Thursday, March 18
The state has identified 501,458 cases of COVID-19 as of today, with 485,358 of these patients no longer required to be isolated. 6,762 deaths have been reported. For more information on the current situation, visit the Minnesota Department of Health website.
At the bottom of this email, you will find Met Council workforce statistics related to COVID-19 leave that have been reported to the Employee Resource Center.
Do you have thoughts or concerns on the content or frequency of these COVID-19 update emails? We would love to hear your feedback through the online COVID-19 form, so we can make sure these emails are providing the most useful and timely information to staff.
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At a glance
What you need to know this week:
- Employees who can work remotely will continue to do so at least through the end of the school year in June and then can expect to begin a phased re-opening of our office environments through Labor Day.
- Frontline, public transit workers are now eligible to be vaccinated at the state-run clinic at the Mall of America and may receive messages from Homeland Health about available appointments.
- We are using our emergency notification system to notify eligible employees of urgent opportunities to get the vaccine.
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COVID-19 Leave can be used if you have a reaction to the vaccine and need to recuperate. It cannot be used for you to get the vaccine. COVID-19 Leave cannot be used for school closures not related to the pandemic, such as spring break.
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Healthcare and daycare FSA changes are allowed from March 15 to March 31, without a qualified family status change.
Read on for more about these updates.
Teleworking to continue, but transition plans will emerge
Gov. Tim Walz has updated guidance about remote work to allow for teleworkers to return to onsite, office work. Here’s what teleworking employees need to know about the next steps our leadership are considering.
For now:
- Employees who can work from home will continue to do so at least through the end of the school year in June and, for many, through Labor Day.
- Our Pandemic Incident Command Planning Leads are developing our plan for a phased return to the workplace for teleworking employees that may also include changes to our telework policy, allowing for a "hybrid" workplace where conducive to work areas.
- Managers will be engaging with staff and informing the Planning Leads to determine the best working arrangements for both employees and the business needs of the work area.
- Return-to-workplace plans will be coordinated with Facilities and Information Services.
From June through Labor Day:
- A phased return to worksites will begin for teleworking employees. While some teleworkers may begin returning in June, remote employees will not be required to regularly return to the office before Labor Day.
Now is a good time for teleworkers to begin the discussion with their manager about plans to return to on-site work through the transition period. Employee input will be a part of the planning process and inform the overall plan and future telework policy.
Look for more information about our planning for the phased return to on-site work in this all-staff COVID-19 email and on MetNet.
Connecting staff to opportunities for the vaccine
The Met Council continues to help our staff who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Public transit workers are among those frontline staff who are currently eligible, along with a number of other categories. Wastewater workers are scheduled for vaccine eligibility in the May/June timeframe and are in a group called Water and Wastewater.
One way we are notifying staff of opportunities is by directly texting your mobile device, calling your phone, or sending a message to your email through the Metropolitan Council’s emergency notification system (more information below).
Transit operators: You are now eligible to be vaccinated at the state-run clinic at the Mall of America. If you received an invitation from Homeland Health by text and/or email (example email in the image at right), those are legitimate messages providing you access to the vaccine if you choose. Please respond to arrange an appointment time to get your vaccine.
As of Tuesday (March 16), 1,284,612 Minnesotans had received at least one vaccine dose and 746,829 people had completed the vaccine series. For up-to-date information on vaccine availability and distribution, visit the Minnesota Department of Health vaccine dashboard.
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 Vaccination timeline from the state, updated March 9. Visit the Who's Getting Vaccinated page for a detailed timeline with lists of high-risk medical conditions, underlying medical conditions, and essential workers.
What you can do now:
- If you haven't already, sign up for the state Vaccine Connector to receive an alert when you are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination, connect to resources to schedule an appointment, and find vaccination opportunities in your area. The tool is available to all Minnesotans age 18 and older and only takes a few minutes to complete. You can also call 833.431.2053 (toll free) for assistance signing up over the phone.
- If you are eligible to be vaccinated:
- Contact your regular health care provider to check if you can get a vaccination appointment.
- Check the Vaccine Locator map to find nearby vaccine distribution sites; you may be able to make an appointment to receive a vaccine through the providers listed there.
- Make an appointment through the Community Vaccination Program if you are in one of the qualifying groups.
- If you have a HealthPartners medical plan, make sure your contact information in your account is up to date. HealthPartners is contacting eligible patients to schedule a vaccination when they have appointments available. Learn more on the HealthPartners website.
- Review the information below about how to respond if you receive an alert through the Met Council's emergency notification system asking if you are available immediately to receive the vaccine.
If you are eligible to get vaccinated right now, you do not have to wait for information from the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector or the Met Council's emergency notification system before getting your shot. If your health care provider contacts you about making an appointment, or if you have another opportunity to get vaccinated, you can and should do that.
For more information about the vaccine and how to find an appointment, visit the Minnesota Department of Health vaccine site.
Notifying eligible Met Council staff of urgent vaccine availability
To help connect our employees with urgent, unplanned opportunities to get the COVID-19 vaccine, we are using the Met Council's emergency notification system to ask employees who are eligible (as defined by the state's criteria) if they are available immediately to receive the vaccine. We will notify you by texting your mobile device, calling you by phone, and sending a message to your email. If you respond that you are available, we will follow up to connect you to the appointment.
Make sure your contact information is correct
The system uses contact information from Employee Self Service, so it’s very important that your contact information there is up to date.
