As you know, predictions for today's weather conditions are that the weather will begin to deteriorate late this afternoon for the Urbana-Champaign area, with snow accumulation, ice, and gusting winds developing through the night/morning. The Chicago area anticipates severe weather beginning sometime tomorrow and into Wednesday.
In conditions such as these, it is important that we reaffirm our commitment to the safety and well-being of our employees. Therefore, UA administration/senior leadership encourages all unit Directors and managers to make every effort to allow employees to leave early, upon employee request and if unit operating needs permit. If employees ask to leave early, they should use vacation leave as applicable (exempt Civil Service and Academic Professional's follow the half/full-day exempt leave reporting policy). In addition, due to the impending severe weather, in cases where an employee may not have accrued vacation leave or floating holidays, departments may authorize an approved absence without pay.
If an employee is not able to report to work tomorrow because of the weather conditions, the following options will apply:
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An employee may use accrued vacation leave or available floating holidays to remain in pay status.
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With unit/manager approval and based on the duties and responsibilities of the position, an exempt employee may be offered the option to telecommute from home for the day (or portion of the day based on the exempt leave reporting policy).
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If an employee does not have accrued vacation/floating holiday leave available, he/she may be granted an excused absence without pay. Contact ER/HR for these situations to insure proper payroll adjustments are completed.
If the University would make the decision to close for all non-essential personnel, further information will be disseminated at that time on how employees should report their time for that day. If you have a question about the definition of essential personnel and if that applies to your unit, please contact your organization's senior leadership (Associate/Senior Associate VP or Vice President).
If you have any questions, please contact Employee Relations and Human Resources at 217-333-2600 or erhr@uillinois.edu.
