Due to increasing concerns surrounding the H1N1 flu, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents will vote at its meetings this week whether to suspend a rule proclaiming staff must provide a doctor’s note if they are sick for more than five days.
“There are really two reasons why we want to wave that policy for now,” said Steve Lund, interim director of the UW System Office of Human Resources. “First of all we don’t want to be flooding doctors’ offices and clinics just so they can get a doctor’s note; secondly it would make it easier for employees.”
He added they currently cannot make any exceptions but have not experienced any problems.
“The good news is that in most cases people will be back in five days, but there will be the case for some people that it’s more,” said Sarah Van Orman, executive director for University Health Services at UW-Madison.
The guidance from the Centers for Disease Control says one thing employers and schools should do during these types of situations is allow people to stay at home, Van Orman said. She added she hopes most schools will follow the CDC guidelines.
The regents will also vote on the approval of the $81 million computer system overhaul for UW System Human Resources. The proposal is supported by UW System President Kevin Reilly.
The proposed system has been in the planning stages for more than a year, and it is meant to consolidate the payroll systems of various university systems, according to the Board of Regents’ September agenda.
The regents contracted with Huron Consulting Group, which will take on a large amount of work and cost associated with the project. However, the consulting group has recently been the center of debate among various legislators.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating financial and accounting issues within Huron during a period between 2006 and 2009, according to a statement released Aug. 3 by Huron.
“The UW System was aware of it in the middle of August, but they made an intentional decision not to inform legislators about the situation,” said Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, who believes the lack of information provided by Reilly is unacceptable.
Regent Jeffery Bartell said the UW System looked into the accounting problems and decided there were mistakes, but no flagrant missteps that would have led to dropping the firm, according to the Associated Press.
At the meeting today Huron’s CEO will provide more insight into the corporation and will also field questions from the regents.
“Let’s put the breaks on it,” Mikalsen said. “We’re not saying just drop them, but take the go slow approach to truly understand what might happen here.”
The regents will meet today and Friday at UW-Whitewater.
