Summary
- The COVID-19 pandemic has created new hardships and needs for employees and trainees, including needs related to childcare, transportation, and workspaces.
- The following guidance is provided to departments to help determine whether employees may be reimbursed for costs incurred during the pandemic.
- UCSF has also developed Qualified Disaster Relief Programs (QDRP). This provides tax-exempt grants to UCSF employees, trainees, and students to help with extraordinary costs incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- For employees earning up to $75,000 annually, including postdocs, fellows, and residents, the QDRP program can be found at: https://coronavirus.ucsf.edu/relief-program.
- Additional programs are being established by individual departments.
- Outside of the grant programs, departments should adhere to the guidance on the following pages. While exceptional reimbursements may occur, departments should attempt to follow the spirit of this document.
- UCSF will reimburse employees for the purchase of COVID-19 tests for required testing associated with UCSF business related activities.
Guiding Principles
- The University pays for and reimburses costs related to a University business purpose.
- In many cases, departments should provide necessary supplies and materials through normal University supply chain channels. This will avoid the need for employees to purchase supplies and seek reimbursement.
- Reimbursement practices should:
- be consistent across the organization
- comply with University policy and reflect good stewardship of public funding
- ensure individual employees are not excessively burdened by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and are able to perform their work
- reflect the temporary nature of the current pandemic
- Guidance may need to change as the pandemic continues and as further decisions are made about telecommuting practices.
Allowable and Unallowable Reimbursements—Exceptions Require Pre-approval
Area | Allowable | Generally Unallowable |
---|---|---|
Commute expense |
|
|
Space | Rental of space, without prior approval from UCSF Real Estate and UCSF Finance | |
Working from home |
The Telework and Remote Teams Task Force will develop a proposal. Interim recommendations:
|
(Exceptions for telephones and wifi may be allowed with pre-approval for special circumstances and consistent with existing practices) *Departments should establish procedures for distributing office supplies. |
Quarantine-related costs |
|
|
Other supplies and equipment |
If not already provided by department:
|
|
Childcare | None | Employees may wish to apply for relief through QDRP programs. |