COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT STANDARD POLICY AND PROCEDURE

COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT STANDARD POLICY AND PROCEDURE SUPERSEDES: _SPP0075 SPP NUMBER: _SPP-0091 DATE: 01/27/09 DATE: 03/24/11 Ellen Golombek Executive Director EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S APPROVAL: Ellen Golombek SUBJECT TITLE: SNOW AND OTHER INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY CATEGORY/UNIT: Human Resources SUB-CATEGORY: AUTHOR: Mike Dawson DISTRIBUTION: POLICY STATEMENT: While snow traditionally presents most of the weather-related problems for our customers and employees, other severe weather conditions can occur throughout the year. CDLE ( Department ) will attempt to provide the highest level of service to our customers without placing our employees at risk; therefore, extreme weather conditions may require the closure of some or all of Department facilities. The Governor and the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or Designee of Department may authorize office closings or delayed openings when snow storms or other hazardous weather conditions occur and possibly when such severe conditions are forecast. Closure of any building or facility requires a serious threat to the Department s safe operation i.e. to the safety and well-being of its customers and employees. This policy establishes procedures for closing any of the Department s operations due to snow or other hazardous weather conditions. BACKGROUND: Per Executive Order D 005 00: 1. Within the Denver Metropolitan Area. The Governor or his Chief of Staff may issue a Declaration of Inclement Weather for all state facilities within the Denver Metropolitan area. The Denver Metropolitan area is defined as Denver and its surrounding suburbs within a 15-mile radius. 2. Outside the Denver Metropolitan Area. Pursuant to Executive Order D 005 00, the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director or Designee may close Department facilities outside the Denver Metropolitan area during times of snow or other severe weather. 1

I. PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO DENVER-METRO AREA A. During Business Hours Announcements. The Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director (or Designee), will, in the most timely and efficient method possible, notify all department personnel of a closing decision made during business hours. In such circumstances, each Division Director is responsible for notifying employees within her or his Division of the closing decision. B. Non-Business Hours Announcements. During non-business hours if the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or Designee implement a closure of a Department building/facility, the Director of Human Resources or Designee will be notified and will be responsible for notification to affected employees using the communication channels/outlets as follows: 1. Inclement Weather Line Current announcements and updates concerning office-related closures, delayed starts, or other snow-related decisions altering normal business hours may be obtained by calling the CDLE Inclement Weather Line at (303)352-1623. 2. Email Notification - An email message will be sent to all affected employees. 3. Media Outlets Operational status announcements may also be posted periodically on 9News (Denver). II. PROCEDURES APPLICABLE OUTSIDE-THE-DENVER-METROPOLITAN-AREA: Pursuant to Executive Order D 005 00, the Executive Director or Designee is delegated the authority to close Department facilities outside of the Denver Metropolitan area during times of severe weather. In addition, the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director or Designee is delegated the authority to stagger the release times of employees when severe weather conditions exist that warrant such action. Procedures for Issuing a Declaration of Severe Snow or other Inclement Weather Conditions in Outlying Areas (Outside-the- Denver-Metropolitan Area): A. The local Workforce Office Director will present the justification for weather closure (or delay) to the respective Regional Workforce Director for a closure/delay decision, based on,but not limited to, such factors as: i. Road Closure Information from State Patrol ii. Other area office closures (i.e. other County, State, or Municipal office closures in area) iii. National Weather Service reports (e.g. Winter Storm Warnings ) B. The Regional Workforce Director will contact the Director of Employment and Training or Designee. 2