Recognize the message and respond correctly
Make sure you carefully read the instructions included in the message and reply to the notification correctly. Also, we know scams are contacting people about COVID-19 vaccine opportunities, so please review our information on the senders of the texts, emails, and calls so you recognize our emergency notifications. An example email is included below.
Review the full information in the announcement on MetNet.
Review the test notification you received on March 16
We sent a test notification to all Met Council employees on March 16, giving everyone a chance to review and respond to the test notification so you understand how to correctly respond if you receive an official notification with an urgent vaccine opportunity.
 Sample of what the email version of the mass notification system may look like – shown here is the test employees received earlier this week.
Continue safe practices even after being vaccinated
Remember that even after you get vaccinated and after the vaccine is widely available, everyone should continue following these safe practices in almost all settings: mask up, get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, stay home when you're sick, practice safe hygiene, and practice physical distancing.
For full information on updated guidance and specific exceptions, review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance for fully vaccinated people.
Remember that, at this time, any new guidance does not apply to work settings at the Met Council, where policies on physical distancing, wearing face coverings, and staying home if you experience symptoms have not changed, in order to continue to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
COVID-19 Leave reminders: School closures and vaccine
To help prevent misuse of the Met Council’s COVID-19 Leave Policy, here are some reminders for employees and managers on how this leave can and cannot be used related to school closures and the COVID-19 vaccine.
School or daycare closures:
- Expanded School Leave (ESL) is available to employees who are unable to work or telework because they are caring for their own child whose school or place of care has been closed or whose childcare provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions (and the employee is unable to telework).
- ESL may not be used for days on which the school or childcare provider is closed for reasons other than COVID-19. This includes, but is not limited to, holiday breaks (including spring break), in-service days, and other reasons not related to COVID-19.
- ESL is unavailable for employees who have opted for distance learning when in-person learning is available. Leave may be used when an employee’s child is on a school-imposed hybrid schedule on the days when the child is distance learning.
COVID-19 vaccine:
- Employees may use COVID-19 leave if they have a reaction to the vaccine and need to take time off, but only if they have Emergency Sick Pay (ESP) time available.
- Employees were given a bank of 80 hours of ESP to use from April 4, 2020, to present.
- To use this leave, the employee would talk with their manager and complete a COVID-19 leave request form and send it to the Employee Resource Center as soon as possible.
- Employees with side effects from the vaccine may use a combined maximum of three days of ESP to recuperate. For example, if an employee has symptoms after the first dose and uses two days of ESP, if they have symptoms after the second dose, they are allowed only one day of ESP.
- Employees may not use COVID-19 leave to get a vaccine.
- This is a similar situation to when an employee gets a flu shot, preventative test, or cancer screen. Employees are required to do this on their own time.
- If an employee is contacted to get a vaccine on short notice, they should talk with their manager.
Note: The vaccine is safe and effective. Many people report mild side effects, and some people have none. Severe reactions are very rare. For more information, review the CDC’s information on possible side effects.
If additional leave is necessary, employees can use accrued annual or sick leave.
For full information on the policy, review the COVID-19 Leave Policy (updated Jan. 1, 2021) on MetNet.
Healthcare and daycare FSA changes allowed through March 31
Right now Met Council employees are allowed to change their 2021 healthcare and/or daycare flexible spending account (FSA) election amount(s), without a qualified family status change, for a limited time. Contribution changes made during this special enrollment period will be reflected on the second paycheck in April. This is not an opportunity to newly elect an FSA.
Temporary changes include:
- Unlimited rollover of 2020 healthcare and daycare FSA dollars for use in 2021. (Previously no daycare rollover has been allowed, and healthcare rollover was allowed up to $550.)
- Prospective increase or decrease in healthcare and daycare FSA elections for 2021 allowed without a qualifying status change.
- Increase in the age limit for daycare FSA from age 12 to 13.
Review the full details and instructions on MetNet.
If you wish to change your 2021 FSA election, please email Benefits@metc.state.mn.us between March 15 and March 31 and include your employee ID number and the amount you wish to change your 2021 healthcare and/or daycare FSA annual election(s) to.
Check the MetNet pages, FAQs
For the most current information related to the COVID-19 outbreak, visit the MetNet page and be sure to review the FAQs for staff and managers. They are updated as we have new information to communicate.
For Metro Transit work instructions and daily updates on new COVID-19 cases reported at each worksite, visit the Metro Transit MetNet page. For job aids and facilities updates for Environmental Services related to COVID-19, visit the Environmental Services page.
If you have questions, talk to your manager or supervisor or submit a question or concern in the online COVID-19 form.
Check out the latest issues of our internal newsletters: March 12 Insights and March 18 HR Connect.
For those who cannot easily access MetNet and/or would like a printable PDF of the FAQs, here are the most recent versions of these pages:
Met Council workforce statistics
The following statistics related to COVID-19 have been reported to the Employee Resource Center. The "active positive COVID-19" number is the number of employees who currently have a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. The "cumulative" number marks the total number of employees who received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis since the pandemic began. The second table breaks down the positive cases by division for Community Development (CD), Environmental Services (ES), Metro Transit (MT), Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS), and Regional Administration (RA).
Employees with positive COVID-19 diagnosis (March 18):
Employees with positive COVID-19 diagnosis by division (March 18*):
*These division numbers are reported weekly. These tables reflect changes week over week.
 
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