School of Education University of Wisconsin Madison University Staff Attendance Policy. Including WCER-Specific Notification of Absence Procedures

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1 School of Education University of Wisconsin Madison University Staff Attendance Policy I. PURPOSE Including WCER-Specific Notification of Absence Procedures For the School of Education to continue its mission to advance public education for all learners through innovation, increasing diversity and strategic partnerships it takes all of our staff engaging in a high level of service and attendance. With this concept in mind, the School of Education has developed a University Staff Attendance Policy, as a supplement to the Work Rules that provides guidelines to employees and supervisors regarding attendance issues. This policy provides guidelines for the School of Education supervisors to monitor the attendance and punctuality of employees. The intent is to promote a high level of attendance through a cooperative relationship between supervisors and employees. Supervisors/managers can set a foundation, expectation of good attendance and punctuality, and establish a department/unit/project culture of engagement by providing a clear understanding of the role each person play in achieving department/unit/project goals, providing timely feedback and holding employees accountable when there are excessive attendance problems. By working with an employee who has a poor attendance record, a supervisor can assist an employee to correct problems attendance and punctuality behaviors. This policy provides a process for a supervisor/manager to follow when it may be necessary to apply corrective steps to address violations of this policy and other University of Wisconsin work rules relating to attendance, should such action be required. It would be impossible to come up with guidelines to address every possible scenario, situation or extenuating circumstance; rather this policy is intended to serve as a guideline and provide parameters around attendance and punctuality, working in conjunction with University of Wisconsin work rules. While we can provide a few examples, there would be no reasonable way to provide a policy that covers every possible circumstance and outcome there are far too many variables for consideration. II. POLICY This policy applies to all University Staff in the School of Education and prohibits excessive absenteeism, excessive tardiness and sick leave abuse. Employees are expected to report for duty as scheduled and to notify the designated departmental representative in a timely manner whenever they are unable to do so. As a part of the on-boarding process, supervisors will provide a copy of the attendance policy, along with department/unit/project specifications, to new employees at the time of hire and will explain to the employee that regular attendance and reporting to work as scheduled are essential for effective department/unit/project operations. Employees are responsible for reading and understanding this policy. If an employee does not understand any part of this policy, questions to clarify for understanding should be addressed to the department manager or the employee s supervisor. This policy will be applied equitably and in conjunction with University of Wisconsin University Staff Work Rules. Employees are expected to be responsible for scheduling their leave time in advance and for ensuring that they have enough leave time to cover their absences. The School of Education may grant leaves without pay in exceptional circumstances such as the extended illness of an employee or a family member.

2 III. PROCEDURE Notification of Absence: Each department/unit/project will designate a person(s) to be contacted. Unless otherwise specified by the supervisor, WCER expects employees to notify their supervisors of their absences. WCER considers the following to be reasonable notice for its operational needs. Vacation: * 1 day of vacation = 1 day notice * 2-4 days of vacation = 1 week notice * > 4 days of vacation = 2 week notice Personal Day: No later than 7:45 AM the day of the absence Sick Day: No later than 7:45 AM the day of the absence Appointment: The day they are scheduled FMLA: No later than 7:45 AM the day of the absence Leave Without Pay: The leave without pay form is to be completed and submitted to the supervisor in advance of the absence * 1 day of leave without pay = 1 day notice * 2-4 days of leave without pay = 1 week notice * > 4 days of leave without pay = 2 week notice Each employee must report an unscheduled absence to the designated departmental representative within the notice period specified. Employees must provide the reason for absence, estimated time of return and type of leave that they wish to use. Failure to comply with notification standards may result in scheduling of a pre-disciplinary meeting, which may result in discipline up to and including discharge. Reporting an absence does not guarantee that the absence will be automatically approved. Depending upon the nature of the reason for the absence, the supervisor may require additional verification before deciding if the absence is considered approved. Review: It will be the responsibility of each designated departmental representative or the appropriate supervisor to monitor the attendance record of each employee and to determine through a review process whether excessive absenteeism, excessive tardiness or sick leave abuse exists. A review of an employee s attendance or punctuality may be initiated if any of the following circumstances exist: A. Three (3) unscheduled absences of any length in any 12 week period, including for reasons of illness of personal business, B. Tardiness on three (3) occasions within a 12 week period. (Tardiness is defined as failing to report promptly, ready to work, at the scheduled starting time of the shift or taking unauthorized extended rest or meal periods.) C. A pattern of unscheduled absence in conjunction with: Scheduled days off, Legal holidays, Weekends, Same days of the week, D. Any 0 sick leave balance, E. The use of unscheduled leave under false pretenses,

