Human Resources Policies

POLICY: Attendance
Policy Number: HR-45
Effective Date: July 2002
Revisions: June 2002, July 2000
Responsible Officer: Associate Dean, Planning and Operations


PURPOSE:
This policy was established to provide guidelines for attendance and lateness for employees.

I. POLICY:
The College of Medicine requires employees to conform to minimum expectations with regard to absences and lateness.

II. ELIGIBILITY:
This policy applies to all College of Medicine non-faculty employees.

III. DEFINITIONS:
Absence is defined as any unscheduled time lost from work or failure to report to work for at least fifty per cent of the scheduled workday or shift. Each period of absence (example; consecutive days off) will be considered as one occurrence. Unscheduled Time is defined as time not requested and approved in advance by the department supervisor/manager. Occurrence is defined as a period of one day, or consecutively scheduled workdays absent for the same reason. Excessive Absenteeism is defined as six occurrences of absence in a "rolling" six-month period not classified as Family and Medical Leave or non-Family and Medical Leave.

Lateness is defined as failure to report and be ready for work at the start of the shift or leaving prior to the end of the scheduled workday without management approval. Each period of lateness will be considered as one occurrence.

Excessive Lateness is defined as six occurrences of lateness in a "rolling" sixmonth period that subjects an employee to disciplinary action. Rolling Period is defined as the time period from the previous six months that will be examined for occurrences.

Exempt as defined by the FLSA is a bona fide executive, administrative or professional position and is not subject to the overtime provision.

Non-Exempt as defined by the FLSA is a position that does not meet the requirement necessary to qualify for exemption and is subject to overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Act.

IV. GUIDELINES:
A. Supervisors/managers are responsible for the establishment, communication and consistent application of attendance standards within their business operation.

B. Absences which are similar or repetitive in nature such as before or after days off, after weekends, holidays, vacations days, or pay days are examples of pattern absenteeism and subject to corrective action.

C. An employee who takes time off when the supervisor/manager denies the request for time off is subject to corrective action.

V. EXPECTATIONS:
A. Attendance
1. An employee is expected to report to work as scheduled by her/his supervisor/manager and to maintain a satisfactory record of attendance. Failure to comply is subject to corrective action under the policy on Corrective Action.

2. An employee is expected to report to work at her/his scheduled starting time and to remain at work until her/his scheduled quitting time. Failure to comply is subject to corrective action under the policy on Corrective Action.

3. An employee is expected to obtain necessary approval from her/his supervisor when he/she is going to be away from the work area. Failure to comply is subject to corrective action under the policy on Corrective Action.

4. An employee who is unable to report to work is required to notify her/his supervisor/manager or designee at the earliest opportunity, but at least one hour prior to her/his scheduled starting time, or as stated by the departmental procedures, whichever is greater. Failure to comply is subject to corrective action under the policy on Corrective Action.

5. Employees who are absent without proper notification are subject to a written warning upon the first offense.

B. Recording Time Worked
1. An employee, whether exempt or non-exempt, is required to provide accurate information concerning hours worked and to notify his or her supervisor/manager of any deviation from scheduled hours. A non-exempt employee is required under the Fair Labor Standards Act to maintain records of starting and quitting times.

2. A non-exempt employee who is required to use a time clock to record hours worked must punch in prior to reporting to the work station and punch out prior to leaving at the end of the work day. An employee is not permitted to sign or punch another employee's time card and will be subject to corrective action up to and including termination of employment.

3. A non-exempt employee will not sign or punch in more than five minutes before her/his scheduled starting time and will not sign or punch out later than five minutes after scheduled quitting time, unless he or she has received prior authorization from her/his supervisor/manager

4. A non-exempt employee who reports to work more than five minutes late will not be paid for the amount of time that he/she is late. For disciplinary purposes, there is no five-minute grace period.

5. Time card entries that require a change must be initialed by the employee and employee's supervisor/manager.

6. Falsification of a time card or attendance record is subject to corrective action up to and including termination of employment.

C. Abandonment of Position
1. An employee who is absent and does not communicate with the department supervisor/manager for three consecutive workdays will be considered to have abandoned her/his position.

2. A letter should be sent to the employee by the supervisor/manager indicating termination of employment due to job abandonment. This letter will be sent by a method requiring recipient's signature.

VI. PROCEDURES:
A. Departmental supervisors/managers are encouraged to develop departmental attendance procedures. The procedure may include work schedules, time card procedures, call out procedures, on call procedures and excessive absenteeism/lateness procedures.

B. These departmental procedures should be communicated and distributed to all employees. Departmental managers/supervisors are encouraged to have each employee sign an acknowledgement sheet indicating that the employee has received the procedures. This acknowledgement sheet should be maintained in the employee's departmental file.

C. Departmental supervisors/managers are responsible for monitoring attendance records and time card entries on a regular basis and ensuring consistent application.

D. Department managers/supervisors must identify absence/lateness problems, verbally review them with the employee and advise the employee of the consequences of continued problems. This verbal counseling should occur no later than the fifth occurrence in a rolling six-month period.

E. If absence/lateness problems persist, it is the responsibility of the supervisor/manager to initiate the formal corrective action process in consultation with the Department of Human Resources.

F. Corrective action should be progressive for the same or similar work-related problem within a rolling twelve-month period.

G. Supervisors/managers are required to report to Human Resources any employee sick-leave absences of three calendar days (i.e., Thursday, Friday and Monday) to ensure appropriate approvals are obtained and the College of Medicine complies with federal regulations regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act. Notification to Human Resources must occur on the fourth day
after three consecutive days of absences.

H. Absences occurring during approved Family and Medical Leave or due to work related injuries will not be included when considering an employee's attendance record. Absences due to jury duty, bereavement/funeral, and military leave are also not included. These absences should be documented, but should not be considered as an occurrence when determining absenteeism/lateness for disciplinary purposes.

I. Supervisors/managers should consult with Human Resources regarding compensation for unscheduled or unauthorized absences.

Additional Information: Inquiries regarding this policy can be directed to the Human Resources Department.