AU’s COVID protocols may not comply with OHS Act

On March 19, 2022, AU’s COVID-19 Planning Committee announced changes to the university’s COVID protocols. While most staff are required to continue to work from home, staff who permitted to be on campus are now no longer required to wear masks.  

A number of AUFA members questioned the logic of this change. Essentially, how can COVID be both dangerous enough to warrant working from home and not dangerous enough to require mandatory masking when on campus?

This blog post outlines AUFA’s investigation to date, sets out our assessment of whether this policy change is compliant with the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, and asks members how they would like AUFA to proceed.

Background

By late 2021, AU’s COVID-19 protocol required almost all staff to work from home. If staff needed to be on campus, they would require special permission to do so, to be vaccinated and to wear a mask while on site. 

In March 2022, with no consultation with AU’s unions or the Joint Health and Safety Committee, AU’s COVID committee eliminated mandatory masking. The elimination of mandatory masking was a surprising change, given that COVID-19 is primarily spread through the air, via both droplets and aerosols. 

Under Alberta’s OHS legislation, AU is required to conduct an assessment of the hazard posed by COVID in the workplace, as well as institute controls to eliminate or otherwise reduce the risk posed by COVID to staff members. You can review AU’s most recent COVID hazard assessment here.

AU General Hazard Assessment COVID-19 AU Main Feb. 2022.pdf

AU’s COVID Control Strategy

AU has implemented a series of controls designed to reduce the risk of workplace infection among staff. As noted above, the primary control being used is directing staff to work from home. This control eliminates work-related exposure to COVID for those who work from home.

This control does not protect staff members who must regularly or occasionally work on campus. The OHS Act and Code requires AU to implement additional controls to protect these staff members. AU’s on-campus controls presently include:

Vaccination: AU’s Vaccination Policy and Procedure requires workers prove they have received two doses of an approved vaccine to be onsite. The logic here is that a vaccinated worker is less likely to have COVID (and thus less likely bring it into the workplace) and is less likely to contract COVID during a workplace exposure. 

Vaccination does not, however fully control the risk of COVID for those working onsite. The emerging evidence is that two doses of vaccine is not effective at preventing COVID inflection. Further, the effectiveness of vaccination appears to wane over time and AU does not require staff to have a booster shot. Essentially, vaccinated staff can still have, transmit, and acquire COVID in the workplace. This suggests the effectiveness of AU’s vaccination control is moderate and declining over time.

Cleaning: AU has implemented enhanced cleaning protocols in the workplace. This control is intended to remove the virus from surfaces and thus prevent surface transmission of the virus. Cleaning does not control the risk of droplet or aerosol transmission.

Social Distancing: AU recommends staff maintain a distance of six feet from one another in the workplace. Distancing reduces the risk of droplet transmission but does not control spread through aerosols. Aerosols can stay in the air for hours and spread throughout a workspace.

Symptom Exclusion: AU requires staff members who are exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID to stay out of the workplace. Workplace exclusion is intended to reduce staff exposure to the virus. This control is of limited effectiveness because some COVID positive workers do not exhibit symptoms at all. COVID is also contagious prior to someone exhibiting symptoms. 

Analysis

To summarize, AU’s present control strategies and their effectiveness for workers who work on-site are as follows:

• Working from home: Not applicable.

• Vaccination: Moderate and diminishing

• Cleaning: Low

• Social Distancing: Low

• Symptom Exclusion: Low

An effective control for staff who work onsite is wearing a mask. Wearing a mask dramatically reduces transmission of the virus. 

Section 3(1) of the OHS Act requires “Every employer shall ensure, as far as it is reasonably practicable for the employer to do so, (a) the health, safety and welfare of (i) workers engaged in the work of that employer”. 

Mandatory masking in the workplace is a control that is reasonably practicable for AU to implement, entailing little cost and having little to no operational impact. 

In May, AUFA provided this analysis of the effectiveness of AU’s March 2022 COVID protocols to AU’s COVID Planning Committee and asked the committee to reinstitute mandatory masking. The committee declined this request:

The COVID-19 Planning Committee met to review yours and AUFA’s concerns and to discuss AU’s COVID-19 progress forward.  The committee identified that throughout COVID-19 it is has always remained cautious toward the lessening of COVID-19 restrictions and therefore did not take the removal of it’s [sic] masking protocols lightly.  The committee appreciates AUFA’s concern on this matter but continues to feel that the controls remaining in place were adequate to control the COVID-19 hazard for those working on site.  

