PEF and SUNY reach agreement on mandatory COVID-19 testing for PEF-represented employees

SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras and New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) President Wayne Spence have reached an agreement to conduct free, mandatory testing for PEF-represented employees at SUNY state-operated colleges, universities, and hospitals.

Effective immediately and continuing through Dec. 31, 2020, all PEF-represented employees who work in person and on campus at SUNY New Paltz are required to be tested for coronavirus.

Employee testing must be provided for free and must allow employees to be tested during regular work hours.

The process of implementing mandatory PEF employee testing at SUNY New Paltz is currently in the planning stages. Campus leaders from the Office of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion will work with local PEF representatives to develop their respective employee testing protocols.

The SUNY-PEF agreement calls for testing to be done at the same frequency as student testing; New Paltz students are currently required to be tested twice during the fall 2020 semester, so PEF-represented employees will be tested twice this fall as well.

Employees will have options for fulfilling the mandatory testing at off-campus facilities if they prefer.

More details and updates will be shared with the campus community as soon as they are available.

This SUNY-PEF agreement follows similar arrangements announced recently with United University Professions (UUP) faculty and professional members, and Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) employees.