Regulation on Declaration of Condition Levels for Adverse Weather

and Emergency Events[1]

I. Purpose

A. On December 3, 2015, the State Human Resources Commission approved the “University Adverse Weather and Emergency Event Policy” applicable to employees subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act (SHRA), effective January 1, 2016.

B. Consistent with Section 300.2.1, VII.C., of the UNC Policy Manual, which provides that a variety of leave programs prescribed for SHRA employees also be applied to employees exempt from the North Carolina Human Resources Act (EHRA employees), the following regulation addresses considerations the UNC System Office and the constituent institutions shall take in managing EHRA employees – both faculty and non-faculty – during adverse weather and emergency events in order to coordinate work efforts during these situations and apply similar practices across both groups.

C. Management should refer to the SHRA policy for additional definitions and specifications in order to ensure consistent application of these provisions across all employee and operational groups in the institution.

II. University Condition Levels for Adverse Weather Events and Emergency Events. The University uses three condition levels to describe campus operational status during adverse events. These may be declared for the entirety of a campus or for one or more specific buildings or operational units based on the scope, severity, and nature of the event.

A. Condition 1 (Reduced Operations). The university remains open, but non-mandatory operations may be reduced due to limited staffing. Mandatory employees must report to or remain at work. All other employees have the option to report late, leave early, or not work at all; however, the employee is responsible for informing his/her supervisory chain in a timely manner of all such decisions

B. Condition 2 (Suspended Operations). The university remains open on a very limited basis, but has formally suspended all but mandatory operations. Employees designated or temporarily assigned as mandatory employees must report to work as directed; all other employees must not report to work or must leave the workplace when this status takes effect.

C. Condition 3 (Closure). University facilities are closed; this can apply to the entirety of the university or one or more specific buildings based on the type of incident involved. All or only a limited number of mandatory employees may be directed to remain at or report to work under this condition. All other employees, including those who are otherwise designated as mandatory but not needed for the particular event, are not permitted to report to or remain at work.

III. Authority for Declaration of Condition Levels

A. The president delegates authority to chancellors to declare Conditions 1 and 2 at their respective institutions consistent with this policy.

B. If a chancellor believes that a specific event warrants consideration for a Condition 3 designation, then Condition 2 shall be declared at the time of the event, and the institution may submit a request for Condition 3 status to UNC System Human Resources.

C. If Condition 3 is warranted and approved by the president or president’s designee, then the institution may apply the Condition 3 paid leave provision retroactively. This approach is intended both to limit the potential of having to reverse a declaration of a Condition 3 event after the fact to comply with state requirements and also to ensure reasonable consistency among constituent institutions that experience similar conditions.

D. The UNC System Office reports use of Condition 3 to the Office of State Human Resources.

IV. Classes and Other Academic Programs. Chancellors, or their designees, may make determinations to hold or cancel classes or other academic programming independent of the condition levels included here but are encouraged to use these condition levels as key markers for their decision-making.

V. Other Matters

A. Effective Date. The requirements of this regulation shall be effective on the date of adoption of this regulation by the president.

B. Relation to Federal and State Laws and Policies. The foregoing regulation as adopted by the president is meant to supplement, and does not purport to supplant or modify, those statutory enactments, regulations, and policies which may govern or relate to the subject matter of this regulation.