The California Public Employees' Retirement System today announced that it will close its headquarters, Sacramento regional office and daycare center located at 400 Q Street in downtown Sacramento for one day on Monday, March 16 due to the novel Coronavirus or COVID-19.
CalPERS is taking this action after an employee showed symptoms of the virus. The employee went home immediately and has been self-isolating. The work area was also cleaned and disinfected. The employee has been tested for COVID-19 and is waiting on the results.
The closure will allow CalPERS to clean and disinfect its offices, and also to continue to implement social distancing practices in all work areas. To assist in implementing social distancing, CalPERS will take initial steps to begin transitioning some employees to telework where operationally feasible.
"The safety of our members, team members, and the public who visit our offices is our top priority," said Marcie Frost, Chief Executive Officer for CalPERS. "We are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution."
The pension fund has also canceled its committee meetings scheduled for Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17. The cancellations include CalPERS' Investment Committee, Pension & Health Benefits Committee and Board Governance Committee. Items for discussion and action in those committees will be moved to the CalPERS Board meetings scheduled for April 20 and 21, 2020.
The full CalPERS Board will convene via teleconference on Wednesday, March 18 to act on proposed Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) matters.
The pension fund's other seven regional offices throughout California will remain open for business. The CalPERS Investment Office will continue to conduct business off-site or through telework.
CalPERS has already taken steps to cancel larger gatherings and has implemented social distancing protocols in all its locations around the state. CalPERS members and employer partners are encouraged to use CalPERS website and the myCalPERS system to get questions answered and conduct business with the system during the closure.
