3.30 – College Closings
A. Purpose
To establish guidelines for employees during college closings.
B. Policy
The college will establish guidance on system wide and/or location closing for different situations, and the treatment of employees’ time for payroll. In the event of a closure, the chancellor may cancel classes and close a campus or center for a partial or full day. In the event the chancellor closes the college, operations may proceed online or be postponed.
C. Procedures
- The reasons the college may close include, but are not limited to, severe weather, an on-campus or on-center emergency situation which requires evacuation of a building, a part of or the entire campus or center, or an unplanned event of significance which warrants closure (e.g., death/funeral of a national or state leader).
- Until an official closing or cancellation announcement is issued, faculty members are expected to hold classes as usual, and non-faculty employees should assume that activities will continue as normal. If classes are cancelled, but all other college operations remain open, non-faculty employees should report to work as scheduled. If the college is closed, employees are not to report to work unless they are notified or have been given prior instructions to report as part of essential services. It is the responsibility of each vice chancellor or their designee to determine which employees are to report to work and to notify those employees.
- When the college, a campus, and/or a center is closed for inclement weather or emergency, exempt employees who are scheduled to work may be excused from work and receive their full pay for their normal hours or they may work from home at the discretion of their supervisor. If an employee had a scheduled leave on the day the college, a campus, or a center is closed, the college will not credit the employee for their leave time (i.e., vacation, personal or sick) or FMLA, as they were scheduled off already.
- Non-essential non-exempt employees who are scheduled to work and do not work on the college closure will receive their normal scheduled hours with pay and will record the hours in their timesheet using the code CC – campus closed. Non-exempt employees may not work without an authorization from their supervisor. “Campus Closed” hours are paid at regular rate and do not calculate toward over time. If a non-exempt (non-essential) employee had a scheduled leave on the day the college, a campus, and/or a center is closed, the college will not credit the employee for their leave time (i.e., vacation, personal or sick) or FMLA, as they were scheduled off already.
- Essential non-exempt employees are those who are required to work as directed by their supervisor even when the college is closed due to holidays, inclement weather or other emergency situations. These employees who are required to work when the college, a campus, and/or a center is closed will be paid for the time they worked plus “Campus Closed” hours. Department supervisors will determine who is required to work on such day, not the employee. If an essential employee is unable to report to work on a college closure day, they must use their vacation or personal leave or take the day as unpaid. If they are ill, they must use sick leave.
- An employee who is on leave without pay (including FMLA and VESSA) when the college is officially closed will not be paid for the hours that the college is closed nor use it as paid leave time in the future. Full time employees are paid for a college closure only if they worked or had an approved paid leave (e.g. vacation or sick) on their regular scheduled work day prior to the college closure.
- When a work week is impacted by a college closure, full-time employees who work compressed schedules, such as four ten-hour days, will need to ensure that their total hours for the week equals 40. Total hours will include up to eight (8) hours per day the college is closed plus actual hours worked and leave hours.
- Part-time, student, and temporary employees may be allowed to make up the hours they missed during college closures as long as there is meaningful work to be done, and it is done in the same work week. Thus, “Campus Closed” hours are not attributed to their work week.
- In the event the college has not officially closed, and an employee cannot safely report to work or chooses to stay home due to inclement weather, the employee is expected to use vacation or personal day hours for the hours/day missed. Making up time missed is only permissible with the approval of the employee’s supervisor and if there is meaningful work to be accomplished.
D. Definitions
E. Authority
This policy is maintained under the authority of the chief human resources officer.
F. Related Policies
3.25 Employee Attendance, Absences, and Recording Time
3.70 Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
G. Implementation
Policy approved and adopted by the board of trustees on 5/11/20.
Purpose, procedures, and definitions, approved and adopted by the chancellor’s cabinet on 3/17/20 and 1/25/22..
Set for review on fiscal year 2023-2024.