Moving forward, the committee will be continuing to recommend adjustment of AU’s controls based on continued assessment of the hazard and with continued guidance from Government Agencies as well as other resources as it works toward reopening its place-based work sites.

Next steps

AUFA’s OHS representatives are seeking member input about how to proceed with this issue. Essentially there are two options:

1. Take no action: AUFA can decide not to pursue this matter any further. This means that staff members who regularly or periodically work onsite will experience an increased risk of contracting COVID. These staff members can, in part, reduce this risk by choosing to wear a mask.

2. File an OHS complaint: AU’s unwillingness to require mandatory masking appears to violate AU’s obligations to take all reasonably practicable steps to control the hazard posed by COVID 19 for AU employees who must be onsite.

The anonymous survey below gives you the opportunity to provide direction to AUFA’s OHS representatives.

Rhiannon Rutherford and Bob Barnetson

AUFA OHS Representatives

Your Turn

AUFA recommendations on AU relaunch

AU is presently examining re-opening its campuses in the autumn. So far, AU has not significantly consulted with its staff about their concerns.

Last week, the Membership Engagement Committee (MEC) conducted a brief consultation with its members and identified 10 areas of concern. These concerns and recommendations were provided to David Head (who is chair of AU’s COVID committee) by email on Monday. A copy of that email is reprised below.

MEC would like to thank AUFA members who took the time to provide feedback on their concerns. We are hopeful AU will address these concerns as it plans to re-open its campuses.

Rhiannon Rutherford, Chair

Membership Engagement Committee

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Dear David,

AUFA understands that AU’s COVID committee is considering issues related to re-opening AU’s campuses. AUFA members have identified several issues that require attention. AUFA has grouped these concerns thematically and has developed some recommended actions.

Working from Home

Childcare

The disruption of schooling and other childcare services means many AUFA members must perform childcare during some or all of the workday. This issue appears to be a long-term one. Childcare work is affecting productivity, availability, and stress levels. Members are hiding these issues because of President Fassina’s assertion that AU will not be able to retain staff who cannot work full-time. It will be operationally and legally necessary for AU to accommodate these family obligations.

Recommendation: AU clarify that childcare will not be grounds for dismissal or other sanctions and assist supervisors to work with affected staff to adjust workload, hours, and expectations during disruption of childcare.

Teleworking

Many AUFA professionals indicate a desire to continue working from home, at least some of the time. Some AUFA members will require this option because they live with immune-compromised family members. Other members would like to work on campus.

Staff members working from home require financial support to (1) set-up adequate home offices as well as (2) operate those offices. Staff members also express a need for places where they can hold face-to-face meetings. A lack of support for home office work will negatively affect recruiting. Where operationally feasible, accounting for members’ preferences would be desirable.

Recommendation: AU allow staff members to choose the degree of teleworking that they desire and provide financial support necessary to set-up and maintain a home office for teleworkers.

Exams

Accessibility and Technology

Online exam platforms do not work for a significant minority of students, including some students who have disability-related accommodations. Some online platforms are struggling to manage the additional volume.

Recommendation: AU return to offering in-person exam writing as soon as possible. If AU wishes to move to online-only exams, this transition requires better technology, including technology that can address the needs of students with disabilities.

Workload and Resources

Creating, delivering, troubleshooting, and managing exams that are not online or for which alternative assessments are required place a heavy workload on affected staff members. The resulting extra workload is negatively affecting staff members’ health and ability to carry out other duties. This is simply unsustainable. This workload caused by adapting exams is unevenly distributed (within and between units). Historic inequities in resources between units are being intensified by the lack of additional support allocated to address this issue.

Recommendation: Workloads must be adjusted (or overload paid) to compensate for alternative assessments while in-person exams are suspended. Additional resources may be required by some units to manage alternative assessments.

Safety on Campus

Physical distancing and PPE

Many locations do not provide adequate space between work stations, between work stations and passage ways, or in exam spaces to maintain physical distancing. Alberta is also now recommending the use of PPE (e.g., masks, handsanitzer) in public.

Recommendations: Work stations should be re-allocated or reconfigured to allow social distancing. Until such time, teleworking should be maintained. If reconfiguration entails costs, units should not have to bear those costs. AU should provide staff members with access to adequate PPE, including masks and hand sanitizer before they are returned to campus work spaces.

