HR News

Tortellini en brodo is a traditional dish from Bologna, Italy. It has been prepared for Christmas since the mid-16th century. It's a rich broth filled with small, stuffed pastas. There are women who still make a living in Italy by making the tortellini by hand and selling it to people and restaurants. Often for holidays, people make a roast of some kind. I have been using traditional spice blends to add flavor to the roasts. There are traditional Masala spice blends from India made for roast meats that can be found in local Indian markets and in the spice aisle of your supermarket. For a side dish, look to Iran or Persia for a traditional side dish called Tahdig. The name Tahdig literally translates as "the bottom of the pot" in Persian, and it is the crust that forms on the bottom of the pot. It can be done with the rice or with a thin layer of potatoes under the rice. A couple of options for flavoring the basmati rice are using baby lime beans and dill or dried fruit and saffron.

Q: We all know the holidays this year are different and that means keeping our celebrations (and feasts) much smaller. How can we make our holiday dinner feel special when we're missing our usual extended family?
Chef Duryea: I think making the meal with other people makes it special. Is it time for your kids to learn some of the family dishes? It is time to make new traditions? Depending on the ages of your kids, getting them in the kitchen with you will often make them more willing to try new things. Whether it is making tortellini, Chinese dumplings or samosa from India, or sugar cookies and decorating them, working together with your kids to produce these things will give them a feeling of accomplishment and hopefully make them more adventurous. There are many sources to take advantage of: Amazon, Serious Eats and The New York Times all have suggestions for where to find tools and recipes for your kids.

Q: While we will not be gathering with extended family for our holiday meal, we do have older family members in close proximity. Any suggestions to include them in our meal from a distance?
Chef Duryea: I personally like to make a big meal and divide it up into containers. Maybe have other family members contribute, too. I encourage dropping off food for relatives since it isn't safe to spend time with them. I got some to-go containers from a local restaurant supply place. Delivering a delicious meal that we would have otherwise enjoyed together can help to make the holiday feel special.

Q: Let's talk our favorite part of the meal -- dessert! As a patisserie, you must have some incredible ideas. What is your favorite French holiday dessert to make?
Chef Duryea: I have been slightly obsessed with the French Buche de Noel this year. I have been playing with different sponge cakes and just love their versatility. For Thanksgiving, I filled it with pumpkin and chocolate mousse and covered it with a chocolate Swiss buttercream frosting. I love the meringue mushrooms and frosted cranberries and rosemary. I have also filled it with a Nutella cream filling and covered it with chocolate ganache. Maybe a cranberry jam with an orange whipped cream filling will be next on the agenda. Buche de Noel, also known as a Yule log, goes back to Nordic times and was originally part of the winter solstice celebration. They would cut down Pine/Spruce trees and decorate them, and soon it was made into a dessert. It has been adopted as a traditional Christmas treat and gift since then. King Arthur’s, Martha Stewart and my favorite, Bo Friberg, all have wonderful pastry books. The next couple of weeks is my favorite time to bake cookies. I try to mix flavors and textures for variety. I think using good butter and pure flavorings makes a huge difference in the final product. 

View all "Ask an Expert" Articles

The Federal Leave Options that became available on April 1, 2020 as part of a relief package related to the COVID-19 are set to expire Dec. 31. Currently, there is no signed legislation that would extend the use of those leave types.
 
What Does that Mean To Me?
The last date to use one of those leaves is Dec. 31. If you have used any of those leave types, you must enter them into the time reporting system no later than Jan. 15, 2021. After that date, those codes will no longer be available. 
 
Which Leave Types Are We Referring To?
Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act: This leave is available to employees who have been employed by UNT World for at least 30 days. Full-time employees are entitled to 80 hours of paid sick time; part-time employees hours will be prorated based on FTE. You may qualify for this leave if you experience one of the following:

• Governmental quarantine or isolation order (pay limitation: the lesser of 100% pay or $511 per day, and $5,110 in aggregate)
• Advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine (pay limitation: the lesser of 100% pay or $511 per day, and $5,110 in aggregate)
• Caring for an individual who is subject to governmental or self-quarantine (pay limitation: the lesser of two-thirds salary or $200 per day, and $2,000 in aggregate)
• Caring for the employee's child because the child's school or childcare provider is closed (pay limitation: the lesser of $200 per day, and $2,000 in aggregate)
• Experiencing a substantially similar circumstance related to COVID-19 as specified by the Department of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Department of Labor

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Extension
This leave provides up to 12 weeks leave for an employee who cannot work because the school or childcare provider of that employee's child is closed as a result of a public-health emergency. The first 10 days (2 weeks) are unpaid, the remaining 10 weeks is paid at two-thirds of regular pay for the number of hours per week the employee normally works. The maximum amount of pay is $200 per day, and $10,000 in aggregate.

