Support

The death of a colleague can bring up a variety of individual and group emotions within a team, and it has a profound impact on work groups. The UO is committed to providing support to employees navigating the death of a colleague.

In collaboration with Canopy, UO's employee assistance program, the University provides resources to support employees and units processing a loss:

• Onsite critical incident response and support for work teams. Email hrbenefits@uoregon.edu to arrange this, or call 6-2964 to discuss options or get assistance with making arrangements.
• Individual counseling for employees. 
• For immediate 24/7 counseling, call Canopy at 800-433-2320.

For managers and employees looking for basic guidance and support, the employee assistance program has created some written resources:

• "Trauma: Tips for Managers" provides guidance on supporting your workplace through a loss.
  Trauma: Tips for Managers (English)
  Trauma: Tips for Managers (Spanish)
   
• "Coping with Grief" describes the emotional processes employees can expect, helpful self-care actions to take, and how to support one another.
  Coping with Grief (English)
  Coping with Grief (Spanish)
   

Job Separation Instructions

The HR team is available to guide units through the administrative processes necessary when an employee passes away: paperwork, benefits, and other logistical matters. The steps below list the appropriate contacts to help you.

• NOTIFY unit leadership and follow any unit-level protocol for an employee's passing.
• NOTIFY the Benefits Office immediately so that a Notice of Claim can be filed on the employee’s group life insurance coverage through the university.  You can email hrbenefits@uoregon.edu or call 6-2964.
• NOTIFY the Payroll Office immediately at payroll@uoregon.edu.
• SUBMIT an Employee Separation Request Form.
• CALCULATE the final leave balances to be paid. Include this information in the Remarks section of the Employee Separation Request Form. 
• NOTIFY the Director or Post-Award SPA of the Office of Sponsored Projects Services, if the deceased employee served as the Principal Investigator (PI) on a funded sponsored project.
• REFER the deceased’s representative to the Benefits Office (hrbenefits@uoregon.edu or 541-346-2964) for information regarding the employee's retirement accounts and health benefits for surviving covered dependents.
• REQUEST from the deceased’s representative the return of all institutional property, keys, and employee identification card.
• COORDINATE with the deceased's representative the retrieval of personal effects from the workplace.
• COMPLETE & FILE the Separation Checklist in your employee’s department file.