effective 12/2020

Policy Name	Weather Policy
Policy Category	Human Resources
Policy Approved By	Cabinet
Responsible Division Head or VP	Senior Vice President for Student and Campus Life
Responsible Department	The unit under the Responsible VP with direct responsibility for implementing and maintaining the policy.
Responsible AVP or Director	Director of Human Resources and Director of Public Safety
Original Policy Date	Historical
Last Known Revision Date	2015
Current Policy Effective Date	12/9/2020
Recommended Policy Review Date	1/1/2023
Policy Applies To	Entire Campus
Additional Authority/References	N/A

POLICY PURPOSE

This policy provides guidance on how all types of weather schedule modifications should be handled by the campus community.

BACKGROUND

As a residential learning community, Albright College provides many services to its students and others on a 24/7 basis. It is imperative that essential services be maintained and safety preserved. Given the wide variation in where College personnel live and the range of work activities they perform, it is not possible to have a one-size fits all inclement weather policy. Individual employees and the College collectively share an interest in and concern for both getting the work done and protecting the well-being of those performing the work. In this spirit, individuals should make reasonable efforts to be at work, keeping individual safety in mind.

All efforts will be made to ensure the overall safety and security of our total campus community. This includes the students, faculty, support staff, and administrators. Every effort will be made to minimize the concerns of all as we commit to providing essential services for those who rely on us.

DEFINITIONS

TERM	DEFINITION
Essential Weather Departments	Departments that may be required to have staff actively working during a weather-related schedule modification, including, but not limited to, Facilities, Dining Services, Public Safety, and the Residential Life departments.
Essential Weather Personnel	Designated employees within an Essential Weather Department, as specified by the respective Directors. An employee who is designated as a member of the “essential weather personnel” group will be expected to report to duty as specified by the College and his or her supervisor.
Weather Response Team	The Weather Response Team is a group of key Albright decision makers, led by the Director of Public Safety, who are charged in determining schedule modifications for the College during times when inclement weather creates a condition that might raise questions about whether the College can operate safely on a normal basis.

POLICY TEXT

Decision Making Authority

When the weather forecast predicts inclement weather, Albright’s Weather Response Team will convene to discuss current conditions and whether a College delay or closure is necessary. The Weather Response Team is a group made up of key decision makers from various areas of the college. Led by the Director of Public Safety, the team meets when the weather forecast predicts inclement weather. If the anticipated weather event is expected to be minor, the Director of Public Safety may only convene a sub-set of the Weather Response Team. The Weather Response Team discusses current conditions and whether any modifications to the normal College schedule are necessary. Depending on the circumstances of the inclement weather, all efforts will be made to have a decision rendered as early as possible. Ideally, decisions will be made by the Weather Response Team no later than 5:30 am for day schedule and no later than 3 pm for evening activities. Decisions resulting from the Weather Response Team meeting are relayed to campus as described in the Communications section below. The Facilities Director, or designee, will consult with the Director of Public Safety to determine the applicable start and end times for the weather event which warrant premium pay to the essential weather personnel and email those hours to HR, Payroll, and the Directors of the Essential Weather Departments.

Communications

The Communications division will initiate communication for any inclement weather schedule modifications, based on decisions made by the Weather Response Team. The primary methods of communication will be e2Campus text messaging, the Albright website and college email.

Modifications to Normal Schedule

When weather conditions become extreme, the following are some of the most common scenarios that would be in effect for all students and non-essential weather employees of the College. Essential weather personnel must contact their supervisor for instructions, even when classes are canceled or the campus is closed.

No Schedule Change: If no schedule modification is announced by the Weather Response Team, all administrative and department offices will remain open and classes will take place as scheduled. On an individual basis, classes may be canceled, postponed, or moved on-line if a faculty member is unable to report to campus. Faculty members are required to notify their students, the Registrar’s Office, the Provost’s Office, and Public Safety of any cancellations or postponements due to inclement weather. All employees are expected to report to work, even if they are late. If, for safety concerns or personal reasons, an employee cannot reach the campus or will arrive late, the employee is required to contact his or her supervisor to report the situation and make alternative arrangements, as described in the “Pay Policies” section of this policy.

