Oregon summers are beautiful, but heat and wildfires occasionally disrupt university operations. These disruptions can generate questions from supervisors and employees, and the University of Oregon provides support, training and other resources to answer them. 

On June 10, Safety and Risk Services and Human Resources sent a joint email to university employees with workplace resources for extreme heat, wildfire and smoke conditions. Supervisors and employees can refer to that email for resources and training information.

The university generally maintains regular operations during heat advisories and periods of poor air quality, with no changes to work or class schedules. But in rare cases of significant disruption, the university may decide to cancel classes and other functions and/or to change its operating schedule. When this happens, employees are notified via standard procedures.

Safety and Risk Services offers tools, safety sheets and links to in-person and online training that address working in extreme heat and preparing for wildfire and smoke conditions. And the Office of Human Resources provides guidance on work assignments and leaves during air quality and heat advisories, including supervisor responsibilities under those circumstances.

Supervisors and employees with employment-related questions about inclement conditions should contact their unit HR representative or the HR service center at 541-346-3159 or hrinfo@uoregon.edu. For safety-related questions, please contact Environmental Health and Safety at ehsinfo@uoregon.edu.