Common spaces

Spaces shared with other organizations (e.g., building foyers, elevators, and washrooms) as well as common spaces within AU locations (kitchens, stairwells, washrooms) require greater cleaning. Pre-COVID changes to AU’s cleaning contract in Athabasca resulted in a much lower level of cleanliness and are inadequate given increased demands.

Recommendation: Shared spaces in leased buildings require a commitment for enhanced cleaning by building operators. Common spaces within AU spaces should either be closed or subject to enhanced cleaning.

Visitors

Visitors to campus pose a risk of transmission that must be addressed.

Recommendations: Visitors should be excluded from AU sites until barriers are installed and adequate social distancing can be maintained.

Outbreak protocols

AU requires a process to identify and manage suspected and confirmed COVID cases among AU members. This may include instructing supervisors to approve or direct working from home and developing a mechanism by which to notify staff of potential exposures.

Recommendation: AU must (1) commit to disclosing all suspected or confirmed COVID cases, (2) shut down locations with suspected or confirmed cases, and (3) empower supervisors to direct working from home when workers exhibit possible COVID symptoms.

Teaching and Research

Teaching

Staff in programs that have provided face-to-face instruction have been required to move those courses into an online format. The additional work of the initial move plus future work in revising these courses (based on initial experience) is not being adequately recognized or accommodated.

Recommendation: Workloads must be adjusted (or overload paid) to compensate for transitioning in-person instruction online.

Research

Some academics are unable to access research materials or participants while others are unable to present research. The delays in research will have implications for annual assessments as well as tenure and promotion reviews. AU needs to accommodate delays and unrealized plans caused by events out of the control of academics.

Recommendation: AU must (1) allow staff to extend probationary periods, or (2) negotiate adjusted probationary criteria to account for COVID impacts. AU must adjust annual workplans and assessments to account for COVID impacts on research. AU must allow for delays in research and professional development leaves to account of COVID impacts on research.

We hope the committee will take these concerns and recommendations into consideration. Given our experience so far with COVID, we also hope that AU will willing to adjust its policies and procedures to account for new developments.

Jolene Armstrong, President

Working from home: What are your needs?

Moving almost all AUFA members to home offices during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised a number of issues for both long-term and new home-office workers. AUFA’s executive has tasked the Membership Engagement Committee (MEC) to identify and prioritize these issues.

MEC will be adopting a two-step process: an open-ended question (below) followed by a telephone survey.

At the bottom of this blog post is an open-ended textbox where we would like you to tell us about the challenges or issues that you are facing while working in your home office and what, if anything, AU could do to help you address these issues.

The challenges we've heard about so far include the following:

• Equipment and ergonomics: Some AUFA members do not have functional and ergonomically appropriate home-office equipment. This is leading to discomfort and limiting working time.

• Caregiving demands: The disruption of child- and elder-care arrangements is impeding some AUFA members’ ability to work full-time. President Fassina asserted last week that AU will no longer be able to accommodate caregiving that impedes work and HR is now identifying such staff members.

• Scheduling demands: Some staff members are concerned about a lack of autonomy and flexibility in establishing a work schedule that accommodates additional demands.

• Connectivity: Some AUFA members have limited or unreliable internet access at home.

• Workload: COVID-related changes have resulted in significant and unsustainable workload increases.

• Stress: Stress associated with the disruption of work and home routines as well as ill health and financial hardship has increased.

• Cost: Many AUFA members are bearing additional costs associated with working from home. The set-up and monthly stipends outlined in the Teleworking policy are only available to academic staff who work from home.

• Surveillance: Some staff members are concerned that AU is monitoring them while they work from home. This represents a lack of trust and an intrusion into their privacy.

MEC is interested in hearing the specific experiences of AUFA members with working from home. This will ensure that we fully understand the range of issues. Any information provided will be completely anonymous. Responses will be collected until April 9.

MEC will use the data gathered from the open-ended question to structure a telephone survey of 100 randomly AUFA members (25% of the membership). The survey will start the week of April 22. This survey will attempt to quantify (and thus help prioritize) these issues so that AUFA can recommend solutions.

Thank you for your assistance as we help AUFA members navigate this change in our working conditions.

Rhiannon Rutherford, Chair

AUFA Membership Engagement Committee

Improvements in OHS on Main Campus

The Athabasca-location joint health and safety committee met on March 19. There was significant progress on several issues to report.

