August 13, 2021 (REVISED) – THIS REPLACES THE PREVIOUS GUIDANCE ISSUED ON JUNE 1, 2021

Guidance Regarding COVID-19 - The following temporary guidelines apply to Cleveland Operations Employees and will remain in place until further notice. 

·         Overall comments about COVID-19 Testing

o   Employees who take COVID-19 tests are strongly encouraged to take a Polymer Chain Reaction (PCR) COVID-19 test.  The results of COVID-19 tests other than the PCR test (ie rapid tests) have been proven to be less accurate than the PCR test. For this reason, negative results of any tests other than PCR tests cannot be relied on by the Company.  Therefore, employees who are required to provide a negative COVID-19 test prior to coming back to work during a required period of quarantine under these guidelines must provide a negative PCR COVID-19 test or they will continue to be required to quarantine for the periods referenced in this document. 

·         Overall comments regarding employees who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19

o   While the Company strongly encourages all employees to get vaccinated, all employees, regardless of vaccination status, are expected to wear masks in required areas and are subject to this policy.

·         Employees who test positive for COVID-19

o   Upon quarantine, employee may apply for unemployment and short-term disability benefits

o   The employee must notify the medical department and remain in quarantine until the following return to work criteria is met:

§  At least 14 calendar days have passed since symptoms consistent with COVID-19 first appeared

§  Fever-free for at least the 24 hours immediately preceding return to work date without using fever-reducing medications, e.g. Tylenol, paracetamol, aspirin

§  Notable improvement in respiratory symptoms, e.g. no cough, no shortness of breath

If all three criteria are met there is no need to further quarantine.

·         Employees who have not tested positive for COVID-19 and have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 will be subject to the following:

o   The Medical Department will identify if the employee meets the following criteria: Was the employee in close contact with someone confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19? The timeframe for having close contact with the person (suspected of having COVID-19) includes the period of time of 48 hours before the individual became symptomatic (e.g. fever, cough, difficulty breathing). If the Index Person was not symptomatic then the period of time for having close contact is 48 hours before the first positive test sample was collected.

§  If YES “Exposure likely occurred” the employee is sent home until 14 days after the last exposure. The employee is expected to maintain social distance (at least 6 feet) from others at all times and Self-monitor for symptoms.

·         Employees who take a PCR test 3-5 days after exposure and test negative should provide the negative test result to the Medial Department and can then return to work the next scheduled day after receiving the negative test.  The employee will still need to self-monitored for the remainder of the 14 days. 

§  If NO – “Exposure likely did not occur”. The employee is permitted to work. The employee should Self-monitor. If the employee develops symptoms, he/she shall not report to work and should seek medical advice. The employee is encouraged to call their health care provider and local health agency with any questions.

§  Note: When the Medical Department is informed of a suspected COVID-19 case, contact tracing is performed. As part of that process, the employee with the suspected COVID-19 case is asked who he or she has been in close contact with (defined as being within 6 feet for greater than 15 minutes in a 24-hour period of contact, with or without a mask).  Those employees are then contacted to better understand the situation and, if they also confirm close contact, they will also be quarantined.

§  Employees who are quarantined may apply for sickness and accident benefits and unemployment benefits, depending on their specific situations (for example, employees with symptoms should apply for sickness and accident benefits and all quarantined employees should apply for unemployment).

·         Employees who request time off to care for a family member at home who has tested positive for COVID-19 (and provide appropriate documentation)

§  Employees may request vacation or a personal, unpaid Leave of Absence, that may/may not be approved, based on the specific situation and according to the needs of the business. Personal leaves of absence can be requested using the standard leave of absence form which can be requested through the employee’s supervisor (our normal process).

§  Employee can apply for FMLA

§  Employee can apply for unemployment (note that the decision regarding whether an unemployment claim is approved is made by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. If the employee is able to provide documentation that a family member who he or she has had close contact with has tested positive, quarantine requirements will apply. In this situation, our understanding is that it is likely that an unemployment claim would be approved, in which case the employee should consider not applying for an unpaid LOA or FMLA for this time.

·         Employees who are sick with COVID-19 symptoms and do not report to work based on company screening guidelines. See self-assessment form

o   Call primary care physician for medical assessment

o   The employee must notify the medical department. 

§  If there is a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, the employee may apply for unemployment and short-term disability benefits.

o   Employee may be returned to work the next scheduled shift after providing the negative results of a PCR test to the Medical Department. 

o   If the employee chooses not to take the PCR test, he or she can return to work if all 3 criteria below are met:

§  At least 14 calendar days have passed since symptoms consistent with COVID-19 first appeared

§  Fever-free for at least the 24 hours immediately preceding return to work date without using fever-reducing medications, e.g. Tylenol, paracetamol, aspirin

§  Notable improvement in respiratory symptoms, e.g. no cough, no shortness of breath

§  If all three criteria are met there is no need to further quarantine.

·         Employees who want to self-quarantine because they believe they are at-risk or have an at-risk individual living with them, or Employees who want to self-quarantine out of precaution, should discuss the situation with Medical/HR and with a supervisor/manager to make a decision in the best interest of the individual and the business

o   Employees may request vacation or a personal leave of absence, that may/may not be approved, based on the specific situation and according to the needs of the business. Personal leaves of absence can be requested using the standard leave of absence form which can be requested through their supervisor (our normal process).

o   If approved, a COVID-19 self-quarantine personal leave of absence is for either 7 calendar days or 14 calendar days, depending on the situation.

·         Employees with COVID-19 symptoms who are sent home for further medical evaluation

o   Employees in this situation will be sent home through the Medical Pass process and should not go back to their work area.  Instead, Medical will work with the employee’s department to retrieve any critical items (ex. car keys).  Employees in this situation are strongly encouraged to take a Polymer Chain Reaction (PCR) COVID-19 test and will be expected to begin self-quarantine and may apply for unemployment and/or short-term disability. 

o   Employee may be returned to work the next scheduled shift after providing the negative results of a PCR test to the Medical Department. 

o   If the employee chooses not to take the PCR test, he or she can return to work if all 3 criteria below are met:

§  At least 14 calendar days have passed since symptoms consistent with COVID-19 first appeared

§  Fever-free for at least the 24 hours immediately preceding return to work date without using fever-reducing medications, e.g. Tylenol, paracetamol, aspirin

§  Notable improvement in respiratory symptoms, e.g. no cough, no shortness of breath

§  If all three criteria are met there is no need to further quarantine.

·         Employees who  have previously tested positive for COVID-19

o   Employees in this situation are required to the same mask and social distancing requirements as all other employees.

o   In situations where an employee who has previously tested positive for COVID-19 is contacted about potential quarantine situations, he or she will work with the Medical department to review the situation, dates of positive case, potential exposure, etc and a decision will be made by the Medical department regarding whether a quarantine period is required based on the guidance available at that time.

While this policy is in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, if any employees are found to be using the quarantine periods above to circumvent the Attendance Policy, it will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Employees are able to monitor their temperatures at work by either visiting the Medical Department or one of the temperature check stations that have been created near many of the entry points to the plant (106 Mezzanine, Gate 5 guardhouse, Building 53 Lobby).

If you have questions related to medical conditions, symptoms, health concerns, etc, please call Medical at 216-641-4061.  If you have HR-related questions, please call 216-641-4481.