Extension of Administrative Relief on Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by COVID-19
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued an updated memorandum that provides extensions to administrative relief guidelines outlined in prior memoranda. Please reference the details on the extensions below. Please note that salary application for administrative leave must follow institutional guidelines in all cases. Current resources from the Office of Human Resources are listed below.
As a reminder, for federal assistance grants and cooperative agreements, administrative flexibilities apply without prior approvals. However, prior approval from an awarding Contract Manager must be obtained on federal contracts. In addition, any impacts to research that are related to COVID-19 must be included in progress reports for federal awards.
OMB – Managing Federal Contract Performance Issues Associated with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The flexibilities and current expiration dates are June 16, 2020 (for M-20-17 and M-20-20) and July 26, 2020 (for M-20-11).
New Memo M-20-26 – Provides an Extension of Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) due to Loss of Operations. The key point is the memo provides an extension of allowability of salaries and other project activities (item 6 in M-20-17) through September 30, 2020 and Extension of Single Audit submission (item 13 in M-20-17) through December 31, 2020.
UNC Human Resources COVID-19 Resources & FAQ
The UNC Office of Human Resources provides FAQ and guidance on University protocols & policies related to COVID-19. Key guideline provided below.
Effective June 1, 2020: Permanent employees are eligible for COVID-19 paid administrative leave at two-thirds of their pay for the period of scheduled time they are unavailable to work – see the HR COVID-19 guidance page for specifics on the circumstances this leave as well as other related leave apply.
Please contact your department’s Sponsored Projects Specialist or the Sponsored Programs Office with questions specific to your proposal and/or award. Please contact ResAdminOSR@unc.edu with all other general sponsored programs questions and requests.
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research also provides a response to COVID-19 that provides further resources for the campus research community.