C. The Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director or Designee will make the decision, based on inclement weather conditions and the information received from all reliable sources to close or delay openings for offices located outside of Denvermetro. Any decision rendered by the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or Designee will be communicated by the Director of Employment and Training or Designee through the appropriate divisional channels, as well as to the Director of Human Resources. III. Leave Procedures [NOTE: The appropriate leave request, below, should be submitted using the standard Leave/Absence Request and Authorization form. Administrative Leave must be approved by the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director or Designee]. A. Annual Leave vs. Administrative Leave for Employees. Employees who do not report to work because of severe snow or other inclement weather will be charged annual leave unless the executive actions to permit the use of administrative leave take place as follow: i. Administrative Leave for Department Employees within the Denver-Metropolitan Area. Governor (or his Designee) specifically declares that State facilities will be closed in the Denver metropolitan area. ii. Administrative Leave for Department Employees Outsidethe-Denver-Metropolitan Area. Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or Designee declares certain Department's offices outside the Denver metropolitan area will be closed. B. Two-hour Grace Period A two-hour grace period (i.e. without leave being charged) may be granted when severe weather conditions warrant extra commuting time for employees to travel to the office. The Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or Designee will notify all appointing authorities of the implementation of the two-hour grace period. Leave will be charged for any/all time extending beyond this twohour grace period. Employees who do not arrive at work for the full day will be charged with the number of work hours missed as annual leave or leave without pay. C. Previously-approved Leave - Employees already on previously approved leave (annual, sick or other) cannot substitute administrative leave for such previously approved leave when a closure occurs because of snow or other weather conditions D. Administrative Leave Official emergency road closure decisions made by State, County or Municipal governments will be honored by the Department. Employees living in areas affected by verifiable road closures will be granted administrative leave only for the period of the road closure. 3

Employees must continue to monitor road conditions to determine when the road will re-open. Employees will be expected to use the same sources of information for determining both the closing and the re-opening of a road. IV. Teleworking - Individual employees who have been approved to work at home pursuant to SPP-0070, Teleworking Policy, may request to telework as an option when snow or other inclement weather prevents the employee from traveling to work. If weather conditions do not develop as forecast (by professional meteorologists employed at major media outlets) and employee makes the decision to remain at home on any day other than the day(s) approved for teleworking, the supervisor or manager will make the final decision on whether any type of leave should be charged. Employee must be responsible for communicating with/notifying of employee s supervisor/manager of employee s decision to telework on the day in question. V. Reporting to Work When Facility Officially Closed. Employees who report to work during periods of authorized closing(s) of Department buildings/facilities will not be credited with compensatory or overtime leave. The employee must be responsible for monitoring the weather conditions and the channels of communication which alert the employee to closures. VI. Option to Use Annual Leave. The Department encourages each and every employee to exercise good judgment and to avoid taking unnecessary risks during periods of dangerous weather conditions. The Department further encourages all employees to take annual leave whenever any doubt exists as to the employees safety in traveling to and from the workplace. VII. Questions: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Please review the FAQs (Appendix A) for clarification and amplification of sections of this SPP. Any remaining questions regarding snow or other inclement weather conditions should be referred to Human Resources. 4

APPENDIX A SNOW AND OTHER INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs ) Q. As an employee, do I have the right to make the decision to stay home if I think the weather conditions place me at risk? A. YES. Your safety is of paramount importance to the Department, and you have the right to take annual leave if, in your judgment, road or any other conditions make travel to and/or from the workplace dangerous. Q. If I decide to stay home and take annual leave, what happens if the Governor or a decision-maker at CDLE closes my facility, grants administrative leave to the employees who were able to get to work, and allows them to return home? A. Administrative Leave. You will not be charged annual leave for those hours designated as and covered by administrative leave. When such closures occur, all employees whose workplace has been closed officially due to snow or other dangerous weather conditions will be granted administrative leave for the same number of hours regardless of the employee s whereabouts at the time of the announced closure. Q. If I think I m entitled to administrative leave, can I ask my supervisor to grant it after I return to work after a snow storm? A. NO. You need to remember that the granting of administrative leave requires an executive-level decision, and it is highly unlikely that your supervisor will be delegated the right to grant administrative leave. Q. Will I be granted any special leave or receive any compensatory time if I make it into work when other employees did not/cannot, and an executive decision is made before I arrive or after I arrive to close my building and facilities? A. NO. You are responsible for monitoring weather conditions, delayed openings, and closures to avoid taking any unnecessary risks during severe weather conditions. Logically, you made the judgment call to travel to your workplace. You could have taken annual leave if you felt travel conditions were too dangerous. The only downside to your decision is traveling back to your residence in bad weather; otherwise, you will be treated fairly and receive the same type/amount of leave as other employees for the hours they (and you) will not be expected to work. 5

