should comply with the physical distancing requirements of the RIT Safety Plan and the COVID-19 Maximum Occupancy requirements. Physical distancing markers, directional indicators, and designated areas for pick-ups and deliveries should be observed at all times. When meetings are held in person, they should be held with appropriate physical distancing among participants, in accordance with the provisions of the RIT Safety Plan. Meetings and events should not exceed the maximum occupancy limits for the applicable space, and in no case exceed 50 people.

Outdoor events should be held with appropriate physical distancing among participants and should not exceed 33 percent occupancy for outdoor spaces where maximum occupancy has been established.