Extension of Administrative Relief on Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by COVID-19
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not issued an update to further extend administrative relief guidelines as outlined in prior memoranda M-20-26 – 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.
Please note that the extension of allowability for salaries and other project activities (item 6 in M-20-17) is scheduled to end today, September 30, 2020. For now, be aware of the end date to this flexibility on federal awards and OSR will provide an update and additional guidance as soon as we learn definitively from OMB.
Additionally, on federal contracts, prior approval to be eligible for these benefits is required from an awarding Contract Manager, even on after-the-fact charges. Any impacts to research that are related to COVID-19 must also be included in progress reports for federal awards.
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 August 1, 2020, COVID-19 Paid Administrative Leave is available for permanent employees only in the following circumstances:
- For elder care needs due to COVID-19-related elder care facility closings, COVID-19 paid administrative leave is available at two-thirds of the employee’s pay for the period of scheduled time they are unavailable due to providing elder care.
- If an employee is unable to work for absences due to reasons outlined in the FFCRA to qualify for EPSL Reasons 1 – 3 (subject to a quarantine/isolation order, advised to self-quarantine, or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms) and the employee has exhausted their FFCRA leave benefits, accrued leave, and accrued paid time off (comp time, etc.). In those limited circumstances, employees who have exhausted all accrued leave will receive COVID-19 paid administrative leave at 100% of their pay, cumulative up to 160 hours through Dec. 31, 2020.
Please see the HR COVID-19 guidance page for further details 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.