Arizona Law recognizes the disparate impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on particular communities, e.g. our frontline workers, communities of color, and lower income workers. The CDC highlights the “long-standing systemic health and social inequities” as contributing factors to this disparate impact. The College will continue to monitor and attempt to mitigate these disparate impacts, as possible through such accommodations as UArizona and other applicable law and policies allow. It is imperative that this Plan provide equitable opportunities and outcomes for all members of the College of Law community regardless of position.
This Plan thus incorporates the University of Arizona’s Guiding Principles (see above Sec. 2.0) regarding equality. Understanding that the work of some employees at the College of Law requires they be present on campus all or part of the time, this Plan further endeavors to keep them -- and everyone -- as safe as possible while they are on campus. Part of this strategy includes minimizing density while also providing rigorous cleaning, outdoor meeting and working spaces, and high ventilation within the building. More details below and throughout this Plan.
UArizona Guidance for all Members of Arizona Law:
This Plan adopts the UArizona Returning to Workspaces directives and guidelines (7/21/2020) for faculty and staff. This Plan also incorporates guidance received from communications issued by University administrators.
This Plan adopts the following safety protocols directly from the UArizona COVID-19 Response website:
Physical Distancing (7/21/2020)
The most effective means of preventing the transmission of COVID-19 is to minimize in-person interactions by working from home. When employees must be present in the workplace, the supervisor and employee must strive to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet between individuals at all times. While no distance has been proven to be perfect, maintaining at least 6 feet of separation will reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 significantly.
When to Stay Home (7/21/2020)
All employees should stay home and contact their healthcare provider as soon as possible if they are sick or are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, and/or if they have had or are currently in close contact (within 6 ft for at least 15 minutes) with another person who is a known positive case of COVID-19.
Personal Hygiene and Handwashing (7/21/2020)
Employees should proactively disinfect personal workstations in addition to shared areas or items (e.g., conference rooms, equipment, workstations) before and after use. When departments operate in a unique setting (e.g., clinical, dental, childcare), cleaning, disinfection, and hygiene procedures originating from the appropriate regulatory agency, research protocol, or more specific guidance should be implemented.
All employees should:
Supervisors should:
Cleaning & Disinfection (7/21/2020)
The spread of COVID-19 can be reduced by cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and facilities frequently. Supervisors must ensure that spaces are being cleaned regularly and that there are adequate supplies for cleaning and disinfection in their workplace. Employees are responsible for practicing good hygiene and cleaning surfaces and equipment they touch before and after each use.
All employees should:
Practice routine cleaning and robust cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.
Clean surfaces using soap and water to remove any dirt or debris before disinfecting.
Disinfect by using an EPA-registered disinfectant, which will be supplied through Facilities Management.
Cleaning Services:
Facilities Management has increased their regular cleaning services in common areas around campus and are able to supply disinfectants, hand sanitizers, and other cleaning and disinfection supplies.
For questions, concerns, or to request additional cleaning, please contact Facilities Management at (520) 621-3000.
Note: At the College of Law, please contact Bernadette Wilkinson or Bryan Wilson for assistance.
Face Coverings (7/21/2020)
Employees, students, and visitors must use face coverings in all UArizona locations, both indoors and outdoors, in accordance with UArizona’s Administrative Directive. Face coverings are not a substitute for physical distancing, which should remain the primary means of preventing transmission.
Face coverings, when worn by the majority of people in a community, can help prevent the transmission of viral particles into the air and onto common surfaces, thereby reducing potential exposures and rates of transmission in the community.
More information about face coverings, including accessibility considerations, are detailed in Section 14.0 of this Plan.
In addition to these safety protocols, the University of Arizona Office of the Provost sent email communications to faculty and staff regarding preparations for the fall semester. An excerpt from the June 5, 2020 communication follows:
Requested action of all employees. An important matter for each of our employees, however, is to self-assess their own risk of developing serious complications from a coronavirus infection. To start this process, we ask each employee to take the time to please carefully review the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). General information, based on collective understanding of the disease so far, is found at the CDC website, including specific information about the disproportionate burden of illness and death among racial and ethnic minority groups. If you have questions about your own risk factors after reviewing the information provided by the CDC, we strongly encourage you to consult with your primary care physician or a medical specialist (as appropriate).
If you are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 or have related concerns, then we strongly encourage you to initiate a discussion about possible temporary modified work conditions (with associated modified work expectations as appropriate) with your manager/supervisor as soon as possible. Managers/supervisors are encouraged to work with employees to develop flexible work arrangements to the extent that operational needs allow it. It is prohibited for managers/supervisors to retaliate on the basis of an employee requesting and/or being assigned temporary modified work conditions.
Provost Liesl Folks provided further clarification for staff preparations at a workshop in the chat box to “everyone” on June 5, 2020:
Managers / supervisors have discretion to approve partial or total WFH (without DRC or HR involvement) if the work of their group can be completed without in-person engagement, and that doing so doesn’t adversely impact the work of other people. We hope that groups that CAN do this will do it as much as possible, to reduce the numbers of people coming to campus regularly. Flexibility will be key!
There are over 100 staff members of the College of Law who keep Arizona Law running on the front lines and behind the scenes. These include staff in admissions, academic affairs, alumni and development, BA/MLS programs, building services, career development, clinic support, dean’s office, event planning, faculty support, finance, global programs, law library, marketing, Phoenix program, registrar, student affairs, student success, and more.
