V Team,

We continue to monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) developments and address every matter that touches the well-being of our colleagues, including evaluating our policies to ensure they are responsive to your needs. For starters, we have expanded our work-from-home strategy to encompass a significant percentage of our team and we continue to deploy other working arrangements to support our employee community during this time. 

We realize we have colleagues who are unable to work-from-home as they are maintaining our superior network services and providing best-in-class support to our customers. We want to make sure our V Teamers on the frontlines are supported, so we are working to modify our benefits structure to help balance work responsibilities with the realities you are dealing with at home.

As you may know there is legislation pending in Washington regarding compensation and benefits relief during the coronavirus pandemic. We are not waiting for that to be resolved.  We will continue to pay targeted compensation levels and provide benefits to our colleagues who are working from home, working on the frontlines in our retail locations, call centers and network locations that remain open.

To assist our colleagues who are unable to work under extenuating circumstances related to caregiver needs, we are announcing a new COVID-19 specific leave of absence policy that will provide 100% of pay for up to 8 weeks, reduced to 60% of pay after 8 weeks.  This policy applies to employees who are:

  • Caring for a household member who has been diagnosed with Coronavirus;
  • Unable to secure childcare accommodations after exhausting all childcare options, including a family member or our Back-up Care Advantage Program; or
  • Directed by a doctor not to report to work because of an underlying health condition (their own or that of a household member) and unable to work at home.

If you meet the criteria listed above, please visit our Coronavirus Resource Page to access the enrollment form or refer to the application process in the attached document.

Once reviewed, we will validate these leaves of absences which may include periodic requalification. This will coordinate with any available government benefits, including benefits available outside the U.S., where local policies may already provide for equivalent or greater leaves.  

Whether you are working from home to help slow the spread of COVID-19 or continuing to serve our customers to meet their needs, the leadership of Verizon deeply appreciates the work that you are doing. We will continue to update our policies and practices as needed to make sure we are keeping pace with the changing government requirements, and supporting you. 

I want to thank each of you for your dedication and support to our fellow colleagues and customers during this unprecedented time.  We are the V Team, this is what we do.  And, we’re here to support you.

We are the V Team.  We will move forward together.

#ForwardTogether 

Christy