3 F. Unscheduled absences: Immediately following discipline, After working a double shift, After working overtime, After having a leave request denied, Under any other suspicious circumstances as determined by a department manager, Absences approved under the Federal or State Family Medial (FMLA and WFMLA) laws may not be used as a basis for discipline. Absences due to job injury, funeral leave, vacation, holidays or other scheduled leave will not be included as a basis for discipline. Absences for which employees provide acceptable medical verification of their inability to work shall not be considered as unexcused absences. Note, however, that unexcused absences for which an employee brings in acceptable medical information may still be excessive and subject to possible discipline if the employee has no leave time to cover the absence and has exhausted FMLA and leave without pay benefits. If a review of an employee s attendance is initiated, the manager must take into consideration any mitigating circumstances before determining that possible excessive absenteeism, excessive tardiness or sick leave abuse exists. Discipline is NOT to be automatically applied until the following procedure is followed. The supervisor/manager should arrange for a pre-disciplinary meeting with the employee whose record is being reviewed. The attendance or tardiness record is to be discussed with the employee in an attempt to determine if there is a mitigating reason for the poor record or possible abuse. The manager must be willing to work with the employee to resolve whatever circumstances are adversely affecting the attendance record. The employee has a right to a personal representative, union steward, at this meeting. Progressive Discipline: Consultation with the School of Education Human Resources Office is required before disciplining an employee for violation of this policy or any other work rules relating to attendance. If, after the pre-disciplinary meeting, the manager determines that a violation of work rule exists and that discipline is appropriate, progressive discipline is to be applied. Typical progressive discipline includes the following steps: 1 st violation written reprimand 2 nd violation one day suspension without pay 3 rd violation three day suspension without pay 4 th violation five day suspension without pay 5 th violation termination These progressive steps will be taken in the order listed in all cases except where the manager determines that a violation is serious enough to warrant a higher level of discipline. Examples of serious violations include: no-call/no-show or leaving work without authorization. No-call/no-show for five consecutive days or more will result in the scheduling of a pre-disciplinary meeting and may result in discharge without prior discipline.

4 How this works in the day-to-day/in action: Good attendance is an integral part of everyone s job description, quite simply. Be at work on time when you are scheduled to work and have good communication if you will be late or won t be here. While the university has a set standard operating office hours as 7:45am 4:30pm; your job description/responsibilities or the operational needs of the department/unit/project may indicate/require a different work schedule. Additionally, requests to accommodate your bus or van pool schedule, etc. should be discussed with your supervisor. Please consider the time, and coordinate with others in your office/unit, for morning, lunch and afternoon breaks; and communicate with others about when you are returning as a courtesy. Some offices have an in/out board. This allows to provide better service if people are calling or stopping by to talk with us. Talk with your supervisor to request planned time away (vacation or sick leave), this allows for consideration of office coverage, operational needs, and to accommodate requests where possible and ensure that normal business can continue. There may be times when there is a need to take turns for preferred days off, particularly around holidays, however most departments and units are able to find an equitable way to make this work. Please communicate with your supervisor (or designated department contact) to report an absence due to illness prior to your start time of 7:45am (or start time of your job). An unplanned absence, whether you will use sick leave, personal leave or vacation time is an unplanned absence. When possible, it is preferred to schedule time off with your supervisor so that the office/department can continue to run smoothly; however we do know that sometimes emergencies and illnesses come up and cannot be planned or anticipated. When calling in (this may be done by calling or ing, follow your department procedure). You can simply say, this is Jane, it s Tuesday, June 15 th. I am home due to illness today. An illness of five or more days may require a doctor s note. A few notes: Regular attendance is a measurable aspect of performance and may be a part of the annual performance review/evaluation. FMLA absences will not be a part of an annual evaluation discussion. Your supervisor will follow up and have a conversation with you for continued concerns about excessive absences, patterns of sick leave, frequent tardiness, etc. Communication is key through this process, talk with your supervisor! If you have personal or immediate family medical concerns you may be eligible for FMLA, talk with teri engelke or Sarah Gomez-Rendon, the School of Education Divisional Disability Representatives about your options; they are a confidential resource.

5 Frequently Asked Questions Question: What if I have car trouble on the way to work or run into significant traffic and do not have access to a phone to contact my supervisor or departmental contact, that I will be late? Answer: Situations like this may happen and are likely rare. Notify your supervisor/departmental contact when you get into the office of the situation and what happened. The policy and the review of absences/tardiness is set up to review excessive absenteeism, tardiness, or patterns where there may be abuse of sick leave. For most employees that find themselves in these types of situations, they happen with such a rarity it wouldn t create a cause for concern or review. Question: What if I m very sick and am not able to communicate to make notification? Answer: If this were the case, I would guess that you would likely be in or on your way to the hospital so that you can get the necessary medical attention needed. In which case, you would have some documentation from a health care provider to share with your supervisor/department representative, when you or someone on your behalf could share that, as soon as possible, without putting your health in jeopardy. Question: If the standard office hours are 7:45am 4:30pm, Monday through Friday, what if the Position Description had different set of hours? Or I have to take the bus to get to work and wouldn t be able to make it in until 8:00am, what should I do? Answer: If the position description defined the schedule, you should follow that work schedule. Be sure to talk with your supervisor to be sure both of you are operating with the same understanding. If you need to take the bus or shared ride program, talk with your supervisor about adjusting your work schedule to accommodate this request, this shouldn t be a problem. Question: If a review of absences or punctuality were to be held, who could I have attend along with me? Answer: A review of absences or punctuality may be a pre-disciplinary meeting. If this is the case, and disciplinary action may result after the meeting, employees have the right to a representative (friend, co-worker, former labor representative, etc.) at this meeting. Question: Does this apply to Academic Staff? Answer: At this time it s applicable to University Staff. The reason is mostly due to position classifications and how hours are reported, as outlined by state and federal work laws. FSLA (Fair Labor Standards Act), provides regulation regarding a number of employment regulations. One of which is to determine exempt or non-exempt status and whether a position is eligible for overtime or not. As the vast majority of Academic Staff positions are exempt which means they are not eligible for overtime and are salaried, therefore reporting leave is different. While this isn t wholly true of every AS or US staff position, it is the vast majority of the composition of the AS and/or US positions. In many departments/units attendance policies & expectations are discussed with new employees and what should be done in terms of working with your supervisor. This is just a way to have a more formalized policy and procedure in case there are questions. As we continue to implement more of the HR Design initiatives, the attendance policy will fold into these other programs as well. Where on-boarding and performance management overlap, the attendance policy will become one of the talking points when discussing expectations, workplace culture and setting goals for the upcoming year.