Some staff members can perform core duties working remotely; others must be in the building to perform their functions; still others can complete their work in a mix of in-person and off-campus.
This Plan is based on input from the Arizona Law workforce through a mix of online, voluntary, anonymous submissions and one-on-one conversations.
Worker voice is essential as workers have expert knowledge about how to make their jobs safe and when safety-related rules are not being followed. Arizona Law community members have had, and will continue to have, a vital role in designing, implementing, and monitoring compliance of Arizona Law’s safe-return plan.
This Plan adopts the UArizona Returning to Workspaces directives and guidelines, including those found in Employee Resources and Supervisor Resources, both of which link to additional information and support. Further, UArizona Human Resources has tools to assist supervisors and employees in making a plan for remote and flexible work as well as helpful guidelines for return to the campus. Directives and guidelines pertaining to office space and other building-specific considerations can be found in Section 8.0 Physical Plant.
The following information is taken directly from the Returning to Workspaces guidance:
Guidelines for Work at Home (7/21/2020)
Supervisors and employees must work together to ensure that as many employees as possible are able to work from home, for as long as sensible. This is especially true for those employees who may be at risk of severe illness from a COVID-19 infection, based on CDC Guidance.
Disability & Medical Concerns
If, after discussing temporary modifications with your supervisor, you still have concerns based on your own disability or medical condition, please connect with the Disability Resource Center for options. The DRC may ask for medical documentation to assess reasonable accommodation. Medical information will be kept confidential.
Contact the DRC at workplaceaccess@email.arizona.edu or 520-621-3268.
Age-Related and Caregiver Concerns
If, after discussing temporary modifications with your supervisor, you still have concerns based on other risk-factors or related issues (e.g., age-related or caregiver concerns), please connect with Human Resources for support in working with your manager/supervisor.
Contact Human Resources at HR-COVID19-Questions@email.arizona.edu or 520-621-3660.
When work from home is not feasible:
Supervisors and employees should work collaboratively to ensure that the unique circumstances and needs of their workplace are considered and all possible means of increasing physical distance are utilized.
Arizona Law will also adhere to the COVID-19 Workplace Positive Case Notification Protocol and Related Personnel Actions. This guidance provides step-by-step instructions for employees, supervisors, and department heads in the event of a COVID-positive colleague in the building. It includes notification protocol to public health, close contacts, facilities management, and everyone in the building. It also includes important privacy guidelines when an employee tests positive.
In accordance with UArizona Returning to Workspaces guidance and directives (7/21/2020) and communications from the Office of the Provost and Provost Liesl Folks (6/5/2020; see Sec. 5.0 above), supervisors will meet with every employee to determine remote work opportunities. Supervisors should complete the UArizona COVID-19 Workplace Prevention Checklist in planning their unit’s safe return. Supervisors will make a plan for their units in consultation with the College of Law Chief of Staff.
Arizona Law has 40 full-time faculty members, more than 90 Professors of Practice, and 6 emeritus faculty members who continue to teach at Arizona Law.
Professors of Practice include a variety of attorneys, judges, and other legal professionals who teach part-time at Arizona Law. Approximately 30 Professors of Practice are scheduled to teach courses or portions of courses in Fall 2020.
Faculty, like staff and students, are required to participate in all campus safety protocols outlined in this plan when they come to campus to teach, work, attend meetings and events, use the law library, or engage in any other on-site activity.
Following a communication from the Office of the Provost and Provost Liesl Folks on June 5, 2020, faculty members who self-assess to be at “higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 or have related concerns” should initiate a discussion with the College of Law Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or Chief of Staff about possible temporary modified work conditions.
MILESTONE: Faculty who wish to discuss modified work conditions should initiate a discussion with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or the Chief of Staff by July 1, 2020.
The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Dean, and Chief of Staff will work with faculty members to develop flexible work arrangements to the extent curricular needs allow.
MILESTONE: Arrangements to be made by July 15, 2020.
For the 2020-2021 academic year Arizona Law has approximately 400 students enrolled in the JD program, including 130 first-year students, 150 second-year, and 120 third-year. We also have approximately 46 Advanced JD students (included in the numbers above), 8 LLM students, 5 SJDs on campus, and 5 SJDs off campus working on their dissertations. We have approximately 20 MLS students on campus, and 200 online. The fall curriculum for Arizona Law is addressed in section 6.2.
Arizona Law, together with the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, enrolls approximately 900 BA in Law students in combined on-campus (700 students) and remote programs (200 students). The BA in Law program is addressed more fully in section 6.7.
The following rules shall apply to all JD, LLM, SJD, and MLS students:
Members of the UArizona community, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty from other departments, and staff from across campus, frequently attend meetings and events at Arizona Law. Until further notice, Arizona Law is open only to faculty, students, and staff of Arizona Law.
Except in limited circumstances with pre-approval from the Dean’s Office or the Arizona Law COVID Task Force, members of the wider UArizona community will be prohibited from entering the courtyard and any of the buildings of Arizona Law, including the law library.
Anyone requesting entrance to the Arizona Law campus must complete the daily screening questionnaire and temperature check at the kiosk or online.
The Arizona Law community includes hundreds of alumni in Tucson and surrounding areas who frequently come to the Arizona Law for events, meetings, and other activities. Members of the public also visit Arizona Law to attend events and to use our law library. Until further notice, Arizona Law is open only to faculty, students, and staff of Arizona Law.