VI - 12.00(A) - UMB POLICY ON EMERGENCY CONDITIONS: CANCELLATION OF CLASSES AND RELEASE OF EMPLOYEES

(Approved by the President, November 1996)

1. These Guidelines/Procedures are adopted in implementation of UMS Policy VI - 12.00.
2. It is the general policy of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) that the campus is always open for business and employees are expected to report and to remain on duty, regardless of decisions to cancel classes or decisions to close other UMS institutions or campuses or other government offices.
3. Deans and Vice Presidents or their designees are responsible for providing written notice to employees that they are designated as "essential" or "non-essential" for purposes of these Guidelines/Procedures. Those employees not notified that they are "essential" may presume that they are considered "non-essential."
4. As required by inclement weather, the President or his designee may delay campus opening or close the campus during the day. In such event, one of the media announcements set forth in the attached "Inclement Weather Announcement" , will be issued. In the event of delayed opening, afternoon closing, or evening closing, non-essential employees who were scheduled to be at work will be excused from work for the time the campus was closed. They should indicate on timekeeping records that the excused time is "Administrative Leave With Pay" and note in the Comments section of the time sheet "authorized by President - Emergency Conditions."
5. Essential employees are never excused from work and are required to report and perform their duties as scheduled regardless of any decision to delay opening or to close the campus. Essential employees who work when non-essential employees are excused shall be compensated with compensatory leave or cash payment equivalent to the value of the time worked. Essential employees should record the number of hours worked, during the time non-essential employees are excused, under Total Hours Worked for that day; and the Comments section of the time sheet should include a statement "Time Authorized by President - Emergency Conditions."
6. Employees who were on approved leave prior to a decision to delay opening or to close the campus are to be charged leave as previously approved and should not be granted administrative leave.
7. In the event of severe inclement weather, or other unusual conditions affecting traffic conditions or the operation of public transit or campus facilities, the President or his designee may declare "liberal leave" to be in effect for the entire day affected by the inclement weather or other conditions. If a media announcement issued by UMB specifically states "Liberal leave policy is in effect for UMB employees," non-essential employees may elect to work or to take accrued annual, holiday, personal, or compensatory leave, or leave without pay. Supervisors may establish reasonable procedures for non-essential employees to follow to notify their departments if they decide to take leave, but prior approval to take leave shall not be required when liberal leave is in effect.
8. Deans and Vice Presidents or their designees may use discretion in excusing employees who report to work late when liberal leave is in effect, or who report to work late or who do not report to work when there has been a delayed opening This does not mean that the President has delegated authority to grant administrative leave with pay under these circumstances. Deans and Vice Presidents or their designees may excuse the fact that such lateness or absence was not approved in advance and may grant the employee accumulated leave or allow the employee to make up the time within the work week, but only the President may authorize administrative leave.
9. Information concerning UMB's status in severe weather or other unusual situations will be provided through official announcements on various Baltimore and Washington, D.C. radio and television stations. The primary stations are WBAL (1090 AM) in Baltimore and WTOP (1500 AM) in Washington, D.C. Voice Mail (dial 706-UMB) will also be used to broadcast announcements.
10. UMB employees and students should follow only announcements that specifically address employees of UMB. Announcements such as "State employees are excused," "State offices are closed," or "UMB classes are canceled," do not excuse UMB employees from reporting to work.
11. In extremely unusual circumstances, the President or his designee may determine that an emergency exists and may close UMB for all or part of the day, excusing UMB non-essential employees. No other UMB official has the authority to close the campus. Should the Governor declare a State-wide closing of Government offices, the President will take necessary action as deemed appropriate under the circumstances.
12. In acute emergencies where a facility must be evacuated immediately, such as fire, the responsible administrator should attempt to contact the President's Office prior to sending employees home. If this is not possible, the President's Office should be contacted as soon as possible following the emergency.
13. The closing of classes for students applies to all schools and can occur only by announcement from the President.
14. The President has designated the Vice President for Academic Affairs to make decisions under these Guidelines/Procedures in the absence of the President.
15. Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Employee/Labor Relations, Human Resource Services.