Late Opening: When the Weather Response Team designates a late opening time (such as 9:30 am or 10:00 am), all administrative and department offices will open at the modified time. Classes beginning before the designated time are canceled. On an individual basis, classes starting later may be canceled, postponed, or moved on-line if a faculty member is unable to report to campus. Faculty members are required to notify their students, the Registrar’s Office, the Provost’s Office, and Public Safety of any cancellations or postponements due to inclement weather. Essential weather personnel are required to report for duty at their regular time or other time specified by their supervisor. All non-essential weather employees are expected to report to work at the modified opening time, even if they are late. If, for safety concerns or personal reasons, an employee cannot reach the campus or will arrive late, the employee is required to contact his or her supervisor to report the situation and make alternative arrangements, as described in the “Pay Policies” section of this policy.

Early Closing: When the Weather Response Team determines an early closing is necessary, all non-essential weather employees are expected to leave at the defined time for safety reasons. All essential weather personnel are required to report for duty, unless otherwise directed by their supervisor. Classes that begin after the time announced for the early closing will be cancelled.

Closed/Canceled: If the Weather Response Team declares a campus closure, the type of closure will be specified:

Day Classes Canceled: All classes on the main campus normally scheduled from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. are canceled, and administrative offices are closed. Essential weather personnel should report to work. Please note: Because of changing conditions, evening classes may be held even when day classes have been canceled.

Evening Classes Canceled: All classes on the main campus normally scheduled at 5 p.m. or after are canceled. Information about classes at individual School of Professional Studies (SPS) sites will be posted to the Albright emergency weather website (https://www.albright.edu/emergency-closing-information/).

*Other Activities and Events: Activities, events, or individual facilities may run on hours that differ from the adjusted college hours.

**Status may change: For example, an initial modification to a 9:00 am opening may later be changed to a 10:00 am opening or closure. Late-afternoon and evening classes may be canceled, even if the college has been open all day.

Pay Policies During Weather Closing Scenarios

No Schedule Change: If there is no schedule change, employees are expected to come to work. In cases where this is not feasible, the employee will need to talk to their supervisor to agree on a flex time option, as described below:

Supervisors may allow their employees to telework.
Supervisors may allow their staff to modify their normal work schedule to accommodate weather conditions by coming into work late or leaving early and make up the lost time during the same workweek.
Employees may elect to be paid for hours not worked by using accrued vacation or personal time leave.
Non-exempt employees may take hours off without pay and without the requirement of making up the time.

Late Opening or Early Closing: On occasions where the Weather Response Team decides it is in the best interest of the community to announce a schedule modification, employees will be paid as described below:

· Student Workers – should reach out to their supervisors to confirm they are not to report for their shift. Students will not be paid if their shift is canceled.
· Exempt Employees (including exempt essential weather personnel) – will receive their normal pay for the part of the work schedule missed during the official delay/dismissal. Any pre-planned vacation, sick, or personal time will still be decremented from the employee’s balance. Any exempt essential weather personnel are encouraged to flex their time in the days after the weather event.
Non-Exempt Employees (excluding non-exempt essential weather personnel) – will receive their normal pay for the part of the work schedule missed during the official delay/dismissal. Staff are only eligible for the Emergency Closure pay adjustment if they are normally scheduled during the delay/dismissal and are able to work. Any pre-planned vacation, sick, or personal time will still be decremented from the employee’s balance.
· Non-Exempt Essential Weather Personnel – All non-exempt essential weather personnel that are required to work during the announced delay or dismissal will be paid at the rate of 1.5 times their normal hourly rate. This additional 0.5 times is considered premium pay and is not eligible for retirement plan match. This applies to any hours in which their normally scheduled shift falls during the determined hours of the delay/dismissal OR hours that the weather team deems eligible, if outside normal business hours. The Facilities Director, or designee, will consult with the Director of Public Safety to determine the applicable start and end times for the weather event which warrant premium pay to the essential weather personnel and email those hours to HR, Payroll, and the Directors of the Essential Weather Departments.