COVID-19

AU has adopted all of the suggestions made by AUFA and the OHS committee last week about reducing the risk of AU staff contracting COVID-19. Updates about AU operational changes can be found on the AU website.  

The committee then discussed some of the hazards caused by shifting most AU staff to home office arrangements. These included ergonomic, working alone, and mental health hazards.

Air Quality

Inspections of the main building revealed several concerns about air quality. AU will be having the air quality tested once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. This testing will include airborne mold testing.

Gym Door Lock

AU is removing an interior door lock that created a possible entrapment zone in the gym. This issue was flagged by staff member in the autumn. Additional security measures are also being considered.

Bookshelf Sweep

Darren Schmidtke and Facilities reviewed approximately 200 bookshelves in the main building and the ARC. Facilities will be proceeding with securing or shimming approximately 25% of the shelves to prevent them from tipping over.

Evacuation Training

Darren Schmidtke held meetings with the majority of AU Main evacuation zone wardens. Additional wardens are being solicited. Further meetings have been postponed to deal with COVID-19 issues.

OHS Training

The committee has developed new OHS training to replace the training that was rolled out last summer. A final review of the new training will occur at the next OHS committee meeting.

Fire Stairs

A work requisition to repair the tile in the central fire stairs in the main building will be submitted this week.

Inspections

Almost all issues identified in the December inspections of the gym, HR, the registrar’s office, POC, the library, IT and the labs have been resolved. A process of completing inspections during the COVID-19 outbreak was developed.

Incidents

The committee reviewed six OHS incidents that have occurred during the past two months.

Overall, there has been significant improvements in AU’s compliance with its OHS obligations in the past six months. If you have concerns about workplace hazards, you can raise them with your supervisor and/or members of the joint OHS committee.

Rhiannon Rutherford and Bob Barnetson, AUFA members

Athabasca-location Joint Health and Safety Committee

AUFA advocates working from home during pandemic

Yesterday, Athabasca University (AU) circulated an email outlining AU’s initial response to the COVID 19 pandemic. Prior to this email circulating, AU’s occupational health and safety committees were informed about AU’s response. At present, AU:

• Is setting up a website to pass on information.

• Has confirmed that contracted cleaning staff will more frequently clean high-touch spots (e.g., door handles).

• Has ordered and received additional hand-sanitizer units but has not yet secured sanitizer to go in them.

During the OHS teleconference, OHS members raised a number of issues that Darren Schmidtke agreed to take back to the COVID 19 Planning Committee. Subsequently, AUFA President Jolene Armstrong sent an email to Deputy Provost Anne-Marie Scott outlining some specific steps AUFA recommends AU take immediately. These steps include:

1. Working from home: AUFA recommends AU immediately move as many staff as possible to working from home as well as shifting all meetings and exams to online formats. Social distancing appears effective at slowing the spread of the virus. These changes are consistent with the strategies employed in jurisdictions with more experience with the virus.

2. No sick notes: AUFA recommends AU relax its requirement for medical notes to access sick leave. This will help reduce the demand on the health-care system and further reduce the risk of exposure.

3. Travel ban: AUFA recommends AU direct staff to cease all work-related travel. AUFA member should not be expected to expose themselves to the virus for work-related purposes.

The OHS teleconference flagged a number of concerns. These concerns included:

• that some AU staff (or family members) may be particularly vulnerable to contracting the virus or becoming seriously ill due to the virus due to personal characteristics or circumstances and these AU may require immediate accommodation to reduce their risk of exposure,

• a much higher level of exposure for AU staff who work at co-located sites (Bow Valley College) or who interact with students (e.g., exam staff, staff who process physical mail),

• the absence of hand sanitizer and, in some cases, even soap, in bathrooms at some AU sites, and

• concern that additional cleaning efforts by contracted cleaning staff is not occurring.

While AUFA waits for AU’s response to Jolene’s email, individual AUFA members may wish to consider taking the following steps:

• If you feel unwell, use your sick leave to stay home.

• If you have the opportunity to work from home, do so.

• If you are convening a meeting, consider whether the meeting could be delayed.

• Attend all required AU meetings electronically.

• Postpone all AU-related travel.

• If you are (or a family member is) more vulnerable to acquiring or being severely affected by COVID 19 due to a medical or other condition, seek home-working accommodation from your supervisor to work from home. If you are refused, please contact the AUFA office at aufahq@aufa.ca or 780 675-6282.

Rhiannon Rutherford and Bob Barnetson

Athabasca-location OHS committee members