INCLEMENT WEATHER ANNOUNCEMENT
University of Maryland Baltimore
Effective 12/8/95; Revised 11/96

It is the general policy of UMB that the campus is always open for business, and employees are expected to report to work. In the event of inclement weather, a decision regarding the status of UMB will be made by the President or his designee. Once a decision has been made, Institutional Advancement will contact both the media and internal communication personnel to ensure that changes in regular UMB schedules are communicated quickly and efficiently (dial 410-706-8622 for announcements).

When inclement weather exists, one of the following messages will be communicated to the UMB community via the media and Voice Mail:

DELAYED OPENING

When inclement weather occurs overnight or during early morning hours, the decision to delay opening will be reached before 6:00 a.m. When this decision is reached, External Affairs will contact the media with the following announcement:

"Classes at the University of Maryland Baltimore begin at (e.g.,9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., etc.)." This means classes begin at the announced time. Non-essential staff report at announced time; administrative leave granted prior to announced time. Essential staff report at regular time; compensatory time earned for hours worked prior to announced time.

AFTERNOON CLOSINGS

When inclement weather occurs during the day, the President can decide to cancel classes and close administrative departments. When this decision is reached, External Affairs will contact the media with the following announcement:

"Classes at the University of Maryland Baltimore are canceled as of (1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., etc.)." This means that daytime and evening classes at UMB scheduled to begin after the announced hour are canceled for the day in question. Non-essential employees will be excused at the announced hour and granted administrative leave from the announced hour to the regular close of business. Essential staff work regular time; earn compensatory time for hours worked after announced time.

EVENING CLOSINGS

When inclement weather occurs during the day, the President will decide if evening classes are to be held. When this decision is reached, External Affairs will contact the media with the following announcement:

"All evening classes at the University of Maryland Baltimore are canceled as of (5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., etc.)." This means that evening classes at UMB scheduled to begin after the stated hour are canceled for that evening. Non-essential employees will be excused at the announced hour and granted administrative leave from the announced hour to the regular close of business. Essential staff work regular time; earn compensatory time for hours worked after the announced time.

EARLY MORNING CANCELLATION

When inclement weather occurs overnight or during early morning hours, the decision to cancel classes will be reached before 6:00 a.m. When this decision is reached, External Affairs will contact the media with the following announcement:

"Classes at the University of Maryland Baltimore are canceled. Liberal leave policy is in effect for UMB employees." This means that daytime classes at UMB are canceled for the day in question. Non-essential employees may use their own earned leave if they choose not to report to work. Essential staff report at regular time.

UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES

In extremely unusual circumstances, the President or his designee may determine that an emergency exists and may close UMB. No other UMB official has the authority to close the campus. Should the Governor declare a State-wide closing of government offices, the President will take necessary action as deemed appropriate under the circumstances. If the President or his designee closes UMB, External Affairs will contact the media with the following announcement:

"The University of Maryland Baltimore is closed. Essential employees only report to work." This means that the campus is closed for the day/time in question. Essential employees only report to work at regular times; earn compensatory time for hours worked during closing. Non-essential employees are excused for the day/time.

General announcements about State offices or the University of Maryland are not applicable to UMB.

The following radio and television stations in the metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. will be notified.

BALTIMORE MEDIA		WASHINGTON MEDIA
Radio	WBAL - 1090 AM*	Radio	WMAL - 630 AM
Television	WMAR - Channel 2	Television	WTOP - 1500 AM*
	WBAL - Channel 11		WRC - Channel 4
	WJZ - Channel 13		WJLA - Channel 7
			WUSA - Channel 9
* Primary stations

NOTE: It is the responsibility of each Dean and Vice President or their designee to advise each employee in their area as to whether the employee is designated "essential" or "non-essential" under this policy. If the University is open but inclement weather exists, Deans and Vice Presidents have the option of permitting "non-essential" employees to use their own earned leave if they choose not to report to work.