We are saddened by the news of the serious wildfires burning throughout the State of California and our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and first responders. Through Nancy Bond Insurance, we have an ongoing partnership with Health Advocate, a service that aids communication between patients and medical providers. Health Advocate has generously offered their help in these difficult times by reaching out with a wildfire relief program.
Their program allows our members to locate in-network health providers in unfamiliar areas and find facilities that will be able to offer temporary assistance to victims. They can also help transfer your medical records and prescriptions, and will even allow you to receive an emergency supply of medication.
If you need help coordinating your healthcare, need your benefit and treatment questions answered or need help with elderly parents, we urge you to go to www.healthadvocate.com/members or call (866) 695-8622 for assistance.
Additionally, the State has provided the following sites for the best information about the fires:
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Cal Fire Website (click on the map for a local area): http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents
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Cal Fire Contacts by County: http://calfire.ca.gov/contacts/region?RID=10
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For more specific county information on evacuations, incident reports, shelters, and alerts: go to http://www.caloes.ca.gov/ICESite/Pages/October-2017-Northern-California-Fires.aspx
State employees may be entitled to Administrative Time Off (ATO) if they are impacted by a Governor-declared state emergency under California Code of Regulations section 599.785.5. If an employee has been impacted in one of the following ways, he or she may be eligible for ATO:
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The employee’s normal place of business is temporarily closed during the employee’s normal shift due to the emergency.
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The emergency prevents the employee from using reasonable routes to and from work.
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The emergency presents an immediate and grave peril to the employee’s safety, that of an immediate family member, or the employee’s primary residence.
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The employee is actively involved in a formal, organized effort to protect the health and safety of the general public; such as, the employee is a member of the auxiliary fire or police department or the employee is asked by local authorities to assist with emergency efforts.
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The employee needs time off to apply for disaster assistance from FEMA and is unable to do so before or after his/her normal work shift.
Any state employee represented by CASE (whether they are a Voting Member or Mandated Fee Payer) who believe they are entitled to ATO, should submit a request to their Department’s personnel office. If you need assistance with an ATO request or any other workplace issue related to the impact from the fires, please contact CASE at info@calattorneys.org or (800) 699-6533.
As always, your support of CASE and your colleagues in Bargaining Unit 2 is greatly appreciated.