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Policy Provisions for Staff Employees Affected by the Flood

The below message was sent to vice presidents, the provost, chancellors, and deans across Indiana University on Monday, June 9, 2008.

Indiana University has been and continues to be adversely impacted by the severe flooding across Indiana. Several University buildings were closed due to power outages and some employees may live in areas affected by flooding.

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For the closing of a University building(s) or part of a building: IU’s personnel policy, Adverse or Unsafe Working Conditions provides the following provisions for Staff employees:

• The President, Provost, chancellor, or appropriate vice president has the authority to close a building(s) or part of a building and activate the Adverse or Unsafe Working Conditions policy.

• This policy essentially provides limited income protection for Staff employees when physical workplace conditions make it impossible for employees to work.

• The Bloomington campus Provost activated this policy last week for the Psychology building and other locations.

Adverse or Unsafe Working Conditions policy:
www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/policies/appointed/adverse_working.html

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For weather conditions that create extreme travel hazards: IU’s personnel policies related to Adverse Weather provide the following provisions for Staff employees:

• The President, Provost, or chancellor has the authority to activate Adverse Weather policies, generally for the entire University or a specific campus.

• Employees are to use their best judgment for traveling to/from work, so as not to endanger themselves.

• Employees should notify supervisors if they are unable to make it to work.

• These policies essentially provide some greater flexibility (1) for employees reporting to work and advance notice for the use of time-off and (2) for supervisors in authorizing alternative work schedules. Additionally, the policies provide for additional compensation for certain employees required to work when a campus is closed. See specific Adverse Weather policies for details, as referenced at the below Web links.

• While all campus locations were open for normal operations on Monday June 9th, the University did activate the Adverse Weather policies for situations where roadways are flooded. This will remain in effect for the next couple of days, until all major roadways are open.

Adverse Weather policies:

Support and Service Staff not covered by a union and Professional Staff
www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/policies/nonunion/8.0/8.3.html

Bloomington Service Maintenance
www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/policies/sm/5.0/5.7.html

Bloomington and Northwest Support Staff
www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/policies/ss/4.0/4.2.html

IUPUI Service Maintenance
www.hra.iupui.edu/SM_Policy_Manual/New_SM%20Policy-2-27-2008/8_3.asp

South Bend Service Maintenance
www.iusb.edu/~human/manual/5/adverse.htm

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 For Staff employees who are unable to occupy their home or apartment due to flooding conditions this past weekend or during this week: Indiana University will provide the following one-time administrative exceptions:

• Annual policy limits regarding the use of paid time-off benefits will be waived, such as annual limits for the use of Vacation and PTO accruals.

• All policy usage limits regarding the use of Income Protection and PTO-Sick Bank accumulations will be waived, allowing the use of these paid time-off accruals for this purpose.

• In the event that an employee has exhausted all accumulated paid time-off, compensatory time, bonus holidays, and any other paid time-off provision, then Indiana University will provide up to 10 days of paid administrative leave.

• Requests for any one or all of these one-time administrative exceptions should be made to a campus Human Resource office along with documentation of the situation (pictures, insurance claim, policy reports, etc.)

• Campus Human Resource offices will assemble supporting documentation, including verification of paid time-off and other time-off balances, and forward such to University Human Resource Services for final determination.

• Associate Vice President for Administration, Dan Rives will provide overall management of these requested exceptions, including final approval, reporting, etc.  

The above “one-time administrative exception” for Staff employees is obviously an extraordinary University provision. For a Staff employee who has experienced this personal tragedy, the University wants to do its best to be of assistance.

Employees and supervisors who have questions regarding the above policies and the “one-time administrative exception” should contact their unit HR representative or a campus HR office.