40.051: Declaring an Emergency Closure, Early Release, or Delay
Approved for interim use in accordance with Policy 01.001
August 16, 2024
Mary Elizabeth Miles | Interim Vice President of Human Resources
John Day | Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration
Lori Stewart Gonzalez | President
Overview
This policy provides guidance for declaring an emergency university closing, early release, or delay and establishes guidelines for the compensation of classified and administrative employees during an emergency. This includes administrative hourly, administrative salary, and classified bargaining unit employees. Bargaining unit employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement should refer to their current contract for specifics of participation. This policy does not apply to student employees of Ohio University.
Only the president of Ohio university (or their designated representative) has the authority to declare an emergency, close or delay the university, or cancel classes for the main campus, regional campuses, or regional teaching sites of Ohio university.
Emergency closings announced by other agencies, such as Ohio governmental offices, local city and county officials, etc., do not apply to Ohio university employees. However, the president, or their designee, will close the university and cancel classes for a campus whenever the campus county sheriff's department declares a level III snow emergency for that county.
Communication of a declared emergency will be released through university communications and marketing. Closing and opening times for the impacted campus(es) will be announced through all media, the OHIO homepage, and OHIO alert.
In a declared emergency, certain employees may be required to work to provide essential services for the impacted campus(es). These essential service employees will be designated and contacted by their department heads or supervisors and will be assigned to work schedules as required by the emergency situation.
Employees who have not been designated as essential service employees, but are scheduled to work, will not be required to work during a declared emergency unless they are assigned and work a 100% remote appointment.
During a declared emergency, employees should not report to and be on campus unless they have been designated as essential service employees by their supervisors and asked to report to work.
When the university is not closed, employees are expected to report to work, or call in, if inclement weather prevents travel. Employees will be expected to use personal leave or vacation time for those occasions when they must miss scheduled work.
Compensation
Once a declared emergency occurs, employees on-site who are not designated as essential service employees are sent home and will be paid at their regular rate from the time of the declared emergency until the end of their regularly-scheduled shift. Employees working remotely, other than those assigned to a 100% remote appointment, who are not designated as essential service employees, will be paid at their regular rate from the time or the declared emergency until the end of their regularly scheduled-shift.
Essential service employees who are required to work during a declared emergency, but are unable to report to work, must notify their supervisor and may be paid at their regular rate for any hours they normally would have been scheduled to work.
Essential service employees paid on an hourly basis who are required to work during a declared emergency will be paid at their regular rate and, in addition, will be paid at their overtime rate for any hours actually worked (one-hour regular pay plus one hour of overtime pay at 1.5 times regular rate equals 2.5 times regular rate during a declared emergency).
Salaried employees, other than those assigned to 100% remote appointment, who are required to work during a declared emergency will receive their regular salary and will be granted the equivalent time off at a mutually agreeable time between the employee and their supervisor, to be used by end of the fiscal year.
Those assigned to 100% remote appointment, who are scheduled to work, will be paid their regular rate of pay.
During a declared emergency, employees may need to work extra shifts, different times of the day on different days, etc. Therefore, the total rate of pay for an hourly employee will be used to determine all overtime pay (i.e., shift differential would not apply during an emergency if an employee does not normally receive it in their total rate but would receive it if it is a part of their total rate).
The option of receiving overtime pay or compensatory time off at the time and one-half rate will apply, consistent with departmental policies. Only hours worked in excess of forty can be banked as compensatory time. Using the two pay codes below pays the premium for working during a declared emergency, but does not always result in actual overtime worked.
For hourly employees, any hours worked on-site during a declared emergency should be reported on the time sheets as "Emergency Worked (entered as time in and out) and “Emergency Closure” (entered as a total amount of time similar to paid time off (PTO)). Any hours scheduled but not worked during a declared emergency should be reported on the time sheets as "Emergency Closure". Employees who are on travel status during a declared emergency shall receive their normal rate of pay only. Employees who are on approved leave of absence, seasonal or indefinite layoff, or any other inactive pay status are not eligible for compensation during a declared emergency.
Reviewers
Proposed revisions of this policy should be reviewed by:
- Administrative Senate
- Director, Taxation and Payroll