Longwood University  Chief Administration and Finance Officer:         Human Resources        201 High Street, Lancaster 335, Farmville, VA  23909         Phone: 434.395.2074     Fax: 434.395.2666

Policy 5220
INCLEMENT WEATHER/CAMPUS EMERGENCY CLOSINGS
(This policy is currently under revision and is not in effect as written.  The working policy which is in effect can be found on the Human Resources website at http://www.longwood.edu/hr/CurrentPolicies/IncWeather2.doc)

I.     PURPOSE

This policy is designed to engender responsible conduct among essential and non-essential employees, as well as establish equity and continuity in the way such conduct is treated for pay purposes. Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy No. 1.35, Emergency Closings, dated 02-14-00 is the applicable state policy.

II.     APPLICABILITY

This policy applies to classified employees only.

III.     DEFINITIONS

        A. Authorized Closing: A suspension of Longwood operations, where essential employees are 
        still expected to report to work, but non-essential employees are not required to report to work, 
        as determined by the Longwood President or designee. An authorized closing may be for an 
        entire shift or merely a partial shift.

        B. Essential Employees: Employees who have been designated by the institution who are 
        required to work during an authorized closing, even if the authorized closing occurs during a shift
        that an essential employee is not regularly scheduled to work. 

        C. Non-Essential Employees: Employees who are not required or expected to work during an
        authorized closing.

        D. Emergency Conditions: Any conditions determined by the Longwood President, or designee,
        which reasonably prevent employees from traveling to and from work, or remaining at work, 
        such as inclement weather, fire, utility failure, or other forced evacuations.

IV.     POLICY

        A. Essential Employees: The institution maintains a list of employee job classifications which it 
        has determined are Essential Employees. That particular list may be updated occasionally. It
        follows this policy. Affected employees shall be notified in writing by the Human Resources 
        (HR) Office any time their classification is added or removed from this official list. Essential 
        employees must report to work during emergency and inclement weather closings. 

        Non-Essential Employees may become Essential Employees and vice versa, depending upon 
        the nature of the emergency or the weather problems. For an employee's essential or 
        non-essential status to change, he or she must be notified prior to the shift by an appropriate
        manager within the department he or she regularly works.  Each employee is advised by DHRM 
        to use good judgment regarding the weather conditions, seek timely information on the driving
        conditions, and give due consideration to personal safety when driving to work in inclement
        weather.

        B. Pay and Leave Related Guidelines:

                1. Essential or Non-Essential Employee: It's crucial for you to understand who is an 
                essential employee and who is not, for purposes of applying the policy. As previously 
                stated, a list of current essential employee classifications is located at the end of this policy. 
                If you don't have access to an updated list of Essential Employees, you may call the HR
                Office and one will be provided for you.

      2. Essential Employees:

                        a. Essential Employee Working During an Authorized Closing: The employee will
                        receive regular pay for the actual hours worked during the closing, and of course, if 
                        any of those hours exceed forty (40) in the workweek, they should constitute overtime
                        hours for non-exempt employees. In addition, any essential employee will also receive
                        compensatory leave on an hour earned for hour worked basis during the closing.     

                        b. Essential Employee Scheduled to Work During an Authorized Closing But Does
                        Not Report: Hours should be charged to the employee's existing leave (or leave 
                        without pay in the instance where he or she has no accrued leave) for all hours he or 
                        she was scheduled to work during the authorized closing.
   
                        c. Essential Employee Late in Reporting Due to Inclement Weather During an
                         Authorized Closing: Time lost due to late arrival will be credited as worked and will 
                        not be charged to leave so long as the delay was justified by the weather conditions 
                        and was reasonable in all other respects.

                        d. Essential Employee on Leave with Pay During an Authorized Closing: In this 
                        instance, the employee will not be assessed leave against his or her current leave
                        balance during the period of his or her leave affected by the closing. The time should 
                        be charged to office closing.

                3. Non-Essential Employees:

                        a. Non-Essential Employee Who Does Not Report During an Authorized Full
                        Day Closing: No leave is assessed the employee, even if the employee is on
                        scheduled leave during that day. The time should be charged to office closing.

                        b. Non-Essential Employee Who Reports to Work During a Shift Affected by
                        a Partial Closing: The non-essential employee may assess the portion of the day
                        affected by the closing to office closing, so long as he or she has worked all or
                        part of the shift unaffected by the closing. Any hours not worked prior to or
                        after the closing must be charged to leave or leave without pay, depending on
                        the availability of leave.  Example: The institution announces that non-essential
                        employees will report at 12 noon (a partial closing). Employee reports for his
                        8:15 am to 5:00 pm shift at 3:00 pm. Employee will be credited with office
                        closing time for four (4) hours of the shift, two (2) hours worked, and will be 
                        required to use leave for the other two (2) hours, in order to receive a full 
                        day's pay.

