Emergency Leave Guidelines

• Regular employees are granted administrative leave for their scheduled work hours during the period of closure. 
• Regular part-time employees or those paid on an hourly basis (such as variable percent employees) who are normally scheduled to work when a closure occurs are given paid administrative leave for the scheduled work hours. 
• Regular employees who are eligible for overtime (FLSA non-exempt) shall not count the period of closure as hours worked for the purposes of calculating overtime, with the exception of essential employees required to work through the emergency. 
• Temporary (including retirees hired into temporary positions) and student employees are not eligible for administrative leave. 
• Employees who are already on approved annual, sick, or other type of leave when a closure occurs will not be given paid administrative leave for their scheduled work hours during the period of closure.

• Early Closure: When the Chancellor authorizes an early or sequential/staggered release, regular employees are granted paid administrative leave and released under the guidance of the department head or supervisor. In the case of a sequential/staggered release, distance, and travel difficulty from work to home and other public safety issues shall be used as criteria in the release of employees. Specific guidelines follow:
  • The amount of administrative leave granted for sequential/staggered release or early closure is based on the official time of release authorized by the Chancellor.
  • Regular shift employees are granted paid administrative leave for their normally scheduled work hours occurring after an official campus closure.
  • Early release time not authorized by the Chancellor or his designee shall be charged to annual leave or leave without pay, unless alternate work arrangements/options are approved by the appointing authority.
• Delayed Opening: When the Chancellor authorizes a delayed opening, regular employees are granted paid administrative leave if the delay occurs during their scheduled work hours. Regular employees who arrive late to work beyond the delayed opening due to extreme weather conditions may be granted administrative leave if the appointing authority determines that the lateness was reasonable.

When paid administrative leave is granted because of a campus closure, early or sequential/staggered release, or a delayed opening, everyone who is administrative leave eligible should record the days as, "administrative leave."

Campus employees are urged to use their discretion in deciding whether they can safely commute to and from work. If personal health or safety is an issue in that decision, responsible judgment should be used. Employees may request time off prior to and in the absence of an official campus closure. With supervisor approval, employees must take annual leave or leave without pay if no annual leave is available. Campus supervisors and appointing authorities are encouraged to be flexible in authorizing annual leave for employees in these situations.

In some instances, the supervisor or appointing authority may determine that an alternate work arrangement, e.g. telecommuting, could be used to support university activity and meet the business needs of the department during extreme weather conditions. Alternate work arrangements must be approved by the appointing authority.

Regular Employees who are authorized to work during an official campus closure may be granted paid administrative leave for the time worked at the discretion of the appointing authority. Employees would not receive additional pay for the hours worked during the closure but could be granted alternative time off. Temporary (including retirees hired into temporary positions) and student employees who work during a campus closure must be paid for hours worked but are not eligible to receive administrative leave

• Regular employees who are eligible for overtime and are required by their supervisors to stay on campus overnight are entitled to be paid for rest/sleep time at the employee's regular pay rate plus applicable premiums, including shift and overtime.
• Regular employees exempt from overtime who are required by their supervisors to stay on campus overnight may be granted paid administrative leave at the discretion of the appointing authority.
• Essential and critical services personnel are not eligible for paid administrative leave even if required to stay on campus overnight due to a campus closure.
• Regular employees who are required by their supervisors to be in on-call status overnight are entitled to on-call pay. Regular employees who are stranded on campus and are not required by their supervisors to stay or to be on-call are not eligible for compensation.

Employees should contact their supervisors and appointing authorities with questions about personal leave and timekeeping.  HR Liaisons and campus supervisors should contact the leave@colorado.edu.