Q. If I work outside the Denver-Metro area (outside a 15-mile radius) e.g. in a workforce center, should I follow the same notification about delayed starts and closures when the Governor makes an announcement? A. NO. Even though the Governor decides to close state facilities in the Denver- Metro area, you will need to follow what the executives within the Department decide to do with regard to both delayed starts and closures of facilities outside the Denver-Metro area. Q. What happens if I wake up and the area where I live has been hit with a massive snow storm overnight? A. Your Decision. You are advised not to risk injury under any and all circumstances by trying to get to work when dangerous road conditions exist and/or when there is poor visibility. Q. How do I find out if my workplace is closed due to the storm? A. Sources. If you want to know if the decision was made during non-business hours, you must check all the sources that HR/P will use for notification of a closure. These include the Department/CDLE weather line, an email, or posting the closure on 9NEWS television (Denver). Q. If I drive extra slowly for safety reasons or decide to catch a later train and get to my workplace three(3) hours late when only a two(2) hour grace period was allowed, may I still ask my supervisor/manager for the extra hour without being charged leave A. Possibly. By definition a 2-hour grace period, when granted, is all any employee receives. You will be charged an hour of leave for the extra hour you took assuming the balance of the day turns out to be a regular workday; however, at the supervisor s discretion, an employee can make up the one-hour missed in excess of the two-hour grace period, if done so during that same work week. Q. If I have some approved days of leave for a vacation, but my workplace is closed because of a snow storm, may I cancel the annual leave and substitute annual leave hours with administrative leave hours? A. NO. Annual or sick leave cannot be switched/substituted with administrative leave. If you are enjoying a nice sunny day on a California beach when a snow storm hits Colorado, you do NOT get a snow day you re still on vacation using annual leave. 6

Q. Normally, I do not telework and have never requested formally to engage in telework; however, I have a computer, and I m quite sure I could figure out some kind of work to do for the Department from home. Will it be okay to telework during snow storms? A. NO.Employees who have been approved to telework as part of their normal work schedule may telework, logically, during a snow storm. If you want to telework during the next snow storm and have not teleworked before, you are advised to speak with your supervisor and see if teleworking is an option for you; otherwise, it is highly unlikely any kind of work from home will be approved when the next snow storm hits. This means without any official closures and/or granting of administrative leave, you will be using annual leave for all the hours you spend at home. Q. I wake up and find I m in a blizzard in my opinion and even though I have received no notification of any sort and see nothing on 9NEWS to indicate the closure of my workplace, I m afraid to take a chance on getting to work. May I take annual leave even though it was not planned? A. YES. You are encouraged not to put yourself at risk during dangerous weather conditions. Taking annual leave allows you to stay home and avoid any problems for being absent from work without prior notification to your supervisor and/or the Department. Q. Can I ask that an email be sent to my personal email address to notify me of delayed starts, closures, or any other weather related problems? A. YES. If you have shared a home email address already with HR/P e.g. in EDSys, you may contact HR/P and ask that when notifications go out on weatherrelated situations, you receive such notifications at both your work and home email addresses. In no way does your request, even with an agreement to honor your request from HR/P, excuse you from complying with all sections of the Snow and Other Inclement Weather SPP. If something goes wrong and you do not receive a personal email, you are still responsible for checking the other sources of information upon which you can base all your decisions. Q. Does a delayed start mean the same thing to all units and divisions? A. NOT necessarily. Supervisors and managers may use some discretion based on the work of the unit/division and the way work and starting times are scheduled routinely. Because all employees within the Department do not start at the same time, a 2-hour delay will have a different meaning within some divisions and units. You are advised to ask your supervisor ASAP what a 2-hour delay starting at X:XX A.M. means to you during the next snow storm. 7

Q. If neither the SPP nor the FAQs address one or more of my personal concerns on working or not working during snow storms or other bad weather conditions, what can I do? A. Contact HR. You should contact HR/P by phone @ (303) 318-8200 and/or email mike.dawson@state.co.us. Be very specific, and provide details about your situation and your concerns. Please provide the name of your supervisor/manager or simply copy your supervisor/manager when you submit your questions to HR/P. HR/P will ensure an employee s supervisor/manager/appointing authority, as appropriate, are copied with both the questions/concerns from the employee and the answer(s) from HR/P to the employee. 8