Please note: Documentation must be maintained by the department for any employee using Emergency Paid Sick Leave. Those choosing to use Expanded Family and Medical Leave will apply through FMLA Source, and required documentation will be maintained by Human Resources.
 
For more information please see Working Conditions under COVID 19. For questions regarding these leave options, contact HRbenefits@untsystem.edu.

robots, they're people, and so it's not just a stress on the actual structure and the number of beds, but also the people who have to deliver that care.

Q: If you are going to gather with family outside of your household for the upcoming holidays, is it enough to get tested prior traveling or gathering?
Dr. Cervantes: Realistically, it is really hard to tell people to not travel to not see their relatives, to not see their loved ones during the holidays. I think you have to be realistic and I think it is realistic to say if you're going to go and you're going to see your loved ones, get a rapid test, one that you're going to get the result within 24 hours. It reduces the likelihood that you're infected and could infect other people. It doesn't eliminate it, but it does help.

Q: We saw heavy airport traffic during Thanksgiving. Is it safe to travel on an airplane?
Dr. Cervantes: When we talk about travel and we talk about even sporting events, anything like that, it's not just the actual event itself. It's not just sitting there in the plane that increases your risk, it's everything that comes before and after with travel. We know that we can't just pop on a plane, we have to drive there we have to get to the airport, we're standing in lines; all of that increases our risk because every time we're doing that we're having more and more contact with people. Even though we are wearing masks and social distancing, any time you breach one of those layers you increase that risk. So, I think while you're on the plane there is really good air circulation, but there is an increased risk because of everything associated with travel.

Q: Vaccines are on the way, although it might still be some time before the general population can get vaccinated. Would you recommend getting vaccinated at the earliest opportunity or take a wait-and-see approach?
Dr. Cervantes: I think it's going to depend on what your risk level is. If you are at home and you just maybe go to the store and pick up some groceries and you're not at high risk of infection, then maybe you could say, you know, I'm going to wait. For me, I would more than happily get the vaccine once it is has gone through FDA approval because, again, there's still a lot we don't know about the long-term effects of infection. Overall, I would get the vaccine.

Q: When this pandemic is finally history, how do you think we’ll look back on this period?
Dr. Cervantes: I can’t even imagine all of the things that it's going to impact, how many things are going to change because of the pandemic -- the way that we look at our economy and there's just so many aspects. I think the way that we look at how people react to diseases and infections, it's going to be for many, many years looking at the aftereffects and really what happened during this. It's going to be maybe a couple of years that we're going to be in this pandemic, and really what's going to happen with this virus? Is it going to become something like the other seasonal coronaviruses that maybe once we get vaccinated, maybe we get infected again, but not have severe signs and symptoms? Is it just going to become just regular seasonal coronavirus? So, it'll be interesting. One of the things I learned early as an epidemiologist is when you're going through an outbreak, to sort of in a way keep mementos because there's always going to be maybe 10 years from now, I'm going to be teaching this to students and it's going to be so hard for them to grasp what this moment is like. So, I try to try to keep all of those things with me and document as much as possible, that's for sure yeah.

Q: With the holidays coming up, what should we be doing to keep ourselves and our families safe?
Dr. Cervantes: Avoid the three C's of Covid -- so crowds, cramped, confined spaces and close contact. Those are the things you always want to keep in mind. Also, when you're planning for the holidays -- I mean, I know that it is almost impossible for some people ... so if you need to go (to holiday events), keep it short and sweet and try to imagine, am I going to be in a situation where I might be in a crowd or I might be in a cramped space; if so just make sure that you're prepared, make sure that as much as you can you layer -- do good hand washing, wear your mask, try to keep your distance as much as possible. But, just know that there isn't any one magic bullet on those three things, you have to really layer them up and do the very best you can. More importantly is, think about those people who are very, very susceptible -- your grandmas, your grandpas your our older mother and father, those people that it could be very serious for them to get infected. And, know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that next year I think we're going to be in a much better position, and we just have to do the best this year knowing that there's many more holidays to come.

View all "Ask an Expert" Articles

Both medical and prescription drug insurance coverage deductibles restart Jan. 1, 2021. What does that mean for you? A few things. Until you reach the $50 prescription drug deductible, you might pay more the next time you fill a prescription. And, coinsurance and out of pocket maximums for most plans also restart in the new year. Get all the info you need here in the chart below:

2021 health insurance deductibles - what you need to know