MONROE, La., March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread across the United States — affecting the livelihoods of millions of workers — CenturyLink is taking an immediate, aggressive, and industry-leading approach to ensure the safety, financial health, and well-being of its employees.

As a result of the pandemic, CenturyLink is providing immediate relief and protection for its employees. These benefits and protections include:

• Well positioned for work from home (WFH): Currently, approximately 75% of CenturyLink's global employee population, outside of some of our critical field and customer-facing positions, are working from home.
• Voluntarily providing 80 hours of emergency paid time off (PTO): For the next 60 days, CenturyLink will provide up to 80 hours of emergency, excused, paid time off (PTO) to all U.S. employees. This is in addition to our current allotments of paid time off, sick leave, or other company-provided paid and unpaid leave. This voluntary move goes beyond the recently enacted "Families First Coronavirus Response Act," since it does not require larger companies like CenturyLink to comply.
• CenturyLink is also voluntarily providing 75 hours of emergency PTO to employees in Canada.
• Extending short-term disability benefits to new employees: Effective immediately, we are waiving the one-year waiting requirement for all current U.S.-based employees. Now, all U.S. employees are provided with short-term disability coverage. CenturyLink offers employees up to six months of short-term disability. Following six months, employees qualify for long-term disability.
• Protections for frontline employees: We've provided technicians disinfectant supplies and have changed the way we work and meet to "create distance." Our technicians know they have flexibility to stay home if they are not feeling well.

"These are certainly demanding times. The COVID-19 crisis is challenging many aspects of our society. At CenturyLink, we are challenging ourselves to implement solutions for our employees and customers to keep them safe and ease their anxiety and concerns where we can," said CenturyLink CEO Jeff Storey. "We've taken aggressive steps to expand our employee benefit programs and are working closely with businesses and governments around the world to ensure they have the network capacity, connectivity, and security to meet their urgent and, often, unique challenges. I am incredibly proud of the CenturyLink team. Their unwavering commitment to deliver for our customers is second to none."

For more information about CenturyLink's well-being focused approach to COVID-19, as well as our commitment to our customers, communities, and employees, visit: http://news.centurylink.com/covid-19.

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is technology leader delivering hybrid networking, cloud connectivity, and security solutions to customers around the world. Through its extensive, global fiber network, CenturyLink provides secure and reliable services to meet the growing digital demands of businesses and consumers. CenturyLink strives to be the trusted connection to the networked world and is focused on delivering technology that enhances the customer experience. Learn more at news.centurylink.com.

SOURCE CenturyLink Inc.