What You Need to Know about Working on Site

Guiding Principles | If You Are Called to Lab | What to Expect and What Is Expected | Balancing Remote and Site Work | Looking Ahead | Conclusion

NASA and the nation entrust JPL with a singular mission to explore our planet and our place in the universe. To fulfill our responsibilities, we need to conduct some work that cannot be done remotely. We are doing so during a pandemic by following a core principle:

"Make space for those who have to be on Lab, by keeping home those who don’t."

If you need to be on Lab, we will find a safe home for you. If you want to be on Lab, you may have to wait.

JPL and Caltech follow these additional guiding principles:

• Our first priority is the health and safety of our personnel and their families.
• The return to on-site work at JPL will be gradual, methodical, risk-based and in compliance with the implementation of the Safe at Work protocol.
• Federal, state and local public health guidelines and orders will take precedence over JPL policy.
• No one given access to Lab will be required to come on site if they feel uncomfortable.
• Large-scale teleworking will continue for the foreseeable future.
• Work conditions will promote social distancing and other precautions.
• JPL will provide timely updates on the incidence of COVID-19 in our community, safeguarding details to protect private health information.

As of August 2020, the Laboratory remains in Stage 3, with access limited to personnel necessary for critical touch labor in engineering, research, test support and infrastructure. A large majority of the JPL workforce remains under mandatory telework. As conditions permit, JPL may transition to Stage 2, during which access would be expanded further.

If you do not have access to Lab currently but believe you have compelling reasons to work on site, talk to your supervisor, who will escalate the request to your Director for.

If you are granted access to Lab, you will receive a communication from your supervisor outlining the timing and logistics of a potential return to on-site work. The communication will include a description of the task(s) and duration, work safety plans, and any additional requirements.

Each facility or work area will be assigned a Covid Safety Facility Coordinator responsible for implementing a work safety plan, managing the list of tasks and personnel in the area or facility, and responding to any safety concerns.

Our shared safety requires acceptance of mutual responsibilities. JPL’s Safety and Facilities teams will do everything they can to keep you safe. You are expected to keep yourself and your colleagues safe by following all required protocols.

We understand coming to Lab will feel different and sometimes onerous during the pandemic, and we appreciate your patience with precautions designed to keep everyone safe.

The Safe at Work protocol defines the expectations for ensuring mutual safety, including:

• elements of a safe work setting
• work location personnel density
• behavior while working in a COVID-19 environment

All personnel are required to complete the JPL Safe at Work training and abide by the requirements.

Returning to a shared workplace in a pandemic is an act that requires awareness and diligence from every individual. You must take these steps every day in advance of arrival on Lab:

• Complete your daily health screening before leaving home.
• Confirm your authorization to access Lab with your supervisor.
• Check the Coronavirus and Current JPL Guidance FAQ site for any updates, and the HR Covid-19 information page (also available from the FAQ site) for any building closures.
• Wear a face covering. Once on-site, all personnel are provided a reusable cloth mask and any necessary disinfection supplies. Consult with your supervisor to schedule the pick-up of required personal protective equipment (PPE).

The Safe at Work protocol emphasizes social distancing of at least 6 feet, face coverings to protect others in the event you are unknowingly infected, and diligent cleaning and disinfection practices. See the protocol for details.

All on-Lab activities have an approved COVID-19 Prevention Work Plan. You will be assigned to a Covid Safety Facility Coordinator who will review the Work Plan with all members of the team, outlining their work area and use of common areas, coordinating work and ensuring that personnel density remains within approved limits.

All personnel on site share the following obligations:

• Clean commonly shared work surfaces before and after each use.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in public, after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, or touching your face.
• Go virtual first for meetings, both for safety and as a courtesy to remote participants. If you must meet in person, do so in compliance with social distancing requirements, wear face coverings, meet outdoors or keep doors open to increase airflow. In-person meetings are strongly discouraged as convening in groups increases the risk of viral transmission. All conference rooms have signs specifying maximum occupancy under current conditions.
• Remind anyone not following safety protocols of JPL’s requirements, or reach out to your area lead or supervisor to inform them of your concerns. Personnel found to be out of compliance with JPL’s safety protocols will receive coaching or disciplinary action up to and including loss of on-site access.

Facilities staff are cleaning and sanitizing buildings in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations and guidance, with an emphasis on high-traffic areas and frequently touched surfaces. Facilities teams are also installing additional sanitizer stations with a preference for contactless models, increasing outside air ventilation and upgrading central air filters. Sanitation and ventilation procedures differ according to building design and occupancy.

Cafe 167 operates on a limited schedule, with other cafeterias opening as conditions allow. Check the café website for current information. Indoor seating is limited to allow for appropriate social distancing. Maintain social distancing at mealtime as at all other times.

Access to JPL computing resources will continue to be available whether you are on-site or working remotely. Appointments for in-person support will be required to ensure proper social distancing.

• The Hub remains closed. Mantech will consider re-opening based on demand.
• Support is available by appointment at the Mantech facility, 505 West Woodbury in Pasadena.
• The Service Desk is available online and by calling 818-354-4351 (4-HELP)

For more information about IT support during mandatory telework, visit the COVID-19 IT Frequently Asked Questions website as well as general IT support information available through IT Portal.

Visit the JPL COVID-19 information page for updated statistics on cases reported by JPLers, and information on response protocols.

We encourage all individuals working on site to log their work locations and interactions every day using a confidential contact tracing tool. Plan for the worst case, and assume that you could be unknowingly infected or infective. Accurate and detailed contact logs keep all of us safer.

Please work with your supervisor and HR BP to determine whether you will spend the majority of your time on Lab or at home, and in which location you should keep NASA property such as IT equipment and office furniture. Your supervisor and HR BP also can help arrange for any assistance you may need to return assets to Lab. When you bring back IT equipment you will need to update your Offsite IT Equipment Registry record.

Mandatory telework applies to most employees during the current Stage 3. If you would like to continue teleworking once the Lab moves to the less restrictive Stage 2, please coordinate with your supervisor to create a new flex-work arrangement. We will encourage telework throughout the pandemic as an important protective measure for personnel both on and off Lab.

We encourage all employees and supervisors to continue to make all possible accommodations for anyone affected by closures of schools and child care centers. Employees who are in a high-risk population as defined by the CDC, or have a medical disability, may make a request for an accommodation under the Rehabilitation Act, consistent with JPL’s Reasonable Accommodation Process. Contact AskHR to discuss options.

While JPL may expand access to Lab if conditions improve, the precautions listed above will remain in effect for as long as the novel coronavirus remains a threat. If you have questions or want to take part in ongoing discussions about changing how we work as we return to Lab, visit the #covid-return-to-lab-ideas Slack channel. You can also share your ideas in the COVID-19 Return to Lab Ideas Spark campaign.

We are breaking new ground with our shared response to this pandemic. JPLers built a prototype ventilator in just 37 days. We brought Perseverance to the launch pad during turbulent times—a concrete symbol of our resolve to rise above immense obstacles. We will continue to create safe conditions that allow our dedication to thrive, and will return gradually to on-site work with an overriding concern for our mutual health and wellbeing.

However, no one can foresee with confidence what shape the pandemic will take, or guarantee an environment free of all risk of infection. The health and safety protocols and policies we have put in place may change as circumstances and guidance from health officials and other government agencies evolve. The challenges presented by COVID-19 will require flexibility and patience, and we will rely on your diligent and thoughtful compliance with JPL policy. Thank you for your commitment to a resilient, safe and caring community.