Curt Wilson, AIA
Executive Vice President / CEO

Getting Reengaged

I hope you and your family are healthy during these trying times. The AIA Oregon staff team members are working from our homes and we are meeting through video conference daily, as many of you are. We are catching up on tasks, planning for upcoming events presented remotely, and continuing to plan some of our larger events that are scheduled in the Fall. We’ve settled into a routine that is working for and allows us to communicate and remain productive. Each of us are interacting with a lot less people than we did before, and we suspect many of you have the same experience. The focus on the T@3 this week is on opportunities to engage and interact remotely with others.

AIA Oregon Meetings

The plan for AIA Oregon activities discussed a few weeks ago was to cancel all meetings and events through March to lay low and allow our members to adjust to the new normal of work from home and social distancing expectations. The assumption at that time was that after a few weeks, social isolation would become more significant in our daily existence and we would be looking for new outlets for engagement. Assuming that’s how some of you feel, our sections and committee leaders are planning on meetings via video conference to move their committee tasks forward, consider new events and activities that can be done remotely, and provide an opportunity for anyone that wants to participate to engage with others. We’ve added a list of meetings scheduled for April in this week’s edition.

Continuing Education Opportunities

On the Resources Page, under Professional Development/Continuing Education we have added links to providers of AIA Accredited continuing education webinars. We’ll continue to add more links here as we encounter more offerings, so if you are aware of others, please forward a link to info@aiaoregon.org.

COVID-19 Relief Package

As you may be aware, the US Senate passed a multi-trillion dollar relief bill that moves next to the House. AIA EVP and CEO Robert Ivy, FAIA sent an email update on the bill to all AIA members this morning, which you can review in our News from National segment.

This is the third federal COVID-19 related bill and the combined legislation impacts most aspects of our lives. The Department of Labor has clarified that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will go into effect on April 1. We previously reported that it was scheduled to go into effect on April 2 based on language in the FFCRA, but the Department of Labor has mandated that the effective date is April 1. Here is the link to the mandatory notice required under the emergency paid sick leave portion of the law [https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf]. All employers with 1 – 499 employees must post this notice in a conspicuous place (we suggest you post this notice at each location where you have placed your other mandatory postings). For those with employees working remotely, you should send this notice to each employee via e-mail to ensure that all employees receive a copy.

We anticipate that more information about the requirements will be released and encourage you to regularly check out the Legal and Insurance section of our COVID-19 resources.

I’ve only had a chance to talk to a few of you this week, so my understand of various situations is based on a limited sample size. It seems that many firms active in the public sector remain busy and are challenged with getting their work completed on schedule within the context of firm-wide work from home. Of those that remain busy, some have expressed “video conference fatigue” and are not looking for more opportunities to interact with others through phone and screen. I’ve heard second and third person of others that have been laid off or had their hours restricted. I assume those not working, or working part-time, feel the isolation more acutely. AIA Oregon needs to understand and respond to the situations of all our members, so we can put our resource where best needed. Please reach out to me at cwilson@aiaoregon.org to let me know your work situation and how AIA Oregon can best help you.

Sincerely,

Curt Wilson, AIA
Executive VP/CEO