Info on Special Administrative Leaves for Essentia Red Book

UPDATE for Essentia Health Red Book - Here is a summary of the Agreement Covering Special Administrative Leaves for the Red Book:

Whether you volunteer, or are assigned, to the SAL, this is a temporary leave of absence for the period of April 10 – May 31, 2020. While on leave you retain your seniority. Your benefits remain intact (Health, Dental, Basic Life, Voluntary Life, Long-Term, and Short-Term Disability insurances). But note that you’re still responsible for your share of the health insurance premium, so you’ll need to reach out to HR to make arrangements for paying that. Anyone on this leave can and should apply for unemployment.

For workers who are mandated to take the leave, the company will follow the seniority provisions found under Article 25 of the contract, whereby the least senior workers in the effected job classifications within an impacted department by work site will be assigned leave if there aren’t enough volunteers. There may be exceptions to the seniority provision for workers with special needed skills, but in those cases the union will be notified and have the option of filing a grievance if we disagree with the company’s decision.

If you’re out on leave, you can be called back to work prior to May 31. In which case you’re expected to be able to return within 24 hours. Let the company know though if there is something in your life that would make it difficult for you to return in 24 hours. If a department has more than one person out on leave, and they start calling people back – they have to do so by seniority for the needed job classification. A senior employee may decline the recall provided there is a less senior employee available with the appropriate skill and competency to fill the recall need. The employee who is finally selected for recall has to go back. An employee on SAL who is recalled can only be placed back on Special Administrative Leave once prior to May 31.

Workers may be needed to temporarily perform traditionally non-bargaining unit work. The Employer agrees this would end not later than forty-five days after the current Pandemic emergency subsides.

On May 31, Essentia will have three options:

-extend the SALs with mutual agreement from the union;
-take everyone off of the SAL and bring them back to work;
-take everyone off of the SAL and follow the reduction of hours/layoff language in Article 26 of the contract if they determine that they need to start implementing actual layoffs.