Attendance, Absences, and Personal Emergency

Scope

This policy applies to all Staff and Temporary employees.

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Policy Statement

1. Regular attendance, as established by the department, is a condition of employment.
2. Attendance problems will be addressed through the corrective action process.
3. Approved absences and any verification of the reason for the absence are subject to the provisions contained in the applicable time off policies.

Reporting absences

1. All employees are personally responsible for reporting absences to their supervisor before they are scheduled to begin the workday.
2. If the absence is due to an emergency, the employee must notify the supervisor as soon as possible of the reason and expected time of return.
   1. If the supervisor cannot be reached, the employee should follow the reporting procedure of the department.
      1. For CWA covered positions at Northwest, if the supervisor is unavailable the staff member should notify the campus Human Resources office to have any message relayed to the supervisor.

Unexcused absences cause for termination

1. Unexcused absences, with or without pay or time off accrual, may be subject to disciplinary action through the corrective action process.
2. Consecutive absences without proper notification as defined above are subject to termination.
   1. Three consecutive working days absent without proper notification may be cause for termination.
   2. Five consecutive working days absent without proper notification is cause for termination.
3. Prior to terminating an employee, departments must consult with the campus Human Resources office or University Human Resources.

Personal emergency

1. These events are typically unforeseen, require immediate action, are beyond the employee’s control and not health related. See Income Protection for further details
2. The employee must notify the supervisor as soon as possible as to the reason and the expected time of return
3. The employee may be required to provide documentation on the nature and circumstances of the absence.
4. The employee may choose to charge time off for personal emergency to any of accrued time off, which includes Income Protection.

Pay and time-off benefits accrual for Support and Service Staff

1. An absence will fall into one of three categories:
   1. Absence with pay and with time-off-benefits accrual
   2. Absence without pay and with time-off-benefits accrual
   3. Absence without pay and without time-off-benefits accrual

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Procedures

1. For Support and Service:
   1. Absences with pay and with time-off-benefits accrual:
      1. Time-off-benefits will be accrued and pay received for absences allowable under the policies which explain vacation, PTO, income protection, holidays, compensatory time off for overtime worked, funeral attendance, court or jury duty, military training, voting, and adverse weather/working conditions.
      2. Time-off-benefits will be accrued if the employee is receiving full pay by supplementing Worker’s Compensation payment with paid-time-off benefits.  Time-off-benefits are not accrued if the employee is receiving only Worker’s Compensation payment.
   2. Absences without pay and with time-off-benefits accrual (AWB):
      1. Time-off-benefits are accrued during absences without pay under the following conditions:
         1. The period of absences must be less than 60 calendar days, and
         2. The employee is prevented from working due to a furlough of 60-days or less (see the Furlough policy), or at the request of the supervisor/department head; or,
         3. The employee cannot travel to work because of adverse weather (but the campus is not closed), or is prevented from working because conditions or facilities make it impossible or impractical to work, or,
         4. The employee is on Union Business release time without pay (AWB) as provided for in the Union-Administration Relations policy (AFSCME Police, AFSCME Service, CWA).
      2. Time-off-benefits are accrued when an employee is serving military duty. This additional accrual is limited to vacation and is equal to the amount that the person would have earned had the military leave of absence not occurred, up to a maximum of one year's additional accrual. The rules on the maximum usage of vacation in a year will continue to apply.
   3. Absences without pay and without time-off-benefits accrual (ABS)
      1. Time-off-benefits are not accrued while on a furlough of more than 60-days, leave of absence, or when absence or tardiness is not covered by any option explained above.
      2. Continuous periods of absence without pay can cover a maximum of 30 calendar days (100% FTE, prorated for part-time staff); if employee has not returned to the job, a leave of absence or termination must be initiated.
2. For Professional Staff procedures, see the appropriate time off categories (e.g. PTO PA or PTO PB) for more information or contact HR.

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Sanctions

Managers, supervisors, and employees who violate this policy are subject to corrective action, up to and including separation.

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History

Replacing the following policies:

Replaces parts of the following policies:

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