IV.22  L&S Inclement Weather Guidelines

These policies appear online at http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/polproced/CPPP/cpppchp16-04.html for classified staff and at http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/polproced/uppp/1604.html for unclassified staff.  The statement below has been amended to include graduate assistants.  

Please remember that, while these guidelines are issued each December and tend to be thought of as the university's "ice and snow" policy, inclement weather can happen at any time of year (e.g., buildings with no air conditioning in the middle of summer).

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON

Inclement Weather Guidelines

The Chancellor is responsible for determining if, for the safety and welfare of students and staff, classes will be postponed or some services suspended due to inclement weather. Some University services and functions must remain in operation regardless of weather conditions, e.g. University Hospital and Clinics, University Housing, Police and Security, power plant operations, etc.

University News and Public Affairs staff will work with the Chancellor in providing appropriate announcements to the media. Deans and directors should receive authorization from the Office of the Chancellor before directing employees not to report for work or sending employees home. Unless directed otherwise, employees are expected to report to work as scheduled. Each employee is expected to use discretion in determining if travel is safe. An employee who reasonably determines that travel would not be safe will not be subject to discipline for not reporting to work. Supervisors are expected to honor the reasonable requests of employees to arrive late or to leave early because of inclement weather. employees are expected to make a reasonable effort to notify their supervisors if they cannot report to work or will report late.

Employees who are absent from work because of the inclement weather normally must use available annual leave (vacation), available holidays, leave without pay, or when appropriate, accrued compensatory time to cover the absence or must arrange with the supervisor to make up the time. Non-exempt employees must account for each hour of scheduled duty. Exempt employees may account for their time in a manner consistent with their professional responsibilities.

If represented classified employees are directed not to report or are sent home they will be treated in accordance with the terms of their respective collective bargaining agreements. (Note: At this time some collective bargaining agreements provide that the employee will be compensated as if the time were worked when the employer directs employees to leave work or not to report to work.) All employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements who are directed not to report or are sent home will normally be treated as follows:

Non-Exempt Classified -- may use available annual leave (vacation), accrued compensatory time, available holidays, or leave without pay to cover each hour absent. Non-exempt employees must account for each hour of employment. If an employe's supervisor determines that the work unit can benefit from services provided by the employee at other than regularly scheduled times, the employee will be allowed to make up, during the remainder of the work week, as much of the time as is beneficial to the work unit.

Graduate Assistants (TAs and PAs), Exempt Classified and Unclassified Staff - may use available annual leave (vacation), available holidays, leave without pay or when appropriate, compensatory time or may account for the time of the absences in another manner consistent with the professional nature of the employe's work assignment. If classes are postponed, faculty should make every effort to reschedule at a later date. TAs and PAs are allowed to use sick leave for family emergencies (e.g., when child's school or daycare facility is closed).

December 6, 2002
Diana Allaby, Human Resource Manager