Closure/Cancellation

· Student Workers – should reach out to their supervisors to confirm they are not to report for their shift. Students will not be paid if their shift is canceled.
· Exempt Employees (including exempt essential weather personnel) – will receive their normal pay for the part of the work schedule missed during the official closure. Any pre-planned vacation, sick, or personal time will still be decremented from the employee’s balance. Any exempt essential weather personnel are encouraged to flex their time in the days after the weather event.
Non-Exempt Employees (excluding non-exempt essential weather personnel) – will receive their normal pay for the part of the work schedule missed during the official closure. Non-exempt staff are only eligible for the Emergency Closure pay adjustment if they are normally scheduled during the delay/dismissal and are able to work. Any pre-planned vacation, sick, or personal time will still be decremented from the employee’s balance.
· Non-Exempt Essential Weather Personnel – all non-exempt essential weather personnel that are required to work during the closure will be paid at the rate of 2.5 times their normal hourly rate. This additional 1.5 times over their normal rate is considered premium pay and is not eligible for retirement match. This applies to any hours in which their normally scheduled shift falls during the determined hours of the closure OR hours that the weather team deems eligible if outside normal business hours. If essential weather personnel are required to sleep over night, they will be paid at the premium rate for those hours. The Facilities Director, or designee, will consult with the Director of Public Safety to determine the applicable start and end times for the weather event which warrant premium pay to the essential weather personnel and email those hours to HR, Payroll, and the Directors of the Essential Weather Departments.

Special Situations

Non-Exempt Staff Normally Scheduled Outside of Business Hours – If a non-exempt employee is normally scheduled to work in the evening or weekend, outside of core business hours, when the Weather Response Team has deemed the weather closure is still in effect, the non-exempt employees will be paid for those hours originally scheduled. If the schedule modification has been ended, staff scheduled to work in the evening or weekend should report to work as scheduled.

Non-Essential Exempt and Non-Exempt Staff REQUIRED to work by their respective Cabinet member, during a delay/dismissal/closure, will receive pay for the hours they work during the delay/dismissal closure, as well as compensatory (comp) time for the hours worked during the delay/dismissal/closure on another day. The cabinet member authorizing the required work is responsible for notifying Human Resources of the number of hours of comp time awarded.

ASSOCIATED PROCEDURES LOCATION

Timekeeping Procedures

Weather Response Team Procedures

REVISION LOG

DATE OF REVISION	MAJOR CHANGES *(Note: electronic copies of the former versions of the policy must be maintained within the unit, department, or division)*
12/9/2020	Made significant policy format/structure changes Included formation of Weather Response Team Updated pay policy for essential weather personnel to be more detailed and consistent across all departments. Specified that non-essential weather employees required to work during a delay/dismissal/closure by a Cabinet Member will earn comp time. Added HRIS system specific requirements for Emergency Closure closing delays/dismissals/closures
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IMPLEMENTATION PLAN – For decision-making purposes only. This will not appear in the Final Policy that is posted to the Policy Repository.

Most of this revised policy is documentation of what is already in place. Slight modifications to the handling of payroll for essential weather personnel that are new have already been relayed to the Essential Weather Department Directors. A link to the policy will be put in the Lowdown and a broader email communication will be sent out to the campus in early January.

DECISION – For decision-making purposes only. This will not appear in the Final Policy that is posted to the Policy Repository.

Date of Draft Policy Review	11/19/2020
Name of Reviewing Committee/Individual	Senior Vice President of Student and Campus Life/Chief Health Officer took the policy to Cabinet for review.
Date Approved	12/9/2020	Comments:
Date Rejected	Click or tap to enter a date.	Comments:
Date Draft Tabled or Further Review Needed (provide comments including plan for re-submission)	Click or tap to enter a date.	Comments:

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