                        c. Non-Essential Employee Who Does Not Report to Work During a Shift
                        Affected by a Partial Closing: The non-essential employee will be required to
                        use leave or leave without pay for the whole day if he or she fails to report at
                        all on a scheduled day of work affected by a partial closing.

                        d. Non-Essential Employee Late in Reporting Due to Inclement Weather
                        Involving the Portion of a Shift Unaffected by a Partial Closing: Time lost due
                        to late arrival at work will be credited as worked and will not be charged to
                        leave so long as the delay was justified by the weather conditions and was
                        reasonable in all other respects.

                        e. Non-Essential Employee on Leave with Pay During an Authorized Closing: 
                        In this instance the employee will not be assessed leave against his or her current
                        leave balance during the period of his or her leave affected by the closing. The
                        time should be charged to office closing.

                4. Employee Notification of School Closing:

                        a. Notification will be made prior to 6:00 a.m. of the affected day, when a full day
                        or partial morning closing will occur. Employees can simply call the Longwood 
                        Information Line at 434.395.2000, after 6:00 a.m. to hear whether or not the 
                        institution  has been closed. Longwood also broadcasts closings on WFLO-AM 
                        (870) and WFLO-FM (95.7).

                        b. When the institution is closed subsequent to the beginning of the school day, such
                        notifications are made to each department by the HR Office.
               
        C. List of Essential Employees: (Job classifications listed below are not meant to include 
            wage employees functioning in those titles)
           
            Police Captain
            Police Investigator/Law Enforcement Officer II
            Police Officer/Law Enforcement Officer I
            Police Sergeant/Law Enforcement Officer II
            Dispatcher/Emergency Coordinator 
            Assistant Director - Student Health Services **
            Director - Student Health Services **
            Nurse Practitioner - Student Health Services**
            Physician Assistant - Student Health Services**
            Assistant Director - Student Union**
            Director - Student Union**
            Store Clerk Senior - Student Union (Bowling Alley)**/Retail Manager I
            Resident Education Coordinator**
            Director, Campus Recreation**
            Director, Honor/Judicial Programs**
            Library Assistant/Library Practitioner I
            Office Services Assistant - Library/Administrative Program Specialist II
            Director, Facilities Management
            Building & Grounds Supt. B/Trades Manager I
            Building & Grounds Supervisor A/Trades Technician IV
            Building & Grounds Supervisor B/Trades Technician IV
            Capital Outlay Project Engineer/Facilities Design & Construction Engineer I
            Building Construction Inspector
            Boiler Operator/Utility Plant Operator II
            Power Plant Operations Lead Worker/Utility Plant Operator II
            Power Plant Operations Shift Supervisor/Utility Plant Manager I
            Power Plant Supervisor/Utility Plant Manager II
            Carpenter/Trades Technician II
            Carpenter Senior/Trades Technician IV
            Electrician Supervisor/Trades Technician IV
            Equipment Repair Technician/Equipment Service Repair Technician I
            Equipment Repair Supervisor/Equipment Service Repair Technician II
            Grounds Lead Worker/Trades Technician III
            Grounds Worker/Trades Technician I
            Grounds Worker Senior/Trades Technician I
            Highway Equipment Operator B/Transportation Operator II
            Highway Equipment Operator C/Transportation Operator III
            Motor Vehicle Operator A/Transportation Operator I
            Housekeeping Worker**/Housekeeping Apparel Service Worker I
            Housekeeping Worker Senior**/Housekeeping Apparel Service Worker I
            Housekeeping Supervisor**/Housekeeping Apparel Service Worker II
            HVAC Inst & Rep Senior Technician/Trades Technician IV
            HVAC Inst & Rep Technician/Trades Technician III
            Institutional Safety Officer/Compliance and Safety Officer
            Painter/Trades Technician III
            Plumber Steamfitter/Trades Technician III
            Plumber Steamfitter Lead/Trades Technician III
            Storekeeper**/Warehouse Specialist III
            Storekeeper Senior*/Warehouse Specialist III
            Trades Utility Lead Worker/Trades Technician III
            Trades Utility Master Mechanic/Trades Technician IV
            Trades Utility Senior Worker/Trades Technician III
            Trades Utilities Worker (Housekeeping Only)**/Trades Technician I
            Trades Utilities Worker/Trades Technician I

            **Essential when the institution is in session and students are in the residence halls;
                non-essential during academic breaks unless otherwise notified.

Revised and approved by the Board of Visitors, September 7, 2002.

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