Adopted by President’s Cabinet 2-28-17
Emergency conditions like the weather, declared state of emergency, safety, or other situations may require the institution to be closed. When the institution is declared closed, all academic classes and administrative offices are suspended and only essential services are maintained.
In accordance with Board of Regents Policy, in the event of inclement weather or any emergency which requires the absence of employees, the President may declare leave with or without pay.
Employees whose job responsibilities require that they work during hazardous, emergency weather conditions, or state of emergency in order to maintain critical institutional functions, e.g. public safety or facility employees, information technology or employees with critical health and safety responsibilities, may be designated as ‘essential personnel’. Essential personnel will be expected to maintain a normal work schedule unless specifically excused.
Once there is a decision to close the institution due to inclement weather or other emergency conditions, only those employees designated by the institution as “essential” to oversee the vital functions during an institutional emergency are required to work.
Essential personnel for this institution will include (2) Police Officers (Swainsboro Campus), (1) Police Officer (Statesboro Campus), (1) IT Staff (Swainsboro Campus), (1) IT Staff (Statesboro Campus), (1) Plant Ops Staff (Swainsboro Campus), (1) Housing Staff (Swainsboro Campus) per normal shift and other staff as approved by the Vice President for Business Affairs. Although these personnel are designated as essential, managers are expected to exercise reasonableness in assigning these staff during the unscheduled closing.
All other employees are to either stay home/away or to leave their work area as soon as practicable after the notice is made. The decision to close the institution will be made on a workday by workday basis.
If the institution designates the emergency and/or inclement weather closing as paid, then the following guidelines may apply to “essential” bi‐weekly employees required to work during the closing. Only “essential” personnel designated with pay grade 18 and below are eligible for unscheduled closing pay.
Pay Treatment for Bi-Weekly Employees
| Situation | Employee Group | How to Code Time |
| Campus is Closed All Day | Designated Essential Personnel (who report to work) |
Record actual hours worked and record unscheduled closing for the same number of hours (i.e., 8 hours regular time plus 8 hours unscheduled closing) |
| Regular, Benefits Eligible (do not report to work) OR Essential Personnel (who do not report to work) |
Record unscheduled closing leave – 8 hours | |
| All Other Employees including student, temporary and casual labor employees (do not report to work) |
Will not be paid unscheduled closing leave. | |
| Campus is Closed Partial Day | Designated Essential Personnel (who report to work prior to campus opening (delayed start) or remain at work after campus has been declared closed) |
Record actual hours worked while campus is open. Record actual hours worked after the campus has been declared closed (or prior to campus opening if delayed start) plus record unscheduled closing for hours worked while the campus is closed. |
| Regular, Benefits Eligible (do not remain at work/do not report prior to campus opening) OR Essential Personnel (who do not remain at work/do not report to work prior to campus opening) |
Record actual hours worked while campus is open plus record unscheduled closing hours for hours the campus is closed during employee’s normal work schedule. | |
| All Other Employees including student, temporary and casual labor employees (do not remain at work/do not report prior to campus opening) |
Record actual hours worked while campus is open. Will not receive unscheduled closing leave. |
-
- For those employees that are not designated by the institution as essential personnel, the amount of time to be paid during a campus closure is not to exceed 8 hours in a day (regular and unscheduled closing time combined).
- If an employee does not report to work on the day the institution is declared closed for a partial day/delayed opening, the employee should record unscheduled closing time for the hours the campus is closed during the employees normal work schedule and must use either vacation or sick time for the hours the campus is open during the employee's normal work schedule. If the employee does not have enough vacation or sick time accrued, the employee will not be paid for the balance of that time.
- When an employee, who has not been previously designated as an essential employee, is asked to report to work or to the office during a campus closure, that employee will be paid as an essential employee for all hours worked, including travel time to the workplace.
- Since campus closures are made on a workday by workday basis, the use of unscheduled closing time will only be applicable through the end of the day a campus is closed. As a reminder, the official work day at the institution is defined as 12:00 a.m. ‐ 11:59 p.m. For those instances when an essential employee’s shift carries over from one workday into another, the employee will only receive unscheduled closing time for hours worked while the campus was declared closed until the end of the workday
Inclement Weather or Other Emergencies FAQs
- I am a regular telecommuter and the campus was closed today, how should I record my
time?
As telecommuting involves working at a satellite location, other office, or home, you will not be eligible to receive unscheduled closing time. - I am a non‐essential bi‐weekly employee working a compressed workweek and have Fridays
off. Last Friday, the campus was declared closed. Will I be eligible for unscheduled
closing time?
No. This will be considered your normal day off. - I am a non‐essential bi‐weekly employee working a compressed work week of four ten‐hour
days. Last Friday, the campus was declared closed for the day. How do I complete my
time card?
If you are scheduled to work on Fridays at part of your workweek, you will record 8 hours as unscheduled closing and the remaining 2 hours should either be reported as vacation or worked on another day during that work week (with your supervisor’s permission). - I am a non‐essential bi‐weekly employee working a compressed work week of four ten‐hour
days. My schedule is from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and I work on Mondays. Last Monday, the
campus was declared closed at 11:00 a.m. How do I complete my time card?
You will record the actual hours you worked in the morning (3 hours), 5 hours as unscheduled closing time, and the remaining 2 hours should either be reported as vacation or worked on another day during that work week (with your supervisor’s permission). - I am an essential bi‐weekly employee and work a night shift that starts at 8 p.m.
On Wednesday, the campus was declared closed. How do I complete my time card?
For Wednesday, you will record 4 hours of actual work time and 4 hours of unscheduled closing time (this covers the start of the shift at 8 p.m. until the end of the workday at 11:59 p.m.). For the hours that roll into Thursday, you will record only the actual hours worked until the end of your schedule (no unscheduled closing time). - I am an essential bi‐weekly employee working a compressed work week; on Monday, the
campus was declared closed. My normal schedule is from 2 p.m. – Midnight. How do I
complete my time card?
You will record your actual hours worked plus you will record unscheduled closing time for the same number of hours. - I am a bi‐weekly employee that has not been deemed “essential personnel” by my department.
Therefore, I was not required to come to work last Friday when the campus was declared
closed. I decided to come into the office anyway because I had an important report
I needed to finish for my Dean. How do I complete my time card?
You will record your actual hours worked and if you worked less than a full work day, record unscheduled closing time for the remaining hours for a total of 8 hours combined. Please note however, that you may be subject to disciplinary action for ignoring an unscheduled closing directive since your supervisor did not request that you report to work. - I am a non‐essential bi‐weekly employee. Last Friday, the campus was declared closed
at noon. I volunteered to stay to help finish up some work. How do I complete my time
card?
You will record your actual hours worked and, if you worked less than a full work day, record unscheduled closing time for the remaining hours for a total of 8 hours combined.
