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Emergency Closings
At times it may be necessary for the President to declare specific hours or days as an emergency closing due to inclement weather or other emergency conditions. This policy applies to all Spelman College employees in positions affected by the inclement weather and emergency closing policy. Failure to comply with this policy may result in corrective action.
Responsibility
It is the responsibility of vice presidents/provost, academic deans, department heads, directors and supervisors to ensure the provisions of this policy are administered to all employees in a consistent manner. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to provide accurate time and leave information to the Payroll Department.
Definitions
Authorized closing:The closing of College operations, as determined by the President, for specific periods of time as needed. An authorized closing may be for an entire shift or a partial shift, such as in the case of late openings or early closings.
Emergency conditions:Those conditions, as determined by the President, that severely hamper employees from traveling to and from work, or remaining at work (such as inclement weather, utility failure, fire or other forced evacuations).
Essential Personnel:Those employees identified by the employing department who are required to work during periods of authorized closings. Examples of essential personnel may be, but are not limited to, Public Safety Officers, Facilities Management & Services Personnel, Resident Directors, on-call Resident Directors and other positions on an as needed basis (i.e. Counseling, Health Services).
In the event of an authorized closing, a supervisor may change the status of any staff member to Essential Personnel based on the needs of the College, and the supervisor may alter the work schedule based on circumstances and overall needs.
Non-Essential Personnel:Those employees who are not required to work during periods of authorized closings.
Closing Decisions
Decisions to close the College will be made by the President or a designee. Individual vice presidents/provost, deans, directors, department heads and supervisors are not authorized to make closing decisions without the approval and consent of the President. The President or a designee may make such a decision at any time during the calendar year to protect the best interest and welfare of the College. Employees are encouraged to sign up for Spelman Alert at spelman.edu. Voicemail and text messages will be sent to employees in the event of a campus closing or delayed opening. Also, employees may call the inclement weather line at 404-270-6116 or 404-270-6117. No announcement will be recorded if the campus is open.
In addition, the appropriate announcements may be placed on the following radio and television stations:
For purpose of interpretation, Spelman College’s campus closure may be announced through the media as: ‘Atlanta University Center Institutions’ or ‘Spelman College.’
Compensation for Essential Personnel
In the event of an entire shift closing or a partial shift closing, essential personnel classified as non-exempt who work during the closing will be paid their regular rate of pay plus paid for the hours worked at their regular rate of pay.
Essential personnel who do not report to work during an entire shift closing or partial shift closing as scheduled will be paid their regular rate of pay for the closing.
Employees on pre-approved leave with pay (i.e. vacation, leave of absence, sick etc.), which falls on the day of an authorized closing day, will be charged leave for the day.
Vacation, sick or leave without pay must be charged, as appropriate, when a designated employee leaves before the end of the shift during an authorized closing or comes in late (after the delayed start time) during a delayed opening.
If an authorized closing falls on an employee's regularly scheduled day off, the employee will not report to work and will not be paid for that day.
Essential personnel required to be on duty for less than 24 hours is working even though he/she is permitted to sleep or engage in other personal activities when not busy, thus this employee will be paid for the hours they were required to be on duty less the meal period. Meal periods are required, and should be at least 30 minutes and generally taken after 4 to 6 hours of work.
Essential personnel required to be on duty for 24 hours or more will be required to take a non-paid sleep break of 8 consecutive hours within a 24 hour period and will be paid for 16 hours within that 24 hour period less the meal period. Meal periods are required, and should be at least 30 minutes and generally taken after 4 to 6 hours of work.
Essential personnel classified as non-exempt will be paid overtime at 1 ½ times their rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in one workweek.
Compensation for Full-day Closing - Non-essential Personnel
To be eligible for pay, non-essential employees must be scheduled to work the day of the authorized closing. Employees on approved leave with pay (i.e. vacation, leave of absence, sick etc.) on an authorized closing day will be charged the applicable leave. Employees on a leave without pay on an authorized closing day will not be paid for the closing.
Full-time and part-time non-exempt employees will be paid for the number of hours they are regularly scheduled to work during an authorized closing.
Exempt employees will also be paid for each full day they are regularly scheduled to work during an authorized closing.
If an employee's normal work schedule is more than the period of the authorized closing, the additional hours not worked must be charged to vacation or leave without pay. In the event the absence meets sick leave benefit guidelines, sick leave may be authorized.
Compensation for Partial-day Closing - Non-essential Personnel
When an authorized closing results in a change in the work schedule, such as a late opening or early closing, employees will be paid for the period of the authorized closing. Employees who have prior approved leave (i.e. vacation, leave of absence, sick, etc.) on a day of a partial closing will be charged the applicable leave for the period of the authorized closing.
To be eligible for pay, employees must work that part of the work schedule not affected by the authorized closing.
With approval from the supervisor, employees who choose to leave work prior to an announcement of an early closing must charge the difference between that time and the official closing time missed to vacation or leave without pay. In the event the absence meets sick leave benefit guidelines, sick leave may be authorized.
Employees in Introductory Period
Employees within their introductory period are not permitted to use vacation or sick time.
Separating Employees
Employees whose resignations are effective the day of an all-day or partial-day closing are not eligible for pay, and the separation will be effective the last actual day worked unless the closed day falls on the last work day of the pay period.
Interpretation
The Director of Human Resources is responsible for official interpretation of this policy. Questions regarding the application of this policy should be directed to Human Resources.
Policy No. 510 Effective Date: 9/1/2000
Revision Date: 11/20/2015
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